The Pikes Peak Ascent was everything I imagined it would be, it was challenging, rewarding and most of all fun! A few years ago I never imagine that this East Coast surfer girl would move to Colorado for her dream career in TV News, let alone train and compete in one of the toughest half marathons.

Race day was hot, and the beginning three miles and the last three were the most crowded. But what made the course bearable was all the amazing volunteers and aid stations. Not only did they have awesome snacks from skittles, to M&Ms to gold fish and pretzels, but their cheers and funny jokes kept my spirits up.

During my race, I tried to pass when other racers passed, like NASCAR drivers so I didn’t have to use all of my energy up trying to pass runners.

About three miles in I developed some painful blisters about the size of half dollars on the back of my feet. I’m not exactly sure why because they were the same shoes I had been training in all summer.

Also, with about three miles to go I noticed my hands started to hurt and when I looked down, my hands were extremely swollen and my fingers were the size of small sausages, which is saying a lot because I have small hands.  That never happened to me during training, but later I learned that is somewhat normal because of how fast we were going up in altitude and how much I was sweating and losing sodium.

Once I was almost done the golden stairs, I could see the finish line, which made me a little emotional. I was not only happy to finish, but I was overwhelmed by how pleased I felt to complete my goal successfully.

This summer race series is one I will always remember.  I set goals and completed everyone one of them. I grew as an athlete and I made a new group of friends that I know will be around for along time.

What’s next for me? I want to train for a full and flat marathon and then from there who knows; Maybe I will take on the Pikes Peak Marathon next year or try to run the Pikes Peak Ascent again, but even faster.  : )