This is a quick early version of our Pikes Peak vacation and race report. We just arrived home this evening (Tuesday) after driving all day from Colorado, so this is a quick short race report.
The race was on Sunday. We drove to Colorado on Thursday, stayed at Desiree's home on Thursday evening and Friday evening. It rained Thursday night and Friday and Saturday.
PD, Lynda, Bobby, and I drove up to the top of Pikes Peak on Friday in the fog and clouds. Tom H and his wife Yvonne and son Joseph drove up with us. Tom and I ran about 1/3 of a mile down the trail and then back up, just to give Tom a feel for running at 14,000 feet altitude. We all had a ball up there in the fog, fortunately finding the gift shop and spending some time there.
Saturday evening I pinned the dedication to the back of my running singlet, "In Memory of MOM, 1908 - 2008". Mother passed away in May this year at 100 years old. During the race a lot of runners gave me encouragement about the dedication. During the race several times I thought of how mom enjoyed hearing about the races. She would have loved hearing about this one.
Tom joined me Sunday morning prior to the race at 6:30 AM. We got our family pictures (Lynn, PD, me, Desiree, Sid, Tapainga, Chaise, Bobby, Madge, and Lynda) and with Tom's family, and some pictures of the top of the snow covered mountain. The announcer at the start line gave a warning that the temperature at the top of Pikes Peak was 29 degrees with a 32 degree high forecast with 2 to 3 inches of snow at the summit and a storm heading this way, so he said if necessary they would call off the race (sounded like just an official required caution warning). The temperature in Manitou Springs at the start was a nice 51 degrees.
There are a library of stories to tell about this race, but the short fast summary is that we had snow falling a couple of inches deep on the mountain and packed on the trail for the last 2 miles to the top making a extremely dangerous situation for close to 800 runners going up and down the mountain sharing the same narrow trail. But what an awesome experience!! I was full of energy and the legs felt great this year compared to the rubber legs during much of the race last year.
I also took my new Flip Video camera with me and recorded video of much of the run up through the snow. The family loves seeing first hand what I experienced up in the snow. I was the only runner that I remember (or that we saw on video) who ran to the summit wearing just shorts and a singlet and a pair of gloves in the cold and snow. Everyone else we saw had pulled on long weather pants and jackets and ear muffs and gloves. The reason I do this is because on the ascent I build enough body heat that I do not need the long sleeve shirt or jacket or pants on the ascent. On the descent for the first 2 miles through the snow and ice I did put on a long sleeve running shirt that I had wrapped around my waist.
I saw runners slipping and falling in the snow and ice conditions, but fortunately none of the runners that I saw got hurt. On the descent I really took off from the A-Frame (tree line) for 2 miles and had a couple of younger runners tailing me as we flew past other runners. This was rather dangerous for me as we leaped over large rocks and roots and risked falling on our face, but fortunately none of the disasters caught up with us. Finally with about a half mile to go to Barr Camp I told these guys that I knew I could not keep this up for the rest of the race so I let them go, and then I backed it down a little and ran my own pace, still steadily passing runners and having a great experience.
With about 5 miles to go a guy from New Mexico caught me and he was running strong. We ran together for about 200 meters and talked and finally I let him go. I noticed the grey hair on the back of his head as he took off and I wondered if he was in my age group (60-64). It turns out he won my age group. Fortunately I was only 4 minutes 30 seconds behind him to take 2nd place (6 hours 42 minutes 30 seconds). I had been hoping for a podium finish today and I got it. There were 33 men registered in my age group. 23 finished. The guy who took 3rd place finished 4 minutes 37 seconds behind me. The 4th place guy finished 2 minutes 53 seconds behind him, so the top 4 finished pretty close to each other.
I was the oldest Texas runner again this year and my 2nd place finish is the highest placing of any Texas runner in their respective age groups. There were three who finished 5th in their age group. There were a total of 41 Texas runners.
Just a great race. One thing that made it especially good for the family was that I used my cell phone to let them know when I had 4 miles to go, then 2 miles to go, then 1 mile to go, so they knew when to be watching for me. Just for the good looks I really flew into the finish area as I came down Ruxton Avenue. Paul Dean was catching it on his Flip Video.
Tom was running his first Pikes Peak Marathon and finished the race successfully and had stories to tell also. What an experience. After the race and a visit to the massage tables and the awards ceremony where I got my picture taken with Matt Carpenter (the legend of the Pikes Peak Marathon) we went back to the hotel and went swimming and the hot tub. We both feel great with no injuries or any problems after the race.
The family had a ball while we were racing as they went through the shops in Manitou Springs. Then on Tuesday we drove down to the Royal Gorge near Canon City, CO. We had an absolute ball there. PD, Sid and I got strapped into the Sky Coaster and had the ride of our lives. A full fun day with everyone.
From this vacation and race we have a mass of pictures and video. PD is going to build us a nice DVD with all the pictures and video. Can't wait for the DVD.
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