Wow! There’s a word that’s almost as overused as awesome. However it succinctly sums up all of my feelings in one, tidy, three-letter word. The Ascent was the exclamation point on one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, i.e. participating in all three Triple Crown runs. I can heartily recommend these three runs to anyone who is seeking a…

On Sunday, August 12 I joined a handful of other volunteers for a Barr Trail Work Day sponsored by Friends of the Peak. Almost all of us intended to run the Ascent with all but me being veteran runners with at least several or more Ascents under their soles. All of that experience went a long way toward determining just what kind of "improvements" we would make to the trail. That is, we didn't want to sanitize it too much. This is a trail run after all, right? Mostly we took out some nasty…

Well I always knew I was the runt of this litter. Last weekend Don does a 9-mile run in the blast-furnace of New Mexico with 4,000 feet of elly gain and JT did some kind of crazoid run in Rock Springs, Wyoming which I can’t find any info on because I don’t think they have internet service in that little whistle-stop. While they were busting butts I was doing a measly walk up South Arapahoe Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, a modest 10-mile (roundtrip) hike with 3,300 feet of gain,…

So my training last weekend consisted of a hike up Mount of the Holy Cross, as I hadn’t yet climbed this 14’er (barely making it into the category at 14,005). The roundtrip was 11.5 miles with 5,600 feet of elevation gain (3,700 net) so it was a good workout. I did not run any portion of it. The 1.6 miles of talus at the end of the ascent and conversely, the beginning of the return trip, makes the 16 Golden Stair on Pikes look like a Legos playground. To a person, everyone who has…