By Bob Stephens
PikesPeakSports.us

Peter Maksimow is always one of the most recognizable runners in the Pikes Peak Ascent – both for his exquisite handlebar mustache and beard,and his superb running ability. To his wife’s initial dismay, he also decided to run the Pikes Peak Marathon this year, and completed that difficult double Sunday.

“I tried to go with the lead guys,” Maksimow said. “I was breathing pretty hard early, and I thought it would be a long day.”

He rallied – as always! – and finished seventh in 4:12:38. That coupled with his sixth-place finish in Saturday’s ascent (2:23:09) to make him the second fastest “doubler” behind fellow 37-year-old Azerya Weldemariam of Eritrea, Africa.

“I feel pretty good now,” Maksimow said just minutes after crossing the finish line. “Third (place) would’ve been more satisfying, but I didn’t have the legs. I had really heavy legs the first four or five miles. I was hoping to do better on the uphill.” He reached the summit in 2:38:04. “I like the uphill,” he said. “I’m about self-preservation on the downhill.”

Maksimow had only run the marathon once before, in 2012, and said, “That went horribly.”

So, why do the incredibly difficult double?

“I’ve done the ascent seven times,” he said. “I thought I could do both.”

What was the response from his wife, Nora, when he told her?

“She shrugged, and sighed,” he said. “I think she was afraid how I’d feel afterward.”

He felt pretty good Saturday night after the ascent, and celebrated with a beer at the Expo and one more at Manitou Brewing Company, his sponsor.

“My wife limited me to one,” he said, flashing his customary smile.

Mostly, he loaded up on carbohydrates between races. He excelled this weekend despite missing four months of running to start 2016 due to a left Achilles injury.

“I didn’t race until May,” he said. “I lost a lot of training early in the year. I did a lot of cross training – the pool, elliptical, planking, beer drinking. I didn’t taper on beer drinking. I really like beer.”

He qualified last year for the 2016 USA Long Distance Mountain Running Team and competed in Podbrdo, Slovenia, in June. Also on that team were Andy Wacker, who was second in Saturday’s ascent, and Anita Ortiz, who was second among females in Sunday’s marathon.

“I love traveling,” Maksimow said. “And I love our running community here.”

He grew up in Whittier, Calif. – the boyhood home of 37th President Richard Nixon – and first came to the Colorado Springs area in 2001 as an intern with USA Triathlon. He followed that with another internship with USA Blind Athletes. He moved to Manitou Springs in 2009, and his trademark handlebar mustache became a fixture in the community.

He went to North Carolina in 2003, and later graduated from Springfield (Mass.) College with a masters in athletic administration. He and Nora were married Thanksgiving 2011.

He works for the American Trail Running Association, and helps coach the Kokopelli Kids Trail Running Series. One of his students, Zane Kam, won the 16-19 age group in the ascent Saturday.

“I also do some personal running coaching,” Maksimow said.

As for his lengthy, bushy beard, the 5-foot-10, 128-pounder said it began with sideburns. “These are chops that turned into a beard,” he said. “It just kind of happened. I look in the mirror and shock myself; I don’t even recognize myself. The beard has swallowed up my mustache.” 

He’s a member of Team Colorado that includes Ortiz and marathon winner Alex Nichols. “This race is usually our biggest turnout,” Maksimow said. “Alex is a master of the downhill. I like uphill.”

He applauded his own decision to double, and said, “I didn’t hurt myself. I didn’t fall. You fall a lot harder and farther when it’s downhill.”

His friends – and there are many of them – know that Maksimow doesn’t like to fail. “I’m a perfectionist,” he said. “Things are never perfect in life, as we well know, so I’m always disappointed in myself.”

After this weekend’s courageous – and quality – effort, he should be completely satisfied.