Thoughts on the Run

I have been introduced to the ultimate ultrarunner getaway spot here in Colorado. It is not at a fancy resort, there is no pool, and there is no cell signal. Well, I did get a cell signal after running 4 miles up to 8,650 feet. If you stop and listen, all you will hear is the wind blowing across the meadow combined with the bugle call of an elk. Upon arriving at the Elk Ranch in Estes Colorado, you feel disconnected from the busy world … and yet connected in a different way.

Elk Ranch is 8 miles off the paved road on 1,000 acres of land. On my visit, we had a herd of horses stand in the road the greet us at the gate. Yelling or encouraging the horses to move provided a comical look from several of them. It was a look of “I’ll move when I’m ready as this is my turf.” Clearly, nature is in charge here.

After passing through several more gates and true-to-life ranchers, we arrived at the main house to be greeted by our host. She gave us the low-down on turning on generators, pumps, and updates on the weather. We were in for some snow. Hearing that, many would not think about going outside to run. It just made me more excited to be there. She also let us know that the cows and horses are out roaming around so to be on the lookout.

The house was built in the late 1800s and has the required essentials: fireplace, stove, shower, and bed. Looking out the window Just around a few trees from the front door was a pond stocked with fish. We headed into the house to drop off our post-run supplies and grabbed a quick snack. After that, it was out the door for a couple hours of running.

We started down the road and our “warm-up” run was a 700 foot climb up a hill. Here is one of the great aspects of this place: there is 1,000 acres and at any point if you see a hill you feel like taking on, the door is wide open. There are very few trails or places that you can just take a sharp left off the path and charge up a mountain. This was some heart exploding feeling jaunts up a hill. Dodging tree branches, some barbed wire, and climbing rocks. Traveling trails very few get to witness.

After doing our little warm-up hill, we trotted on down the dirt road. The road is easy on the feet with very little footing to worry about. I started to dial back my speed as realizing I should run my pace and not the 2 well experienced runners I was with. I kept them within my site and they stopped at a couple intersections to wave me in the direction we were heading.

It was time to do another climb. This hill was 1.5 miles with 700 feet of climb. At times it felt like I wasn’t on a trail and was back in my days of playing paintball (story for another time). I could see the rock at the top we were aiming for and that was my motivation. The other two made it to the top a few minutes ahead of me and were yelling down words of encouragement. Or maybe it was hurry your slow ass up! but perception is in the eye of the beholder.

Climbing the last rock, the view was well worth it:

This is where I had cell signal, but no desire to check email. Standing on top of a mountain can make the surrounding mountains seem much smaller. Looking at the pictures from Crow’s Nest, the peaks look less daunting then in person.

We scoped out the rest of the run from that view pointing down to a meadow to cross and circling around to another peak. All seemed good to me with about another 1-2 hours on the trail to go. Looking around, it was clear we could spend days running around this land and still not cover it all. The wind blowing through sounded like a nearby river rushing by. I find more and more that it is important to pay attention to the details around me.

In those details are answers that I didn’t know I was looking for.

Descending down the hill went much faster than I expected. I didn’t feel like I was running fast, but the time just went by quickly. It felt good to cover some ground faster as I hadn’t been feeling 100% this day. At one point, my brain felt like it was swelling with pain. Taking off my beanie hat helped a bit. Didn’t realize how much I was sweating (air temp was upper 30’s), but the weight from it may have been causing the issue.

The other “issue” I was noticing on this run was a constant pressure on my chest. It is like running with a tight piece of rope tied around my chest. Not completely like having a heart attack feeling, but more like can’t relax and open up. I have been noticing it the past few weeks. This could be ignoring fighting off being sick, ignoring a potential injury, or just need a massage. It has been an unpredictable rollercoaster week of juggling multiple roles, expectations, and tasks to accomplish.

Cutting across the wide open meadow, the serene sound of the wind became more evident. The ground was like a trampoline as I just bounced along. I was surrounded by mountains and one in particular had a great deal of snow on top. It wouldn’t surprise me if I was being led up to that mountain top as that sounded like a great adventure. There were dark clouds rolling in with an occasional drop of moisture hitting me in the head.

Throughout the meadow were curious cows. Some where a few hundred feet off the trail and others a few feet. I was hoping that they were lazy cows with no interest in jumping in front of me. They certainly noticed me after having 2 runners pass by them just a few minutes prior. The cows gave off a very low-key energy and like they could fall over to take a nap at any moment.

They turned their heads towards me and it was like I could hear their voice:

Hey. Why are you running? Is there something chasing you I should be concerned about?

Possibly they wondered why I was chasing the other 2 runners.

It felt good to be out in the middle of nature with just my feet moving me forward. No matter what happened, it was up to me to get back with what I had. Reaching the other side of the meadow, I could see the other 2 runners rounding the corner and starting a climb. Off in the distance I heard what I thought was construction or someone shooting a shotgun. No biggie. I stopped and took a photo of some old farm equipment.

As I put away my phone from taking photos, I looked up to see the other 2 running back towards me. I thought to myself how I thought that was strange as we had talked about doing a loop. It appears they heard the noise as well and decided that to reduce the chance of being shot, we should turn around. My thought:

Benefit of being slower than the people you run with is that you’re not the first to run into gunfire.

Also, the weather was starting to turn on us. The joy of being in the mountains and temperatures in the 30’s means when you add water, you generally get snow … or worse. Not sure if worse then gunfire, but you know you can survive running in snow.

At this point, it was back across the field and rolling downhill roads to the cabin. Only goal was to keep running and not get caught in the storm. I don’t live in complete denial, I knew I would be the one caught in the storm. At least I knew how to get there, I just didn’t know how long it was going to take me. To pass the time, I made sure to say hello to all the wildlife I passed. In strange sort of twist, I also made sure to say hello to the wildlife I couldn’t see. You know, the ones that could be 100 feet into the trees watching and debating on whether or not I was worth their time.

The only hat I brought was the beanie which was already soaked. My 2 running cohorts were well ahead of me and most likely in the warm cabin. Clouds I was running from had now caught me and I was feeling what a porcupine to the face must feel like. It was sleeting sideways and I had nothing to protect my face. Well that’s not completely true. I could have taken off my outer shirt and wrapped it around my face. There’s always a solution to every situation.

Arriving at the cabin I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I was promised an adventure of running in the mountains and that promise was made good. It included the important elements:
– Great people
– Expansive landscape
– Challenging terrain
– Gunfire
– No cell or Internet service

We all brought our own food, which is a good thing, as my experience as a slow runner revolves around:
If you’re last you’re hungry.
I have finished marathons where the beer and food were empty at the finish line. Uncool.

I happily dug into my turkey sandwich as I sat next to the furnace. We enjoyed conversation topics ranging from movies to stories of the trail to politics. One of the things I love about ultrarunners is their open mindness and diversity. It’s a community of people that just enjoy life without restrictions.

There is talk about organizing a 50k ultra at Elk Ranch. It would be a word-of-mouth small group (under 50) that is interested in running with their own fuel and enjoying the remoteness Colorado has to offer. If that sounds interesting to you, send me a message or leave a comment. Current goal is for the spring to avoid getting snowed in. Then again, that may just make the adventure even greater.