Pikes Peak Marathon

« The race really only has one hill. » – Teresa Taylor, Barr Camp caretaker and winner of the inaugural Sulphur Springs 100-miler in 2001

Pre-race:   A different kind of “Mile-High” club

Prior to the 2011 Pikes Peak Marathon, the last time I was outdoors at 14,000 feet above sea level I had just jumped out of a perfectly good airplane high above Australia’s Gold Coast.  Although nothing compares to the adrenaline rush of skydiving, this race’s unique qualities make it a must-do for marathoners and trail enthusiasts alike.

Billed as “America’s Ultimate Challenge” the iconic Pikes Peak Marathon is North America’s third oldest marathon and the very first to officially allow women.  A race steeped in history and run on a challenging one-of-a-kind mountainous course in a State I had yet to visit…I just had to check this out!

Registration for Pikes Peak opens some five months before the race and usually fills up pretty fast.  Although the qualifying standards aren’t unreasonably tough, race organizers are extremely particular about how the online registration form is completed.  In other words, you cannot use a qualifying time that is faster or slower than what is required for the start wave you are registering for.  If you accidently submit the wrong time, your application will be denied.

I was vacationing in the Dominican Republic on the day that registration opened.  I had set my iPad alarm to remind me to get online in time.  Unfortunately, I had miscalculated the time zone difference and when I logged onto the site what I thought was a few minutes early turned out to be almost an hour late.  I was surprised to see that the first wave (410 spots for runners with a qualifying time of 3:45 or faster) had already been filled and that the second wave (430 spots for runners with a qualifying time of 3:45 – 5:30) only had a handful of vacant spots remaining.  Luckily I had qualifying times for both waves, so I promptly found the link to the results for a marathon I had completed slower than 3:45 and submitted my application just under the wire.  Now all I had left to do was train!

Being a “flatlander” presents many challenges for runners looking to run alpine races.  I tried to include as many hills as possible in my training but nothing in Southern Ontario is remotely close to the climbing I’d be doing in Colorado.  Perennial Pikes Peak Marathonwinner Matt Carpenter suggests that runners who don’t have access to mountains should do some long runs (up to four hours) on a treadmill set at the highest incline.  I tried this tactic and could only manage a 2-hour uphill treadmill jaunt before my calves felt like they were about to explode. 

My spring race schedule included nearby events that featured hilly courses like the Creemore Vertical and Limberlost  Challenges from the Ontario Ultra Series.  Furthermore, the new course design at Mohican 50-miler turned out to be excellent preparation for Pikes Peak.  Although not necessarily mountainous, the terrain of Central Ohio offers endless miles of technical trails and a relentless number of hills.  The early summer heat and humidity only contributed to making that race a Monumental Effort of its own!

I arrived at the Denver airport on the Tuesday before the race.  I spent the first day and night sightseeing areas north of Denver (lunch in Boulder, dinner in Estes Park, and a tour of The Stanley Hotel – Stephen King’s inspiration for The Shining) before heading back south towards Manitou Springs and the site of the race.  I had only been in the Rocky Mountain State for approximately 24-hours when I took the cog railway to the summit of Pikes Peak.  Although it was a bit pricey, the ride provided some fantastic vistas and our guide delivered a witty commentary about flora and fauna found on “America’s Mountain”.  At the top I snapped a few pictures and studied the view of the Barr Trail that zigzags its way down the mountain, the route I would be ascending on race day.  A few minutes later, the thin air (and perhaps a bit of anxiety) made me feel a bit light-headed and I even experienced some shortness of breath.  So I had to seek out a quiet corner in the restaurant to sit down and have something to eat and drink to gather myself.  If this was any indication of how I might react to the altitude during the race, I was in serious trouble.

Part of my acclimatization plan was to spend some time on the mountain.  So on Thursday morning with my backpack loaded with gear and enough water for the next two days, I hiked the first six miles of the race course up to Barr Camp which sits at above 10,000 feet of elevation.  I had also booked a bunk at the camp where I would spend the night. 

Over the past few months I had read as much literature (and watched many videos) that I could about the Pikes Peak Marathon but hopefully this hike would not only help me get accustomed to the thin air, it would permit me to actually see the trail before the big day.  I resisted the urge to run and simply enjoyed the scenery.  I even took a couple of extended breaks during which I would pull out my copy of Harald Fricker’s book about the race to reread the chapter containing the detailed course description.  This turned out to be extremely valuable as it helped me plan my strategy for race day. 

I dropped off some of my gear at Barr Camp to lighten my load and continued my hike for an additional three miles (one more hour and just under 2,000 feet of climb) to A-Frame.  Now I had seen three quarters of the course.  I turned around here as I figured that the last section above the tree line would be a death march regardless if I had seen it or not before race day!  Besides, it was almost dinner time and I was famished. 

The staff at Barr Camp treated its patrons to a hearty spaghetti feast with some of the best garlic bread I have ever had.  After dinner about a half-dozen of us (including my new friends, the Andresen family from the Upper Peninsula region of Michigan) hung out in the cozy main cabin and exchanged running stories before hitting the pillow relatively early. 

The next morning following another delicious meal (this one a scrumptious pancake breakfast) I gathered my belongings and hiked back down the mountain.  On my return trip I crossed dozens of volunteers who were making the trek to their respective spots on the mountain to set up an aid station and a campsite where they would be spending the next couple of days looking after runners.  I thanked many of them in advance. 

Like most marathons, Pikes Peak offered a race expo with its share of swag and discounted running apparel.  Here I had the pleasure of meeting ultra-running legend Marshall Ulrich who was promoting his book.  We had a short chat; I bought his book (hopefully a review will appear on M.E. at some point) and I decided not to linger at the expo too long.  I find there is too much nervous energy at these things which only heightens my own nervousness.  So I busted outta there!

Race weekend also features The Pikes Peak Ascent which takes place on the Saturday.  These runners race to the top of the mountain (a half-marathon) and are shuttled back down.  Pikes Veterans, those who have successfully completed the marathon in previous years, can also register for the “Double”…run the Ascent on Saturday followed by the Marathon on Sunday!  Absolute silliness!

Since parking would be limited due to the large number of Ascent participants, I opted to stay away on Saturday too.  All the excitement would be at the finish line on the summit anyway and I had absolutely no desire to spend the day up there!  So I ventured to an outlet mall only to be reminded of how much I hate shopping.  So back to my hotel room I went for a relaxing evening and another early bedtime.

The race:  The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah…

Although the registration has two different qualifying standards, all runners in the marathon depart at the same time.  The Ascent participants however have a staggered start for the two waves.  Minutes before the start, I picked a spot in about the middle of the pack and patiently waited for the sound of the start gun.  The race begins and ends in the quaint tourist town of Manitou Springs.  From where we were standing, runners can’t yet see the top of Pikes Peak.  The first sight of the summit will come at approximately the 3-mile mark.

 

Equipped with a better knowledge of the course thanks to my hike a couple of days ago, I dissected the ascent portion of the race into four 3-mile sections.  The first section has a short yet very steep road section followed by the first series of switchbacks (known as the W’s) on the Barr Trail.  In insight, I wish I had begun the race slightly closer to the front because there was a lot of congestion on this section.  Many race reports cautioned on starting conservatively, so the heavy traffic forced me to start slow, but I think I could have benefited from not being stuck in the conga line for so long.  However, I knew that the second 3-mile section wasn’t quite as steep as the W’s, had wider trails and even a few short down hills.  I did most of my passing on this section and before I knew it I had arrived at Barr Camp and approximately at the midway point of the climb.

The once quiet and serene oasis in the mountain was now quite the hustle and bustle of excitement.  The loudest cheerleader on the course was none other than Teresa, the ever-perky Barr Camp attendant.  Her voice was course, evidently from having cheered for all the Ascent participants the day before, yet she was out there again, manning the HAM radio and encouraging every single marathoner.  I topped off my water bottle, grabbed a handful of pretzels and continued on my way.

The third 3-mile section features the most technical part of the trail and another series of switchbacks.  These ones weren’t quite as steep as the W’s, but they were numerous and long.  Apparently there is a total of 15 of them, but I got confused when I tried to keep count.  It had taken me an hour to hike this section on Thursday, so I knew I could get to A-Frame a bit faster today.  It was on this section that you start passing runners who had evidently gone out too fast and were now suffering…and they were still a long way from the top.

Also on this section I got to see the lead runners bombing their way back down the mountain.  I still had a little over 4-miles to the summit but these amazing athletes were already cruising effortlessly towards the finish.  Doing some quick math I realized that they would be done the race before I even reached the summit.  Incredible!

With A-Frame now behind me, I only had 3-miles before the turnaround.  But this section was unchartered territory for me.  The race’s website sums it up the best:  “There’s a reason trees don’t bother growing above 12,000′ on Pikes Peak. They can’t!  Makes one wonder if trees are smarter than runners.  Above treeline most runners take 30 minutes or more, some much more, just to cover a mile. What little air remains can’t satisfy the endless stream of zombies hoping only to survive their next step. It’s a death march right out of a scene from Dawn of the Dead. Adding insult to injury it might start to snow! Most runners are reduced to a slow march in the thin air.”

Surprisingly, I still felt pretty good on the final climb.  Sure I was sucking a bit of air, my hands were sore and swollen and my mind a little foggy, but I maintained a slow and steady pace.  I was still passing people, but now more and more runners were on their return and they get the right-of-way on the trail, so I was forced to stop often and allow down-bound runners to get by.

I reached the top of Pikes Peak Mountain in 4:17:35.  Many of the reports that I had read suggested that the average runner should take their marathon time, add thirty minutes, and that will give a rough approximation of your ascent time.  Depending on the event, its course conditions and my training, my marathon times over the past couple of years has ranged between 3:30 and 4:20, so this formula seemed to be pretty accurate.

I did not waste any time refueling at the turnaround aid station.  There were a lot of spectators up there with friends and family meeting their runners, but I simply crossed the timing mat and headed out.  I had eaten a gel just before reaching the summit and I judged that I had enough water in my bottle to get me to the next aid station.  It was literally all downhill from here! 

The 3-miles back to A-Frame zoomed by.  I was glad to be running and even happier that I wasn’t one of the poor souls still trekking upwards.  I even passed one runner who had decided to take a nap behind a rock.  I was extremely cautious on the technical trail to Barr Camp and as I approach that aid station I could still hear Teresa’s cheers.  Teresa informed me that she had gotten the news that her husband Neal had successfully completed Leadville-100 in a sub-24-hour time.  His best time on that course in 11 finishes!  Congratulations Neal!

I was having fun and running at a good pace.  I calculated that I had passed nearly 40 runners on the downhill portion.  Usually I’m the one being passed this late in a race.  As advertised, the unpredictable weather did not disappoint.  The sky clouded over and we got an interesting mix of rain, wind, and hail which forced me to pull on the jacket I was carrying in pack. I can’t imagine how brutal this weather must have been higher up on the mountain.  I believe some runners were also forced to turnaround before reaching the top because the conditions had gotten too dangerous…an unfortunate disqualification for them.

Since 1998, the average finishing time for the Pikes Peak Marathon has been over 7 hours (7:10:52 for this year’s race).  With only a couple of miles to go, I realized that I could finish well under this time.  Even though the temperature had dropped and a slight drizzle was still falling, hundreds of enthusiastic fans lined the streets of Manitou Springs along the final mile of the course.  I crossed the finish line in 6:42:38. 

(Note:  Matt Carpenter won his 12^thPPM in a time of 3:48:08, nearly three hours ahead of me and he was this year’s only sub 4-hour finisher.  Matt also holds the mind-boggling course record of 3:16:39!)

Post race:  Mr. Short-Term Memory

On this trip I was reminded of all the cool running events that happen in Colorado each year.  On this same weekend and only a few hours away, the Leadville 100-miler is also held.  Several years ago, the aforementioned M. Ulrich ran Leadville in under 24-hours, drove three hours to Manitou Springs in time to run the Pikes Peak Marathon.  Wowsers!  The Gore-Tex TransRockies stage race also takes place the week following Pikes Peak and this year another important sporting event that was happening in Colorado Springs on Monday was Stage 1 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.  I had already booked a room in Denver and was planning on seeing a baseball game at Coors Field, so I headed out of town bright and early Monday morning.  Later that day as I read the sports section of the Denver Post I realized that the top three finishers of the 2011 Tour de France (Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck & brother Frank) were all participating in this cycling event.  I guess I missed a once in a lifetime opportunity to see some of the best endurance athletes in the World in action.  Damn!

During my conversations with some Pikes Peak Veterans I was warned that the race has a funny way of calling runners back to the mountain year after year.  My intention was to run the race, check Colorado off my 50-States list, and start planning my next adventure.  Now that this race experience has simmered in my memory for almost a month, not only am I considering returning to Pikes Peak Marathon next summer, but the idea of doing “The Double” has also crept up in my mind.  What is wrong with me?

Monumental Effort has been quiet over the past few months as our respective busy lives have gotten in the way of our creativity.  We apologize for our silence.  Hopefully we will produce more material in the near future.  Better yet, if you have an inspiring story of determination and perseverance that you would like to share, please do so by clicking the “Submit your story” tab at the top of the page.  You can also comment below on this or any other post.

My next challenge:  Redemption at Arkansas Traveler 100…please stay tuned!

Gotta run,

Vince

Tagged as: marathon, monumentalefforts, racereports, trail running