They are crazy. This much is certain, because they run to the peak of a 14,115-foot mountain and back. It’s no wonder, according to legend, the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon started on a dare.
One of the oldest, annually run marathons in America, the Pikes Peak kicks off a 54th running this weekend near Colorado Springs. The half-marathon ascent starts Saturday at 7 a.m. The full marathon goes Sunday, also at 7 a.m.
The course, as always, is nothing to scoff at. Starting at the Manitou Springs City Hall, the path follows Barr Trail through Pike National Forest on the east face of the mountain. Avoiding any drivable road, racers run over winding, narrow trails of gravel and rock. Quick turns and sharp climbs and drops are found throughout. The marathon shares the same first half as the ascent and adds a descent over the same path.
But that’s not all. There are 7,815 feet of elevation gain to navigate, with the final 3-plus miles above treeline. It’s not unusual to run in hot weather at the start before peaking in a snowstorm.
Perhaps what sets apart the Pikes Peak from other national marathons is its statistics. Winning times for men’s and women’s divisions have basically remained unchanged since 1956. No one, over decades, has been able to break away from the pack.
Manitou Springs’ Matt Carpenter, a mountain-running mainstay in Colorado who has done the Pikes Peak since 1986, holds the men’s marathon and ascent records. And they seem safe. His marathon time of 3 hours, 16 minutes, 39 seconds set in 1993 has not been challenged. His ascent record time of 2:01:06 also lives.
Lynn Bjorklund’s women’s records have stood even longer. The Las Alamos, N.M., runner tabbed a 4:15:18 marathon time and 2:33.31 ascent time in 1981 that remain the marks to beat.
After his victory in 2006, Carpenter offered The Denver Post the best possible advice for those runners nuts enough to run the Pikes Peak:
“Fear makes you run well, but if you handle it the wrong way, you can blow a race too,” he said. “I just ran. I stuck my fear between my legs and ran.”
Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon
It’s the 54th running of one of the oldest marathons in the United States.
Course: From Manitou Springs to the 14,115-foot peak
Obstacles: Over a narrow-track trail on often-rocky terrain, with 7,815 feet of elevation gain
Saturday: A 13.32-mile half-marathon, 7 a.m.
Sunday: The full marathon, to peak and back, 7 a.m.
AROUND TOWN
Logjam atop stroke play leaderboard.
The Colorado Golf Association Stroke Play Championship returned to Lakewood Country Club this week for the first time since 2004. The invited standouts in the field are looking to join a list of past champions that includes Hale Irwin, Steve Jones, Brandt Jobe and Les Fowler.
But a winner likely won’t be found easily. After Thursday’s first round, four players were tied atop the leaderboard at 3-under-par 68, including 37-year-old Dean Clapp from Meadow Hills, Colorado State senior Riley Arp, Jim Knous of Colorado School of Mines and Tom Gempel, who finished playing for Colorado last season.
The tournament, first contested in 1937, runs its latest edition through Sunday’s fourth and final round.
STAY ON THE COUCH
The Broncos kick off a hardly meaningful preseason schedule tonight in San Francisco against the 49ers, with an 8 p.m. kickoff at Candlestick Park.
With playbooks about as thin as an issue of Entertainment Weekly, both teams likely will test new faces and smooth out kinks with only the basics.
But for football fans in Colorado and neighboring states, the game will be an early chance to get familiar with local broadcasts.
The game’s TV broadcast airs on KCNC-4 with a local team — sportscaster Gary Miller will do play-by- play, and Reggie Rivers will provide expertise in color commentary.
And on the radio, airing on KOA 850 AM, longtime play-by-play man Dave Logan will be joined by a new color guy. Mike Rice, who formerly hosted the pregame show, replaces the deposed David Diaz-Infante for his first Broncos action.
GET OFF THE COUCH
“The AIDS Walk” full of events.
It’s known as “The AIDS Walk,” but when Cheesman Park in the Capitol Hill neighborhood plays host to AIDS Walk Colorado on Saturday, don’t be deceived by the name. The walk starts a day’s worth of events.
The day starts with a 5K run at 9:30 a.m., and a same-distance walk follows right after for those of us who don’t need to prove our speed.
Still more, after the run and walk, the inaugural AIDS Walk Colorado Volleyball Tournament will dot around the grass at Cheesman. It’s all a progression, really, run to walk to spike, with food and drinks and parties to fill the spaces.
Check for information.
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
Armstrong to race in Leadville 100.
If the Pikes Peak Marathon is holding down this weekend’s tag as a ridiculously high mountain running race, the Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race is doing the same for cycling.
With 14,000 total feet in elevation gain, after several climbs and descents, to a peak at 12,600 feet above sea level, the 100-mile race will certainly sort out the worthy.
Six-time winner and defending champion Dave Wiens returns as the rider to beat, with seven-time Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong looking to dethrone him. But the field will be full of interesting stories, including father-son tandem John and Cody Mathias from Olathe, Kan., both who will be looking to cross the finish line for the first time.
The race, nicknamed “The Race Across the Sky,” starts Saturday at 6:30 a.m. Check for results and information.
