Thanks to Tim Bergsten at PikesPeakSports.us for the video.

A few months ago, I ran The Pikes Peak Ascent, and for those of you who don’t know, that’s a grueling half marathon from Manitou Springs, all the way up Barr Trail to the summit of Pikes Peak. Just over 13 miles of “running”, gaining 7,815 feet and ending up at just over 14,000 feet of elevation, where oxygen is as rare as birth control in the Duggar family.

Overall, I had a fantastic day, and most runners would agree that the race staff and volunteers put on one of the finest endurance events in the world.

I finished. But I finished in the bottom 10. 6 hours, 24 minutes and some change.

“The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare.” - Juma Ikangaa

Now, don’t get me wrong. Just finishing this race is something of an accomplishment. Most people take upwards of 8 hours or more to travel up Barr Trail. And I passed (and was passed by) several people with hearts of steel that wouldn’t let them stop when that’s all their bodies begged them to do. So, I’m proud of finishing, yes…

…but I’m not satisfied. Everyone has their own level of fitness, their own level of health, and their own level of ability. The beauty of this crazy sport we call running is that personal challenge – that quest to improve ourselves and do better, always using our past successes (and failures) as benchmarks. I did not live up to my personal level of ability. I didn’t even come close to my own PR!

I succeeded at finishing the race. I failed at preparing for it. I simply did not perform at my best because I did not prepare at my best. And as Juma Ikangaa famously said, “The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare.”

I was complaining about this fact to John, manager of The Colorado Running Company, and he nodded his head understandingly. John coaches some of the most prolific Pikes Peak runners in the world. Hell, he’s married to one of the most successful female runners Pikes Peak has ever seen. The Colorado Running Company even maintains a 2-mile stretch of our beloved Barr Trail, and John sits on the committee that puts on the Barr Trail Mountain Race (BTMR). If anyone understands what it takes to compete on that field, it’s John.

I proceeded to tell him that if I’d just taken training more seriously, I wouldn’t have had such a terrible trip up the mountain. After nodding,John looked at me and said, “You know what? I dare you.”

“Dare me to what?”

“I dare you to take it seriously this year. Instead of just talking about it, actually train for it.”

This intrigued me, because I thought I’d considered this before. I mean, I’ve been running on Pikes Peak for years, and I signed up for the race this year, right? But when the words left his mouth, I realized that I hadn’t trained. Not really. I’d sold myself short, and my finish time reflected that.

So I asked John if he’d like to make this interesting. If I take training seriously this year, and take John up on his dare, would he give $10 for every minute I am under 5 hours in 2012 to Friends of the Peak? (a local non-profit organization dedicated to Pikes Peak and its preservation) I thought that this might be an easy sell, since CRC and the BTMR already contribute financially and in other ways to Friends of the Peak.

Much to my annoyance, he took me up on it.

Over the next 8 months, I’m going to train. Not just for the race, but I’m going to work on improving my health, fitness, and overall mental outlook through running on America’s Mountain. I’m going to take training seriously, approaching it with intensity (and with intelligence…no point in hurting myself, because then how much money could I earn for charity?), and I’m going to see just how far under 5 hours I can get in one year.

And just to make the pot even more sweet, if I fail to prepare, for every minute OVER 5 hours, I’m personally going to give $10 to Friends of the Peak.

Oh, and I’m going to blog about my progress here at CoRunCo.com. If you’d like to keep up (or, you know, help me figure this out), visit here or like us on Facebook. So I’m not just going to aim for an ambitious goal, I’m going to let anyone who visits this website watch: whether I rock it…or fall flat on my face.

So here’s to another exciting year on my running adventure, and to making John dig deep…into his pockets!

This past weekend was The Ascent-the first half of the Pikes Peak Marathon and the final leg of the Triple Crown of Running-and CRC’s team did us proud!

CRC had 3 top 10 finishers on the men’s side. Tommy Manning took 2nd place, Peter Maksimow was hot on his heels with 7th place, and Alex Nichols wasn’t far behind in 9th. The ladies were fierce competitors, too; Connilee Walter and Cindy O’Neill took 6th and 7th respectively. Amanda Ewing also turned in an impressive showing and finished fifth in her age group.

As if racing 13.1 miles up a mountain…the top of which cannot even sustain tree life…isn’t crazy enough, some belonging to a special breed known as “doublers” run back down the hill, too. CRC’s team, of course, boasts one of these special tribesmen. Sean O’Day did well in both the Ascent and the marathon finishing in the top 5 for his age group and 8th in the marathon.

But Peter and Alex didn’t stop there…they carried on running in the Transrockies Run (where Peter finished 4th!)

Congratulations to all the CRC team runners for being fierce and determined competitors. We’re proud of you!

Now, imagine doing both, back to back.

Team CRC runners Peter Maksimow and Alex Nichols are doing just that.

Follow their exploits on their Transrockies Run Blog at Colorado Runner’s website.

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