Trail Running

I've been running for a little over two years now. It started as a way to stay fit and busy during the long winter months when got dark early and I felt cooped-up at home. My first season, I signed up for the Pikes Peak Ascent with mountaineering and running friends Chris and Peter. Training commenced and I fell in love with the idea that you can move very quickly in the mountains with minimal gear and see a lot more terrain than you can hiking in the same amount of time.

We've had all sorts of adventures and accumulated a lot of like-minded friends along the way. I've discovered the thrill of racing even though I know I don't have a prayer of winning anything. Boulder being what it is, I've had the opportunity to run with, and learn from, some of the best runners in the world. Naturally, one thing lead to another and I find myself entering ultra-marathons, planning mountain runs, and other "that's crazy!" adventures. Yup, I'm fully hooked.

  • Race Resume
  • Training Tips

    • Of course I keep careful, obsessive track of all my running stats using custom-written software. Don't you? ;-) The top panel tracks individual runs (dots) with a different color for each year and significant races and other events marked. The lines track the total of the previous seven days (a better approximation to weekly mileage). The bottom panel tracks cumulative yearly mileage. Dashed gray lines are goal lines for different total distances assuming a uniform number of miles per week.

    Notable Runs & Races

    2008

    • Coal Creek Crossing 10 miler - (August) A mellow 10 mile trail race in my home town. How could I say no?
    • San Juan Solstice 50 Mile Run - (June) Hardest 50 Miler in the country and my first. Semper Arduo Modo, baby!
    • Spring Training '08 - (May and June) 200 miles of frustration and toughening.
    • Buckskin Gulch/Pariah Canyon - (April) An astonishingly cool 21 mile run in the Escalante, mostly in non-technical slot canyons a few feet wide and a few hundred feet deep. One of the coolest things I've ever seen.
    • Moab Red Hot 50k+ - (February) My first ultra and a welcome respite from the ice and mud of Colorado.

    2007

    • City of Angles Half Marathon - (December) My introduction to road racing... and coincidentally my fastest distance run by quite a margin.
    • Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon - (August) Back to Pikes for more fun, including my first marathon.
    • Sawtooth Mountain and Buchanan Pass (IPW) - (August) One last "tuning" run solo. I headed up to the Divide and climbed the amazing Sawtooth Mountain, then descended to Buchanan Pass and came out via the Beaver Reservoir.
    • Berthoud Pass-Rollins Pass Run (JPW) - (July) A big trip we've been talking about for a long time: Berthoud Pass to Rollins Pass over 8 peaks and 20 miles. The crew was large and everyone got as much as they wanted or more.
    • Hessie Loop Plus (IPW) - (July) The classic loop up to the Divide and back from the Hessie TH with Peter. I climbed an extra peak along the way and we got caught in an impressive thunderstorm.
    • Mt. Alice and Wild Basin (RMNP) - (July) First big Mountain Run of the year. Eric, Clem, and I did a big loop in Wild Basin climbing the imposing Mt. Alice along the way. Beautiful and fast!
    • Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim - (May) The hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
    • Greenland 25K Trail Race - (April) An impromptu 25k race with Yasuyo, Chris, and Eric. Lots of fun and a good taste for distance racing.

    2006

    • Pikes Peak Ascent - (August) My first race! And I did a lot better than I'd expected. Wow!
    • JPW Divide Run (JPW) - (August) A last uber-run with Chris and Peter before Pikes. We covered 19 miles from the East Portal TH up to the Divide and then back down through the old Railroad Tunnel.
    • Devils Thumb Run (IPW) - (July) A solo run from Hessie to the Fourth of July TH via the Divide and three lakes. Definitely a learning experience for me, though worthwhile.
    • Mts Audubon and Paiute (IPW) - (July) My first mountain run and a real eye-opener! Climbed two classic high peaks and discovered the hazards of glissading in running shorts. With Chris and Peter.

    Upcoming

    I'm not obsessive, but it's always nice to have something on the horizon. Here's what's planned and some other possibilities:
    • Coal Creek Crossing 10 miler - Sure, it's just a 10 miler, but it's in my home town and why not? Should be fun.

    Distant Future

    There are a few things I'd like to do, but haven't any set time-line:

    Misc. Resources

    Charles Danforth
    Last modified: Wed Sep 3 10:42:27 MDT 2008