My trail-running shoes and trekking pole tips make a crunchy sound each time they land on the trail’s crushed granite, and my breathing sounds shallow and rapid in the thin, dry air. I endeavor to take slower, deeper breaths while ascending rocky outcroppings through pine trees, almost above treeline at just over 11,000 feet. Running at this slope and altitude is out of the question, but I can hike faster to work my cardio system for peak training while reaching the summit of Mount Rosa near Colorado Springs.
Thankfully, I’ve got good company to boost my spirits and beat back ambivalence. I’m following ultrarunning friend Monica Ochs, an accomplished runner from Washington state, and she’s following champion runner and coach Corrine Malcom, who’s guiding us. Behind me, a half dozen new runner friends make the trek—runners like Michelle Rice of New Jersey, whom I’ve nicknamed “Horse Powered” because she does endurance riding on horses and previously rode in the Vermont 100. Now she wants to run the Vermont 100 on her own legs.
I’m in Day Three of an ultrarunning camp organized over Memorial Weekend by coach Jason Koop of Carmichael Training Systems, which brought together nearly 30 runners like me to participate and several top-level coaches, like Corrine, who work with Koop. When we finally reach the 11,500-foot summit of Mount Rosa to take in the panoramic views of other mountaintops, including Pikes Peak, my legs feel rubbery, but overall I feel elated because I’m accomplishing three solid days of training in this region with like-minded trail/ultrarunners.
Our sub-group at Jason Koop’s Memorial Weekend Ultrarunning Camp in Colorado Springs, on the summit of Mount Rosa. Our group’s coach, Corrine Malcolm, is third from left, next to me second from left.
Monica Ochs in the center, with me pictured just ahead of her. We “earned our turns” by running & hiking up more than 6000 feet on this day before bombing down these smooth switchbacks. (This and all other camp photos that follow are by Cory Bruno.)
On the previous two days, we put in solid half-day runs on steep terrain, with mileage hitting the high teens each day. Day Two routed us up the famous Manitou Incline of steps on a mountainside—2000 feet of climbing in a mere mile, part of the day’s 5000 feet of vert. Today, we’ll go for over seven hours, up 6500 feet and close to 30 miles.
During this running camp, nothing matters but following the day’s route with other interesting, inspiring runners. I learn as much as I can, sharpen my trail-running skills, push my limits physically; and then, in the evening, eat good food and recuperate.
I’m in the center, flanked by two women with whom I shared housing during the Colorado Springs camp, Becky Kirschenmann and Monica Ochs, as we pose for a pic on this summit before descending the mountain and then tackling the Manitou Incline.
A view of the Manitou Incline that we—and hordes of others—marched up in the hot, dry midday climate.
This is me doing a drill with some others to practice downhill technique.
A Trail-Running Retreat
To me, an ideal getaway is not an island resort or a spa weekend. It’s a running camp in a mountain environment. Attending Geoff Roes’s Alaska Ultrarunning Camp in 2012 proved transformational in my development as an ultrarunner, giving me the courage and skills to complete my first self-supported multiday stage race that year. Being a guest coach and mentor at a Texas trail-running camp in 2015 similarly inspired and boosted my aptitude as a runner, while also developing some lasting friendships.
Going to Koop’s camp two weeks ago provided the three-day training block and motivation I needed to fast-track preparation for the June 23 San Juan Solstice 50, which I’m running as part of the buildup to the Ouray 100 in late July. (Injury handicapped my training in March and April, so I needed to get my rear in gear and make up miles in May.)
These totally worthwhile experiences at trail-running camps heighten my excitement to launch a new mountain-running camp just one month from now—the San Juan Mountain Running Camp organized by Highline Running Adventures and coached by yours truly. We still have spots available for the two sessions, July 11 – 14 and September 23 – 26, and you don’t have to be a hard-core, altitude-adapted ultrarunner to participate (check out the website’s “difficulty” and “itinerary” tabs for info on the experience recommended). You can be a moderate midpack trailrunner; you just need the desire and means to get to this gorgeous corner of Colorado to spend three great days “running” (broadly defined to include a fair amount of hiking) on trails in the mountains above Ouray and Ophir (near Telluride).
Our camp will start in Ouray for the first night, and stay near Ouray for the first run; then we’ll transfer to a rustic backcountry lodge called the Opus Hut located at 11,600 feet off of Ophir Pass Road.
The Opus Hut in the backcountry off of Ophir Pass Road, where we’ll spend two nights and have meals during our July 11 – 14 and Sept. 23 – 26 camps.
A meadow in bloom next to the Opus Hut; courtesy the Opus Hut FB page.
We’ll spend the better part of each day running on nearby high-elevation trails, including part of the Hardrock 100 course, and then we’ll have downtime and clinics in the afternoons and evenings. Some of topics we’ll cover: safety & gear for mountain running; fueling & hydrating for mountainous long runs; uphill & downhill technique and pacing strategies.
This is part of the route we’ll likely run on Day One, near Ouray (a stretch of the Hardrock course). My husband took this pic of me when we ran it together last fall.
And here’s another section we’ll cover during our camp, near Ophir and Grant Swamp Pass (seen here last summer while I was pacing Mark Tanaka during the Hardrock 100).
If you or someone you know might be interested, please contact Highline to sign up and rsvp “interested” on the Facebook event pages for the July camp (soon, because it’s only a month away!) and the September camp. We have a great small group so far for July, and I’d love to welcome a few more.
Training Update
I get butterflies when I think I have to run an extremely tough 50-miler in TWO WEEKS, the San Juan Solstice 50; and then, I have to get my head and body ready for the extreme challenge of the Ouray 100, which has 41,000+ feet of gain (more than Hardrock, which has 33K of gain!?!). I don’t know how I’ll do it, except by doing the ultrarunning equivalent of “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” I’ll take this one segment or mountain pass at a time, somehow stringing together and getting up and down 16 segments that, each on their own, would make a significant day hike.
Our adorable new kitten, Loki, studying my annotated version of the Ouray 100 elevation profile.
My training volume is not what I hoped it would be, but it feels at least close to adequate and high quality. Mostly I’m grateful to be running again, (almost) injury-free. My sore spot still feels bruised and achy (an oblique muscle/tendon strain near the iliac crest of the right side of my pelvis), but it’s manageable and does not affect my gait, so I’m running through it.
I viewed the three-day Colorado Springs camp, which took place two weeks ago, as a litmus test for whether I could and should run San Juan Solstice 50. If I couldn’t handle the camp’s volume, then I’m not ready for this 50-miler. But those three days felt pretty darn good. Similarly, I’m viewing SJS50 as a litmus test for Ouray 100. If I can’t get through that 50-miler with confidence, then I probably shouldn’t line up to start the Ouray 100 five weeks later.
Meanwhile, I’m savoring these training runs. Sign up for our July 11 or September 23 camp if you’d like to run around here, too!
A training run above Ouray on the Twin Peaks segment of the Ouray 100 course a few weeks ago.
Great write up. Crazee big goals! Good luck with the 50 and 100 and all of the climbing! It will be fun to see your reports later on.
Thank you Sarah for sharing the miles at camp! It was truly a pleasure to converge with such an interesting group of people. I learned so much from everyone- the most experienced to the least. I got royally served on the incline, but I loved running in such a beautiful place and with such positive people.
Have fun this summer!
5 days till race day! Great article and I’m happy to hear your running is back on track, even though it means my demise 🙁