The Steep Stuff Podcast
Welcome to the Steep Stuff Podcast, your source for all things Sub-Ultra Mountain Running
The Steep Stuff Podcast
Barr Trail Mountain Race Elite Panel
The steep stuff podcast delivers a fascinating glimpse into the minds of elite mountain runners in this special episode featuring the Bar Trail Mountain Race Elite Night panel. Host James Loriello brings listeners directly into the pre-race conversation with six accomplished athletes preparing to tackle one of Colorado Springs' most iconic trail races.
The episode opens with crucial safety information from El Paso County Search and Rescue, highlighting the unique challenges of the course, including the infamous Big Boulder section where traffic jams are inevitable. Their practical advice serves as a sobering reminder that even elite athletes must respect the mountain.
What follows is an intimate discussion with panelists Melissa Rogers, Wendy Roberts, Amanda Kozlowski, Benjamin Townsend, John Aziz, and Dean Abel. Each athlete shares their distinct running journey – from those who competed in high school to others who discovered their talent decades later. Their stories prove that elite performance can emerge at any age when passion and dedication align.
Particularly moving is John Aziz's experience balancing new fatherhood with elite competition. Just three weeks after his daughter's birth, he's toeing the line against Colorado's best mountain runners. Meanwhile, Benjamin Townsend provides a global perspective as he recounts racing across multiple continents on the Skyrunner World Series circuit.
The conversation takes unexpected turns as athletes reveal their preferences between climbing and descending, their favorite races worldwide, and even their non-running hobbies – from hacky sack to dog parenting. When asked about motivation, their answers range from supportive partners to the simple joy of experiencing nature without a phone in hand.
Whether you're preparing to race Bar Trail yourself or simply curious about what drives elite mountain runners, this episode offers candid insights into the physical challenges, mental strategies, and personal connections that make trail running such a rewarding pursuit. The camaraderie among these competitors reminds us that even at the highest levels, the trail running community remains supportive, genuine, and grounded in shared passion.
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What's up, fam? Welcome back to the steep stuff podcast. I'm your host, james Loriello, and I'm excited to bring you guys a recording. This is gonna be a live recording of the bar trail mountain race elite night that took place this past Friday, july was it the 18th? The 18th time flies, with a whole panelist of elite athletes that decided to show up and have a conversation just ahead of the bar trail mountain race that took place today. That would have been July the 20th, 2025. So I hope you guys enjoy this one. Thanks for tuning in, really appreciate your support and, without further ado, the bar trail mountain race elite night. Listen up, guys.
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Speaker 3:So I am Ferg, short for Ferguson. This is JT. We're at the Boston County Search and Rescue. Last year we basically just said big boulder weather and kind of because you guys aren't here to listen to us, but last weekend there was a death at the Hard Rock 100, so we kind of wanted to speak a little bit more to safety and give a little bit more due diligence to some of what you guys are going to encounter on race day. So, with that said, the other change is that last year JT stood up here with me and didn't speak, so this year I'm making him talk Got promoted.
Speaker 4:Hey guys, I'm going to go over two things here. First is weather. I think most of you have been on the trail. You know the weather's kind of crazy up there at times but it looks pretty good for Sunday. At the trailhead at the Cobb Railway, 63 is the low. When you're finishing up it's going to be up in the lower 80s. So be aware of that, it's going to be pretty hot. Up. At Bark Camp, the high point, we're looking at 58 degrees for the low and 70 for the high. That sounds great. As you know, if you run into problems and you start walking other than running, that 58 can get cold pretty quick. So just be prepared for that supposed to get heavy rain moving in around noon.
Speaker 4:Hopefully everyone's off the mountain by then, so that should be good. And eight stations there's five of them. Start, finish, they're gonna have water and tailwind. Top of the W's they're only going to have water. No Name Creek they'll have water and tailwind. Bob's Road water and tailwind, and then Bar Camp at the turnaround. We're just going to have water up there. Any questions?
Speaker 5:So which one of?
Speaker 3:those eight stations are you only going to pass once? Which one of those aid stations are you only going to pass once? There you go. Very good, all right. So we're Search and Rescue. We are there for on-course safety and medical support. So, just so you guys are aware, there are 20 to 30 people that are going to be on that mountain. Hopefully you don't see us and you enjoy your race and you're just like what that? We're Search and Rescue on the mountain, but you know we are there, we are mobilized, like what there were search and rescue on the mountain. But you know we are there, we are mobilized. We are ready for anything that you guys may encounter up there.
Speaker 3:So the one thing that I wanted to speak to in particular with us from a safety perspective is Big Boulder. So last year we had a boulder move down and really kind of impede the traffic on Bar Trail. It is going to get crowded, you're going to get delayed. Unless you're maybe one of these people up here and you're speeding, you get through really quick, but there's going to be a traffic jam. Please be patient, please be in good spirits. We will get you through there as quickly and as safely as we can.
Speaker 3:So just wanted to mention that as well. And, in general, just from a safety perspective, one thing that you know, when we're out on missions and as we get more people moved to the area, it just strikes me that it's incredible how many ultra runners are just kind of out there doing their thing, but they just have a handheld and they're wearing a singlet and shorts and they really don't have much else with them. So, again, when you're moving and you're generating body heat, everything is good, but you sprain an ankle, something goes wrong, um, all of a sudden it becomes a really bad day, and then you know myself and JT and the rest of the team have to come get you. So a couple of things I just wanted to remind you guys of. And the first thing it's super easy Just tell someone where you're going and when you're going to be back, and that in and of itself will save you from what otherwise is something that they may make a movie out of 10 years from now.
Speaker 3:Um phone just make sure you charge up your phone, uh, before you go out so that if something does happen, you can, you can call, you can call for help, um, hydration, nutrition, um, I do not come from the ultra or the trail running world, I am more of a track and road guy. So you know, when I asked JT you know you're going out for a 20-mile run, what do you take with you? He's like, I don't know, I just grab, like some gummy worms and I jam a ho-ho in my shorts and I got a handheld and I'm good to go. That's just not my world. So just, you know, take into consideration that you're going to be out there for a while. Take, take the water, take the the calories and the nutrition that you need, um, and the other thing that's super easy and doesn't cost you anything is just take a trash bag, a jacket, something that you can just stuff in in case the weather turns.
Speaker 3:Which, for those of you that aren't local, hands up, how many are not from Colorado? How many of you are not local? Okay, just one, okay. So the rest of you I'm kind of preaching to the choir and you guys already know this the local saying wait 15 minutes if you don't like the weather, and it's going to change. So anyway, yeah, that's definitely a real thing. So those are basically all the things that we wanted to cover from a safety perspective. You guys have a great day out there on Sunday. Enjoy the race. And sorry we were so long-winded, but wanted to make sure we spoke to safety and gave it its due. So the race, and sorry we were so long-winded, but wanted to make sure we spoke to safety and gave it its due.
Speaker 1:So with that, we'll hand it over to the people that you came here to listen to. Thank you, guys, so much, all right guys before we get started. One of the things I love about this race is there's some history here. So before we get started, we're going to do a little raffle slash trivia that we're going to ask the audience to get involved with.
Speaker 1:So, before we get started, we're going to do a little raffle slash trivia that we're going to ask the audience to get involved with. So the first question I have for you is who founded this race? Who founded the Bartrell Mountain Race? Matt Carpenter.
Speaker 2:All right, you win a prize.
Speaker 1:Where's Ron? You're getting a prize. All right. Who else founded besides? Matt Carpenter founded the Bartrell Mountain Race. I wish I had the Jeopardy music in the background. John Nancy, that's right. Nancy Hobbs, All right. In what year was BTMR founded? You can find all this information on Instagram, by the way, 2000. Correct.
Speaker 5:Over here, raise your hand up.
Speaker 1:All right, all right, just getting started. How long? Is the course. How long is the BTMR? 12.6. Correct, correct, Alright. This one's a little ambiguous. How much vertical is there? I've seen on Strava anywhere between 30. What Sorry. Sorry 36? I'd say 36. That's right. Alright, now we're going to get into the harder ones. This one's a little easy. Who holds the men's course record? I don't want to hear it from any of you, joe Gray.
Speaker 4:And we're done with prizes.
Speaker 1:There's an IOU and the last, and we're done with prizes. We're done with prizes, all right, there's an IOU, there's an IOU, and the last one will be an IOU. Who holds the women's course record? It's not Tina. Nope, oh, I'm sorry. Who holds the women's course record? Nope, brandi Erholz. Yeah, so there you go.
Speaker 2:All right, let's get us started.
Speaker 1:Let's introduce our panelists here. I guess we could start here with Melissa. How's it going, melissa? Good, all right. So I'm going to go in names here. We'll start with Melissa Rogers, wendy Roberts, amanda Kozlowski, benjamin Townsend, john, I always butcher your last name, is it? Aziz? I had you on my podcast and I got it wrong. I'm so sorry. And Dean Abel, I got it All right. Well, guys, let's give a big round of applause for these athletes that are going to be competing on Sunday. All right, we'll start with you, melissa. Are you still on mute or are you good? I think I'm good.
Speaker 1:You're good All right Am I good, yeah, okay, all right, so let's get into some questions. I'm curious like talk to me about your running journey.
Speaker 8:I started running in high school but before that I was, I guess, discovered by the high school coaches doing just the physical fitness test in middle school. I didn't know I was a runner, I just, I guess my sister and I were fast and they started recruiting us and then I ran track and cross country in high school and then took off like 15 years and then came back to running when I was 47.
Speaker 1:Wow, that's impressive yeah. So you're obviously in 40ies, early fifties. What, um, can you tell, like, how it's gotta be? You obviously train at a very high level. You're a very competitive athlete. Like, can you talk about that? Like how how is difficult, as you age, to be able to like, maintain the mileage and do things like that.
Speaker 8:I think that I don't have anything to compare it to because I started so late. So maybe, maybe, if I started younger I'd be like well, I'm declining, but because I started later, it's kind of nice, because I don't have to see that as much.
Speaker 1:So I like it yeah I gotta ask you about btmr. You've had some great finishes here like what, what about this race excites you?
Speaker 8:the up and then the down. Okay, I like. I like going the up and then the down, okay, I like going all up and then all down.
Speaker 1:What do you prefer more? The down, your down is your style.
Speaker 8:Yeah, the down, definitely. Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:That was my next question stylistically. I could ask you this, because the funny thing about this race is it ends on this weird uphill where you'll turn go up. Do you guys like that? Do you not like it? You like it, wendy likes it all, right, yeah I think I like it too you like it too, I mean it's the.
Speaker 8:It's not that far to run up and there's all the hype around there, so, okay, it's a good place to push okay, very cool now you've got a longer race.
Speaker 1:That's all on your ultra sign up. You're training for, getting ready for. Is this a tune-up for that as you start to go into some later? Like longer mileage? I know you've raised some ultras before, but like what? How does that rank as far as like? Are you kind of getting ready for that, or?
Speaker 8:I'm definitely focused on that telluride mountain run yeah, 40 mile or so um we'll talk about the 13 mile I'm gonna get are you doing it too? Yeah, oh, awesome. Well, uh, I think I'm going to go back to focusing on ultra again, after doing shorter runs the last or races the last two years. There's just something about ultra that, um, it pushes you in a different way and the suffering's different.
Speaker 1:Actually we can get into this a little bit, cause we've got time. Um, like I know you and Dean have had like crazy good finishes at like black canyon 100k and years past and stuff like that. Like, is that like a race that intrigues you to go back to? Or kind of like, what distance like, uh, ultra, are we talking?
Speaker 8:I think. So I'm not very good at really steep ups and so because of that, that's what I want to do. I want to see if I can really master the uphill and get stronger at it, and I like the idea of building like good, strong legs too. It's just more exciting. Black Canyon was fun. It was very hard on the body because you know it's you don't walk at all and you, I don't really like to walk anyways, but that's something I need to work on because you're not going to be running Telluride mountain run the whole thing. But anyway, black Canyon is a fast downhill race, so you can't walk for a week and a half afterwards.
Speaker 1:Brutal, brutal. Back to BTMR. Last year you had a sixth place finish. This year, what is your expectation for race day?
Speaker 8:Hopefully better than last year. I'm going to focus on myself and beating myself.
Speaker 1:I love that. Yeah Well, give it up for melissa everybody. Thank you so much. Thank you, best of luck on race day, wendy. How's it going good? Yeah, well, if you wouldn't mind introduce yourself.
Speaker 2:Well, we already introduced you, but tell the audience like maybe your running journey um, I'm wendy roberts and I have lived here since I was six months old, so local mostly. Um, my, I got into running because of my mom. Um, she was, uh, one of the I should say, the original ultra women back in the. Uh, she ran leadville twice in 89, 1989 and so I was only a little kid at the time and I didn't really appreciate it at the time, but looking back it's amazing and she kind of pushed us.
Speaker 2:I was not discovered in high school my mom definitely pushed all of us kids into running. We did high school cross-country, we did track. She coached us at some point I did a little bit in college and burned out and then just decided I was going to do kind of run. I've always ran since then, but it's been more kind of at my own pace. So yeah, my mom, she passed away about 21 years ago of cancer. But like that is definitely the thing behind my running journey is always kind of thinking of her now on the topic of btmr.
Speaker 1:You raced this race back in 2000, if I remember correctly.
Speaker 2:Okay, wow, first time I was 17. I was going into my senior year of high school. Um, I went to st mary's high school and they were up on the road. I remember they were at bob's road at the uh doing the aid station thing, as they still do, and so I hadn't run it for a long time. I came back three years ago in 2022 and did it and they were. It was amazing. St Mary's was there at Bob's Road. I was 40 years old and I just ran through. I was like, oh my God, you guys. I was like St Mary's cross country, that was super cool.
Speaker 2:They were probably like who's that crazy old lady, but uh, yeah, that was just amazing. Um, so I, I and I hadn't run. That was my first time running, since I had like my uh like running trail stuff again, since I had my son, um, and that the bug really, I didn't do that great that year. I hadn't really trained much for that kind of distance and intensity, and then every year I've been coming back.
Speaker 1:I just love it so it's a special race for you. That special race, yeah, um, maybe you kind of got into it, but like, how has it changed since like 2000? Like it was just a small? I mean not that it's, it's a grassroots vibe t-shirts are way better now.
Speaker 2:I don't know if anyone remembers the very first t-shirt they had. It was this white cotton t-shirt, you know, really baggy one that like fits one size fits all, and it had a picture of hole in the rock, like a photo like right there, and you couldn't really tell what it was, because it's just a picture of the hole in the rock. So people would be like what the heck, you just found your shirt, the hole in the rock. So people would be like what the heck, you just found your shirt. It was like the most hideous shirt ever. But I really I went back. I couldn't find it. I must have donated it. But I really regret donating that shirt though, because I would totally wear it again.
Speaker 1:Oh, I love it. I love it. What are you more excited for?
Speaker 2:Are you more of a climber or more of a descender? I'm definitely more of a climber. I think when I was 17, I think I was definitely more of a descender. I could really kill it on the downhills. I remember doing kind of like parkour on the switchbacks back in the day, like bouncing off the little rocks that are like sideways. But I cannot do it anymore. So now I'm like I try and be, I'll be. My best placement will be at the top at bar Camp, and then I turn around and I'm just going to get passed by all the young ladies. So they're just crazy fast. And I fell two years ago as well.
Speaker 2:So now I'm just even more Just like I'd rather get down and survive than have an amazing time but also wreck my knees and everything.
Speaker 1:A lot of folks tap the knees, lots of blood and gore out there.
Speaker 2:I'm probably going to wear my biking gloves for this.
Speaker 1:Okay, that's an Allie Mack thing, very cool. What else, uh, what else do you have on the schedule for 2025?
Speaker 2:Let's see. Well, I'm just coming off of my first half Ironman. I did that. I did Cordelan 70.3. Uh, I'm, I might have discovered a new love about that. Yeah, uh, I have always kind of tried to be a runner. I've never really thought of myself as a really good runner, um, and I've always had more of like that the taller the shoulders and more of like the, the build, and I, I, but I was never really a swimmer or anything. I did a little bit of it, but I picked it up this year just for fun, started swimming twice a week, started biking and I'm like I'm getting better at these things. I can actually see improvement with running. For me it's like, eh, not really getting better, getting a little bit worse over time, but I'm like biking, I'm getting better. Swimming, I'm getting better swimming, I'm getting better. This is fun, uh. And also like it doesn't wreck me, like I feel like when I start putting on mileage, it just stop running yeah, but I'm supposed to do the 50 miler uh run rabbit in September.
Speaker 2:I'm not doing garden to peak this year, so I signed up for that. It's a week before the ascent, but I'm I'm really nervous about it. I don't. I don't know if I'm going doing Garden to Peak this year because I signed up for that. It's a week before the ascent, but I'm really nervous about it. I don't know if I'm going to get the volume in that I need.
Speaker 1:Oh, I think train it for a marathon, like all that aerobic work, I'm sure you'll be super fit and ready for that. I hope so. Well, wendy, thank you so much, wishing you the best of luck on race day. Appreciate it. Yeah, amanda, how's it going?
Speaker 9:Good. How are you Good?
Speaker 1:good, good, yeah, why don't you introduce yourself? Well, we kind of already did. I keep doing that again. Maybe talk about your running journey.
Speaker 9:So I'm Amanda Kozlowski. I, kind of like you, have been here since I was five, so pretty much a native, but really don't have much running background until maybe my beginning 30s to mid-30s. Dad was a runner growing up and he tried to get us out there, but we didn't go. We more liked the soccer and things like that. I did run cross country for the fun of it and to get a little bit in better shape for soccer my junior and senior year of high school, but that was pretty much it. Everything else was anti-running.
Speaker 9:Then COVID well, I think I kind of started doing a little bit before COVID. But when COVID hit and things started shutting down and I didn't have any other options, I started picking up running a little bit more and noticed kind of getting a little stronger, a little better just doing things on my own and had a pretty good finish on the ascent a couple years ago and so kind of thought might as well hire a coach and see if they can help me out to get a little bit faster. And so I did and have had been working with him for about a year and a half now and have just been seeing a lot of improvements. Um, it's amazing, when you have someone telling you what to do, how much you can do that you didn't realize that you were capable of. So it's it's been hard, but it's been a lot of fun so.
Speaker 1:I love it. The coaching definitely. Yeah, it changes the. It works a lot for some people for sure. So obviously you said BTMR like it's's.
Speaker 9:You've had a lot of history at this race, like actually last year was my first, just last year, I'm sorry, yeah, yeah what, um, why this race?
Speaker 1:then like, why come back?
Speaker 9:um, it was a blast last year. I it was rainy. I think you guys probably remember that it was so much fun. Um, I think that we got like some of the best pictures out of those that day. I told someone the other day I was like man, I really hope that it rains this year Because it was just nice and cool and we all just came down looking like wet rats. But it was so fun and just I really Shoot. Like Melissa said, I really love all the up and then all the down. Like Melissa said, I really love all the up and then all the down and have been doing the ascent since 2019-ish and so finally had the opportunity last year to do the triple crown and just fell in love with the BTMR.
Speaker 1:I love it. Are you a better ascender or descender?
Speaker 9:Probably ascender. I would say um, for similar reasons, just kind of that nervousness of falling of. I mean, I fall all the time, so it's fine, I fall in the boston marathon, so I'll probably fall on sunday. Um, it's just what happens. But um, yeah, I would definitely say ascender. They've done some really great work on that trail, though, so I think it'll help coming down. Um, but yeah, definitely Ascender.
Speaker 1:Very cool. Now, one of the cool things about you is you've got, you know, you've had some like crazy finishes, like last year at 12th place at Cirque series, snowbird, which was the U S mountain running championship. Um, if I were to have you on the formal podcast this is a question I would ask everybody how was that race for you? I'm just so curious because that was one of the most competitive races assembled on American soil in the last few years.
Speaker 9:Yeah, that one had Grayson Reen who is I think she's in the short series for the world or for the US, for a world championship.
Speaker 1:Grayson Murphy, grayson Murphy.
Speaker 9:I said, grayson, no, you're good that was literally one of my students like 12 years ago. Yeah, lord have mercy. So yeah, grayson Murphy, and then Rachel I always butcher her last name, but tons of it's a mind check.
Speaker 9:Yeah, he knows them all, but I kind of went in. I did go in as like an elite on that one, and I was like my whole goal was just not to be the last elite competitor coming in. Um, that one was so steep going up, which was awesome, but the steepness of the downhill just caught me way off guard. Um, it was super fun, though, to be out there and toe in the line with some of the best athletes. Um, definitely one of the most competitive races I've been in, but it was beautiful day and just yeah, super fun. The reason I ask it is because there was've been in, but it was beautiful day and just yeah, super fun.
Speaker 1:The reason I ask it is because there was a week removed from, or it was a week before BTMR for you, correct?
Speaker 9:Yeah, it was.
Speaker 1:You go and get on the podium of BTMR. So this year you're a little fresher, right.
Speaker 9:That's what I keep telling myself too. I was like I was trying to think back to last year. I said you know what? You? Because my goal this year is to break two hours. I don't know if it'll happen, um, but I'm like you can do it, because you were off of Cirque last year and your legs were beat up. So that's what I'm telling myself mentally to hopefully get me up there a little faster.
Speaker 1:So we'll see very cool, very cool.
Speaker 9:Well, actually, you know what else is on your schedule for this year um so two weeks after BTMRmr, I'm going up to jackson hole for the rendezvous oh, it's a great race yeah, it's 6.1 and like 4 000 feet vertical um, so that one's any excuse I can get to run in jackson hole.
Speaker 9:I'm taking it and then I'm doing telluride mountain run, but only the 13 um. Some of their little disclaimers about needing to be like that you could fall scared me a little bit, so I'm like I'll go as short as possible and then um the ascent.
Speaker 1:I'll do the ascent as well. Very cool. Well, that's a stack schedule.
Speaker 9:Wish you the best of luck and thank you so much. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, dean. How's it going? Good, dean, I really it going Good, dean, I really just appreciate you, and actually for the audience as well. You've done a lot helping BTMR this year and just putting all this together. You were one of the main people around this. So, guys, please give a round of applause to Dean, thank you, thank you. You and I kind of know each other adjacently, so what is your running journey, man?
Speaker 11:I've been wanting to actually talk to you about this for a while, so so I guess, if we go back to when it first started, when I was in middle school, in fifth grade we had a good kind of track and field program. Everybody did it for middle school and I decided my mom's 5'3". I'm super short if you guys can't tell.
Speaker 1:Same.
Speaker 11:And I just said she was a hurdler. She said when she was in high school. So I'm like, I'm a hurdler, I was terrible.
Speaker 11:Like I was just wasting somebody's time, you know, and my brother was a year older than me just killing it in the mile and a half mile. So the coaches finally, after like the fourth meet, they're like you're not doing this anymore, you're running the mile. You know, they made me run the mile. I did. All right, you know, ran school kind of stopped after that. Um, like kind of similar to melissa, didn't run for easily 15 to 17 years and then I was out here by then.
Speaker 11:Um, I was actually training for nolans in my mind and I was doing teller, county search and rescue and my friend mitch was a runner on it and he's like well, you never run a race. He's like why don't you come down and run the tours in the hair with me and we'll do that? It was my first 5k in forever. And before the race started with how it works, he's like oh, let me see what your bib says. And it said 0-0-0, which means I start last in that race because it's kind of a handicapped race with timing. So then I did better than I was expecting and then my competitive edge just kicked in and I got right back into running again and just having this great community to run with, getting again and just having this great community to run with, getting to know people uh, the big competitors you get to race against, it just was super fun for me so well.
Speaker 1:It's super cool. What is your like? Let's talk about your journey with btmr. Like, why, why, btmr, what? Both of you from your involvement at the race level as well as as a competitor um, this will be my seventh year in a row doing it.
Speaker 11:Uh, when I first wanted to get into it, it was extremely competitive and the field that ran in the year before me was, I mean, amazing, and I just wanted to be able to race against those people, see how I stacked up, and so that kind of got my involvement. Then, after that first race, I learned how much they were involved with the high school cross-country teams, which I thought was amazing Growing up, we didn't have something like that. So getting teams which I thought was amazing growing up we didn't have something like that. So getting to see what they give back to them was kind of really cool.
Speaker 11:And they, those kids, they really pump you up when you're like feeling pretty miserable. You know I don't ever eat the donuts or whatever they got, you know, but still they're pretty, they're inspirational is how I put it. It's nice to see them so amped up. So and then just wanted to keep going and seeing what I could do to help and just keep that competitive edge with the race and, you know, and making sure our locals come and run it and, you know, kind of represent is the idea.
Speaker 1:No, I love it. I mean such a great race.
Speaker 11:Oh, I love it. I've ran this the most out of any race.
Speaker 1:Very cool. What do you like better, the Ascent or the Descent? Definitely the Descent.
Speaker 11:You're a better downhill runner. Oh yeah, way back it's, and bar trail is probably up there in my easily my top five of like favorite downhills, especially from bar camp down, or even like right before no name when you drop down to there. After that it's like just a cruise to me.
Speaker 1:So very cool. What else do you have on the schedule for this year?
Speaker 11:um, I'm kind of a procrastinator, so I'm waiting to get into Telluride Mountain Run 40. It sounds like I'm going to get in. You just have to wait until August when people start dropping, so I'll have that. And then I'm still procrastinating on, you know, uray 50 I'm thinking about. I've paced twice or three times there, twice the last 50 of the 100, and then her when she did the 50, I paced the last 25. So I just feel like I have that course locked in. It's tons of ups and downs. You go over dinosaur tracks, it's really cool.
Speaker 1:It's so cool, yeah, that's a tough course I paced the 100-mile. My buddy did the 100-mile a couple years ago and it's just like I think the hardest part about that is like you have to come back in and then go back out and then come back in You're like, oh, that's my car right there, it's very easy to quit. And I'm sure the 50 is like no different, just equally as painful, terrible.
Speaker 11:Yeah, I mean they're about like 50% each. You know the 100, you spend half the race at Ironton and then come down to Fennel and then in the 50, you just spend your whole time at the Fennel.
Speaker 1:I mean, dude, you're a formidable ultra runner in your own right. You've had one of the things I remember a couple years ago, when you ran Black Canyon, you had a great finish there Is there anything like that that excites you to go back, or is it more some of these longer mountain stuff that gets you excited?
Speaker 11:I did Nolans in 2020, and I want to go back and do that actually. Yeah, back and do that actually. Yeah, I mean I love racing, don't get me wrong, but I feel like I did great when I did accomplish nolan's, but I felt like I left a lot of time out there. I was eating footlong subs from subway on my breaks, you know, having a beer here and there, you know, and I could probably take it a little more serious, you know do you guys know what nolan's is.
Speaker 1:No, can you. Can you tell people what it is?
Speaker 11:so nolan's 14er is an unofficial kind of challenge where you have to provide tracking information. You connect the 14ers behind Buena Vista in one go. You have to break 60 hours and it's about over 100 miles with the 14 peaks. You can do it supported or unsupported, so you can have people helping you, meeting you at places, going with you up the peaks. I mean it can go. We just had a wrecker get set so the fastest guy now is under 36 hours, but you can easily be out there for two whole days no sleep, no rest.
Speaker 1:It's so cool. I was going to say rare air. That's kind of a pun because it's in thin air. Well, Dean, actually we talked about what's next, so thank you so much for coming on appreciate it, appreciate it. John's back on the hot seat. This is your third time how's it going?
Speaker 7:buddy doing well, yeah, excited to hear for a third consecutive VTMR.
Speaker 1:Guys, let's give John a round of applause along with his new wife or sorry, his wife and new baby, john's. A new dad. How does it feel to be a new father?
Speaker 7:My cookie-cutter answer is just our hearts are so full right now. We've wanted this for a while and it's immediately life-changing. That's what everyone says, but it's so cute. Love can just stare at her all day. That's what everyone says. So cute Love, to just stare at her all day. We're taking it on, learning a lot and it's already super rewarding.
Speaker 1:I'm sure. I'm sure Congratulations, btmr. You're coming back this year. I would imagine. Kind of unfinished business for you. Last year you were so close to winning. Joe was right there. What do you think? Are we on a course record watch for this year for you. What are we thinking?
Speaker 7:No, to course, record watch. I think last year's time is still a few minutes off. And, yeah, we just talked about the new variable. We're learning how to live on fragmented sleep. Yeah, so this is very much a test to how running goes in our this next season of life. I'm still gonna. I mean everything. I'm so grateful things have gone so smoothly. You know, took some time off for first week through delivery and we're only three weeks in now, so haven't really learned, figured everything out. It's like expect some really challenging nights and days, um, but yeah, gonna just see how we can do um with the new balance of priorities and I've been getting out running and doing workouts. So, um, I think the biggest challenge is can I, can I wake myself up?
Speaker 7:uh, to run hard I've always been running super early, but now you know time doesn't mean anything at the moment. So that day we'll just see how it goes at race time.
Speaker 1:It's that dad strength, dad energy. You get a new variable there for yourself. You're not too far along, removed from Broken Arrow. That was the most competitive 50K race probably ever assembled on American soil. Maybe can you paint a picture for the audience, not just about your race, but just like the altitude, like everything. How was that race for you? How did you enjoy it?
Speaker 7:Sure, yeah. So Broken Arrow 46K was four weeks ago now. Yeah, that comes out 28 something miles and has somewhere around 9000 feet of gain. But, that was this year's qualifying race for Team USA for the World Mountain Running Trail Championships, so that had been on my. It had been a goal since Worlds were announced two years ago. We had 2024 off and this is the last World in 23.
Speaker 7:So knowing that oh, worlds in Spain and 25 is on the counter. I'm going to get myself in the qualifying race. That was before baby was on the way. Nonetheless still set it as a target race and wanted to go throw down against a really incredible, incredible field.
Speaker 7:Had an okay buildup Life definitely happened this year beyond the baby. So both with managing some nagging injuries and just family things, an okay buildup Life definitely happened this year beyond the baby. So both with managing some nagging injuries and just family things, it was somewhat of a challenging buildup. So, going from you know, I actually won the last two qualifiers, pikes Peak being one of them, and from there it'll go to 50K. So going from winning the qualifier to 11th was, you know, on paper that looks hard to swallow but just where things were at. I think it's a really honest assessment of where I'm at right now, so happy to just get through it. And that's a course where I easily could have. It's a two-lapper, so that's a really mental game when you're coming halfway through and have to do all of that climbing again. So I'm really proud.
Speaker 7:I know I positive split by like 12 minutes, but you could easily make that a 40-minute positive split if you're just reduced to really stumbling in. But I got hung on and there's still 10 places behind me are all stout guys coming in, so really pleased with the result, despite it not being a qualifier. I'm not even sure I would have been able to to go and leave these two at home no, that makes sense.
Speaker 1:That makes sense. I mean, the baby was born. What a couple days after you know, that's another thing I yeah.
Speaker 7:So, um, it's a high demand race everybody wanted to get in, so you had to pretty much commit back in december that you're gonna go do it, and so if you know, start counting weeks and things you can imagine.
Speaker 7:We probably just found out that we were having a child and I counted it up, it's like, okay, race weekend, tara, you're going to be 34 and a half weeks pregnant. And that time it's like, okay, I think there's a pretty good chance we can go and come back, get a little bit closer. And we're only like two or three weeks out and it's like shoot, it's 35 and a half weeks. And just that one week like in my head, like should I go? I don't know. And then, um, yeah, so that was four weeks ago.
Speaker 7:I don't know if we said on the mic yet, but we talked before um, baby rosalyn is three weeks old now, so came back on sunday and she came almost a month early that friday wow, we were doing a post analysis like okay, if you had called me when your water broke, like, and I tried to get to the airport, like, I would have ended up being two hours late. So, uh, glad, glad, it all worked out. But it was like, yeah, it's just interesting, exciting, nerve-wracking, all, all the emotions you can imagine I love it.
Speaker 1:I love it it is. It's all the emotions this year with things up in the air. Do you think you'll be going back to pikes?
Speaker 7:Yeah, so I said to Dean um 20 minutes ago, if uh if I'm not hurt on Monday, I'm going to go register for the marathon. I love it, I love it.
Speaker 1:All right, I would be our four time champion. Three right now. Um, john, thank you so much for coming. I really appreciate it and congratulations again, thank you yeah, thank you what's up, buddy? Mr benjamin townsend, how's it going?
Speaker 10:doing good man, how are you doing?
Speaker 1:good, good, it's like your sixth time on the podcast. Yeah, fifth or sixth, a local to the podcast? Keep these going. Yeah, yeah, how you feeling feeling good. Yeah, thanks for coming on. For the audience that might not be familiar with you, maybe talk a little bit about your running journey.
Speaker 10:Yeah, so I'm Benjamin Townsend. I am born in Colorado Springs. I started running in middle school a little bit just kind of doing stuff here and there. I mean, I've been running my whole life but started taking it a little bit more seriously. And then through high school just kind of always did trails in the summer as sort of a prep for cross country.
Speaker 10:And then when it sort of came down to it with COVID and all these weird scholarship things going on college started to look a little difficult to do and I had been talking with some schools but it was kind of up in the air and I'd really pushed it off too late. So I decided, instead of running D1 College, to pursue trail and mountain running instead, and then been in that for about three.
Speaker 10:I think this is my fourth year now, so it's been a fun ride and you're starting to see the results now, yeah, finally finally you want to talk a little bit about broken arrow yeah, so broken arrow sky race the one he was just talking about I did the 23k, which is just one loop around.
Speaker 10:It's good enough for me. Um, I had a 20 minute or 17 minute improvement on my time from the year before, um, from 217 to two hours, and so I felt really happy with that. I took 18th or 19th overall in a golden trail world series race, a world mountain running champ or trail association race, all these things so it was really a good breakthrough day for me and I really felt like I finally sort of did what I knew I always could, if that makes sense, yeah, yeah, no, definitely on a on a good breakthrough day for me and I really felt like I finally sort of did what I knew I always could, if that makes sense yeah, yeah, no, definitely on a on a good trajectory man, so congratulations yeah, thank you so much let's let's talk btmr.
Speaker 1:Last year you raced this. You got a fifth place finish. How are you looking to improve going into this one?
Speaker 10:um, honestly, that was a pretty, a little bit of a rough day for me. So I think, um, if I can just finish feeling good with myself, it'll be a good day. Um, I'd like to be able to hang with this guy for a little while. So we'll see about that. Um, but honestly, as long as I run significantly faster than last year, I'll be, I'll be good. Why? Btmr? Run significantly faster than last year, I'll be, I'll be good. Why btmr? Um, I love the local colorado springs races. I feel like they have so much history and so much local retention and I've been racing.
Speaker 10:So I raced broken arrow four weeks ago and then two weeks later raced in peru and then raced again last week. So I've raced almost every week and I was kind of unsure about racing or not this weekend. And then I work here in the shop and Colorado running company and the other day everyone was coming in to buy stuff for the race and all my coworkers like, hey, we're doing the race, are you doing it? And it got me all stoked up so that's why I beat you more.
Speaker 1:I love it. I love it. So you have a really cool story. Like you're racing right now on just with same with Rio. Shout out to Rio on the U 23 Skyrunner world series. Can you talk about that a little bit and like what, what you know, what that's done for your career and kind of the progression?
Speaker 10:Yeah. So this is my second year part of the series and essentially what they did is created a. So in cycling it's big under 23 and then you kind of move into elite as of now. In trail there really wasn't anything like for you 23. It was like you really just have to race the best in the world until you are good enough to race the best in the world. So sky running world series, if you're not familiar, is the most steep, most technical form of trail racing that exists, and they came out and made an under 23 series focused more towards their shorter races to sort of give an outlet for younger athletes to get some more highlight and be able to race each other and not just say, well, I was 18th against 18, 30-year-olds, you know what I mean and endurance training.
Speaker 10:That's when you're your peak. So it's been really fun to be able to be a part of that series and be able to travel the world a little bit and they help me with money and travel places and I've been to, like I think, five or six countries since joining it, so it's been a fantastic opportunity.
Speaker 1:Can tell the audience, like some of the races you did this year yeah, so earlier this year in April, I raced in Spain.
Speaker 10:um then May I did back-to-back weeks in Malaysia and then Japan, and then I just got back from Peru last Monday, so it's been fun all over the world Is Peru the Cordelia Blanca one.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's like super high altitude, yeah.
Speaker 10:So we started at 11,000 feet and topped out just about 15,000. So my altitude is quite all right for this race, so I'm feeling good.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. That's awesome. What do you prefer? More, are you more of a descender or a climber?
Speaker 10:You know, it really depends on the day. Sometimes I feel like I'm a really good climber and then other days I feel like I'm a really good descender. I run with this guy, ace, quite a bit and pretty good descender. He'll. He'll really show you how you're not very good at descending. Um, when I'm not running with him, I usually feel like I'm pretty good, so we'll see Very cool.
Speaker 1:What else is I mean? I know you've got we talked a little bit about this before but what else is like left on your calendar for this year, so after this race?
Speaker 10:thankfully I have a little bit of a break, which will be nice, and then I'll go into a couple Cirque series races. I'll be doing the Pikes Peak Ascent again and then the U23 Skyrunner World Series Final in Spain in October.
Speaker 1:Ooh, Spain in October. Yeah, that should be nice. What part of.
Speaker 10:Spain. Is it like In the Basque? Oh, so north west, if you're not familiar, but it'll be really fun.
Speaker 1:They have their own dialect. It's pretty cool, oh yeah.
Speaker 10:If you say, are you Spanish, they'd say I'm basque, like it's almost kind of maybe hawaii to us. If that makes sense, they don't really identify as being spaniards. They're basque people.
Speaker 1:So very cool very cool well, benjamin, wishing you the best of luck on your race. Thank you so much for coming on. Thank you so much, sir. All right guys, we're gonna go to audience questions now. Who's got who's got the? Thank you so much, sir. All right guys, we're going to go to audience questions now.
Speaker 5:Who's got the first?
Speaker 1:one, I'll break the ice. All right, all right.
Speaker 5:First of all, thank you all for taking this time. It's amazing. As a coach of U23 athletes, I appreciate some of your perspective in terms of your growth in the sport. My first question, I guess, would be to John if it's okay, so you have a new daughter, do respect everybody up there. You've got to be the one to beat, right? I mean, on Sunday you've got to be the one to beat. So if I were the dad of somebody racing you on Sunday, how would I coach him to beat you on Sunday?
Speaker 7:Is this okay? Um, I think it's very important on these challenging climbs, technical trails, to focus on running your own race and, um, being very tuned in to what your body is telling you. Being very tuned in to what your body is telling you. I've done five races on bar trail now. I mean I've run it hundreds of times.
Speaker 7:But in those three, two and a half marathons, two bar trails, like every time I'm at the top of the Ws, there's demons in my head like, oh, I'm already dead, like this is over and it takes time to chill, so it's hard and I still might mess up in my head like, oh, I'm already dead. Like this is over and takes takes time to chill, so, um, it's hard and I still might mess up. Other competitors might mess up. Um, so if you're just focused on where you're at and trying on that day to advance that farther than where you've been before, um, it might that alone might put you ahead of another person, and then, plus, there's just so many variables that someone could not be feeling good on the day and they come back to you.
Speaker 7:So I just put the emphasis on running your own race.
Speaker 5:Awesome. Thank you for that and hope you get amazing sleep right. Hope you're first right that morning and congratulations, thank you. That's an amazing, amazing year for an unbelievable next 50, 60 years, so congratulations.
Speaker 7:Thanks.
Speaker 1:Thank you, sir, all right. Next audience question.
Speaker 6:At least two of you said you started really running later in life and I have a similar story. I played soccer, hated running. There was nothing worse on the planet than running until she talked me into it when I couldn't play soccer anymore because I wasn't fit enough. Now I run and I don't play sports. How do you go starting running late in life to being so good? You're sitting in this group Genetics. Is there some?
Speaker 2:training secret.
Speaker 8:Because I started running when I was younger. I feel like the foundation was kind of built, even though I took a lot of time off, was kind of built even though I took a lot of time off, and also the mentality you know, and not to limit yourself like don't, don't say I'm older now, so you know I need to keep it slow or have to walk this portion, or just believe in yourself and believe that you can do what younger people can do. I think it's all about the mind frame really, and get lots of rest if you can do what younger people can do. I think it's all about the mind frame really, and get lots of rest if you can.
Speaker 9:Yeah, I see I didn't run when I was younger, so I was very much like you were. I had soccer and running sucked and I think I kind of got into the gym scene first and then like, started working on strength stuff. Um, I would definitely encourage that, for runners is just building that strength. I'm I a lot of people don't know but TRX, um, it's a suspension training program and I'm an instructor for that. That builds a lot with your core and just different things. So, um, I think all of that fed into why running was becoming more successful.
Speaker 9:And then, like you said, once you start feeling like that success, you then start thinking, oh, I can do this and I can push myself harder. It's nice to have someone who will push you. That's so close to you. Um, I needed to find that coach. That was my motivation. But I think just finding whatever motivates you to do it and I mean you're already there. You already have that motivation and that bug in you. So you just keep pushing yourself to get better and I think it's all relative like for me doing better. Tomorrow or on Sunday we'll be running two hours. Um, versus some of us others it's going to be um, without falling. So it just depends on what your goal is, right yeah.
Speaker 1:Dean, do you want to do it as well, because I know you were a miler and then took what? 15 years off? Right?
Speaker 11:Yeah, I mean, I think just not like Melissa said, I think earlier was not having all those miles on your legs for so long. You know just some of the friends I've made through running. They've been running straight since college and I can't even imagine what that feels like. I mean, I'm still kind of young, I'm 43, and you know I'm already noticing the difference in my knees. You know, just from the few years I've been running. I was never this successful when I was young, like I was always second to my brother, you know, and I was always second everywhere actually and like so. So when I started doing it just was the motivation, like once I surprised myself. It was the drive, the competition and just really wanting to focus on that taking, taking it more seriously. When I was a kid I never took it seriously. It was more of just fun and hanging out, you know. So go on the back. What's the most fun race you've ever run? Oh, that's a good one. Do I have to go first? Yeah, you start, yeah.
Speaker 7:I don't have a particular one race, but college cross-country races, high school cross-country races, that team element, and still I mean a lot of those tend to turn toward golf course type venues but it gets you that kind of trail running aspect to some degree. So those are for sure for me some of the most fun races I've had um, funnest race.
Speaker 10:Uh, if I could do two. Um broken arrows honestly a blast, just the. The whole ambience of the entire weekend is just magic. It's that true, like what you hear about in europe. You know where you get just this magical feel around, where everybody is just in love with the sport. Um, and then secondly, the race I did in japan earlier this year was just perfect. I loved, loved it. It was super fun. It was 16 miles with a little over 10,000 feet of vertical gain. So that's the kind of stuff I like and it felt really good.
Speaker 10:What about Sky Race de Matazan? Oh, yeah, that one actually. So Sky Race de Matazan, or however you say it in France, they're switchbacks but you don't have to take them, so you go straight up and figure out your way straight down, and that was a lot of fun being able to just know rules, just go as fast as you can in the best-looking way possible, which you fall a lot. Thankfully, there it's a lot more grassy and not quite as brutal as here, but that race was a ton of fun as well. It's a popular one. Yeah, anybody else got a? Say BTMR, that one's fun.
Speaker 2:That one's fun. But we've already talked about BTMR. I think my favorite race that I've ever done the most fun and it didn't start out that way was the Mount Lemmon Half Marathon in Tucson. I don't think they do it anymore, but they would bus you halfway up the Mount Lemmon Highway. It's a famous biking hill and a pretty famous area. Down there you go all the way to the top of this mountain. You just run up the road and it's all kinds of crazy switchbacks and you start where there's like cacti and by the time you get to the top it feels like you're in Colorado. There's aspens and it's a lot cooler. It could be 114 down in the valley and it's 74 up there. That was, I think, a little outclassed by the folks up here, but that was I. Uh, I think I'm a little outclassed by the folks up here, but that was the one race I ever won, and it's only uphill. So, um, that one was really fun. I wish I still had it.
Speaker 9:I, so I tend to mix it up with road and trail. So I'm not just straight trail, but, um, I would say favorite road race is probably Chicago marathon. Um, it's just, that's home, and so, um, it's always just fun to race to the streets of Chicago. Um, it hurts the marathon, hurts afterwards, but um, and then trail run you. I was going to say the ascent, which is like one of my favorite weekends because or days, my mom runs it as well and then my dad volunteers at the top. So it's just super fun to get up there and wait for mom to get up at the top and hang out with dad while he's volunteering. But then I also ran one in the Cirque series in Jackson Hole. It was 30K and, oh my gosh, it was just. There were wildflowers everywhere and it was just such a beautiful race. Hence why I'm excited to go back in August.
Speaker 11:I love BTMR. That's probably definitely up there, but when I first got back into running, I did the fall series. I think it was 2017. And the race at Monument Valley Park they actually make you run up the creek. For I don't know, mike, is it a half mile? I don't know how long it is.
Speaker 11:Yeah, and I just think that was awesome. I mean, it's really dirty to run up that creek, I think, and luckily nobody stepped on needles or anything, but it was super fun. Everybody was struggling in the water. It was super neat to see and it definitely brought a whole different aspect to racing. You know, very short race but still super cool. They don't let us do it anymore, unfortunately.
Speaker 8:All right, melissa, all right. I think Javelina 100 was probably the funnest race, just the aid stations they're every four miles and the hype and the party. It wasn't the most beautiful race, it's desert and stuff. So for trail races I really liked Crested Butte Ultra because it was just beautiful and it was in the fall. So lots of color. And those are my top two.
Speaker 1:For Javelina did you wear? Everybody wears a halloween costume, did you? Did you want?
Speaker 8:no, I just wore a regular running outfit.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it was too hot all right, anybody else audience questions quite a quick one, favorite distance and why, or, if you're like, prefer super elevation, gain course, downhill, some ultra versus ultra Favorite distance.
Speaker 2:I like uphill races. I was thinking about it, the only races I ever won, which was the Mount Lemmon, and then when I was in high school, I won the Salida Spiral Hill one and I think I did. There's another one, I think, the Ultra last year, the Great Divide Ultra, super hilly up in Mueller. So I'd say the Uphills, anything that's not too technical for me, and I think I prefer distances that are like half marathon to about maybe the 50K in that range, anything more than that, and I start getting injured and anything faster than that and it's like you know, you're just killing yourself for however long.
Speaker 9:I would say I got the sun. Thanks, there we go. Thanks guys. For road I would say 10K, they're just super speedy and fast. I was in Chicago for a 10-mile race, so just coming from that elevation going down, that was super fun to be fast. And then for trail, I would say anywhere between half marathon to 18 milers, so that 30k range and then, like you said, like the up is super fun, or if it's up and down, but the up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down is very taxing.
Speaker 11:So yeah, I like technical. That's what I really enjoy For my distance. It's not really a distance, it's just the time frame, like an hour and a half to two and a half hours. Then I'm not like completely dead for weeks on end and I can like bounce back and somewhat hobble the next week, you know. So that's kind of my time frame.
Speaker 7:Let's see, probably not absolute, but just current season. Like marathon to 50k distance, um, on the on the road I just found I mean I love running 10ks but my competitiveness going from 10k to marathon I just get so much better. So even though you got to suffer for longer, I enjoy that. I can compete at a higher level there. Um, and yeah, um, they'll get into the trails. Like starting to I don't know, I want to do it all. So one season at a time, interested in going to doing some vks. Um, get out to east coast, do loon mountain, again mountain washington, that'd be fun to do. Um, eventually do some kind of 100 or or other ultra. But you know, current season definitely half marathon, 50k distance. And to the element dean was adding about terrain, I like to be able to roll, get the pace going. I don't want to be too slowed down by the technicality of it, so I want to open up the legs and get rolling.
Speaker 10:I don't know if you could tell already, but I like it really steep and technical. The gnarlier it is, the better, for the most part, um, I really like it when you kind of get hands-on scramble kind of stuff like that. Um, for time, I'd probably say, or how long? Maybe half marathon to 20 miles, somewhere two to three hours, I think feels really good. It is fun to jump in races like this, though that are a little faster, and just kind of see what you can do at an hour and a half or or so.
Speaker 1:So what's the shoe choice on race day? What do you guys? What are you guys racing in?
Speaker 10:um I'm gonna plug the north face here. I'll be racing in the North Face Vective Sky 2. I am looking for a sponsor.
Speaker 7:I've got an Asics shoe I've been liking. I couldn't even tell you what it is. It's an Asics, though running in it today I actually had some issues with the tongue, so I might switch to an Adidas one. It'll be a game day, but probably Asics. I wore that at Broken Arrow. It worked pretty well.
Speaker 7:Not super lightweight medium weight. It feels more rugged and protective on my feet when I really want to hammer the downhills and feel comfortable hitting rocks hard with my foot, and so I think that one will play well uh, my shoe is discontinued.
Speaker 11:It's the las portiva, las portiva, captivas um. I found a brand new pair on amazon. They're probably the last one in the country so just breaking them in now. Now, no one likes them, and that's why, they got discontinued. I'm the only one that seems to like them, but I love them.
Speaker 9:I actually recently. I'm like still up in the air about my trail shoes right now. I was running an Asic Strabucos. They felt a little heavy and fat on my feet, so now I'm an Asic Fugees. They're a little heavy and fat on my feet, so now I'm in Asic Fugees. They're a little less stable, so I'm still on the fence about them, but that's what I'm going with first race in them, so we'll see how it goes.
Speaker 2:I'm a wide square-toed over-pronator so I pretty much run in Brooks Adrenaline all the time, but unfortunately there's no longer really a good trail shoe from Brooks. Last year I was running in Cascadia. I was getting horrible blisters and then I switched to the Topo Mountain Racer and the wide square-toed boxes are wonderful. So I think I'll keep going with those. I might have to get slightly bigger ones, but they've been treating me pretty well.
Speaker 8:And mine's the La Sportiva Prada GoPro Is that how you say it? Prodigio, that's it. That's the one I'm running in. I really love those. You do have to break them in, though.
Speaker 1:It takes a little time. Yeah, good shoot. You should see the new Maxes we're coming out with. Anybody else? There's another one floating around, there it is.
Speaker 9:Any hobbies outside of running or training For any of you? I would like to know.
Speaker 10:I'm an aspiring professional hacky-sacker. I even did it in three countries in one day, one time, so that's my fun fact.
Speaker 7:Skiing is probably my biggest other time sink outside of work and family and running. I don't do it all year round, but I try to get as many days in as I can in the winter. Then food, baking, coffee, all those things that complement running.
Speaker 5:well, Is that Alpine, Nordic, Both yeah.
Speaker 7:All of it, yeah, yeah, so mostly Alpine. Since childhood Started picking up, some, like so many others, got a backcountry and schemo set up in 2020. What do you like to eat? Cookies, cinnamon bread? No, well, we might try sourdough, I don't know. We picked up some good loaves at the farmer's market in Black Forest last weekend. We'll either go keep spending our money there or try to pick some. So hobby not super intense.
Speaker 11:I'm a dog dad outside of running, so we have a basset hound and a coon hound, so that takes up a lot of our time afterwards. So we have a basset hound and a coon hound, so that takes up a lot of our time. Afterwards. We do ski and snowboard. She skis and then I've got her to play tennis once. Got to get her back out there again because tennis is, if you haven't played, it's really fun. It's a lot of running, so for runners it's perfect and it's just no pressure you know, I would definitely say traveling, which is not a cheap hobby.
Speaker 9:But it's another reason why I kind of took on this running a little bit to see if I could go and run in some really cool places, so kind of using running as an excuse to travel. Yeah, that would be my main hobby outside of running.
Speaker 2:Actually my day job. I'm a technical writer so now that it's my job it's not so fun anymore. I used to be more of a fun writer and I do actually edit for our local Pikes Peak Roadrunner newsletter as well, and I like to read books. So I'm kind of an introvert type.
Speaker 8:And mine's, I guess, the same as Dean's the dogs I ski. And then, well, I used to be a bodybuilder, so that was something I'd like to get back in the gym more and get back to that hobby. So Very cool Maria.
Speaker 2:Who inspires you guys to keep running, whether it's like family, friends, professionals who can inspire you to start and who inspires you to keep going?
Speaker 8:my boyfriend dean inspires me to keep running. He, yeah, he will do it and go, no matter what like if he doesn't feel good, if we have, we're busy. He keeps me accountable.
Speaker 2:I already mentioned my mom. Uh, crazy, awesome runner, she's way better than I'll ever be um, definitely inspired me to start running and forced me to run some of the times, like, wendy, like go do your afternoon run. You haven't run yet, but uh, somehow I'm still running. Uh, I still want to run. And then I also have to thank my boyfriend, tyler. He's not here, he's watching my, my son. So without someone there to you know like it's really hard to get miles in when you have a child. So I really, really appreciate him for doing that.
Speaker 9:And uh, yeah, I don't know how I would be on the trails at all without that um, I would say kind of watching like local runners, like Tina Maceranus, allie Mack, like they're very, very inspirational. Um, but on a more personal level definitely, my mom and dad were both athletes growing up and so I think it was kind of just driven into our blood just that competitiveness and wanting to be better. And they're both still crushing it, both going up the incline, and mom's still going to walk the ascent with me on September 20th yeah, I think. And then I've got to say to my husband as as well he let me go part-time as a teacher so that I could put more focus into training, um, with my coach. So just all of the people that like to hear your stories and are just there to support you are amazing.
Speaker 11:So uh, I guess I go with Melissa, as one Yesterday I didn't want to run. I was tired Our basset hound's been a little sick keeping us up at night and when I got off work it was about to rain. I was just like no, I'm not running. And she made me get in the car and drove over to the fossil beds and got a short run in before it rained. We got rained on a little bit and then more motivation is.
Speaker 11:I mean, I'm pretty much strictly trail, unless I have to run on the road in the winter or something, because we live up in Teller County and it's just seeing all that wildlife, finding those old, mysterious cabins, sometimes finding some cool rock or gem. I mean you just never know what's going to happen when you're out there. I actually purposely leave my phone in the car now. I know Search and Rescue doesn't like hearing that, but I feel like it's bad luck, you know, bringing it with me. I feel like I'm always going to see something cool if I don't have it with me and just being out in nature, and that's what brought me to Colorado in general.
Speaker 7:Yeah, I don't think I have a person or a few individuals who drive me, but it's become part of my identity and my community, and I still enjoy it. I just like the lifestyle right now. So for that reason I want to keep doing it and because of that it's a time sink. So doing it with so many other people and engaging with the community, that's an rewarding aspect too. So it's how I socialize, it's how I have fun. So I think those are the things that keep me going versus a particular person.
Speaker 10:I would say similar to John, not as much a person, but to eventually reach the top of the sport and be the best, I think is what drives me a lot. I also absolutely just love to run. So just getting out there for me is not necessarily like I need to be inspired to do it, it's I have to do it just for me. I don't feel like they all say, instead of getting hangry, my family all says I get wrongry because I didn't run. So I think I really need it and absolutely love doing it. So that's what inspires me the most any other questions?
Speaker 1:No, nobody, all right.
Speaker 7:I think that concludes our night Guys.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. Oh, one last thing Is anybody running tomorrow? Show of hands. Anybody going to be running tomorrow? Yeah, there's a shakeout tomorrow at 8 am Be here.
Speaker 7:Yeah, awesome, you're going in.
Speaker 5:Austin Bluffs. It is in Austin. Be here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 5:You're going in Austin Bluffs.
Speaker 1:It is in Austin Bluffs, yep If you're not running Austin Bluffs open space.
Speaker 5:Make sure you come in the morning, because, well, actually don't come. It's a hidden gem. It is an absolute hidden gem.
Speaker 4:We'll have some refreshments and coffee afterwards that will show up and some wrap lines.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, guys, thank you so much for coming out, Thank you to our panelists and thank you to Colorado Running Company for putting this on. Thank you.
Speaker 2:I think I'm excited to see you.
Speaker 9:I'm excited to see you.
Speaker 1:I'm excited to see you. I'm excited to see you.
Speaker 9:I'm excited to see you. I'm excited to see you.
Speaker 7:I'm excited to see you.
Speaker 3:I'm excited to see you. No, no, I was just going to say we are not doing anything?
Speaker 5:Yeah, we're not doing anything.
