imogene - 9/10/11 - burke drinks the koolaid! part three

burke didnt eat too much..but i enjoyed the pasta while burke ate my brownies...lol. it was nice to see some familiar faces..Ron and Glen from Phoenix! the pre-race meeting was just as comical as last year and the slide show brought some gasps from the crowd. experiencing this for a second time was fun as i could see all of the newbies gettin all worried and pale..as to say "what the hell did i get myself into??" but not burke..he looked calm, cool and collected. i think that he was having some fun with it too as whenpeople would ask if he had ever done the ace efore he would say..welll sort of..and just snicker. and then he would defer their questions too me...the seasoned vet...lol...for this race...having finished it makes you just that...a seasoned veteran.  after getting our fill and hearing all over the tales and pre race deails we headed out. oh wait how can i foret...the weather report...one of the best gaaspers of the night...you see when we did the packet pick up there was a lady sitting there updating the current forecast at the summit and it was causing quite a stir as the whieoard was showing freezing temps with high wind gusts and a 70% chance of snow.perect whiteout conditions for the race and something else just to make it a little more fun, a little more epic if you will. that is the one thing that i really love about this race...while it is only 17.1 miles and has a little bit of a climb..the weather is the big x factor that you never know what you are going to get....sort of an element of surprise.
ok..getting back to the post meeting..burke and i walked around town for a bit and loked at somemore of the old buildins and then even stopped for an iced coffee for dessert..it was mcdonald's but it hit the spot.

the morning of the race came in an instant, no sooner after we had settled in for the night. a quick peek ouside showed signs of possible bd weather as he clouds were jusst packed in overhead and boy was it cold!after getting ready burke and I made our way out to Main Stret aand the staarting line area..after a few photos and some well wishing b burke and i found our spots in the growd and disappearred from each others sight. in the crow i was able to see another great friend of mine from the Mountain Milers of PRESCOTT...STEVE - O!! Steve and i became close friends in prescott as we aare both crazy runners and i have alot of respect for all that he has accomplished!
when the gun sounded it was 50 degrees and only 10 mile per hour wind gusts in town..not too bad...and with that we were off!i was cruising along having fun..not going too fast, and not going too slow...but yet slow enough to take it all in once aain. i annot stop from getting goosebumps when thinking about the course even when i am typing this......it iß haven. before i knew it I was making my way from lower bird camp to the upper bird camp area...a section of the course that burke had not seen yet. i kept thinking to myself and hoping and praying thatthat burke would be ok and would be able to make the cutoffs. i know that he had the heart to get it donne.just then i felt a sudden drop in temperature as my finers sarted to go numb...i had taken my gloves off shortly after the sart of the race as i had warmed up quickly and didnt want to end up overheating. as i started the final climb to the summit...1800 feet in a short 2 mile period, i was shivering like crazy and i could not feel my fingers anymore. slowly i climbed, one foot in front of the other untilfinally reaching the top...where is was flurrying , 30 degrees and there were 40 mph wind gusts. i literally had to have someone unzzip my coat pockes just so i could get my gloves out and put on. i drank a ton of soup...stripped down to my iRun t.shirt...because i promised my friend Mark Cosmos a picture in the shirt at the summit and then i got dressed in a hury and took off down the sttp downhill section of the race. i was liteally flying in my hokas! god i love those shoes! and then...efore i knew it i waas crossing the finish line in a respectable 4 hours and 3 minutes...about an hour faster than the previous year.. 40 minues aser actually i think. i was happy! i quickly grabbed my finisher's pin and retreated to a porta potty and then over to the finish line goodies for a snack. i then went back over to the finish line area and had a blast watching people come in across the finish...i was happy to see Steve, Glen and Ron all make it and then thins sarted to slowly turn to a feeling more of hope and praying as i so wanted burke to make it. i honestly had no clue where he was and how he was doing. we had each aken our phones with us...but coverage on the Pass is spotty t best.i sent burke a message to let him know i was done aand to check in on him...t fist i didnt et an answer...time was quickly pasing and still no word or sign of him.i prayed harder and harder to help burke make and and just then i got a message that burke had reahed the ssummit...had missd the cutoff but was allowed to continue. i was glad to hear from him, yet sad to hear that he had mised the cutoff and confused that he had been allowed to continue...i wasnt sure if that meant hat he was still officially in the race or not. no matter..he was good and that was all that matered..and he he been to the mountain top..something so special that it will change your life forever. about an hour later i got another message that burke was in pain and having issues and he wasnt sure how far he was from the next aid stion...i knew that he had to be close to the archway aid station whcih wwas around mile  13. so this meant that he was still about an hour or so awy from the finish line at a minimum...the only problem was that the final cuttoff was looming and the final bus backto ouay was etting ready to leave. i didnt know what else to do but to take the buse back to town 50 minutes there and 50 minutes ack to the finish area via my car. had i not done so we would have had to try to find a ride because there was no taxi service between the to towns.. and so i hopeed on the bus and left burke a message. i felt so bad. i wanted to be able to see him crossing the fiish. i nwanted to get a picture of him to commemerate this eepic journey..but it was all that i could do. i felt even worse when it started to rain as we drove back on the bus. when we got about 10 minutes outside of ouray i finally got  a message from burke..he had made it...it was after the final cutoff time..but he had made it! i was so proud! after get to my r I flew back to Teluride and picked up the conquering hero and  we started back to the hotel. burke was smiling ear to ear again. his firstnwordsnwere... " thank you so much Mark..next year i will make the cutoffs." i was so proud of him and i knew that he too had asted the koolaid and liked it! i gave burke my finisher's pin because no mater what the clock said...burke had finished! i look forward to doing it again with burke next year...he is now a seasoned vet too! i wonder who else we can share it with next year....hmmmm....any tackes???

imogene - 9/10/11 - burke drinks the koolaid! part two

burke and I really didnt know each other too well outside of racing so the trip was a nice chance to get to know each other, to share war stories and to take in the amazing scenery around us. as we drove along i told burke tales of how a beaver had fell a tree in the road on my last trip to imogene and the joint effort that it took for some of us drivers to get it off of the road, minutes later we passed through that area without incident. i also told him of the motorcycle driver that had layed his bike over at a scenic pulloff and myself and a few others had to help him up, again moments later was arrived at that location and had no similar occurances - thank god. at that site however burke got his first look at the mountains that we would be playing in shortly...he looked nervous, yet so excited! He was like a kid at a candy store that knew he already had to go to the dentist later that day.after taking some photos we continued on to ouray and checked into our hotel. Burke was eager to get a look at the town so we unpacked our things and then walked around a bit. It felt so good to be back in ouray...I love that town!the backdrop is so amazing, the old buildings the mountains surrounding the town, the crisp smell of fall in the air...it is a little slice of heaven tucked away from the rest of the world. Burke was amazed as well, he had been here many years ago and remembered the hot springs and not much else so it was like he was discovering it again for the first time.after grabbing so Mexican food for supper we packed it up for the night and eagerly awaited the breaking dawn of the next day so that we could begin our walk-thru. as the morning came so to did the clouds as they blanketed the sky and kept the cold crisp air in place for us. after showing burke where the starting line was - by the Antler hotel, we head done Main Street and started our trip. before we evn got to the end of main street we came across a doe and two fawn grazing in the front yard of one of the houses. burke and i both love nature so the cameras popped out and our photo journals began. after a few minutes of following them from house to house we continued around toward the Million Dollar Highway. immediately the course popped back into my head like a had just run it yesterday...even turn, every structure, every waterfall. i could feel the goosebumps covering my entire body as the excitement and lve for this rac and course came rushing back into  my body. after rounding the huge bend on the highway we made our way over to box canyon...which is just spectacular. burke immediately fell in love with it..he was expressing his lov for the beauty that he was seeing and snapping photos left and right. i couldnt help but to smile and chuckle as i had been the same exact way last year and just getting to see it in him made it all the more special. all of this and we hadnt evn gone a mile yet...i knew that he would be suffering from scensory overload before the day was through. after leaving the box canyon area we made our way to the old powder shed..just an amazing structure! after going aound the backside of the shed we started our climb up onto the frest service road and back into the mountains. i told burke to let me know when we had gone fa enough for the day as we still have to retrace our steps back to town and i didnt want to wear him out for the raçe the next day.  we continued on and easily made it back to the first aid station of the race, as denoted by the people that were out there setting things up. burke and I continued to talk and share tales as we slowly climbed the rolling sections etwen miles 2 and 3. we continued onward and stopped at each waterfall and rock formation, snapping pictures along the way so many in fact that burke's camera filled up before we reached mile 4. burke was smiling ear to ear and bubbling with excitement..he was so happy that he had finally made it to the ce that he had wanted to do. he was also hapy that we had decided to do the walk thru as he wasnt sure exactly how the elevation would affect him and he was sure how much he would be able to run as he was woried a bit about the cutoff times. miles 4 through 6 really gave burke a good idea of some of the steep climbs and some of the very runnable areas...they also gave him an idea of just how high we were going and how high we had already climbed as he both got a look at just how small and far off Ouray now was and also he was able to get his first look head on with what he had yet to face....Imogene Pass and the road to get to it.steeper and steeper we climbed as we made our way past ynakee boy basin and to the lower bird camp. burke loved the old foreman houses and mining area. we also got a kick out of the small motorcycle gang that was afraid to venture back in to the mountains behind the lower bird camp as they didnt want to tresspass and get into trouble..while in the meantime hear come little ol burke and myself as we go jogging right past them into the forbidden zone. this point on in the race begins the major four wheel drive portion of the race in that other than by foot you arent getting in or out of this section if you dont have one. also by this point in the race we are now just about even with the tree line and huge vast mountains surround us in every direction...one side in particular is a huge rock slide area...it is so beautiful!yet it is so technical as well. it was at this point that i noticed burke begin to slow down a bit. i could tell tht he waned to go on, nor only for imself as he was having a blast but for me as well, as he stted that he didnt wnt to let me down on the walk through as he knew i loved the mounains and would hve just coupntinued on throughout the rest of the course if i so desired...but i told him i was just so happy to et a chnce to share this with him that he would never let me down in anyway..especially since this was for him and his benefit. at tht point about 7 miles into tht walk through, we turned around and strted our way back...just as it strted to rain, it was as if the heavans knew tht we were on a mission and that it had waited just long enough for us to complete it. along the way back into town we talked some more, saw some more new sights that we had missed on the way up and took a ton more photos along the way. by the way, all of the photos from this trip can be seen on my facebook page. after geting sck into town we had lunch at the mexican restausnt again and then went back to the hotel to et thins around for the next day and then got eady to go to the packet pickup and pasta dinner-race breifing. stay tuned for part three for the rest of the story...

imogene - 9/10/11 - burke drinks the koolaid! part one

Last year I got my first taste of the Imogene Pass Run and I knew that this was one race I would need to do year in and year out. In other words, I had drank the Koolaid and it tasted good! It was an experience that I will need forget and I think that alot of my friends will need forget either because I kept talking about how amazing it was. In the year that passed since its last running I tried to convince alot of those same friends into taking a sip this year but the takers were not making themselves visible..all exceptf for one that is....Burke Painter. Burke, a good friend of Phil and Karen Davis, had spoken with me breifly at Tuesday night track and at other events, such as my first dance at the 2010 Javelina 100. I had always heard great and amazing stories of him and his accomplishments, both in running and in biking so I was glad to discover his interest in the race. As it turns out Burke had actually signed up for the race many times in the past but for one reason or another had been unable to make it to the starting line. This year however Burke had his mind set on making it there and so our little adventure was born!

I had told Burke that in the previous year I had driven up two days before the race so that I could have the day before the race to do a partial walkthru of the course so that I could get an idea for exactly what I had gotten myself into and that I was greatful that I had because it not only helped me out in knowing the course but it also helped me to enjoy the beauty of the amazing country that I would be running in at a much more relaxed pace and take plenty of photos along the WY...something I wouldn't have take to do during the race. Burke and I agreed that this would be the best course of action for our trip as well. And so, on Thursday, september 8 burke and i headed out early in the morning for the start of our journey

triple threat weekend minus one????

last year i had been able to partake in the triple threat weekend over the Memorial day weekend which consisted of the CHINO VALLEY 10K, the Jerome Hill Climb and the Saugaro National Park 8 miler...this year however...coming off  of the Lean Horse 100 I wasnt sure if I was going to be in any shape to run all three races...well as it turns out I was but the 8 miler had sold out so i would miss my chance at tit again this year.

Disappointed in myself for missing out on signing up in time didnt stop me from enjoying the two other races however I guarantee you that.

first up was the CV 10k which meant that i got to head up north to see my friends in the Mountain Milers (Dan, Julie, Ken, Rob, and Steve-O, just to name a few). It also meant that I got to hang out with my buddy Billy Gebhart as this wekend is one of his traditions as well. The race is a nice small town street race that consists of a one mile stretch followed by a 4 mile square and a return trip to the start/finish area on the previously run one mile stretch. the race is deceivingly tough as it has a downhill start which makes most runners (including myself) go out way too fast. the race then turns evil as there are some nice rolling portions around mile 2.5 and then just turns into a nice wicked long drawn out climb through mile 5 and into the finish. It is realy fun and one that i love to do over and over again. ;this year, despite just coming off of the 100 miler I was able to PR in the race, PR overall in all of my past 10 k efforts and win my age group! I can't wait to do it again next year!

The next day brought along race number two - another one of my favorite races....the Jerome Hill Climb! This ace is 4.6 miles of beautiful hell! I love it! Again I get to run this race with all of my Mountain Miler friends and all of those from the valley to as this is an ARR sponsored race. This year my friend Pat Reichart missed out on the ace due to an injury...she was greatly missed. This race, as I said is beautiful yet it is HELL. The scenery provides the beauty as we run through the town of Jerome, past a ghost town/mine and then up, up, up to the finish line atop of Jerome's Hill. Despite all of the though mountain races that I have done...this little 4.6 miler provides a really challenge each year as you try to go as fast as you can up this beast just so you can walk back down when you are done. This is my kind of ace as I love to climb and it actually sort of levels the playing field as I can actually bat some of my super fast street racing friends to the top or at least give then a run for their money! I was still a bit jacked up from my first sub 24 at Lean horse and the 10k PR the day before but I was still a bit tired too and to make matters worse I was late getting started in the race as I was the last one in the bathroom line since I had helped out with registration and got delayed in walking down to the starting line. After making are of business I started the race a few minutes after the gun went off and I immediately stared to tear up the first climb up into town. I quickly caught up to the rear of the pack and started to weave my way in an out of the cattle traffic jam. Yelling hello to many familiar aces along the way the first hill came to a close as I rounded my way through town and to the registration/parking area. After this quick little break from the first climb...climb number two and the power climb portion of the race began...this was a brutal little climb that covered about 1/4 to 1/2 mile and was fairly steep. This was then followed by the last climb which zi-zagged its way up out of town and into the canyon walls and cactus blooms - he beautiful part of the race...although you don't really notice it during the race. Finally after working my way to the top and crossing with yet another race PR for the
weekend I relaxed a bit and watched some of my friends cross the finish line as well. Shortly thereafter I began the walk/job back down to the parking area..this time making sure to take in the beauty of the surroundings.