Thousands of runners from all over the country will attempt to tackle the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon this weekend. This is a mighty feat with 7,815 ft vertical in 13.32 miles for the Ascent and an added descent for those brave enough to take on the Ultimate Challenge! Each runner has trained for months, if not years, and has mentally prepared herself/himself to persevere to the finish line. With only a couple of days…

With the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon only a few weeks away, I craved some high altitude training and some longer days on the trails.  Moreover, my birthday was fast-approaching, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate!  To kick-start my 31^st, my husband, Michael, and I woke up at 4:30am and drove into Manitou. We loaded up…

Nothing was shaping up in my favor, as I road the bus to the starting line of the Colorado Marathon. The weather was snowy and cold to start. During the week, I had begun looking for other marathons that I could run to Boston Qualify, in the event that my time was affected by the impeding crappy weather. I'm not sure why I was so concerned, considering that some of my best racing has happened during the winter months. As I finally stepped off the bus, with only minutes to spare, I decided to…

If you are interested in training for a half- or full-marathon in the fall, I am starting a training group, USA Fit Colorado Springs.  It will be a group training deal open to all ability levels.  For more information, visit www.usafitcos.com or email me at info@usafitcos.com

We will have an information table at Jack Quinn's Running Club on May 6 and 13 and UVC Running Club May 12.

Last weekend's Salida Run Through Time Marathon marks my first year of longer trail races. Within this year I ran my first 50 miler, ran a gruesome 50 k, and trained a lot of mileage (last year). I was excited for the marathon this year, since I felt these experiences would help me improve my time from my first Salida.…

March 13 is upon us - the big registration day Colorado!  Register for the Pikes Peak Marathon (PPM) or the Ascent, whichever form of self torture you prefer. For me, I've got my sight set on the marathon this year.  With just one other marathon behind me (the fantastic Big Sur International…

Above: Victory soak in Fountain Creek. Photo by Christian Murdock. Below: Don and me, the only Pikes Peak Sports.us Triple Crown Runners who signed up for the marathon! Photo by Phoebe Blessing.

We've come full circle. I started blogging…

I will write about this in more detail soon enough, but for now ... HOLY CRAP I DID IT!

The Attack Pack and friends ready to take on the Falcon Trail in the dark.

Whenever I sign up for new race distances or athletic endeavors, I always envision feeling far more "ready" when race day/week/month actually arrives. The time between signing up and executing stretches on forever, week upon week of mythical training runs cascading into the future,…

Me and LB on our way up Mount Bierstadt, July 22

During every training cycle, especially for a new distance, I hit the skids mentally. I'm considering the PPM a new distance, even though I've run…

Upward! Upper Barr Trail, July 15

It has been an eventful few weeks. I've got to get back in the rhythm of writing here; since the fire, the words don't flow like they used to. It put things in perspective. Nature doesn't care about human life. (Actually, anyone who has hiked the upper reaches of Barr Trail knows that nature doesn't care about…

Me, Sharon, Sharon's dad, Don, Don's doughnut, and Bill at 14,115 feet on Father's Day.

I feel good about my training from the past weekend. On Saturday, a few Attack Packers and I ran from Soda Springs Park, up the Incline, past No Name Creek a little ways into the Experimental Forest, then back down Barr Trail. It took us right around two hours to do the…

Oh yeah. Cross training. I feel like I used to be better at it. But when I was training for my last "regular" marathon (the Tobacco Road Marathon in Raleigh, NC, on March 18), I settled into a groove: four runs a week, three yoga classes a week, rest day (or maybe two). I used to lift weights or swim laps or go to…

This is me on my first trip to Barr camp for the season this past Sunday. (Please excuse the overexposure. With my pack loaded up with avocados for Neil and Teresa, the caretakers of the camp, I had no room for a camera besides my cell phone.) I went with Josh, Ramsey, and Brian, three…

Here is a recent blog post that Tera Moody did for the NY Times,

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/miles-to-go/

(Thanks to PikesPeakSports.us member Christi Keiser for alerting us to this link)

By Lynn DeBruin, Sports Media Exchange

Forget 60 being the new 40. Lyle Langlois makes 80 look like the new 40.

Truth is, the soon-to-be octogenarian has been running circles around men less than half his age for years.

Click here for updated and complete resultes for Pikes Peak-area runners.

Tommy Manning, the Fountain Valley High School teacher and coach from Colorado Springs, placed 127th in the Boston Marathon on Monday. Manning posted a time of 2:35:57.

He had entered the race with hopes of finishing in the Top 25 after a 34th-place finish (2:25:57) in…