The party is almost here! The weekend when all of the runners I know are gathering in Manitou Springs to show off their training. To volunteer and support their friends and family. To earn their finisher's shirts or jackets. To celebrate completing a huge challenge, whether it's their 1st or 15th time. It's always a challenge.  It's the final leg of the Triple Crown of Running. The…

It’s been just over a week since I finished my huge goal of 2018, the one that pushed me out of bed at 4:15am so I could be on the trails 2 hours before work.  The one that scared me into chasing my friends in the Sunrise Striders training group up steep hill repeats, gasping for breath but refusing to let everyone get away.  The one that made me give up my nightly wine and…

Last we caught up a few weeks ago, I was whining about the smoke messing up my PR attempt at Leadville Marathon… What has this marmot been up to since then? Well the mountains kept calling to me, so the weekend after Leadville I headed a bit further south for the race with the most eye-candy-per- mile, the San Juan Solstice. 50miles up and down some mountains, playing along the Continental Divide for hours, what more could I ask for?!…

After a weekend biking in the lil flint hills of Kansas and then a weekend biking and running at home in the slightly bigger hills of Colorado Springs, it was finally time for this Marmot to head to the mountains for a full weekend of fun and adventure on foot! Early this year I signed up for my 3^rd go at the Leadville Marathon- the snow-capped mountain views from…

Don't look at your watch don't look at your watch. Just try to keep Emily (workout buddy from the Sunrise Striders training group! Hi Emily!) in sight for as long as it feels 'comfortable'. The pace doesn't matter. DON'T. LOOK. AT. YOUR. WATCH. Just get to the top of the hill without red-lining! Stay comfortable... You want to hold an effort on the hill that you can…

One year ago I was hoping to check out the new Garden of the Gods 10 mile course.

One year ago I thought at the very least I would be able to finish the new 10k course.

One year ago I couldn’t even volunteer for this race less than 5k from my house. Because I wasn’t sure if, instead of being happy to help all the excited racers at a fantastic local race,…