Post by janice on Aug 19, 2008 20:58:54 GMT -5
anyone planning to do a Colorado summer race? don't bet on summer weather....
i ran Pikes Peak marathon with a friend this past weekend. LUCKY for us we didn't run until sunday and the worst of the weather was gone. On Saturday the weather was awful - at "lower" altitudes (<9000) it was cold rain, higher than that it was assorted freezing stuff. Leadville 100 runners had the worst weather ever. Pikes Peak half-marathoners ran first in freezing rain, then hail and then snow, only to have half the field turned around at the 10 mile point because of lightning and increasing snow on the trail. Poor guys had to run 20 miles to get their half-marathon finishers shirt and they didn't even get to the top!! but we marathoners were still pummeled with plenty of snow above treeline and the temps were very cool vs normal
i highly recommend this race for anyone that is looking for a mountain trail adventure marathon. they did a very good job putting it on. although the race finisher shirt was really cheap. unless you are in super shape there is almost no running the first half of the race. it is all very steep uphill and at altitudes starting at 6800 and topping out at 14100. good thing i had no issues with the altitude, but there were lots of folks around us that were obviously hurting. once you turn around at the top it is all downhill. Really, really downhill. if you are even half-way decent at trail downhills, you will really enjoy the second half.
this race is VERY hard to get into. it closed in less than 30 minutes this year. you have to be ready to enter at the exact moment they turn on the on-line entry system (you can not enter by mail). if you have questions about it, just let me know.
check out the photos i posted to flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/getguts/