Some early observations trail running in Colorado

Some early observations from my trail running and hiking here in Colorado so far...

1. I actually do run into other runners on the trails here, though not as many as I thought I would. In Illinois I believe I saw exactly one runner my whole life aside from the Rockford area parks.

2. Even in Colorado the trail runners are regarded as slightly nuts. One lady who clearly underestimated my hearing commented after I bombed by her and her friend "that is dangerous!" I am choosing to believe she was concerned for MY safety and not afraid I might careen out of control and somehow injure her!

3. Sharing the trails with mountain bikers is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In the Midwest it's rare that this happens but here it is the case more often than not. In fact they often outnumber those on foot by quite a lot. However, the bikers are very good about calling out when they are coming up from behind and are really generally super friendly people.

4. The trails here are SO relentlessly technical! Rarely do you get a chance to stride out easy for any amount of time and the downhills take quite a bit of concentration. Running on trails with jagged rocks that are sometimes the size of basketballs takes some getting used to for sure. It's a ton of fun but also pretty mentally exhausting. I have managed to not fall yet, though my toes have taken a pretty good beating.

5. Hydration is very important here. The air is so dry you do not realize how much you are actually sweating because it evaporates so quickly. After my first couple runs here my pee was just about the color off honey. Not good. You really have to drink even if you don't feel thirsty.

6. Be prepared to go up for a long period of time. You can get some pretty good climbing in some Illinois and Wisconsin parks but it's more of an "up for a couple minutes then down for a couple minutes" type thing. Here you can go up for what seems like an eternity. On one of my first runs I went up switchbacks for the first 1.8 miles. It never leveled of once until then. I like hills but, oh boy. Let's just say I have been working on my power hiking during my trail runs here.

7. I have been doing a lot of hiking since I have been here and making sure when I am running that I stop and take in the scenery once in a while. I have always made an effort to do this, since trail running requires that you look down most of the time and it's easy to miss most of the scenery. It's important to stop or walk here and there and appreciate your surroundings. It's a huge part of the experience of running in nature, especially somewhere as stunning as this.

Afternoon Trip to the Flatirons near Boulder, Colorado

Pic of the Flatirons from Chautauqua Park

After watching the toxic sludge that was the Bears game today, my wife and I decided to clear our heads and go for a afternoon hike up to the the Flatirons. I was particularly excited about this since I am a big ultra-running fan and Boulder is home to several well-known pro ultra-runners such as legend Scott Jurek. So to hike their stomping grounds is pretty cool for me.

View from near trailhead looking roughly northward

We headed up the trail, which unsuprisingly headed upwards pretty steeply and at a trail junction we had a choice of heading on a loop around or heading upwards some more toward the peak of one of the Flatirons. We actually wanted to go around but misread the post and headed up. I was thankful for the mistake! the trail we chose ended high up on the Flatirons where it appeared only the rock climbers could continue and came with some great views of the flatlands below. The last couple hundred feet were actually more of an all fours scramble in the general direction of a trail. After a couple pics and shooting the bull with a pair of rock climbers we headed back down in a light rain.

Looking straight up the second Flatiron

Mount Falcon Hike

Last weekend me and Gina went to Mt. Falcon for a afternoon hike. This park is probably about 20 minutes or so from the house so it is another nice location for a day hike without to much car travel. It was actually a pretty strenuous hike. It basically switchbacks up the mountain from the parking area and is relentlessly upwards to the top via Castle Trail. We went up until we reached the ruins of the home at the top (the "castle") then went back down. About 6.5 miles altogether but with what I guess was about 1,500 feet of elevation gain or so, it felt like a lot more!

A View of Red Rocks from near the Castle Trailhead

Mule deer we ran across. They are very comfortable around people here

The castle ruins we really cool. It must have been an amazing home in that location. Burned down around a hundred years ago I believe.

Just an example of the type of trail that is common here in Colorado. Lots of rocks/boulders, pretty technical and fun hiking.

Hello, Colorado!

Pretty much anybody that reads this blog knows me and knows by now that earlier this month I moved from Illinois to the Denver area. The suburb Arvada, to be more specific. I won't go into a bunch of detail about why because it is boring, but now that we have gotten a bit settled I have been doing a decent amount of exploring in the foothills of the Rockies. Unfortunately, a lot of pics I took were lost when I switched phones and stupidly did not send my photos to my computer first so I will just start out with today's adventure, White Ranch Open Space Park.

White Ranch is about a twenty minute drive into the foothills(if you park on the east end of the park. I had been there earlier this week so this time I headed farther west to the other entrance which was about a half hour drive and significantly higher elevation, a little over 7,000 feet. Essentially I was starting at the top of the park from this west parking entrance.

I began from the parking lot on Belcher Hill Trail for a almost a mile and then jumped off that where it ends and at a T, where I went left on Rawhide Trail. Essentially I followed Rawhide in a loop for another four miles or so and linked up with Belcher again then headed back to where I parked, crossed the lot and did another mile or so in an out-and-back on Belcher. Like every trail I have been on since I have been here there are basically two directions: up and down. And sometimes it's a pretty damn steep up or down (plus the trails are generally very technical), which comes as no real surprise. It is the Rocky Mountains after all!

The most notable happening during the run was actually when I stopped for a picture and rest break and was walked up on by what I assume was a Red Fox. He was just strolling up the trail and looking off to his left and didn't see me leaning up against the rock wall. I let him come for a bit before I became a bit uncomfortable (he was a good-sized fox) and said "Hey!" and he turned around and headed up the hillside. He seemed annoyed he was going to have to take the long way around. It was pretty amazing!

I don't have the words to do Colorado justice so here are some pics from today. They at least come somewhat close.

This is right where the fox came up the trail to me

Oh, how I missed the dirt!

Got in the first trail run of the year today at The White Pines! Should have been out there earlier, the trails were in great shape. Not much snow or mud for this early in the spring. Ran a hard seven and then got the phone and my Xero Shoes (also known in my house as the "Jesus Sandals", see pic below) and took some pics while run/hiking another 4 miles or so...

A Dash Of This, A Pinch Of That... A Running Philosophy! (Sort Of)

I recently became an assistant track coach at Milledgeville High School, which has a cooperative with my son's school, Eastland. Not only does that mean I get to coach my son one more time (you will have to ask him if he is as happy about that as I am) and some of my EHS Cross Country team, I also am coaching the sons/daughters of people from Milledgeville and Chadwick that I have known since I was a little kid. It's a blast and is such a great opportunity and a stroke of luck I am totally thankful for.

Coaching again after a break since cross country has gotten me thinking about my approach to and beliefs about running have evolved in the years since I began doing it on a regular basis. Of course, my reasons for taking up running were like a lot of peoples: get in shape. Many of you who may have known me for only a few years would be surprised to know that though I have always been marginally active I was a pack-a-day smoker for about fifteen years and at one time had a six-pack-a-day Mountain Dew addiction. And those are just the most extreme bad habits! Oh, I could go on and on! But I won't.

The point is that after ditching the Dew and smokes I started to exercise a little more regulary. Me and Gina used to walk quite a bit, which was occasionally irritating for me since I am not a speedy walker, more of a stroller-type, and despite being only five-foot tall, Gina somehow covers ground while walking like a frightened gazelle. It's unreal. But anyway, somehow that evolved into us running and the rest is history.

Like most new runners I was simply putting one foot in front of the other for as long as I could. I was just happy to finish a 5k without walking and/or dying. I was a master of the speed-shuffle! Form? After a few hundred yards or so I was much too tired to care.

But as time and miles marched by, I did start to think and read more about running. Call it a philosophy or a belief system or whatever you want, but some half-baked ideas began to form and stick in my head! I tend to be a pretty free-thinker, which means I tend not to follow somebody else's ideas whole cloth but instead pick and steal bits of information and mold it with my own ideas, creating my own sort of hodgepodge. Below are a some of the things I believe are the keys to me being a happy runner!

Look ahead- This is the most important thing, physically, for me to do while running and all it takes is mental focus. I firmly believe that keeping your eyes on a target ahead has a ripple effect on my entire body. If I keep my eyes up looking ahead my head stays up and level (no swaying side-to-side either) which keeps my shoulders and hips loose and my posture good. If I let my gaze drift to the ground my head droops, my shoulders and hips tighten. Instead of the running feeling like a fluid movement it feels disjointed and out of rhythm. Sometimes if I have having some pain or unusually bad soreness I can refocus ahead and it brings my balance and posture back in line, which often reduces the discomfort.

Not over-striding- I am a believer that everybody has a natural stride that you shouldn't mess with too much, but overstriding (directly related to turnover, or cadence) is a big no-no. It's essentially controlled bounding and a form of self-braking. It's inefficient and wears a runner out. You want to cover a decent amount of real estate with each stride but if your cadence is below 150 footfalls per minute while running a reasonably fast pace you need to increase your turnover because you are bleeding energy away. And I never, ever try to reach forward with my stride. It promotes heel-striking and injury.

Barefooting and minimal shoes- This ties right in with the over-striding, because running barefoot or in minimal running shoes essentially forces me to increase my turnover and run with my normal, medium stride length. If I don't, it is going to hurt, that is a promise. I won't get into the whole "humans are born to run" thing or how thick, over-cushioned footwear is actually bad for you. But we were. And they are.

Oh, and just to be clear. When I say run barefoot I mean on grass! I would not recommend running unshod on a city street. You shouldn't practice natural running on an unnatural surface.

Hit the trails- I am a huge fan of trail running and if I am ever lucky enough to live within a short drive of a huge state or national park, my road running days would pretty much come to a halt. Unfortunately, I live in a sea of corn with the nearest trails a good half hour away. Nonetheless, I try to make it to a park once a week, other than in wintertime, usually for my long weekend run. Trails are so much more forgiving than blacktop it's not even funny. My legs thank me and my recovery time is decreased significantly as opposed to road running. Plus, it's a total blast and good for your soul to get out in nature! Note: when running trails, you cannot use the "look ahead" tip from above or you will go down. Hard. I still try to keep my head up while looking "down my nose" at the trail so I can see any roots or rocks.

Every run has a purpose- It's easy to find the purpose in a workout-type run. By that I mean your classic tempo or long run, hill repeats, etc. It's those other runs that can fall under the "junk miles" category if you aren't careful. I try to find something to focus on beforehand, even for the easiest of recovery runs. It might be something as general as my overall form. Or sometimes I try to focus on being light (what some people call a "ninja" run) or my breathing. The point is that I try to make even an easy pace run benefit me as much as possible, rather than just slogging through the run in a fog just to get miles in. And I never purposely try to go too slow no matter what, since I believe that intentionally going slower than I feel like going that day just because I think I should actually makes me fatigue quicker and messes with my running form.


Keep it simple- This seems like a silly thing to write at the end this long list! But it's a big key for me, not only in running but in life. If you make something too complicated you can suck the fun out of it. Don't clutter your mind with a bunch of crap to remember. Keep the goal of your run and maybe one or two other tips or tricks in mind and hit the road (or trail)!

Along that same line, I really try to leave my problems and worries at the house when I step out for my runs. A person can only properly do one thing at a time in my opinion, so I don't try to solve any financial, marital, work, or any other problems during my run. Nor do I begin a grocery or "honey-do" list in my head. It is not a time for multi-tasking. I feel running should have some sort of meditative effect when done with the proper mindset. There should be no past or future, only what you are doing at the present: running.

I Have Ten Questions For John Fegyveresi!

I have decided to get a little ambitious with the blog and conduct the occasional interview! It did not take me long to decide who I would like to be the first: John Fegyveresi. Now, unless you are an ultrarunning fan, you probably don't know who the heck John is! Allow me to fill you in then!

According to Ultra Signup, John has completed over 30 ultra marathons since the fall of 2008, including fourteen races of at least 100 miles. He has conquered a 135-mile race run in the furnace of Death Valley and is a four-time finisher of the famed Leadville Trail 100. In 2013 John took on The Vol State Run, a 500k road race that begins at the Missouri/Kentucky border and ends in Northeast Georgia! Not only did he finish, but competed completely unaided (finishing 2nd in the unaided, or "screwed" division) during the 4 days, 16 hours, 19 minutes, and 1 second it took him. Oh yes, I almost forgot to mention that John has thru-hiked BOTH the 2,180 mile Appalachian Trail and 2,650 Pacific Coast Trail!

All these are unbelievably impressive accomplishments, there is no doubt. But his greatest claim to fame is being only one of fourteen men to complete The Barkley Marathons, a 100 mile (or more?) Tennessee trail race that has been run annually since 1986. The Barkley consists of five loops in gnarly Frozen Head State Park and has almost 60,000 feet of total elevation gain. Each loop has to completed in less than twelve hours for the runner to continue on to the next one, and the total time limit for the race is 60 hours. John finished Barkley in 59:41:21. With not one second of sleep. 

John was kind enough to agree to answer a few questions via email for me, so without further delay, let's get on with it!

Me: So before we get to your ultrarunning, just what inspired you to thru-hike the Appalachian and Pacific Coast Trails?


John: There is a deep and storied history related to this question.  The short answer is that I was living a rather stagnant life for many years, and then over the span of about 2 years I lost an incredible number of people in my life.  I went on a weekend hike with a close friend in the Smoky Mtns to clear my head and simply "get away" and decided at that point that I wanted to start my life anew with a thru-hike on the AT.  If I remember correctly, we actually hiked a few miles on the AT and that's what started the conversation.   I also decided that I wasn't going to ever really be happy at my job any longer and applied to go back to graduate school for geoscience.  Many of my friends and family thought I was being a little irresponsible and that this new epiphany of mine was ill-conceived.  But I knew I had to make this change, and to me, the only way that made sense to me was to go on a very long thru-hike.   The PCT story was a little bit different, but the short story there was that I had just finished my Masters degree, but knew I'd be continuing on for a PhD.  This meant that I'd could take the summer off if I wanted to.  I definitely felt another pull-of-the-trail, but for the PCT, it was much harder to put a finger on it and really verbalize what it was that was drawing me back for another 4 month walk.  Needless to say, when it comes to long-distance hiking, I am now absolutely hooked on the rush I feel when experiencing the natural world in its rawest and most perfect form....and there is no turning back now!


Me: What is it that motivates and drives you to attempt such difficult endeavors such as your thru-hikes and ultramarathons?


John: I guess it's wanting to continue to suck as much marrow as I can out of this one life I have. Like I said, I was pretty stagnant several years back, and after my AT thru-hike opened my eyes, I realized how many experiences I was losing out on by not keeping myself challenged.  I guess many have argued that folks like myself probably have addictive personality types and that ultrarunning, or thru-hiking is like any other drug.  I definitely think that in some sense, I'm "hooked" on the feelings I get when I push myself to my limit and persevere (as I alluded to in the first question).  Standing on top of Mt. Katahdin after a successful 2175 mile thru hike brings a feeling that cannot be equaled no matter how hard you might try.  It was the most incredible sense of awakening and pure inspiration/profundity I've ever experienced (except for maybe my more hard-earned PCT finish)


Me: You have done quite a wide variety of races in the last few years, ranging from popular trail ultra's to the epic Vol State road race and even a timed event. What is your process for choosing the races you do?


John: I'm not really sure I have any sort of "system" or formula for this.  Things just kind of randomly fall into place, or as I browse the slew of possible events, something inevitably jumps out at me for whatever reason.  Usually I'm most attracted to races that are a little more non-traditional or "off-the-radar", but I still enjoy the occasional high-profile race too (e.g., Leadville).  I think it often comes down to what sort of memories I think I'll make for myself at the event....if that makes sense.  I certainly like to mix things up, which is why sometimes I'll just pop on ultrasignup and impulsively sign up for something unorthodox or random.  Even since my first thru hike on the AT, I have had an absolute love for being outdoors, doing something physically challenging, and being surrounded by great people.  I think this is why I can have a blast running a 3-day event in NJ on a 1-mile loop track, yet also have fun running through the mountains of Colorado or Tennessee.  I think when it's all said and done, I just want to have as many experiences as I can...and try to make the absolute best of those experiences while participating (as cliche or canned as that sounds).  There's fun to be had doing just about anything if you go into it with an open mind..no?


Me: Out of all the events you have done, if you had to pick one favorite, which would it be?


John: I've never been good with superlatives.  I don't know if it's really possible to pick a single favorite as so many of the things I've done hold special places in my memories.  I suppose my 2012 Barkley would definitely be right up there, but honestly  it was my original AT thru-hike that transformed me from the person I was, into the person I've become.  It was this event that probably had the single most profound impact on me (although I could also argue that PCT thru-hike was just as transformative).  There are bits and pieces from nearly every race or event that I've done that I can recall where I was having fun and smiling, and something within me was moved somehow.  I can remember little moments in every race where I felt good, was inspired by the scenery, was grateful for the chance to even be out there....I think in a way, it's holding on to those little amazing bits and memories from every race that makes them all worth it.


Me: Just a little quick background here on your 2012 Badwater experience for my readers. This is a 135 mile race through Death Valley. Two days beforehand you come down sick with severe stomach pains, vomiting, etc., which lasted right up to and during a good majority of race. You actually pulled yourself from the course for a short period of time because you were in such bad shape. I don't think I am exaggerating by calling it a Scott Jurek-esque display of guts. A lot of the toughest dudes in ultrarunning would have DNF'ed in that situation. Please explain just how the heck you were still able to finish that race?


John: My badwater illness experience was probably the single worst physical discomfort I've ever felt at an event.  I've been through giardia, norovirus, suffered the beat-down and raw feet at Barkley, and had my share of nausea....but my Badwater illness was truly awful.  I think had the race been more local, and not so high profile, I would almost certainly have pulled the plug.  When the medical team met with me at mile 31, I was actually praying and hoping that they'd pull me.  At least then I'd have a medical excuse.  But they didn't.  They actually told me something like, "You've worked so hard to be here, and you have so much time to finish.  Just give yourself as much time as you need to recover and take it as slow as you need.  You can walk the rest and still finish!".  They were right...but it didn't change the fact that I was sick and still had 100 miles to go.  I spent a long time at the pool at Stovepipe Wells and just tried to get my stomach under control.  When I thought about how much money was spent to get everyone out here to help me, and how my mom and sister were crewing and driving for me, I simply couldn't not bring myself to quit.  The guilt would have torn me up forever.  I decided to just go slow and not think about anything other than the 1-mile increments between car stops.  Then if I timed out...well at least I tried.  Turns out I not only was still well ahead of the cutoffs...but that I actually finished under 40 hours.  For me, this was an absolute win-win.  When I think back to those moments when I was throwing-up out the door of the moving mini-van simply from the pain I was under, I cannot believe that I was ever able to finish.  Sometimes when I'm having a bad day at a race, or feeling not-so-great, I think back to Badwater and remember how much I pushed through.  Then it makes whatever I'm going through not seem so bad.


Me: OK, now on to your Barkley Marathons finish. You have just finished loop four. Your feet are raw hamburger and you have been racing for almost two days over some of the most unforgiving terrain imaginable without so much as a power nap. The fourth loop took you 13:30 and by the time you get out on the fifth loop you only have 12:45 to finish and get under the 60 hour time limit for an official Barkley finish. Again, how the heck did you do that?


John: It would certainly seem that something unnatural happened here...but it's actually not as crazy as it seems.  My fourth loop was mostly in the dark and I ran a lot of it with Alan and Nick.  Early on we got really lost and wandered around losing about an hour before finally finding our way back to the course.  The loop was soul-sapping and towards the end I had actually mentally quit.  I was basically convinced that I would not be able to finish and I strolled back into camp very slowly (hence the very long loop time).  When I realized I was actually ahead of where JB was in 2010, I decided to go for it.  Thankfully, several other runners helped me patch up my feet so that they'd be runnable, and I was fueled for a lot of loop 5 on adrenaline.  I knew that I wasn't going to let myself time out and because I had a nice day-time loop, I was able to push hard and just make it in under the cut-off.  Before the last descent, I was actually on pace to finish in about 59 hours even, but my feet started to fall apart badly in the last few miles causing me to slow down considerably.


Me: With the exception of the 2012 Badwater and your Barkley finish, what is the toughest stretch you have gone through in a race?


John: I think you could argue that I have to fight off some sort of demon during every race, but some are more easily defeated I suppose.  I think specifically the toughest stretch I ever went through during a race was actually this past year at Barkley.  I went back to give it another go and at some point during the 2nd loop I became very cold, I wasn't eating, I was screwing up my navigation terribly...and near the end of loop 2, I simply pulled the plug on the race.  It was a very bizarre and new feeling for me, and virtually impossible to describe all that was going through my mind at the time.  It was the only time I ever voluntarily dropped from a race and it was a truly profound experience.  Of course I regretted it to some extent, but I think it was something that I necessarily had to go through.  I learned a significant amount about myself...and I ended up having an even more amazing time for the remainder of the race by crewing and supporting Travis (who did go on to finish).  On a side note, I can also recall having a very hard time staying motivated during Massanutten and it was probably the closest I ever came to dropping during a race before last year's Barkley.


Me: I think you would agree that with the proper training there are lots of people that could achieve the conditioning to finish an ultramarathon or thru-hike. More unusual, though, are those that mentally are capable of finishing something like that, or even wanting to attempt it in the first place. Any theories as to why some people are able to mentally able to persevere while some do not?


John: I'm really not entirely sure on this one.  I don't know if it's a chemical thing...as in some people are wired differently and have more OCD tendencies or if it's truly a philosophical difference.  I guess I've always been a fairly driven person, but I think in the case of these big challenges I overcame, a lot of it goes back to personal experiences I've had.  I find great solace in being out on runs or hikes, whether it be on a loop course, or point-to-point 100-miler.  I would still say that hiking is my true "passion-ot-motion"  as it were, and when I'm months into a long thru-hike, I am at my most content....if that makes sense.


Me: Ok, last question before I let you go! You have done Leadville (multiple times), Badwater, Barkley, Vol State, and thru-hiked the AT and PCT. What remains on your "bucket list" for races, hikes, etc.?


John: The absolute big one is the Continental Divide Trail (CDT).  I would love to thru-hike it and finish the triple crown more than anything, but finding the 4-5 months to do it will be tough.  As far races, there's definitely a few that I haven't done yet that I would love to.  First and foremost is Hardrock.   I've applied 5 straight years and never been selected.  Each year my chances go up, but each year the applicant pool also goes up, so it may still be a few years before I get to do it.  A few others on my list would be the Plain 100, the Hurt 100, the Arrowhead 135, and possibly some ultras of some kind in Alaska or Canada's Banff Park.  I would love to run over at UTMB or Tor Des Geants as well, but not until I'm out of Grad school and can really afford it.  Lastly, at some point I would like to finish the Colorado 14ers (I have 17 done) and give Nolan's 14 a go.




Well that's it! I would like to thank John for taking the time from his busy schedule to answer my questions, it was super cool of him! If you would like to read or hear about his adventures in more detail, check out the links below:


Lakewood's Wanderings and Scribbles
Dirt Dawg's Podcast With John
DFL Podcast with John