Off And Running

A few months ago we wrote a blog on how Katie (my wife) and I love to run and take advantage of the local races. Last we updated we were just getting started and now we are well on our way through the race season! It has been a good one so far--good weather (for the most part), and no injuries!
To update, Katie ran the Mother’s Day 10k, and what a sloppy muddy mess that was. It had rained all night before, and it rained during the race as well. One thing about running Horse Gulch is that rain adds a lot of character to that trail (and on Mother’s Day no less, a day we already celebrate the character of the mothers in our lives)!
Next after that was the Steamworks Half Marathon. We were both able to run that thanks to some heroics from Grandparents watching the kids. My Sister Jenny also ran that race--great job Jen! The weather was great, and hats off to the race directors for another great after party, Steamworks beer and food--you can’t beat that!
Next up was Kendall Mountain in Silverton, it had been several years since I had run this, and quickly remembered how steep it is! The weather was again perfect, although they changed the course a little since the last time. They added another ½ mile through town to the finish line. After 6+ miles of steep downhill, another ½ mile felt like a marathon in itself.
After Kendall came Kennebec, and both Katie and I ran. The race went well; it looked like it might be a rainy one, but cleared up just as the race started. That is just a beautiful trail to run. It was green and had lots of wild flowers. The beauty definitely helps distract you from all the suffering. Then there were the high mountain goat trails, I didn’t remember them being so thin and steep the last time!
We followed Kennebec with Mt. Sneffels, which is more of a cruiser run compared to some of the others. It is on a well maintained county road and you run from the Ouray to Ridgeway. The beauty of that race is the half-price tickets to the hot springs, which are always nice to soak in after a race.
We added another race to our series this summer--next weekend is the Thirsty 13. This is a new race for Durango, which starts in Hesperus, runs over CR 125 to CR 210 (the new road by Lake Night Horse), and finishes at Ska Brewing. After the race is the Brew Fest, so it’s another great excuse to drink beer after a run!
Yes, Imogene is on the horizon, and it just makes me nervous thinking about it! Hopefully the weather will be good, but in early September snow can definitely be a factor. Stay tuned for an update on these last two races as we wind our running season down and get ready for fall.