Horsetooth Haze

Still wet, still green, and still AWESOME.  Some pics from HMP from Thursday morning.

 

 

Quad Rock Eve

One day to the 2nd Annual Quad Rock 25 and 50-mile races!  The excitement is building!  This is THE trail racing event to be at this weekend (at least in this country).  We've got former Olympians and mountain running legends, but they all better bring their "A" games or they're gonna get schooled by our group of strong local runners who tear up and down these trails every day.

I won't throw out any predictions.  The defending champ has a nice preview here and the Running Times here.  All I can say is that I am really excited to see so many talented runners taking on this course.  It's going to be fun to see how it plays out.

With our wet Spring (including 2 feet of snow just last week) the Quad Rock course could not be any more beautiful!  The creeks are gushing and the valleys are green!  Here are a few more photos from yesterday and this morning to give you a taste.  See you all tomorrow at Miles 10 and 40 (Horsetooth Aid Station), and hopefully see you all in good spirits at the finish.  Good luck runners!

 

 

Last Week:

I'm Calling You Out Clarkie!

Dear The Nick Clark:

It seems as though rumors of some 2013 Horsetooth Rock summits competition, previously unbeknownst to you, may have filtered through the FCTR ranks.  That is quite unfortunate, as I much preferred my chances without ever informing you of said competition.  Therefore, I am taking this opportunity to formally throw down the gloves and say it is "on" if you are so willing to accept the challenge.  Besides, what fun would it be to defeat someone without them ever knowing they were getting beat?  Also, there would be no opportunity to set an appropriate wager on something so deserving of external motivating factors.  I encourage you to accept this challenge since:

a. You do have the home-court advantage (although it will be reduced significantly in about 6 weeks).
b. As of this writing, I believe you have approximately a 6 or 7 summit lead.
c. Hey, you're "Nick Clark"!

I do hope that your acceptance of this challenge in no way compromises your very detailed and precise training regimen or your racing goals for 2013.  Just remember, that when you are out travelling the world promoting your brand, setting Grand Slam records, earning UROY votes, and continuing your quest toward mountain ultrarunning immortality, I will be in the backyard chalking up another Rock summit ...and another.

For your convenience, I've added a summit tally to my side bar.  My current total sits at 40.  Obviously, we only count summits commencing from a trailhead, or some point outside of the park, but I'm sure you are already counting them that way, as am I.  For example, a multi-summit run would require a return trip to a trailhead, Lory State Park, or some point outside of HMP between summits.  Also, North, South, or Middle (if I can ever get up there) tooth summits all count the same.

Good luck!

Sincerely,
The Erskine

p.s. I really think you should visit the family in England again for the holidays this December.

My Backyard

Another beautiful evening in Horsetooth Mountain Park.  Just another run?  For me, fortunately, yes.

March Madness

The 3rd Annual March Mileage Madness Run today was a little reminder that March is the snowiest month in Colorado.  With a fire burning just a few miles from these trails last week, we are loving all this snow.  Some modifications had to be made to the normal route for this run, but no complaints here.  Lory State Park will hopefully reopen soon.  Possibly within a few weeks.  Thanks to Alex for hosting this annual event and for tagging along with me for some fun trail bustin' while the rest of the crew opted for some "easier" routes.

Some pics from today's "madness":

Alex and Sam cruising up the Horsetooth Rock trail.

The "King" of the Mountain (Nick atop Horsetooth)

Alex and Sam soaking in the views.

Molly, Victoria, and Alex navigating some tricky terrain.

Another powder day on Wathen trail.

Powder Day

I can tell you exactly how many people summited Horsetooth Rock today.  The snow was still flying up there at 6pm.  It finally did let up as the full moon started to shine through before I was done with this trudge.  Someone had better start breaking some more trails over the next few days.

Winter Wonderland!  Here are some current trail conditions.

A Post

Seems this blog has been quiet lately.  At least that's what I've been told.  Less blogging more running?  Maybe.  What's really "blogworthy" anyway?  I don't know.  Return to a weekly training report?  No.  Post a bunch of random and unrelated observations, thoughts, and questions passing through my head at the moment that might be relevant to the trail running community?  Why not?

Can you claim an FKT if you're the only one that knows about it?

Quad Rock 50 got about a mile longer since last year but I expect all of the course records to go down anyway.

4500 feet of climbing in 1 hour is a hell of a workout.

Does anyone else do over 90% of their running by headlamp? 

Could I get a Petzl sponsorship?

Peach Cobbler Vi fuel is delicious!

I'm now on page 21 of Born to Run which I started 3 years ago.

How many times have I been asked if I've read Born to Run?

How many times have I been asked if I've run Leadville?

Will I ever read Born to Run or run Leadville?

I don't think I will run a single race this year. 

Hardrock is not a "race".

Is sleep deprivation good 100-mile training?

Can an ostrich really run a marathon in 46 minutes?

Now hit the "Publish" button before reading any of this mess you just wrote.

Oh, and don't forget the obligatory scenic Colorado trail running photo.