Runners know the feeling. Twenty miles on the trail and your back, hips, and knees have filed painful protests. Or, perhaps, a high-mileage training week has left your energy level stuck in the mud. Eventually, we all experience a hitch in our get-along.

Roger Patrizio, a 30-time finisher of the Pikes Peak races, understands. As the owner of the Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy, he has fixed more than a few mountain runners. And he has made a career of teaching others to do the same.

We caught up with Roger as he prepares for the 2016 Pikes Peak Ascent. He has much to say. 

What led you to become a trail/mountain runner? I moved to Colorado Springs when I was 21. Moved out here because I fell for the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado healthy outdoors lifestyle ... I think I watched Jeremiah Johnson too many times. I  got into hiking and backpacking, even writing poetry. I think I listened to too many John Denver songs. Anyway, in 1979 I was living as the caretaker of Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs and heard about the Pikes Peak Marathon. I signed up thinking I was in good shape from hiking. The first few miles of the race up Mount Manitou quickly taught me I was not. I finished and thought I better learn trail running to do this race next year.

You've put together a big volume of races on Pikes Peak, what attracts you to this event? I like to jokingly say “I’m going to do it until I get it right." I always wanted to write a book “100 reasons I run Pikes Peak."  I think I'm too busy running to write it, but a few reasons are: It's in our back yard. It’s beautiful and quite a challenge. It's an annual test to tell me where my fitness level is at. I enjoy all the other “challenged” people that come from all over the world to "do the peak." Lastly, I never want to take my health for granted. I have lost too many loved ones much too early in life and I don’t want to have regrets if I ever lose the ability to hike or run.  Did I say “if?"

Describe your best memory, or best race on Pikes Peak. Take us to that moment. Running at altitude may have squashed some of my memory brain cells but here are a few: The 50th anniversary race was epic because of the weather at the end. Witnessing the year Matt Carpenter set the record, he was flying down the mountain as I passed A-frame. I was summiting when he was most likely soaking his feet in the stream in Manitou. Running the races with my ex-wife, she was quite a mountain runner, and so many of my friends. It’s nice to suffer with your loved ones. And running is funny this way, my personal-record year seemed like an easier race day than almost any other finish. That must be the “zone” great athletes talk about or the runners high that keeps us coming back.

Tell us about your worst Pikes Peak experience. I think there were more than one. Years when you bonk long before the finish, whether it be an ascent or marathon. One year on the ascent, both calves and one adductor (inner thigh muscle) cramped at the same time and stayed cramped for the last two miles. That was fun! And then on a super-hot round-trip year, being dehydrated and overheated from Barr Camp down to Manitou. Just counting down the miles from seven to one. That mean, hard-surfaced, red-hot Ruxton Avenue, people lying to me and telling me I was looking good. I think I was having an out of body experience until I finished the race, stopped in the medical tent and immediately threw up. Then I felt pretty good ... mostly because it was over for another year.

Thirty years on Pikes Peak will teach you something about training. How do you prepare to run to 14,115 feet and back? In the early days it was long, hard training runs on mountain trails. You gotta put in the miles. Training at altitude, long, sustained uphill runs once a week throughout the spring and summer.  I used to train with a friend in Woodland Park that said you build the base in the winter. We would snowshoe run on Rampart Range Road, Pancake Rocks, Crags and Horsethief Park. Snowshoe running at altitude builds strength and endurance and eventually makes summer trail running on dirt so much easier. Nowadays, older and a little less obsessed, I believe in moderate miles and cross training.  Run, hike and bike, and hiking 14ers, is always about the best training one can do for Pikes Peak. Throwing in some gym workouts during the dark winter days helps build strength, essential for us older runners.

Take us on your favorite training run. Where do you go, what do you do? I like diversity so I have my few training runs I throw into the mix. I live in Crystal Park in Manitou Springs, so I am in the Garden of the Gods a lot, Red Rocks Canyon, Intemann Trail and Section 16. I also like Ute Valley and Palmer Park when I come out of my west-side neighborhood.  Up the pass I like Mule Creek Trail and the Manitou Lake area (we all miss Waldo Canyon). My favorite trail moments are summer single-track trails from the aspen groves of 10,000 feet to the alpine tundra. Columbine flowers, snowfields and snow-fed streams, Colorado blue skies, rocks and wildlife below the mountain peaks ... that can be anywhere in the Rockies. Locally, a great summer trail run for me would be running up to Pancake Rocks and then a quick visit to Horsethief Falls and then Horsethief Park for a three-hour run. Great scenery, good distance and high altitude.

What other races do you enjoy, locally and elsewhere? I do enjoy the Triple Crown races. The Garden of the Gods course is beautiful and close to home and work. It's my only pavement race of the year and a good challenge. Imogene Pass ranks as a favorite due to its scenery and 17-mile distance over the rocky trail from downtown Ouray to Telluride. I have done the Mt. Taylor Quadrathalon - a classic winter multi-sport event - in New Mexico a couple of times and hope to do it again.  

How did you become interested in massage therapy? I have a sister who is a physical therapist and one who is a massage therapist, so I thought I would go to school and give it a try.  I played sports (football, hockey, baseball) growing up. At about 30 years of age I figured those pro sports teams (oblivious to Roger) were not going to give me a call, so I better think of a career. Since they weren’t going to pay me to play, I thought I could get paid to work on the top athletes. Thus I became a sports massage therapist.

Why is massage important for athletes? Massage is beneficial for the athlete in training due to the high level of stresses put on the body. The way we increase strength, endurance and fitness requires pushing our bodies to the point of muscle fatigue. Then it is operative to rest and replenish the muscles by the intake of proper nutrition and hydration. Again the restoration period of time between workouts and racing allows the athlete to train harder with the body in a homeostatic state of health which culminates in more effective training and racing, i.e., greater speed and endurance with fewer injuries and greater flexibility.  The strain on joints and muscle fibers caused by this level of training can be decreased by massage therapy which helps prevent further muscle injury and a more rapid recovery when soft tissue injuries do develop. Massage therapy increase pliability in the muscles, induces circulation and relaxation to the body allowing for the athlete to recover more quickly, feel more rested and energized and perform at the highest level.

As owner of the Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy, what do you want your students to learn? Or, what sets CIMT apart from other massage schools? Our Institute has been around since 1985 and was founded in Manitou Springs by Togi Kinnaman. The school has always had a very medically based curriculum and focus. We believe the more one knows about the human body the greater opportunity to bring relief to the client. Some clients receive massage on a regular basis as a preventative tool for wellness and health. Yet many clients come to massage because they have soft tissue injuries, chronic pain, debilitating disease or degenerative disorders. And others, like athletes who want enhanced performance with fewer injuries and quicker recoveries between competition or training. It is important for our students to have an understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, neuromuscular massage therapy which involves knowing myofascial referred pain patterns and trigger point therapy.  Massage therapy is the art of combining the knowledge of applied science with skilled palpation and massage techniques, then customized for the unique needs of each client. 

Tell us about the career opportunities available. The career opportunities and path for our graduates is as diverse as they are. Since neuromuscular therapy is our specialty, many end up working within chiropractic or physical therapy clinics.  Many desire to own their own business and run an office from their home or commercial office space.  Other opportunities for those not wanting to do their own thing is to work in the many massage therapy franchises in our area.  Some work in day spas, spas or wellness centers.  Health care is one of the fastest growing industries in our nation and massage therapy will only grow in its acceptance and demand for holistic health care from the baby boomers and their children.

Back to running. What are you hoping for in your 31st race on Pikes Peak? Like any seasoned runner, I have to offer up my excuses in advance. I'm busy running the school, busy as the chairman of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado, been nursing a knee injury for half a year. Is that enough?  This said, I have really altered my training and running the past few years by simply enjoying it more.  Less intense training has brought slower times but I must say I am enjoying trail running, hiking and biking more than ever. Turning 60 this year, I would like to finish the ascent in 4 hours,15 minutes.