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Brandon Stapanowich's Blog (76)

Running The Edge: The Colorado Trail

Get your tickets and mark your calendars folks! On April 9th, Matt Trappe's documentary "Running the Edge: The Colorado Trail" will be arriving in Colorado Springs. The film, which follows Scott Jaime's record trek from Durango to Denver, made it's premier recently in Denver and sold out on consecutive nights. It's now coming to…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on March 16, 2014 at 8:30pm — No Comments

PT Tip #2: How to be a Hipster

Last month Kaci Licktieg, Team Pearl Izumi ultrarunner and physical therapist, presented some tips for keeping your legs happy throughout the winter. She brings up a good point about how slick, wintry surfaces can place increased demands on our stabilizing muscles. Lack of proximal strength, specifically in the gluteals, has been…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on March 1, 2014 at 5:30pm — 2 Comments

HURT 100 RACE REPORT

     The Book of HURT is essentially a welcome guide for the hundred miler on Oahu. In it contains specific mention of wild pigs, leptospirosis infected streams, serpentine roots, shoe stealing mud, and exposed cliffs. The course consists of five 20 mile loops with 24,500 ft of total gain and 24,500 ft of total loss, all between 300 ft and 1,900 ft above sea level. This is the elevation profile:…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on February 2, 2014 at 3:20pm — 6 Comments

Sweaters, Swants, and Swonesies: Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K/1M Updates

     Thanks to everyone who stopped by last Tuesday at Jack Quinn's. We'll be there again on November 19th so say hello! Race date (December 7th) is 3 weeks away. If you haven't done so, register at active.com before the price goes up December 1st! Now for the updates...

 

Santa has confirmed that he WILL be making the trip down from the North Pole on race day. You can…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on November 16, 2013 at 3:07pm — No Comments

Small Deeds and Help From Others: The Stank Recap

This weekend marked another unforgettable birthday adventure thanks to the support from a lot of friends. Huge congratulations to Tim and Katie on their incredible first 50 miler! Here's my account of how Pikes Ultra: The Stank went down:

The Finish!

(Photo: Tim Bergsten &…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on October 2, 2013 at 12:00am — 6 Comments

Pikes Ultra (PU: The Stank)

For the past two years, I've decided there's no better way to mark my birthday than with an adventure run. And while I have a pretty poor historical memory, I've realized that prior to this tradition (to which I credit O'Day's jaunt to Cripple Creek) I sadly can't recall my previous birthdays. Of all the days of the year, one's birthday should never be taken for granted. In light of this, a group of…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on September 23, 2013 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

The Low Country

     After big races, I've been known to go through a bit of a low spell. It seems I get focused on some event for so long that when it's over, regardless of a positive or negative outcome, doldrums hit. Fortunately, I'm not alone in this as several of my friends have expressed similar feelings of "post-partum depression for ultrarunners."…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on July 24, 2013 at 11:30pm — 3 Comments

Western States 100 Race Report

     Like Isaac Brock sang, "one hundred miles is a long drive inside a car." Indeed, a hundred miles in a long way, no matter how you cover it. Leadville certainly taught me a lot about ultrarunning but I was eager to learn more about the distance and more importantly, more about myself. How would I stave off dehydration and the nasty sequelae in 100+ degree temperatures?  How would I fare surrounded by the best ultrarunners in the country? And why exactly do I feel compelled to offer…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on July 6, 2013 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

Just Dance: Western States 100 Race Week

     Race week is here and the final preparations are now drawing to a close. The excitement crescendos. The experience becomes more tangible. In just a few days, I'll be taking embarking on Western States journey, suffering with friends in the heat, and in spending all day (and some of the night) doing what I love!…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on June 23, 2013 at 8:00pm — 5 Comments

What the Soul Needs and What the Body Can Withstand

     I've always been a "things happen for a reason" kind of person. Whether this holds true for anything, much less everything, actually isn't all that important to me. It's our interpretation of things in life and our individual beliefs that matter.

 

     With that said, having a lingering Achilles issue for the better part of the year while preparing for one of the grandest ultra-races in the country has, at times, been incredibly frustrating. Week after week of limited…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on May 19, 2013 at 10:27pm — No Comments

FRUITA: THE LOOMing 50 mile race

     Prior to Saturday, my last real running race, was 7 months ago. With some help from Dr. Jeff Matthews, the Achilles had been responding well and allowing me to increase my training provided that I spend just as much effort focused on recovery. With less than 70 days until Western States, my decision was this:

A) Try a 50 mile tune up now, with the risk of being undertrained, but having more time to…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on April 22, 2013 at 9:46pm — 4 Comments

A Little (More) Patience

     "We just passed the 100 days to go mark!" That's what I read when I opened up the most recent runner update email for the Western States Endurance Run. There are actually 89 days and counting now as I write this. Perhaps it's time to start panicking!

 

     A stubborn left Achilles and right hamstring haven't let me train like I'd hoped. Lately, I can't help but wonder how I will be able to survive a 100 mile race. My…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on April 1, 2013 at 8:55pm — No Comments

Pikes Peak [Indoor] Sports: The Stationary Elliptical Marathon

     Quirkiness, creativity, and determination are traits that I admire. They are attributes that inspire me and, more often than not, they tend to go hand in hand when it comes to feats of endurance. Of all of the unique endeavors, the Terry Fox story is probably my favorite.

     And anyone who has…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on February 10, 2013 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Afros, and Dee Snider, and My 2013 Resolutions. Oh My!

     "Last year will be tough to beat." That's how last year's resolution blog began, referring to 2011, and the same story rings true for 2012. Aside from the Burro racing thing and missing out on QuadRock due to an ankle sprain, I nailed everything on my list of "want-to-dos" and managed a couple of "never-thought-of-that-but-I'm-glad-I-did-its" as well.

  

    …

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on January 15, 2013 at 8:37pm — No Comments

12 Months of Pikes Peak

Footage from my monthly trips up and down Pikes in 2012. Going to try to keep the streak going in 2013...

Added by Brandon Stapanowich on January 1, 2013 at 8:13pm — 4 Comments

Thanksgiving Trailrunning Adventure: The Great Hurrah

A couple friends and I headed west recently. Here's what we found:

Added by Brandon Stapanowich on November 26, 2012 at 7:40am — No Comments

Running the Lunatic Fringe

     One of the great things about running is the variety of talents it rewards and venues in which to display them. The differences between a road 5k and a hundred mile trail race (and the athletes who compete at these distances) are so great that it's sometimes hard to lump them together under the same "running" umbrella. Don't agree? Well the range doesn't stop there. After 3 minutes of thorough internet research, the shortest race I came across was this:…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on October 31, 2012 at 8:26am — No Comments

Pikes in October: Fostering Resiliency

     The streak lives on and for the tenth time this year I made it up and down America's mountain in one piece. Gone are the days where a single handheld is all that is needed for the journey.  A jacket, gloves, and a hat have become mandatory accessories now that snow and single digit temperatures are the expectation. On this go around, Scott and I climbed together enjoying the sparsely populated Barr trail on a frosty fall day. At the top, I also got to say a brief hello to Andy before…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on October 9, 2012 at 9:00pm — 1 Comment

Pawnee-Buchanan, Pikes, and a Hurricane: The Birthday Blog

     I have a pretty spotty memory when it comes to a lot of my childhood experiences. If I try to recall my earliest birthday, all I can come up with are vague clips of Putt-Putt or riding go-carts. And in reality, even those recollections are just memories of me watching home videos years later on what went down years ago.

     Fortunately, Sean's Cripple Creek birthday run last year helped…

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Added by Brandon Stapanowich on September 24, 2012 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment

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