All Discussions Tagged 'Springs' - Pikes Peak Sports2024-03-28T11:53:22Zhttp://pikespeaksports.us/group/roadtrailrunning/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=Springs&feed=yes&xn_auth=noJoe Gray will take the win, but looks forward to better daystag:pikespeaksports.us,2019-08-25:5021591:Topic:8423712019-08-25T01:34:24.258ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3446270631?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3446270631?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650"></img></a> By Bob Stephens</strong>, for PikesPeakSports.us</p>
<p>Joseph Gray nearly collapsed as he crossed the finish line at the summit of America’s Mountain. The world-class trail runner bested a large contingent of quality runners in the Pikes Peak Ascent, winning the prestigious race for the third time on Saturday, but he failed to achieve what has become…</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3446270631?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3446270631?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650" class="align-center"/></a>By Bob Stephens</strong>, for PikesPeakSports.us</p>
<p>Joseph Gray nearly collapsed as he crossed the finish line at the summit of America’s Mountain. The world-class trail runner bested a large contingent of quality runners in the Pikes Peak Ascent, winning the prestigious race for the third time on Saturday, but he failed to achieve what has become an elusive goal for him.</p>
<p>Gray said he was happy with the wire-to-wire victory—a challenge that began at 7 a.m. in Manitou Springs and culminated when he finished the 13.32-mile trek up rocky Pikes Peak—but he won’t truly be satisfied until he owns the Ascent record.</p>
<p><a href="https://thetcr.com/results/ppa/2019/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Race Results</a>** <a href="http://pikespeaksports.us/video/joe-gray-is-back-in-the-pikes-peak-ascent" target="_self">Pre-race video interview with Joe Gray</a></p>
<p>“This is probably the least satisfying win I’ve had here,” said the 35-year-old Gray, a Colorado Springs resident who also won the Ascent in 2016 and 2017. “I wanted to run a good time and I didn’t get that.”</p>
<p>The Ascent course climbs 7,815 feet and finishes at the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak. Gray, the 2016 World Mountain Running Champion, boasts the sixth-fastest Ascent time of 2:05:28, clocked in 2016.</p>
<p>This time he finished in 2:08:59, nearly eight minutes behind Matt Carpenter’s Ascent record of 2:01:06. Carpenter, a Manitou Springs resident, amazingly established the Ascent record in the same race that he set the Pikes Peak Marathon record of 3:16:39, back in 1993.</p>
<p>“It’s a little frustrating when you have a time in mind and don’t get it,” said Gray, who has entered the race four times. “I wanted the record.”</p>
<p>Fourth-place finisher Lindon Powell isn’t sure anyone will eclipse Carpenter’s records, either for the Ascent or the Marathon. Spain’s Kilian Jornet, who runs for the elite Team Salomon and is perhaps the world’s foremost trail runner, will take his best shot at both marks Sunday.</p>
<p>“Depending on what Kilian does Sunday, we’ll see,” Powell said. “When Carpenter set the record, the trail was in better shape and he didn’t have to pass as many people (still going up in the marathon) on his way down.”</p>
<p>Gray was virtually unchallenged en route to his victory.</p>
<p>“He was gone when we hit the dirt,” about a mile-and-a-half into the race," said runner-up Seth DeMoor. “I knew what Joe can do, so I didn’t try to keep up.”</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3446273108?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3446273108?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="250" class="align-left"/></a>DeMoor, from Englewood, Colo., finished in 2:12:45, with Galen Burrell of Louisville, Colo., third in 2:25:44. Powell, from Ashland, Ore., crossed the finish line in 2:26:47 while Kieran Nay of Monument, Colo., was fifth in 2:27:55. George Foster of Great Britain was sixth in 2:30:13 with Devin VansCoy of Eugene, Ore., taking seventh in 2:33:10.</p>
<p>Gray, who ran collegiately for Oklahoma State, led DeMoor by 88 seconds when he reached Barr Camp, and never looked back. He had jumped to the lead at the starting line and led the lead group up Manitou Avenue.</p>
<p>Asked if he was ever really challenged during the race, Gray said, “Not really.”</p>
<p>He proclaimed himself in “good fitness” but said he made some mistakes in his training leading up to the race.</p>
<p>“I came in a little over-cooked,” he said. “I had missed a lot of volume coming in and tried to make it up too close to the race—and I paid for it.”</p>
<p>The weather was good, with sunshine and 43 degrees greeting the runners at the summit. But it was windy, with a steady 30 mile-per-hour wind at the top of the mountain.</p>
<p>“It was by far the worst wind I’ve seen for this race,” Gray said. “The wind made it hard on everybody, but it was tough above A-Frame. The wind didn’t do us any favors today.”</p>
<p>DeMoor echoed that sentiment.</p>
<p>“The wind definitely hit us hard above the tree line,” he said.</p>
<p>Still, DeMoor was “very satisfied” with his third Ascent, having run in 2010 and 2017, when he finished third.</p>
<p>“I was hoping to maybe get under 2:10 but I have no excuses,” he said, after missing that mark by less than three minutes. “I was about nine minutes better than my previous (best time in the Ascent).”</p>
<p>Gray felt he could challenge Carpenter’s record when he won in 2016, but was four minutes off the mark. He followed that with another victory in 2017 in 2:08:19. That made him the first male repeat winner in the Ascent since Carpenter in 2001-02.</p>
<p>Gray, who is married with a 1-year-old child, is headed to Europe for his next two races, a World Cup event and a Red Bull team event, where he runs about 13 kilometers while his teammates are a mountain biker, paraglider and kayaker.</p> Look out Pikes Peak, here comes the worldtag:pikespeaksports.us,2019-08-22:5021591:Topic:8423422019-08-22T17:17:17.704ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3441889175?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3441889175?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650"></img></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Jordi Saragossa photo</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>64th Pikes Peak Marathon fields are stacked</b></span></p>
<p><strong>From Tim Sweeney</strong>, Salomon Golden Trail World Series…</p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;"><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3441889175?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3441889175?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></span></p>
<p style="text-align: right;"><strong>Jordi Saragossa photo</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><b>64th Pikes Peak Marathon fields are stacked</b></span></p>
<p><strong>From Tim Sweeney</strong>, Salomon Golden Trail World Series</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">The fifth race of the 2019 Golden Trail World Series is perhaps the most famed trail race on American soil, and this year the Pikes Peak Mountain Marathon will play host to the elite athletes of the sport. Spain’s Kilian Jornet (Team Salomon) leads an all-star cast from around the globe that will take to the starting line on Sunday morning, August 25</span><span style="font-weight: 500;">th</span><span style="font-weight: 500;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">The 42km race is the highest in altitude on the Golden Trail World Series. It begins and ends in Manitou Springs, Colorado and climbs 2,382 meters to an elevation of 4,302 meters—the top of the famed Pikes Peak. It’s also a race with a seemingly unbreakable course record. The men’s record time of 3:16:39 has stood since 1991.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">With Jornet on hand, as well as a deep field of elite runners in the women’s race, what is “unbreakable” may be called into question this weekend. The Spaniard is coming off a legendary performance two weeks ago at the ultra-competitive Sierre-Zinal race in Switzerland, where he shattered the 16-year-old course record by three minutes and 37 seconds and left behind a field of elite athletes from a variety of running disciplines. Pikes Peak, however, is a different animal.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">“Pikes Peak Marathon is one of the oldest mountain races,” said Jornet, ever a student of the sport. “The Ascent race dates from 1936 and the marathon from 1956. It was the third marathon in the US and the first one to allow women to participate. The race is very logical. Run up to the summit and down, and the history behind it is what attracted me to run there.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">The 2018 men’s race winner, Colorado native Dakota Jones (Team Salomon), will miss this year’s race due to injury, but a host of top talent will be there to throw their best effort at Jornet, who comes in as the clear favorite.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">Swiss star Rémi Bonnet (Team Salomon), who had strong races at Sierre-Zinal and the Marathon du Mont Blanc, will bring his considerable climbing skills to Pikes Peak. Two of Team Hoka’s top runners—Italy’s Francesco Puppi and Colorado resident Sage Canaday—will also look to crack the podium, and Mexico’s Juan Carlos Fererra (Team Buff) could also be heard from. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">France’s Thibaut Baronian (Team Salomon), who was 3</span><span style="font-weight: 500;">rd</span> <span style="font-weight: 500;">at Zegama, will also be in the hunt. Swiss athlete Marc Lauenstein (Team Salomon), a former winner at Pikes, is making a comeback from a foot injury and says he is full-go this weekend, while American trail veteran Max King (Team Salomon) will relish the rare chance to run on home soil against top European talent. Peruvian Jose Manuel Quispe (Team Lippi), who was the 2</span><span style="font-weight: 500;">nd</span> <span style="font-weight: 500;">runner to the top of the climb at the Dolomyth Runs in July, will also be looking for top result at Pikes. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">“When I ran here in 2012, I remember it was a fun race and it was great to feel the ambiance,” Jornet added. “It is a very runnable race, but it’s hard. The ascent is not big and isn’t steep either, but the altitude is a huge factor. Probably the key to being successful in the race is to be well acclimatized and to not start to strong because after that the altitude really hits you.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">Last year, Salomon athlete and Colorado resident Megan Kimmel (Team Salomon) relied on her high altitude conditioning to break the women’s course record, winning in 4:15:04 to better the mark that had stood since 1981 by 14 seconds. Kimmel will not compete in this year’s race, but a top group of women will see if they can handle the altitude of Pikes and possibly challenge her record time. Maude Mathys (Team Salomon) is coming off a course record-breaking win on her home soil at Sierre-Zinal and her skills as a climber should send her to the front in the early going, and maybe to stay. Mathys was 3</span><span style="font-weight: 500;">rd</span> <span style="font-weight: 500;">at the Dolomyths Sky run in Italy as well.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">She will be challenged by a pair of Adidas TERREX runners in Great Britain’s Holy Page and Norway’s Yngvild Kasperson. Team Salomon athletes Eli Gordon (Spain) and Megan Mackenzie (South Africa) should also be in the chase for podium results, as will France’s Amandine Ferrato (Team Hoka One One).</span> <span style="font-weight: 500;"><br/></span><span style="font-weight: 500;"><br/></span><b>ABOUT THE GOLDEN TRAIL SERIES:</b><span style="font-weight: 500;"><br/></span><span style="font-weight: 500;">The elite runners of the Golden Trail World Series are trying to earn points in the season-long chase for a spot in the Grand Final, which will take place in Nepal in October. The athletes must participate in three of the six races during the series in order to be eligible for the final. The Top 10 men and women with the most points in their three best races will earn a trip for themselves and a person of their choice to the Grand Final. The overall final standings (and the men’s and women’s champions) of the Golden Trail World Series will be determined again by the runners’ three best finishes during the season, plus their result at the Grand Final. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;">For photos and more, visit</span> <a href="http://www.goldentrailseries.com"><span style="font-weight: 500;">www.goldentrailseries.com</span></a><span style="font-weight: 500;">. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 500;"> </span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.goldentrailseries.com/results-2018/results-gtws-2019/"><span style="font-weight: 500;">For up-to-date Golden Trail World Series standings</span></a><span style="font-weight: 500;">. </span></p> For Arkansas runners, Pikes Peak is an annual tradition at altitudetag:pikespeaksports.us,2019-08-20:5021591:Topic:8421552019-08-20T12:41:05.318ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436747007?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436747007?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650"></img></a></strong></p>
<p><b>The Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent has become a tradition for Arkansas runners.</b></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Jill Rothenberg</strong>, For Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc.</p>
<p>They come to race Pikes Peak from Alma, Van Buren, Fort Smith, Mountainburg, Springdale, Little Rock and other towns across the state of Arkansas, whose…</p>
<p><strong><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436747007?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436747007?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></strong></p>
<p><b>The Pikes Peak Marathon & Ascent has become a tradition for Arkansas runners.</b></p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>By Jill Rothenberg</strong>, For Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc.</p>
<p>They come to race Pikes Peak from Alma, Van Buren, Fort Smith, Mountainburg, Springdale, Little Rock and other towns across the state of Arkansas, whose highest peak is Mount Magazine, at 2,753 feet.</p>
<p>“We take different routes up the mountain to mix it up,” said Chris Wear, 42, of Fort Smith, a Peak veteran and Doubler, who first completed the marathon in 2013 with a time of 9:09:20.</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436750692?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436750692?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="350" class="align-right"/></a>Five years later, after hours of training in the midday summer Arkansas humidity up and down Mt. Magazine and Oklahoma’s Cavanal Hill, at 2,385 feet, with heat indexes sometimes over 100 degrees, Wear shaved about 2 hours, 27 minutes off his marathon time: 6:42:57.</p>
<p>In a state not known for its altitude, Wear is one of dozens of Arkansas’s Pikes Peak finishers who have been inspired and trained by one of the state’s most accomplished ultra runners: Bill Coffelt.</p>
<p><strong>Chris Wear begins the 2018 Pikes Peak Marathon ></strong></p>
<p>At 60, he is running his 36th consecutive marathon in 2019. A Western States finisher and a frequent Pikes Peak Doubler, Coffelt helped start the Arkansas Pikes Peak Marathon Society.</p>
<p>“On the van ride back in that first year, 1984, there were five of us who were from Arkansas," Coffelt recalls. “And we started inviting more people. The next year we had twelve runners. The next year it was 30. And I think it was maybe 1998, we peaked and had about 200 people. We brought three busloads out.”</p>
<p>Arkansas runners, always dressed in Team Arkansas shirts and gear, continue to be a familiar sight on race days over the years, as runners and helpers at aid stations. </p>
<p>“The sense of community that we have is so strong,” Wear said. “Those of us on the western side of the state consider those runners in Little Rock to be some of our closest friends. And we’ll meet in between to train.”</p>
<p>Coffelt is the reason many of the Arkansas runners keep returning to Pikes Peak, Wear said. </p>
<p>His identical twin brother, Jonathan, 42, a six-time Pikes Peak Marathon finisher, agrees.</p>
<p>“Bill has done it so many times that he really just wants to help you do better on it, too,” he said. “There was a year we were running side by side, coming down the mountain two years ago, and he’s like 'come on, we’re going to get your PR.' And he was running down next to me, coaching me the whole time. And then when he got to the finish line, he wouldn’t cross before I crossed. He ended up pushing me over to make sure I crossed first.”</p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436753614?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3436753614?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="300" class="align-right"/></a>As Coffelt remembered it, “I caught up with him at about A-Frame. And altitude had tickled him a bit. And he was going to coast down. And we got down to Barr Camp and I said, ‘we can beat this time.’ And if you start talking to someone when they’re running, it can take their mind off things.</p>
<p>Next thing you know we were down at No Name Creek and he was astonished that he was feeling better. And I said altitude does great things when you’re going downhill.”</p>
<p><strong>Jonathan Wear and Bill Coffelt get 'er done at the Pikes Peak Marathon ></strong></p>
<p>The fun of the race is in helping other runners do their best, Coffelt said. “Part of my goal is to bring someone out and mentor them and see them succeed than it is for me to say, ‘hey I broke seven hours this year.’”</p>
<p>Training in Arkansas often involves running in intense midday humidity, which can stretch into the evening. “When the four of us who are racing this year finished at the track a few nights ago at 8:30, the heat index was 105 in the dark, “ Wear said. </p>
<p>“Intense humidity stresses the body,” added Coffelt. “It’s not the same as running at altitude. But it still makes it harder to breathe. It’s just a different kind of stress.”</p>
<p>“Bill was crucial to my PR and of helping so many of us from Arkansas,” Wear said. “When you’re running on the mountain and you see someone wearing the Arkansas Marathon team shirt, it’s a real feeling of being a team.”</p>
<p>The Arkansas legacy continues with newer runners and those who are returning after years away. </p>
<p>“We’re on our way down Rackley Mountain Road in Mountainburg,” said Sandy Morrell, 46, of Alma, who was training for the Pikes Peak Ascent with a group who were running in 100-degree midday Arkansas heat with 100 percent humidity. “It’s so hot that we’re all pretty much soaked,” she said of the training run about a week and a half before the race. </p>
<p>Morrell’s first race on Pikes Peak was the 2018 Ascent, when runners were turned back at Barr Camp due to weather concerns. A runner of six years, she wanted to do a race with her son, who was returning from the Marine Corps. “The only way I knew I could get him to do it was to really challenge him. I really wanted to summit with him. We were together last year and didn’t get to the summit.” </p>
<p>Although Morrell’s son is home with a new baby, she has trained hard for her return to the mountain. “For me, I could not not go back and see if I can make it to the top,” she said. “Even though I’ve done 78 halves and four fulls, it really is the ultimate challenge for us. You have the altitude and you’re going straight up, which we don’t have here.”</p>
<p>Three friends from Alma, first-time Ascent runners, are joining her, and they are part of a larger group from Crawford County, Arkansas, she said. </p>
<p>Runner Donna Duerr, 64, of Little Rock, is headed back to Pikes Peak to run the Marathon after years away, having first done the race in 1992. </p>
<p>She is determined to finish this year. </p>
<p>Her qualifier was Arkansas’s long-running Ouachita Trail 50K. And living part-time near Winter Park, Colo., at 8,300 feet, she ran a lot at altitude to prepare for this year’s race.</p>
<p>“I thought this would be the year when I could do it,” she said. “And it could be the last year I’m able to do it. But at least I’m going to give it a shot.”</p> Changes ahead for Pikes Peak Marathon Inc. racestag:pikespeaksports.us,2018-10-31:5021591:Topic:8119862018-10-31T16:09:32.227ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434626?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434626?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350"></img></a> <strong>From the Pikes Peak Marathon</strong></p>
<p>Changes are coming to Pikes Peak Marathon Inc. and its family of races in 2019.</p>
<p><strong>Here are the highlights.</strong></p>
<p><em>The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon will be held on Aug. 24 and 25 next year</em>, one week later than the traditional weekend. There are several reasons for this…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434626?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="350" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434626?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="350" class="align-right"/></a><strong>From the Pikes Peak Marathon</strong></p>
<p>Changes are coming to Pikes Peak Marathon Inc. and its family of races in 2019.</p>
<p><strong>Here are the highlights.</strong></p>
<p><em>The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon will be held on Aug. 24 and 25 next year</em>, one week later than the traditional weekend. There are several reasons for this change.</p>
<ul>
<li>Late August will see fewer tourists and less congestion in Manitou Springs and on the Pikes Peak Highway, where construction of the new Pikes Peak Summit House has disrupted traffic flow. Transporting ascent runners from the summit back to the starting area in Manitou Springs is expected be an easier and more enjoyable experience for all.</li>
<li>The race date will no longer conflict with the popular Leadville 100, a famous ultra race that, like the Pikes Peak races, attracts the attention of many runners, race fans and the media. And the new date fits with the broader U.S. and international mountain-running schedules.</li>
<li>Hotel bookings/cost should become easier and less expensive for out-of-town guests.</li>
<li>Reduced chance of dangerous weather, including lightning and heavy rain. August is Colorado Springs’ wettest month with an average of 3.35 inches of rain, but there is an average decrease in moisture later in the month. (September’s average rainfall is 1.18 inches.)</li>
</ul>
<p>“The safety of our runners is always our first concern,” says Pikes Peak Marathon and Ascent Race Director Ron Ilgen. “Though we’re moving the race date by only a week in 2019, the chances of unfavorable weather are reduced. And we’ll continue to access the possibility of moving to a permanent date in September.”</p>
<p><strong>Our 2019 race schedule</strong></p>
<p><em>The Barr Trail Mountain Race date moved back one week.</em></p>
<ul>
<li>Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run & 10K: Sunday, June 9</li>
<li>Summer Roundup Half Marathon and 10K: Sunday, July 14</li>
<li>Barr Trail Mountain Race: Sunday, July 28</li>
<li>Pikes Peak Ascent: Saturday, Aug. 24</li>
<li>Pikes Peak Marathon (Salomon Golden Trail Series race): Sunday, Aug. 25</li>
</ul>
<p>“We felt it was important to provide some time between our races,” Ilgen says. “In previous years, the Summer Roundup and Barr Trail Mountain Race fell on consecutive weekends. We think this will give runners a better opportunity to compete in both, and it gives our race staff the chance to recuperate and get organized between events.”</p>
<p><strong>Race Registration</strong></p>
<p><em>Race registration for all events opens on Jan.1, 2019.</em></p>
<p>Celebrate the New Year and set some race goals with us!</p>
<p>“We realize that runners make their plans and begin training early in the year, and it’s a competitive market with many great races on the calendar,” Ilgen says. “We think our events and race courses are some of the best in the U.S. We want to give our customers the chance to sign up early and begin their journey to the beautiful Garden of the Gods and the challenge of Barr Trail and Pikes Peak.”</p> Dakota Jones blazes the descent to win Pikes Peak Marathontag:pikespeaksports.us,2018-08-20:5021591:Topic:8066442018-08-20T03:28:39.563ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432481?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432481?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750"></img></a> Dakota Jones warmed up for the Pikes Peak Marathon by riding his bicycle 250 miles from Silverton to Manitou Springs to raise money for his favorite nonprofit agency, Protect Our Winters.</p>
<p>“I got here Wednesday, and raised several thousand dollars by riding here on my bicycle,” he said. “That means a lot to me.”</p>
<p>Winning Sunday’s Pikes Peak Marathon meant a lot,…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432481?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="750" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432481?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="750" class="align-center"/></a>Dakota Jones warmed up for the Pikes Peak Marathon by riding his bicycle 250 miles from Silverton to Manitou Springs to raise money for his favorite nonprofit agency, Protect Our Winters.</p>
<p>“I got here Wednesday, and raised several thousand dollars by riding here on my bicycle,” he said. “That means a lot to me.”</p>
<p>Winning Sunday’s Pikes Peak Marathon meant a lot, too, as Jones showed genuine emotion when discussing what winning the prestigious race on America’s Mountain meant to him, especially after fighting through injuries a year ago.</p>
<p>“This is huge for me,” said the 27-year-old who lives in Durango. “The Pikes Peak Marathon is one of the most famous races in the world. To be on the list with the guys who have won it is an honor.</p>
<p>“There are only a few days like this where everything comes together in a big race. It feels great that I stuck with it through some injuries, and it’s great to be part of this (running) community.”</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432987?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="280" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432987?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="280" class="align-right"/></a>His winning time of 3 hours, 32 minutes, 19 seconds came in his first competitive trip up and down Pikes Peak. He was about 16 minutes slower than Matt Carpenter’s race record, although he did eclipse Carpenter’s Pikes Peak Marathon descent record, running down the mountain in 1:13:53.</p>
<p><strong>Twelve-time winner of the Pikes Peak Marathon, Matt Carpenter (far right) and Jones discussed the big day at the finish line.</strong></p>
<p>Jones’ time was exactly five minutes ahead of runner-up Oriol Coll of Spain. Darren Thomas of Steamboat Springs, who grew up in Colorado Springs, was third in 3:37:34 with Stian Angermund-Vik of Norway fourth in 3:37:48. David Sinclair of Peru, Vermont, was fifth in 3:38:04.</p>
<p>Jones figured since he lives in Colorado, he had an advantage over most of the runners because he trains at altitude. He had run Pikes Peak before, but never in the Marathon.</p>
<p>“I was fifth when I got above the tree line (at A-frame) and was working my way closer to the leaders,” he said. “I didn’t speed up; I was staying consistent, staying steady. When I got to the summit, I was about a minute behind.”</p>
<p>He was confident at that point.</p>
<p>“I don’t want to seem arrogant, but I have a good downhill,” he said. “I stopped at the summit and took two cups of water.”</p>
<p>Jones hit his stride on the way down.</p>
<p>“I was flying where it was smooth and flat,” he said. “I caught Darren Thomas at the tree line.”</p>
<p>Thomas, who finished third in 2016 and second last year, also couldn’t hold off Coll, who passed him with a couple miles left.</p>
<p>“I’m disappointed and satisfied,” Thomas said. “I had a (personal record) by 10 minutes, so I’m happy with the time. I pushed a little hard on the uphill and was aggressive.”</p>
<p>When he reached the summit, Thomas said, “I thought I would win. But Dakota caught me about two miles down from the summit. I had felt good but I had a rough downhill. I was stumbling and I fell one time. Maybe I was dehydrated.”</p>
<p>Coll, 23, was ecstatic with second place, especially considering this was just his third marathon and he doesn’t train at altitude much. At the summit, he figured Jones would win.</p>
<p>“I saw he was strong at the top and figured the altitude wasn’t a problem for him,” Coll said.</p>
<p>Jones isn’t competing in the Golden Trail Series sponsored by Salomon but Coll is, and said his runner-up finish will vault him into the top 10 of the standings.</p>
<p>Jones was thrilled with his victory, especially when he recalled the dark days of 2014 when he wasn’t fulfilled by running.</p>
<p>“I dropped out of two 100-mile races,” he said. “I just didn’t have the ‘want to’ that I needed any more.”</p>
<p>He worked through that, continued to run and found himself Sunday atop the podium of a race he’d long dreamed of winning.</p>
<p>“It’s been a nine-year journey to get here, with a lot of questions when I was hurt or wasn’t winning,” he said. “I was hurt a lot last year (mostly a hamstring injury) and that might’ve been a problem with over-training. I cut back on training and now I do a yoga and strengthening routine, and a lot of biking.”</p>
<p>He should enjoy the bike ride home even more after his big run on America’s Mountain.</p> Eritrean runner earns a surprise victory in abbreviated Pikes Peak Ascenttag:pikespeaksports.us,2018-08-19:5021591:Topic:8066222018-08-19T01:53:21.205ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434439?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434439?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a> Azerya Weldemariam is relieved that he set the pace to Barr Camp in Saturday’s Pikes Peak Ascent, the annual run to the top of America’s Mountain.</p>
<p>When Weldemariam reached Barr Camp – normally just past the halfway point of the Ascent – the gritty 39-year-old trail runner learned he was the winner of the prestigious race, which had been shortened to about 7.6 miles due…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434439?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656434439?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a>Azerya Weldemariam is relieved that he set the pace to Barr Camp in Saturday’s Pikes Peak Ascent, the annual run to the top of America’s Mountain.</p>
<p>When Weldemariam reached Barr Camp – normally just past the halfway point of the Ascent – the gritty 39-year-old trail runner learned he was the winner of the prestigious race, which had been shortened to about 7.6 miles due to predicted inclement weather at the summit.</p>
<p>“When they stopped us, I was confused,” Weldemariam said. “They said the race was over; that was a surprise to me. My goal was to run to the top and be first.”</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656439105?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656439105?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"/></a>He was warming up not too far from the starting line after arriving an hour before the race’s 7 a.m. start time, but never heard the news about the race being altered.</p>
<p>A native of eastern Africa, Weldemariam has lived in Colorado Springs for a little more than two years. He has a working grasp of the English language, but is less than fluent.</p>
<p>“I talked to him after the race and he didn’t realize we were stopping (at Barr Camp),” said Great Britain’s Alex Pilcher, who finished third. “He was pacing himself, so he could’ve gone faster.”</p>
<p>Weldemariam figured he had almost six miles remaining in the climb to the summit that challenges runners with a 7,815-foot elevation gain over the course of 13.32 miles. But with weather at the summit threatening safety of the runners, the race course was altered for the first time.</p>
<p>Weldemariam agreed with the call.</p>
<p>“It makes sense to me,” he said.</p>
<p>Weldemariam’s winning time of 1:06:26 was more than two minutes ahead of runner-up Ondrej Fejfar, 29, of the Czech Republic, who finished in 1:08:42. Pilcher was timed in 1:09:15. Galen Burrell of Louisville, Colo., was fourth in 1:09:46 with Andy Wacker of Boulder fifth in 1:10:43.</p>
<p>Weldemariam is a native of Eritrea, a northeast African country on the Red Sea coast. A strong uphill runner, he first ran the Ascent in 2014 and finished second. He has “doubled” by racing in the Ascent and the Pikes Peak Marathon on consecutive days each of the last two years. He will also run Sunday’s Marathon.</p>
<p>“We only ran half the race (Saturday),” he said, “so I’m not tired.”</p>
<p>He expects to win the Triple Crown series, which includes races where he was fourth in the Garden of the Gods 10-mile run in June and winner of the Summer Roundup Trail Run half marathon at Cheyenne Mountain State Park in July.</p>
<p>He was sixth in the Ascent last year and fourth in the Marathon.</p>
<p>“I’m improved from last year,” he said. “I’ve been training harder.”</p>
<p>As first-time participants, Fejfar and Pilcher were more disappointed than the champion that the race was shortened, although neither figured to catch the winner.</p>
<p>“(Weldemariam) is very experienced here and is used to the altitude,” said Pilcher, 33, whose highest training usually comes at 3,000-foot elevation. “I felt (the effect of) that altitude, and knew I would.”</p>
<p>Wacker was leading the race through “three or four kilometers,” Fejfar said, but developed troubles and “puked up,” Pilcher noted.</p>
<p>Wacker led Weldemariam by 18 seconds when they reached Hydro Street, with the eventual winner clocking 7:39 at that point, just one second behind legendary Matt Carpenter’s time at Hydro Street when he set the Ascent record of 2:01:06 while running 3:16:39 to win the 1993 Marathon.</p>
<p>Last year, Weldemariam ran the Ascent in 2:31:10 and hit Barr Camp at 1:06:10, which is 16 seconds faster than he finished in Saturday’s race.</p>
<p>Pilcher, who said he “is more of a 10,000-meter runner,” figured the shorter race “probably played to my strength.”</p>
<p>It also forced runners to alter their race strategy.</p>
<p>“Psychologically, you set yourself up for a challenge (of reaching the summit) and you have to change structure to go out faster,” he said. “It was anticlimactic. I haven’t been to the top, but I’d been to Barr Camp since I got here a week ago.”</p>
<p>Fejfar had spent the night at Barr Camp earlier in the week and run to the summit, but he was just as disappointed that weather forced the change in distance.</p>
<p>“I wanted to try something new,” he said. “I hadn’t been over about 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) elevation. The changed course made it like a normal race.”</p>
<p>Fejfar is a member of the Czech Republic national team that was first in the World Mountain Running Association Long Distance Mountain Running Championships in the Polish town of Karpacz on June 24. The Czech Republic edged the United States team – which included Wacker – with powerhouse Italy a distant third.</p>
<p>Fejfar will spend next week training in Boulder, before returning to his hometown of Vrchlabi. He said this trip cost about $5,000 – some of it covered by sponsors, including Inov-8, who also sponsors Manitou Springs’ Pete Maksimow, whom Fejfar stayed with this past week.</p>
<p>The 29-year-old Czech said he will write about his Ascent experience for Run magazine in his country, along with a few websites and his Facebook page.</p>
<p>Both Fejfar and Pilcher said they plan to return next year and run the Ascent again.</p>
<p>“I will take the shuttle up (later) today and see this famous road (to the summit),” Fejfar said about an hour after finishing the race. “When I ran to the top earlier this week, I was surprised by the railway station and the big parking area. I went to sleep last night dreaming of running all the way to the top. Maybe next time.”</p>
<p> </p> Defending champion Mascarenas faces tough field in Pikes Peak Marathontag:pikespeaksports.us,2018-08-11:5021591:Topic:8058452018-08-11T16:47:27.549ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432166?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432166?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"></img></a> Dunking both feet in a 5-gallon ice bucket and eating a pint of Snickerdoodle ice cream has become the nightly habit for Tina Mascarenas.</p>
<p>She does the former because her ankles were hurt in a fall during a race on Mount Olympus in Greece in late June, and the latter because she craves ice cream about as much as she loves science and running.</p>
<p>Mascarenes has a lot…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432166?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432166?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Dunking both feet in a 5-gallon ice bucket and eating a pint of Snickerdoodle ice cream has become the nightly habit for Tina Mascarenas.</p>
<p>She does the former because her ankles were hurt in a fall during a race on Mount Olympus in Greece in late June, and the latter because she craves ice cream about as much as she loves science and running.</p>
<p>Mascarenes has a lot going on these days. She just started a new job with DNA Connections, putting to use the biochemistry degree she earned at UCCS. And she’s getting married Sept. 9. In between those life-changing events she’ll defend her championship at the Pikes Peak Marathon on Aug. 19.</p>
<p>She didn’t expect to win last year, although she’d finished third in 2016.</p>
<p>“I thought I was competing for top five,” she said. “I think I had the best day of my life.”</p>
<p>It will take an even better day to win this year. The 29-year-old Doherty High graduate says a repeat victory isn’t realistic with the world-class Salomon runners who are part of the Golden Trail Series competing this year and insists that her goal is to finish in the top 10.</p>
<p>“The ladies who are coming are insanely fast,” she said. “They’ve done (Pikes Peak) and they’ve beaten my time by over 10 minutes.”</p>
<p>Mascarenas crushed the marathon’s downhill record last year – zooming down in 1:29:43, nearly 7 minutes faster than Courtney Dauwalter of Golden, and nearly 18 minutes faster than ascent leader Jackie Pirtle-Hall of St. Charles, Mo. Mascarenas beat Dauwalter by 47 seconds and Pirtle-Hall by 7:09 to win the women’s division. That trio finished 11th, 12th and 14th overall.</p>
<p>Still, Mascarenas was 23 minutes slower than the longstanding women’s record on America’s Mountain of 4:15:18 set in 1981 by Lynn Bjorklund.</p>
<p>Mascarenas, who isn’t as strong on the uphill portion, figures to be chasing the likes of two former Pikes Peak Marathon champions, Emelie Forsberg of Sweden, and Stevie Kremer of Crested Butte, who narrowly missed the women's course record in 2013, plus former Pikes Peak Ascent champion Megan Kimmel of Carbondale, and several other experienced European mountain runners who are part of the Golden Trail Series and the Salomon team.</p>
<p>“Compared to what they’re used to, Pikes Peak is extremely runnable, so I think they’re going to be fast,” Mascarenas said. “What I want is a (personal record) for me.”</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432398?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="325" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432398?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="325" class="align-right"/></a>Her fiancé, Eric Oberlander, figures she can win again, but he’s just a bit biased.</p>
<p>“I know how competitive she is and she has a drive to get better,” he said. “She’s always finding better foods to assist in her running.”</p>
<p>She has a self-proclaimed Type A personality, which is confirmed by Oberlander and her older brother Jesse, who got her into running four years ago. When she scoffed at his 13-minute mile above the tree line on Pikes Peak, he bet she couldn’t do it. If she couldn’t, according to the bet, she had to quit smoking her usual 15-20 cigarettes a day.</p>
<p>She qualified for the Pikes Peak Ascent by running the Triple Crown series but her best mile near the summit was about 17 minutes. She slowly stopped smoking, and quickly replaced that habit with running. Like Forrest Gump, she now can’t seem to stop.</p>
<p>She averages 60 miles a week, often goes 70 or 80 and topped out at 100, though much of that was on the Peak and wore her down. Still, she finished sixth in the Olympus Marathon in Greece despite her fall on the downhill.</p>
<p>A gymnast from age 8 to 15, she’s a skilled athlete from a competitive family. Her sister Megan, 20, has won three climbing World Cups and her sister Alexis, 25, has reached the semifinals. Jesse is her running partner along with his longtime friend, Mike Martinez, and can still beat her, though not by a lot.</p>
<p>“Tina’s tough, she’s got that grit,” Jesse said. “Diet, training, she’s always tweaking something and finding out what works for her. She’s really passionate and has that addictive personality. If she’s in, she’s in 100 percent. When she did gymnastics, she was training 30 hours a week in the gym and taking an ambulance ride once a month. Now it’s like that with her running schedule; she can tell you where and what she’s running next month on a Tuesday.”</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656435693?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="325" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656435693?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="325" class="align-left"/></a>She recently won the Barr Trail Mountain Race but was conservative on the downhill, protecting her left ankle.</p>
<p>Mascarenas figures she has at least seven years left to run competitively and increase her ability. She’d like to qualify for the U.S. Trail Running team and compete in the European series.</p>
<p>“I don’t feel like I’m at the level where I can let running dictate my life yet,” she said. “Maybe one day, if I can figure out my uphill running, if I can be a stronger runner, then it would be worth traveling and trying to be competitive in more international races.”</p>
<p>Next year, she wants to do better in local races and “smash all my times in races I’ve previously done.”</p>
<p>Her and Eric have enjoyed a few trips around the United States, and now to Greece, as she competes.</p>
<p>“Travel and adventure are what we want,” she said. “I use races as an excuse to go to awesome places, like Greece. I said I’d signed up for that race and he said, ‘Shucks, I have to go get Euros.’ I’d like to pick one a year, like Thailand next year, and they have really good rock climbing too. I try to pick a place that has both. Climbing is Eric’s main jam.”</p>
<p>They met six years ago at a rock climbing gym, back before Mascarenas even thought about running competitively. Now, besides the new job and the impending nuptials, America’s Mountain dominates her thoughts.</p> Boston champ Rotich, CSU's Mock win Garden of the Gods 10-milertag:pikespeaksports.us,2018-06-10:5021591:Topic:8026322018-06-10T20:32:33.293ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432800?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432800?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="400"></img></a> <strong>From Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc. -</strong> Caroline Rotich enjoyed her somewhat lonely 10-mile run through one of country's most iconic parks Sunday morning as she cruised to a course record while winning the women's race in the 42nd Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run.</span></p>
<p>The 34-year-old Kenyan attained her dual goals of winning and breaking the course…</p>
<p><span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432800?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="400" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432800?profile=RESIZE_480x480" width="400" class="align-right"/></a><strong>From Pikes Peak Marathon, Inc. -</strong> Caroline Rotich enjoyed her somewhat lonely 10-mile run through one of country's most iconic parks Sunday morning as she cruised to a course record while winning the women's race in the 42nd Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run.</span></p>
<p>The 34-year-old Kenyan attained her dual goals of winning and breaking the course record and did it largely by running alone. She tried to shadow some of the faster male runners but settled into her own pace shortly into the race.</p>
<p><strong>(Photos by Dionne Randolph)</strong></p>
<p><span>“We took off and it wasn’t long before I was mostly by myself,” Rotich said. “I could see some of the men ahead of me and wanted to catch them. I tried on the uphill portions but mostly ran by myself.”</span></p>
<p><span>Rotich, an internationally acclaimed runner who won the 2015 Boston Marathon, added the Garden of the Gods championship to a resume that includes victories in the Las Vegas Marathon and New York City Half Marathon.</span></p>
<p><span>She finished 11th overall, as Jerrell Mock, who recently concluded his outdoor track season at Colorado State University, won the men’s division in 51:17, 11 seconds ahead of Patrick Smyth of Santa Fe, N.M.</span><br/> <br/> <span>Rotich’s time of 57:36 eclipsed the women’s 10-mile course record by 67 seconds, which was set just a year ago by Elvin Kibert of Colorado Springs. Kibert was second behind Rotich, finishing in 1:01:14.</span><br/> <br/> <span>“I really wanted the course record, so I didn’t want to go out too fast because this course is so up and down,” Rotich said. “I like this type of course but it’s really hard on the legs going downhill. Where I lived in Kenya, there weren’t too many hills like this. It’s a really hard course, up and down throughout.</span><br/> <br/> <span>“I thought about trying to run with the lead (men) when we started out, but I knew I couldn’t or I would’ve died quickly. I wanted the course record, so I ran my own race.”</span><br/> <br/> <span><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656433232?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656433232?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Rotich, who lives in Santa Fe, visited friends in Colorado Springs last winter. She expects to return to defend her title, and said her ultimate goal remains qualifying for the Olympic Marathon.</span></p>
<p><span>“I loved running here, and I want to come back (to the Springs),” she said. “This was a fun day.”</span></p>
<p><span>Mock echoed that sentiment, especially since it helped to quell his disappointment at not qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track Championships that concluded Saturday in Eugene, Ore. He qualified for the NCAA Outdoor 10,000 meters as a junior, but battled injuries his senior season.</span></p>
<p><span>“This was my first road race,” said the CSU grad. “I wanted to get one in while I was feeling fit, and since this is the peak of road racing season, I might keep going and do some more before I take a break. I want to get into (half marathons), eventually.”</span></p>
<p><span>Mock attended high school in Logan, Utah, before relocating to Fort Collins for college. He didn’t know what to expect in Sunday’s race, and simply jumped out front with the leaders at the outset.</span></p>
<p><span>“I wasn’t sure who would be here, but I knew we’d have to average about a 5:05 pace to be up front,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span>Mock and Smyth, a seven-time All-American distance runner at Notre Dame, battled throughout the race. Smyth, 31, who is eight years older than Mock, was pushing the pace on the downhill portions of the course.</span></p>
<p><span>“We were 1-2 for a long time,” Mock said. “I started trying to squeeze the uphills to get away.”</span><br/> <br/> <span>Smyth said he “lost contact” with Mock at about the 6.5-mile mark “on one of the uphills.”</span></p>
<p><span>“On each downhill, I’d try to cinch it up,” he said. “(Mock) really hung tough.”</span></p>
<p><span>Mock said he “hit a bit of a wall” in miles 8 and 9 but regrouped for the final mile to finish fast. He needed every bit of that late speed to hold off Smyth, who said he runs for the Nike Trail Team and will compete in three weeks in the Marathon de Mont Blanc in France.</span></p>
<p><span>“I heard this was a great race and wanted to try it out, especially since it’s not far from Santa Fe,” Smyth said. “It’s more of a road race than trail but nothing is flat and it’s a good test.”</span><br/> <span>Smyth said he’ll return to the Springs in August to race in the Pikes Peak Marathon.</span></p>
<p><span>Finishing third overall was Tesfaalem Mehari, 21, of Colorado Springs in 52:19. He was followed by Alanya Weldemariam, 39, of the Springs in 52:34 and Gebrekidan Abadi, 33, of Aurora in 52:47.</span></p>
<p><span>Ben Payne, 36, of Colorado Springs, was sixth in 53:50. After finishing, he was greeted by his wife and 11-month-old son, Palmer.</span></p>
<p><span>“This is a fun race, and it’s just two miles from my house,” said Payne, who also ran the Pikes Peak Ascent last August. “I’ve been running more for fun than competition lately, so I had to let the leaders go pretty early. Pacing yourself is important in this race because you can get in trouble early if you go too hard. This is one of the hardest courses with the altitude and the constant up and downs.”</span></p> Incline users receive Thanksgiving surprisetag:pikespeaksports.us,2017-11-23:5021591:Topic:7892952017-11-23T01:41:28.439ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656431021?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-left" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656431021?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="280"></img></a> From the City of Colorado Springs</strong></p>
<p>Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services is pleased to announce that the Manitou Incline Trail is now open, ahead of schedule and in time to work off those Thanksgiving Day meals. An official reopening celebration will take place on Friday, December 1 at 8 a.m. at the base of the Manitou Incline. The…</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656431021?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="280" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656431021?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="280" class="align-left"/></a>From the City of Colorado Springs</strong></p>
<p>Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services is pleased to announce that the Manitou Incline Trail is now open, ahead of schedule and in time to work off those Thanksgiving Day meals. An official reopening celebration will take place on Friday, December 1 at 8 a.m. at the base of the Manitou Incline. The Manitou Incline had been closed for the past three months for Phase 3 of repairs beginning at the false summit and continuing all the way to the top of the Incline.</p>
<p><strong>(Photo by Shannon Fair)</strong></p>
<p>The Incline project had four major goals: improve safety, enhance the user experience, improve the trail’s long-term sustainability and increase accessibility. Work included removing and replacing damaged retaining walls, cleaning up the exposed rebar and loose debris, anchoring the existing ties, stabilizing the surrounding slopes, and replacing failed drainage structures and adding more drainage structures. The new drainage structures will greatly help to reduce the velocity of runoff water, which is a critical factor in reducing erosion and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Incline. </p>
<p><br/>The project was completed at a final cost of approximately $2 million. Funding was made possible by a $2 million Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program. The City of Colorado Springs is responsible for the general oversight, trail enhancements, general maintenance of the Incline and to apply for grants to fund improvements, per the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with Manitou Springs. For more information on the construction project, <a href="http://www.coloradosprings.gov/incline">www.coloradosprings.gov/incline</a></p> We've lost a friend, but his spark remainstag:pikespeaksports.us,2017-10-20:5021591:Topic:7862682017-10-20T00:26:15.071ZTim Bergstenhttp://pikespeaksports.us/profile/TimBergsten
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432316?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-center" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432316?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650"></img></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432419?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-right" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432419?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300"></img></a> With their headlamps cutting a path on the trails in Bear Creek Park, some 70 runners made their way to a familiar hilltop where they gathered and waited for the sun.</p>
<p>They call themselves the “Sunrise Striders,” a group started about 14 years…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432316?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="650" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432316?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="650" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432419?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432419?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"/></a>With their headlamps cutting a path on the trails in Bear Creek Park, some 70 runners made their way to a familiar hilltop where they gathered and waited for the sun.</p>
<p>They call themselves the “Sunrise Striders,” a group started about 14 years ago by their running friend Mike Shafai.</p>
<p>Thursday morning’s run was much different than any before. These runners, local folks, came to support and love each another in a time of great loss.</p>
<p>Shafai, a husband to Stephanie, a father to Alexandra, 18, and Benjamin, 15, and a friend to every runner who has tied a lace, passed away of unknown causes at his Manitou Springs home on Tuesday evening. He was 47.</p>
<p>Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at <span>Shove Memorial Chapel on the Colorado College Campus, 1010 N. Nevada Ave. The day will begin with a run at 6 a.m. starting at Memorial Park in Manitou Springs. There will also be a celebration gathering at 5 p.m. at The Plaza of the Rockies 111 S. Tejon St., Suite 200. </span>In lieu of flowers, Mike's family is encouraging donations to the Pikes Peak Road Runners, earmarked for the Clubhouse fund. To donate, go to <a target="_blank" href="https://runsignup.com/Race?raceId=53060">this RunSignUp page</a> and click the donate button.</p>
<p>He would have been there in the first light on Thursday, running along in his own unique gait, telling jokes, poking fun at anyone within earshot … and somehow striking a spark in everyone he met. An accomplished athlete and community guy, he helped multiple nonprofits and served on the Pikes Peak Road Runners’ board of directors for years. His accomplishments were many. But his work with the running community will long be remembered.</p>
<p>Two of Shafai’s closest friends, John Gardner and Tim Steffens, ran up the hill. They’d been by Shafai's side – or behind him, because Mike could run fast – since the first Striders’ runs. Gardner and Shafai worked as partners at The Pikes Peak Group at Morgan Stanley. They formed the perfect team for 10 years as co-race directors of the Winter Series runs.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432899?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432899?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>Steffens has a different history, one of recovery and friendship that beautifully captures Shafai’s character.</p>
<p>“I clicked in with Mike in my early stages of being sober,” Steffens says. “He and John are a big part of my sobriety because of the examples they set. Mike trained me through my first marathon. He showed me how to live right, helped me to be a better person.”</p>
<p>His close friends say they learned the simple – but most important – lessons from Mike.</p>
<p>“He said to me once, there is only one thing you can control, and that’s your attitude,” Gardner says. “He always had a positive attitude. And I look at things now and think, he’s right.”</p>
<p>Shafai married Stephanie Wurtz on June 16, 2014. A perfect couple, they dared to live life, traveling, racing, training together. One was never far from the other. And anyone who has experienced the heart-thumping beat of love could see Mike’s absolute devotion to his wife.</p>
<p>Stephanie, who currently serves as president of the Pikes Peak Road Runners, claimed a Leadwoman title - a stunning feat of pure guts that mixed miles of running and mountain biking at high altitudes - and set the overall record of 43 hours, 17 minutes in 2016. Mike paced her through the night on the final leg of the series, the crushing Leadville 100. </p>
<p>He had finished multiple Ironman triathlons, and most recently ran the Pikes Peak Ascent and American Discovery Trail Half Marathon. The couple embodied the spirit of a healthful and active lifestyle.</p>
<p>Tonia Smith, a longtime local runner, wrote in a Facebook post: “He was so joyously in love with her and so proud of her achievements. It was a beautiful thing to see.”</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432977?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656432977?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-right"/></a>Shafai dove into the running scene upon his arrival here in 2003. Many credit him – and his non-stop encouragement - for their successes on the roads and trails.</p>
<p>His death has rattled the run community. Gardner learned of his passing late Tuesday night. He called Steffens at 6 a.m. Wednesday. Those who knew quietly passed along the sad news.</p>
<p>Thursday's eastern sky opened the drapes to bright streaks of yellow and orange. Shafai’s friends kicked the gravel trail and their chatter increased with the light. Everyone there had a story to tell about Mike. Surrounded by familiar faces, Gardner shook his head in wonder.</p>
<p>“It has been a tremendous outpouring (of support),” he says. “He touched so many lives. I know so many people who would thank him for turning their lives around.”</p>
<p>John Sudduth found running at age 63. Then he found Mike Shafai and the Sunrise Striders.</p>
<p>“When I started running a few years ago, Mike and the Sunrise Striders were a real encouragement to me personally,” Sudduth says. “Mike and Stephanie among others would often cheer me on to keep it up during our runs together as well as the races. It met a lot to me as a new runner and still does. Mike's contagious, friendly demeanor encouraged all of us to do our best.”</p>
<p>John Keller watched Shafai work his magic over the years.</p>
<p>“It was how welcoming he was to everyone especially newcomers,” he says. “He made a point to introduce them and get them connected to the community. He always knew everyone by name right away. That’s a big deal for people new to the area, people who don’t know anyone. He’s such a great role model for the compassion he had for others. He genuinely loved people. And he was so full of life all the time.”</p>
<p>Richard Bennet fell in with the Striders, and changed his life.</p>
<p>“Little did I know, that my world would end up revolving around Mike Shafai and the world that he created,” Bennet writes. “All of my best friends and social circle have emerged from Mike and the Striders.” </p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656433206?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="300" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/2656433206?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="300" class="align-left"/></a>There was never a situation in which Shafai passed up a joke. He wrote a hilarious training column in the Pikes Peak Road Runners’ newsletter “The Long Run,” creating the character “Coach Carmine.” His video productions following the Winter Series were funny and sometimes off the wall, with one including the throwing of food. At the start of the memorial run at Plaza of the Rockies, Gardner reminded everyone that Mike would want to see them laugh.</p>
<p>“I told them that I couldn’t believe what a big crowd had showed up, and that I could hear Mike saying, ‘yeah, you all show up on the easy day,’” Gardner said.</p>
<p>Tears fell and hugs were shared atop the hill in Bear Creek Park. As the sun nipped the horizon, the runners began to work their way back to the start. Their community had absorbed a crushing blow. It had lost a friend, perhaps its best friend. But the light poured in on what promised to be a gorgeous Colorado fall day. And the time for reaching out had begun. Reaching out to feel the spark that Mike Shafai had left for them.</p>
<p><strong>Reactions from the community</strong></p>
<p><em>"Always a smile and encouragement no matter what. Michael and I had a few heated conversations about business and the running community. But we always parted with smiles and the promise to have some adult beverages. He loved his running community! He did whatever it took to make it better. He took the Pikes Peak Road Runners into the 21st century. He will be missed by many. But I know he is giving Woody Noleen a bunch of grief in the afterlife."</em> - <strong>John O'Neill, The Colorado Running Company</strong></p>
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<p><em>"While running the Pikes Peak Ascent two months ago (today), Shafai was right behind me at the on the fourth switchback above Ruxton. It's a switchback that has had some work done on it and most people follow along the outer edge of the work where the path is pretty well defined. I was just ahead of Mike as we approached the turn. I went running through the rocks because I like hitting the tangents, and Mike yells out at me "I'm telling the race director you're cutting the course. You're gonna get DQ'd Everson." Even just two miles into the race, it's painful. Then I hear this and we just laugh. I don't think I ever saw this guy without a smile on his face."</em> <strong>- Mike Everson </strong></p>
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<p><span><span><em>"Mike was so genuinely good and generous. I was never the fasted runner at Sunrise Striders back when I ran with them, but Mike always made me feel welcome and made me feel as though I absolutely had reason to be there, even as a back of the pack runner. Speed didn't matter to him. Being out there mattered to him. Encouraging others to work hard, show up. Truly an inclusive, kind human being. The community has lost a gem. And although I haven't seen him since I left Colorado Springs 4 years ago, I was so deeply saddened yesterday when I heard the news. Thank you for honoring him with your words."</em> <strong>- Jessica Robb</strong></span></span></p>
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<p><em>"I first met Mike 11 years ago at the garden training runs. For the next 2 years, I ran with the fast trail group a couple of times in the summer. The following year, I broke my humorous and while pacing the halls of the hospital, I swore to myself that I would start running again consistently and join the Sunrise Striders. For the past nine years, I have joined Mike and our clan every Tuesday and Thursday in the rain, cold, snow, hail, wind and anything else nature could throw at us.</em></p>
<p><em>Little did I know, that my world would end up revolving around Mike Shafai and the world that he created. All of my best friends and social circle have emerged from Mike and the Striders. I have attended Rocktoberfest several times, countless other outings in the mountains, and now organize an annual hut trip similar to Rocktoberfest with fellow Striders. When I have interviewed prospective employers, I always tell them that I must be allowed to be a little late to work on Tuesdays and Thursdays because of the running group. I even realized last night that Mike occupies my bedroom when my wife got into bed wearing “the election” shirt that he made for Jenn Osler and Jeff Mohrmann taking over the Winter Series. Mike even taught me how to cook meat properly by checking firmness.</em></p>
<p><em>I even earned the nickname of “wrong way Richard” from Mike. I thought it was a little ridiculous at first, but I kept earning it by going the wrong damn way.</em></p>
<p><em>If you go into the Starbucks downtown and ask for a “runner’s coffee,” they will give you a grande in a venti cup drip coffee. Years ago, Mike coaxed them to accept the term “runners coffee” instead of the full description.</em></p>
<p><em>Mike’s influence on my life is immense. I struggle to put it in words."</em> <strong>- Richard Bennet</strong></p>
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<p><em>"It is a sad day...Mike Shafai will be missed by everyone. I knew him from all the wonderful Winter Series, the banquets and awards, etc. I was always looking forward to read his FB comments about the state of the trails the days prior to the race, he had such a witty and intelligent sense of humor! My deepest condolences to Mike's friends, family and the entire running community. Thank you Mike Shafai. You, your sense of humor and your dedication will be greatly missed. I dedicate you my next 47 miles running, one for every year you made a difference in this planet!"</em> <strong>- Marisa Bcn</strong></p>
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<div class="_h8t"><div class="_5wd9 direction_ltr"><div class="_5wde _n4o"><div class="_5w1r _3_om _5wdf"><div class="_4gx_"><div class="_d97"><span class="_5yl5"><em>"I just wanted to add to your piece on Mike. I was working with him on a project for PPRR called Sparking Life. The goal was to create a space for addicts in recovery to become part of a healthy community and share our joy of running to help them stay sober. We recently completed our manual and were about to really get this rolling. Of course, Mike approached this with his typical passion, but this project was different than all the other volunteerism he did. This was an act of service he was very passionate about and something he talked about as one of the things that would define his efforts in retirement. I will work with the PPRR board to sustain this project. For context, I've been running with Mike and the Striders pretty much every week for the last 1 1/2 years."</em> <strong>- Trent Claypool</strong></span></div>
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<div class="_d97"><span class="_5yl5"><em>"After the Boston Bombing of the marathon in 2013 he spearheaded the organizing of a community run on a very short timeline, including speakers of those who had been there (myself included!) and a 5K memorial run that brought out several hundred of the local community of runners."</em> <strong>- Steve Bremner</strong></span></div>
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<div class="_d97" style="text-align: left;"><em><span class="_5yl5">"For anyone that knows Mike, I didn’t know him well, but he encouraged me when I ran into him on some Garden Runs when I first moved here four years ago and was struggling to breathe, much less run. He encouraged me to get involved in PPRR, and to come out to a couple of races even though I was a “recreational runner from the beach” and that wasn’t going to “get me up the Colorado hills without some practice”. He would see me around the park and say “you’re walking, greenie” in a teasing way. <br/> <br/> Well during this run, I was having trouble with my light...first, it wouldn’t turn on, forcing me to try to keep up with the faster than me groups...then, every time I tried to walk, it turned to the red setting, but when I started running again, it would come back on, regular strength. When I turned around a little early, it went out completely, but randomly came back on when I hit the bridge to Memorial Park (in the red mode).<br/> <br/> The funny thing is, it has worked fine since. If that wasn’t Mike with one final prank, I don’t know what would be!"</span></em> <span class="_5yl5"><strong>- Dianna Piteo</strong></span></div>
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