This past wednesday I took a bit of a risk and jumped my long run distance up by ten miles. I have a 50 mile race coming up, and although it might seem unorthodox to do this long of a run prior to race day, for me it is a matter of confidence. If I can run 40, I know I can make it 10 more.

But back to the trails. For this run I got to hit up some great mountain trails just west of Colorado Springs. I went through the Garden of the Gods, caught Rampart Range Road up to the Williams Canyon turn off, added on the Waldo Canyon Loop, then met up with some friends for a loop of Red Rocks and Section 16. Here is the map for anyone interested in trying out some of the trails: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/169798632#. Once again my garmin lost signal a few times so the map is actually 2.25 miles short of the true route.

This is the standard view on Rampart Range Road. I normally get washed over with dust on the weekends, but today was a pleasant vehicle free morning run up the road.

The climb up Rampart is always a good one, not too steep but pretty solid the whole time. It also offers up some great views of the city and the mountains to the south of Manitou.

At just under 8000 feet I reached to Williams Canyon turn off. This small trail starts just past a radio tower. I find it to be one of the more rocky and technical trails in the area, but if you can get past that it also gives you some of the most striking views of any trail around.

About halfway down the Williams Canyon Trail there’s another turn off to the west. This connection will take you up a short single track where you can then catch the Waldo Canyon Loop. Waldo is one of the more popular loop trails in the area so I always try to run it on weekdays when I don’t have to worry about passing hikers on the narrow trail.

After finishing up the waldo loop and heading back down Williams I cut back through Manitou to meet up with fellow runners Dan Kraft and Peter Maksimow, they agreed to keep me company while the miles piled up in my legs.

We took a circuitous route through Red Rocks in order to catch the Paul Intemann Memorial trail. I’ve always been a big fan of the trails in Red Rocks. It’s really fun to wind through all of the big red stones and deep valleys.

After running south on the Intemann trail the three of us took the steep route up the Palmer Red Rock loop.

For me the climb up that loop was final big effort. After that it was mainly smooth sailing down high drive and then back the way we came through Red Rocks.

Although this run is too long to do on a regular basis it did allow me to link up a lot of really great trails with barely any street running. And for anyone who hasn’t run in these areas hopefully these pictures will be enough to entice you to check them out. If you have any other questions about the trails I ran on this week’s long run feel free to stop by the Tejon store. I’m always game to talk trails.

I’ve signed up for the Pikes Peak Marathon this year, which I think is a good idea. In order to get a jump start on training for the Peak I tried to follow the marathon course on this long run. For those of you who don’t know, the Pikes Peak Marathon course is pretty much just an out and back to the 14115 foot summit, starting from memorial park and ending right by the Mate Factor on Manitou Ave. Here’s my route: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/163958451. Once again I had a bit of an issue with my Garmin loosing signal, so the distance isn’t quite right.

Barr trail might be one of the most popular trails in the area, but for most people it’s only the way to get down off the incline. For that reason starting at 11 am on a Sunday morning might not have been the best idea. Sure I got some great views and amazing weather, but I also got some not so great views (namely JT).

After weaving my way through the W’s I got a bit of relief on the first few flat sections of the trail. I also like to take my first gel during this section. It’s a nice place to take in the view of Cameron’s Cone and the first few brief glimpses of the summit.

After getting past No Name creek and the little steep section just beyond it I was treated to some more flat areas before arriving at Barr camp. Even up until this point there was no noticeable snow.

After Barr camp I was greeted by the first sections of snow on the trail. The three miles after Barr camp are always my least favorite.

I’m not sure why, but they are. And this time I had to deal with long stretches of snow, luckily the warm weather has given them a nice soft crust to run on. It didn’t really slow me down too much.

After climbing out of the dreaded final tree section my view of top was a sight for sore eyes. It also proved to be much less snow filled, at least for the first mile above timberline.

Once I passed the 2 miles to go sign, things got a lot slower. This picture gives you a good idea of what the trail was like. It was about 50/50 runable trail versus shin slicing post holing. I managed to move along fairly quick, but any time I hit the post holing sections I was forced to walk.

I kept on going despite my slowness. The last mile was especially treacherous, with the 16 Golden Stairs turning into a kind of ice staircase.

I made it! It’s always great to make a quick stop to get some more water, or donuts if you’r so inclined, and take in the surroundings.  At least it’s fun until the next train full of people shows up.

The way back down was much of the same, except faster. I took a few spills on the snow, but not much more then a bit of butt glissading.

By the time I got back down past the W’s and onto the pavement my quads were feeling it. I try to think of other things, like the wonderful assortment of beer I might have when I get home.

And finally, after about a 4:43 Pikes Peak marathon, I returned home. The sight of Olga, my van, has never been sweeter. It’s amazing to think that this run is even possible in a day. I am used to seeing Pikes as a part of the horizon but very rarely do I think of it as being something that I can reach the top of and return in just one day. I guess it’s just another reason why living in this part of the world is so amazing.

Once again I have the garmin data to share or those who are interested in repeating a similar loop: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/160692705. Depending on which way you go through the Garden of the Gods you can add or subtract at least a mile or two. On this run I took the long way.

The snow has left the Garden these days. The only issue for runners now is avoiding tourists and horse trains. But seriously who can blame them? When you can get to this kind of stuff from your front door who wouldn’t take advantage of it.

For me the garden was the first stop on this long run. If you’re starting from the downtown area you would hitting this area around the 7 mile mark. After my jaunt through the rocks I made my way through the balance rock exit and down to Manitou in order to catch the long but gentle climb up Crystal Park Rd.

I always do this loop counter clockwise to avoid having to run down the longest paved stretch of the loop, which is of course the section of Crystal Park Road. On this occasion I even got a bit of a rest when I stopped by to pick up my Inov8 team member Peter Maksimow from his house. We continued up the rest of the road before turning off on the Intemann trail southwards.

Even though Peter and I started to gain some elevation on the surprisingly technical Intemann trail there was still no snow to slow us down. The warm weather as of late and the lack of precipitation has left the mountains dry and dusty.

From the Intemann trail Peter and I headed through the section 16 area, added on a small loop of the newly created “Stephanie’s Trail” then started the quick descent into Bear Creek and the city. This picture is a good representation of what Bear Creek is- the boundary line between urban and wild landscapes.

Here the route took us full force into the city. Fortunately this section is also the flattest and fastest section of the loop.

My old starting place, the fields and apartments of wonderful Colorado College. If someone were to start at the Colorado Running Company this would be your first landmark.

From Monument Valley Park I like to cut though Sonderman Park. This small park, just west of the creek on Fontanero Blvd, is a trail runner’s dream. It’s close to downtown and yet it has some of the steepest, rockiest trails you can find. I highly recommend heading over to this area any time you’re looking for some hills and solitude.

For me, this was the final view of the run, but if you’re coming from the Colorado Running Company downtown this would be your gateway to the garden and the rest of the run.

Back in the day, when I did the loop for the first time, I didn’t bring anything with me. These days I like to carry my hand held water bottle and a couple gels mixed with some water in my flask. I’ve found this set up to be pretty ideal for long runs. It doesn’t take up a lot of space, it doesn’t bounce around, and yet it helps me keep the pace strong. Just like all of the stuff I use on my runs, these two little essentials are always in stock at the CRC.

As for next week, we’ll see where the trails take me, but rest assured I’ll have some sort of new route for anyone out there to try out.

A few weeks and a lot of questions later I stuffed a camera into my shorts and went out for a run in the mountains. This week’s long run took me on a few of my favorite trails in the Bear Creek Canyon area.

Here’s my trusty (?) Garmin Forerunner 210’s data from the run (it timed out for the a bit of the palmer trail):

The climb through red rocks is looking pretty dry these days. Not even the sticky mud out there to slow me down.

That’s where I’m headed for the first big climb!

The newly opened trail through “the white area” is bone dry.

The lower bits of section 16 look like they could have been summer time.

After a thousand feet of climbing I started to hit a little bit of snow on the Palmer Red Rock loop.

The view from the top of the loop. Across the canyon is high drive, my eventual descent. It’s beautiful but daunting. The rest of the loop stayed pretty dry and I was able pick up the pace. It seems like the Red Rock loop is always a safe bet in the winter time. I like to go up the steep way and down the more gradual section in the off chance that there is ice on the trail. I’m always thinking about my safety when it comes to trail running…

My next big climb is one of my favorites, the 666 trail. Although there is a lot of ice on the lower sections of the trail right now the higher areas are clear enough to run almost uninterrupted.

Here’s one of the interruptions. A steady foot is needed to avoid a tumble into the valley below.

Another place worth stopping: the high point of my run on the Cap’n Jacks trail. Both Cap’n Jacks and the Mt. Buckhorn Trail are currently in really good shape. The Mt Buckhorn descent to goldcamp road was dry and fast.

The upper parking lot of Cheyenne Canyon, as seen from the Mt. Buckhorn Trail. Almost looks like summer, if you ignore the snow in the shadows.

The final climb up and over high drive was surprisingly good. There were a few snowy and muddy patches but nothing my Inov8 X-Talons (available at the CRC) couldn’t handle. I chose this loop because of it’s accessibility in winter time. I feel like Colorado Springs is one of the few places where runners can be on dry trails in big mountains year round. I had to alter my route a little bit because of the snow, but as the 4000 feet of climbing can attest, it didn’t stop me from hitting some great trail running. Next time you’re in the Cheyenne Canyon/Bear Creek Canyon area make sure to hit up some of these iconic Colorado Springs trails. I’ll let you know what kind of condition they’re in next week.