Sometime during a 6.5 hour Leadville scouting run Saturday, I convinced myself that taking care of the monthly Pikes trip the following day was a good idea. With the goal of more time on feet and Charlie Brown by my side, in actuality, it wasn't bad at all.  There were a handful of moments early on though that I began thinking about my training plans (or lack thereof) that got me into situations like this, oftentimes with little forewarning or…

IMG-20120626-00007.jpg  IMG-20120625-00003.jpg        My latest Blog I spoke of the fire, mostly, which devastated my part of town on the last day of what was a perfect 5 day vacation to tracktown USA, Eugene, Oregon.  Now comes time to talk of this little getaway we…

The Summer Roundup was a lot of fun and great to see the rest of the team again. For six people who just came together by chance, we’re a fun bunch if I do say so. At the end, there was JT, looking dapper in his lucky Schlitz hat. Anyone else remember Schlitz? He had this amazing, Emergency Energy Recovery and Rescue Kit. It resembles a cooler. Ahh, that ice could be so soothing on the knees but it serves a higher purpose of  cooling down the even more soothing barley-pops…

Despite Ryan Hafer out leaning me at the tape by just over a dozen minutes, it wasn’t a bad day at the Roundup.  I went in hoping for a decent but controlled effort, and figured that would net me a time in the low 58s.  Ended up crossing the finish line in just under 54 minutes (really thankful for that new fancy styrofoam chip timing thing, as my watch read 54:01).  Pooped at the end, but I felt I had another gear I could have gone to had an Olympic birth or a date with Jessica Alba been on…

  ROLLBIKEART.COM and the Smokebrush Foundation for

the Arts are proud to announce the 8th Annual ROLL Bike

Art Festival.  ROLL 2012 "Full Circle" will run Friday, August

3rd through Saturday, October 20th at 219 W. Colorado Avenue,

hosted by Marmalade at Smokebrush.  Opening Night is Friday,

August 3, from 5 to 8 PM.  The event is free and open to the

public, but…

With the Summer Roundup complete, it's now a long stretch home! The Peak is less than 50 days away, and the excitement just continues to build with each day!

I must say, I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the organization this year! There are a lot of exciting things going on within the office and just when I begin to think my internship could not possibly get any better - it does.

I have been working with a variety of race related…

Competitors were just happy to be able to run in the 13^th installment of the Summer Roundup Trail Run 12-kilomter race Sunday in southwest Colorado Springs after the cancellation of the upcoming Barr Trail Mountain Race due to the recent Waldo Canyon Fire.

“It’s important to the racing community,” said local running icon Gerard Romero. “I was really glad…

Neal Oseland did not know what to expect while competing in the 13^th running of the Summer Roundup Trail Run. It certainly was not leaving with a gold-colored trophy as the men’s masters age group champion.

 “I really ripped up by calves at the Garden of the Gods (10-Mile Run) run last month so I was more worried about finishing,” the 2001 triathlon world…

Well, my 20th birthday has come and gone, unfortunately before my 20th peak was climbed. When I initially challenged myself to climb 20 14ers before my 20th birthday, it seemed monumental. A hefty goal, worthy of all my attention, and significant in my humble summer life. The mountains, along with my training for the Triple Crown, gave me a much-needed purpose in an otherwise slow few months. I let these personal challenges consume me, and regarded them with the utmost importance. I did my…

Saturday, June 23 I see an e-mail about a fire near Waldo Canyon. Hmm, not good. Later, leaving for a trip to Denver I glance south from Monument and see the towering, wide white plume. Oh no, this is only going to get worse. And Waldo is so special. Then came the carnage of Tuesday night, June 26 and the horror of watching a home burn in real time on television. In the flash of a fire, suddenly the challenge of jogging up Pikes Peak looked insignificant compared with the challenge of…

This is where I was when the Waldo Canyon fire started. Eight miles of hiking and a four-hour drive away from home. Miles and miles away from cell phone signal. Utterly alone except for the one person I hiked in with. LB and I both had hectic weeks, so it was nice to get out in the woods and breathe.

When we turned on our phones on Monday after reluctantly driving the…

      What can anyone say?  We are all speechless, what just happened with the Waldo Canyon Fire is beyond comprehension, regardless of our belief systems or any other thing that may divide or unite us from one another.

     I was in flight to Eugene Oregon as the fire erupted, so for 4 days the whole thing was in my peripheral vision.  I checked the internet daily to check the fires status between my visits with the relatives in Oregon, watching the Olympic track an field trials, and…