Thanks to my fellow wearers of Purple and Gold for blazing the trails with me this summer.  We may not be the very fastest Marmots on the Mountain, but we may well be having the most fun. 

Thanks to Brianne “Tough as Nails” Pierson for the saying: “If the bone ain’t showin’ just keep goin’” This girl is determination incarnate, who else even thinks of doing the Incline after racing a 10-Miler? Or running the Crags after the Ascent?

Thanks to Beagle for a one of the best senses of humor I’ve ever encountered! I promise, I’ll never call you Gramps, even if it’s tempting.

Thanks to Sean for demonstrating that there is almost no distance too great to cover with your own two feet.  When he shows up to a 10-Mile race by bike, he means business, or at least means to beat JT.  Oh wait, he always means to beat JT.

Thanks to Shelley for sharing her sense of calm with all of us, no matter how great the challenge this girl stands at the starting looking cool, calm, and collected.

Thanks to Jill for showing me that sometimes we only get faster with age, it’s a lesson I need to heed.  I sincerely hope I can run like you one day!  You killed it out there this weekend!

Bubba, you’re the fellow Marmot I’ve run with the most – thanks for everything: the hugs, the fact that you painted your nail purple and gold, the endless encouragement even when the brutal truth would have been to say “Mary, you ran like sh*t!,” thanks for sharing your wisdom and humor and beer, and finally, thanks for naming me an honorary Chavez.

Finally, this blog would be incomplete without a huge thank you to Tim Bergsten, the Head Marmot at PikesPeakSports.us, for making this team a reality.  Thank you to our sponsors at Mountain Equipment Recyclers, Orange Theory Fitness, and the Pikes Peak Marathon for your help in supporting the team this summer!   

It’s been a pleasure and an honor to run with each of you!

Sending lots of purple and gold love and appreciation to each of you,

Mary