She's kind of a big deal. Connilee Walter, 40, of Colorado Springs, was greeted by family, friends, her husband and all five of their children at the finish of the Pikes Peak Marathon on Sunday.

By Bob Stephens
PikesPeakSports.us
Connilee Walter experienced a rare moment of weakness prior to the start of the Pikes Peak Marathon on Sunday. That’s when the promise she made to herself years ago came into question.

But the dedicated mother of five children isn’t accustomed to backing down from challenges, and resolved to fulfill her pledge.

“I had a moment there at the start line,” the 40-year-old Walter said with a smile after finishing the 26.2-mile race. “Once I pulled my bib yesterday, I knew I’d do it.”

Walter, who began running during her college days at Northern Arizona University, made the promise “when I was in my early 30s” to run the Pikes Peak Ascent and the Pikes Peak Marathon on the same weekend.

Whether that qualifies her as crazy or dedicated, it’s definitely a cool accomplishment.

Walter was seventh among women racers in the Marathon, after finishing fourth in the Ascent. Her combined time of 8 hours, 9 minutes, 16 seconds, was the best among those who “doubled” by competing in both events.

“I felt better (Sunday), but I was slower,” Walter said. “I didn’t stop (during the race). I had cramps in my calves but I was able to run through it.”

She drove through the final stretch to finish in 5 hours, 10 minutes, 31 seconds.

“You see the crowd and you feel way better,” she said. “It feels really good to do this.”

Walter, who grew up in the Phoenix area, went to college in Flagstaff, Ariz., at NAU.

“They joke about the ‘freshman 15,’” she said, referring to freshmen gaining 15 pounds during their first year of college. “Well, I gained about 30. By my junior year, I was sick of it and started going to the gym. After a while, I started jogging to the gym instead of taking the shuttle. Then I realized I liked running there better than being there.

“I never competed until I moved to Colorado Springs and heard about this crazy race.”

She’s run the Ascent 10 times and the Marathon four times, and completed about a dozen other marathons.

Walter, who works for the nonprofit Young Life, is married to Pat, whom she called a “super dad.”

Their children are Payton, 11; Ryleigh, 9; Casey, 9 (who celebrated his birthday as mom ran the Ascent); Tessa, 6; and Quinn, 3.

With a full-time job and a family, when does Walter find time to train so she can competitively run nearly 40 miles in two races, up and down America’s mountain?

“I sneak out super early in the morning, at 4 or 5 (a.m.), before they’re up,” she said.

When asked if she’ll double again and take on the Ascent and Marathon on back-to-back days, Walter said, “It’s too early to say.”

Her face cringed at the thought, but it seemed her mind was already gearing up for the challenge.

What’s next for the busy wife and mom? And how did she plan to celebrate her big accomplishment?

“I’ll go sit in the creek,” she said with a laugh. “I won’t run again for a couple of weeks. I’ll just do some biking.”