Gore-Tex TransRockies
Tomorrow August 21st begins the infamous Gore-Tex TransRockies 6 day 120 mile trail race, it will no doubt be one of the most taxing and yet most enjoyable things I have done. Starting in Buena Vista, CO and ending in Beaver Creek, CO this run will take us through some of the most beautiful country in the world.
A few short months ago I was invited to participate in this amazing race that promises to expose me to some amazing trail running and more than likely humble my already humbled endurance capacity…wait do two humbled’s make a humiliation, sheesh I sure hope not!
Alright so here is the gist of the race; it is broken into 6 stages averaging 20 miles per day we start at 9am and must be back to camp by 5pm…easy right? Not so fast, you see this route is pretty brutal with lots of elevation gain and with three of the days we’ll top out over 11,000′.
I am really looking forward to this race (run) and I think JT and I will have a blast so long as my body does not fail me. Which it very well may seeing as how I ran the Pike’s Peak Ascent today and am already taxed. But that is why I trained so hard, right?! So I can power through the hard stuff? And when the stuff gets really tough I’ll just remember my motivators; beer and the question WWUD (What Would Ueli Do)?
OK so a bit more on today as it was the intro to the race, dinner and a debriefing as to basic rules and what we could expect in the coming days. First off the food was awesome (even though the didn’t serve beer) and while I joked about the normal food vs. the gluten free stuff the gluten free meal was much better so if you come for this in the future be sure and not scoff at the choices. After dinner we had the pleasure of hearing about the race and a bit of it’s history to which two things really stuck out to me; this is the 5th year and yeah there were a few folks that had raced it all 5 years! The other bit was that Gore-Tex has been the primary sponsor since it’s inception, which I think is super cool because so often larger companies will bail shortly after starting things, this speaks volumes of not only Gore’s commitment to the project but also to their dedication towards listening to the athletes on how to better their products. After a brief intro a young lady from the CDTA (Continental Divide Trail Alliance) spoke about the historic significance of the CDT as well as the stewardship that the CDTA embraces so our future generation have the opportunity to enjoy it as much as Lewis and Clark did.
Although I have crossed the Divide many times it had never sunk in at what a value it is and at what a great job this organization does to protect it for all to enjoy.
Alright well I’m gonna rack out for the night and the TransRockies folks have said they think I’ll have internet access so I should be able to update with thoughts and pics from the days happenings, but don’t be surprised if they are short and to the point, because I’ll be smoked!
