Colorado Marathon

I am so excited to report that I started this morning by receiving a notification that I had just won a free entry into the sold out Colorado Marathon (courtesy of COUNTRY Financial).  I am excited to be running this race again, but this year I will only be running the half marathon (I would love to do the full, but I am not prepared and a lot of people would be furious at me for even trying).  My race review will be posted in less than two weeks!

Grand Prix of Running 5K on St Patrick’s Day

Grand Prix of Running 5K on St Patrick’s Day will always be a special race for me. It was my very first distance race and I ran it in 2007. I have to specify distance because growing up I ran track and participated in countless races under 400 meters (anything further was just stupid, or so I thought!)

This is the 28th running of one of Colorado Springs oldest races and fits in with the second oldest parade in our community. The 5K on St. Patrick's Day kicks off the start of the running season for runners in the Springs. For most of the races, the weather has been quite marvelous, with just enough of a nip in the air. The 5K is one of the fastest 5K's in Colorado Springs and will be run on Tejon Street, starting and ending at Acacia Park. Come on Down(town)!!

Making a Splash for Uncle Wilber!

The Leprechaun Fun Run is a fundraiser for the Uncle Wilber Fountain in Acacia Park. In 2001, the fountain was given as a gift to the citizens of the Pikes Peak Region. However, the maintenance and operation costs are publicly supported. The proceeds of the Leprechaun Fun Run will go to this effort.

The colorful fountain has entertained thousands of kids (and adults too!) with its whimsical music, colored lights, and unpredictable streams of water. The fountain is open daily in the summertime from Noon to 6 pm. Bring a towel and join the fun on a hot summer afternoon!

Goodie Bag: A t-shirt, race bib and some ads in a paper bag. They have done better!

Start Line: This race takes place right in downtown Colorado Springs. I admit, Colorado Springs is not a big city, it is a small city and downtown is even smaller. And it happens right before the parade which could make things really interesting! Every year the start area is set up very well. There is no question where the start line is. There could be more porta potties, but I don’t think any race could ever have enough! This year they actually had a starting mat so I think people were a little more relaxed when it came to starting the race.

Course: This is the second Colorado race I get to say was flat! It wasn’t quite an out and back, but pretty close. Maybe a big misshapen ‘I’ would be a little more accurate. The course goes by two of the local running stores (one of them being on the top of my list, the other I don’t really go to). Then it is nice smooth sailing to the finish line.

Course Support: There are no water stops, but this is only a 5K so are they really needed? I don’t think so since it isn’t a hard course nor is it in the summer. The volunteers – wonderful! They were friendly, they were cheering everyone on, they were great! The cops also did a great job, I realize they are paid to be there, but just because you are paid to be somewhere doesn’t mean much.

Finish Line: It seems every year or so it moves! I think this is the second year it was located on the straight away instead of around the corner (I like it on the straight away!). After the finish line, around the corner was a table with water cups and then in the main area of the park were the

Overall: I personally treated this race as a training run. I enjoyed running with over 2,000 of my closest friends! To me this is a good start of the season race it helps give me an idea where my training is at and what I need to do to get it to where I want it to be.

Great Pumpkin Race 5K/10K

Down and dirty - love this one!

From the race site:
4th Annual Great Pumpkin Run at Venetucci Farm - October 2nd, 8:30 a.m. - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. Race shirts and Running Bibs, for the 4th Annual Great Pumpkin Run at Venetucci Farm, are now available for pick up at Runners Roost, 121 North Tejon. If you registered online or via mail, you can pick up your packet through 6:00 p.m. on Friday, 10/1.
Race Limited to 600 runners - $30.00 - Register at Runner's Roost until 6:00 p.m. Friday, October 1stSaturday, October 2nd - Registration opens at 7:00 a.m. (t-shirts not guaranteed for racers after 600)


I signed up for this race probably close to 5 minutes before online registration closed. My PT doc had been talking about it and then I got an email so it was one of those, why not!
Expo: There wasn’t really one. Packet pickup was at one of the local running stores. In and out, nice, quick and easy.

Start Line: This race was on a pumpkin farm! The starting line had all of six porta-potties (I will get to those in a minute), Harley – the monster pig, a bunch of pumpkins, and a hand of runners! There were six porta-potties with a cap of 600 runners. The race was held off until all the potty people were lined up ready to race.

Course: Keeping in mind it is Colorado, this course was pretty much flat. Ok, Colorado flat. We were warned about animals (and the fact we weren’t supposed to ride them to the finish line), cow pies (hello, farm!) and holes. The course had some pretty narrow areas, but it was a very peaceful run. It was 99% dirt (I think I stole about five pounds of it in my shoes), there was a short section of cement and about two feet of asphalt (ok, it was more than two feet, but whatever!).

Course Support: There was only one water stop (10K hit it twice), there were multiple volunteers along the course making sure we didn’t take the scenic route (I heard one lady did). They were all very friendly and cheering everyone on. It was great!

Finish Line: Was well marked, the last .2 miles passed some horses, Harley and I think some chickens. The two shoots were VERY vibrantly marked.

Overall: This race was run. I was using it as a training run and enjoyed every step of it. I PRed (but then again, I have only done two 10Ks and the last one was up a mountain). I would highly recommend trying to be one of the first 200 to register, the tech shirts looked a lot better than the t-shirts. For a small local race, it was perfect!