They splashed their way through mud and slop in Houston, ran on snow and ice in Indianapolis, shivered through bitter cold in New York.
The Boulder Road Runners have traveled to U.S. Cross Country Championships en masse since the late 1990s, winning more than their share of age-group team titles and individual medals. This year the championships are coming to them.
The USA Track & Field event takes place Saturday at Flatirons Golf Course with masters, juniors and open competitions.
“I’m extremely thrilled, because we’ve had to travel to all the other winter nationals,” said club member Tim Dolen, 50.
“It is very, very exciting,” said Lois Calhoun, 71, a consistent age-group medalist. “We’ve pretty much dominated most of the cross country meets we’ve been to.”
The focus will be on elite local runners such as Dathan Ritzenhein, Alan Culpepper, Jorge Torres and Sara Slattery, defending home turf against the likes of Meb Keflezighi, Deena Kastor, Shalane Flanagan, Adam Goucher and Abdi Abdirahman. At stake are spots on teams in the world championships next month in Kenya.
“This is a unique opportunity to not only be part of a unique event, but also watch the very best compete to be on their national team,” said Rich Castro, Boulder Road Runners founder and president. “That is very special.”
Any runner willing to pay the entry fee and purchase a USATF membership is free to compete in one of the age-graded races or the open event. With multiple laps on a 2K loop course, the open race offers the amateur runner the pleasure of getting passed by the best in the sport.
“The great thing about this event is that, when Meb and Abdi and Ritz go flying by you, they respect you,” said event organizer Pete Julian, himself an elite runner. “There’s not going to be any attitude there. I would bet if they’ve got any oxygen in the tank, they might say, ‘Keep it going,’ because they understand everybody out there is trying to beat as many people as they can and get to the finish line as fast as possible.”
But for the Boulder Road Runners and many other serious local runners, the excitement will come in the masters races. More than 60 BRR runners are entered in the masters races, which have 10-year age-group divisions, including five runners in their 80s. Another 15 BRR runners are competing in the junior or open races.
“Boulder is always more than represented, especially on podiums,” Castro said. “The Boulder Road Runners always capture more team medals and individual medals than any other club. People say, ‘Well, you enter more people.’ That’s right, we do. If you want to call it overrepresented, yeah, we’ve excelled.”
Thousands of Colorado runners travel to big-city marathons every year, but cross country is a more esoteric pursuit. Many consider it the purest form of running.
“You’re not running on a track, so each course is different,” Calhoun said. “You have the challenge of that course to contend with, and we’ve had our challenges. Houston was rain and mud. Indianapolis was blowing snow and ice. Portland was very muddy. You have hills, hay bales, water.”
Dolen fondly recalls being on a team that won its age group four years ago in Houston, a race that left runners covered in mud.
“It was really, really satisfying,” Dolen said. “It was about the worst conditions I’d ever experienced and people really performed well.”
The BRR has 800 members, ranging from joggers to masters champions. They figure to be out in force Saturday as competitors, spectators, volunteers or all of the above.
“They want to be part of this,” Castro said. “Cross country nationals is bigger than Pete Julian and I and the Road Runners, but we’re part of it. You’re part of something greater than yourself.”
