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| At the Golden Turkey Trot |
Gina and I managed one trip to the Midwest around Claire's own high school XC schedule to see Coop run at the Lamb-Kohawk Invite in Cedar Rapids. It was well worth the trip, since Coop medaled for the first time at a college meet, finishing 13th out of 109 competitors. We also got to see Colorado native and Cornell runner Abrah Masterson compete in person, though she lost to teammate Sanjuanita Martinez, Masterson would go on to win the Division III national championship later in the fall.
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| Coop receiving his medal/shirt at Lamb Kohawk |
Claire had an even more exciting season than her brother. She lowered her 5k P.R. to 20:02 and was the third scorer on her team most meets. She and the other Arvada West Wildcats won the Jefferson County 5A league championship and Claire was all conference with a sixth place finish! The girls then qualified for the state meet, where they finished 18th. Much like Coopers team, the Wildcats are young, only losing one senior that scored varsity. The rest of the squad was made up of two freshman and four sophomores (also known as The Fab Five when one isn't injured!). So a couple more Jeffco titles and state trips are almost certainly in the cards!
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| Arvada West boys and girls team, plus coaches, dispaying their Jeffco first place plaques |
I did run one trail race in late spring, The 10-mile Mesa Run at North Table Mountain, about fifteen minutes from the house. I actually began a race report that I never bothered to finish. Maybe I will clean that up and publish it. Anyhow, I felt I ran well for my first longer race at altitude with that amount of climbing, clocking a 1:35:30. Somehow in the race results they had me down for 1:21, switching me and some guy name Patrick Thiessen. Sorry Pat, we both know the truth. It was a very low key race (only 55 racers), which I like, but mistakes happen.
The real running highlights had nothing to do with my races. Cooper and I headed up to the Leadville area before he went back to school. We got in a short run and did some sightseeing and hiking. I also ran up to the top of Bear Peak near Boulder a couple of times, about 3000 feet of climbing, running, and scrambling to bag that surprisingly exposed peak. Gina, Claire, and I also took in the Pikes Peak Marathon, getting to see mountain and ultra runners such as Rickey Gates, Alex Nichols, and Brandy Erholtz in person. Other than that we spent most weekend days bumming around the foothills, hiking and running.
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| Coop near wonderful Leadville, Colorado |
My plans when the winter weather breaks? I still have yet to "bag a fourteener", which means to climb one of Colorado's fifty-plus mountains that reach over 14,000 feet above sea level. I have my eye on Mt. Evans (literally, I can usually see it looming from just about anywhere in the Denver area) in June. I also plan on running the Evergreen Trail Race Series throughout the summer and fall, a five race series ranging in distance from 5 miles to half marathon, all taking place near the mountain town of Evergreen. It appears they are pretty laid back affairs, with not much more than fifty participants or so in any of the races. Should be a blast with good vibes. There is also (eeek!) an ultra in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. That would be a tall order with a ton of climbing at elevations near 10,000 feet at times, but it is tempting to run a race in that wonderful park!
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| Claire just moments before giving her phone a bath in Bear Creek after a run at Lair O The Bear Park |
