The Floridians hit the mountains!! I have been wanting to take a trip to Colorado this summer, so Sean and I decided to combine our love of trail running with a weekend vacation. A few months ago, I found online the Mt. Falcon 15K Trail Race, located outside of Denver in Morrison, CO. The race sounded fun and challenging, a perfect fit!
The race took place the morning of August 2, 2014. We had traveled to Colorado the day before, and we were ready to run some mountains. Sean and I both knew that our sea-level-flat-as-pancake training in Florida would make this race tough, but we also knew we were in it for fun, beautiful scenery, and a new trail running environment. Since I had just recently been chosen to be an INKnBURN Ambassador (the coolest running clothes ever!!!), we both wore one of our favorite INKnBURN outfits: Lust tank and shorts for me, and the Adversity shirt for Sean. The morning was a bit chilly and breezy, which felt nice in the middle of August. After checking in, we waited at the trail head for the race to start.
The race started and the pack was off! We went out nice and easy, knowing there was a steep climb ahead of us: 2000 feet elevation gain in the first 4 miles!! The first two miles were the toughest, we walked when we needed to, gasped for oxygen often, and took plenty of pictures to let our heart rates recover. What an amazing place to run! There were lots of people out on the trail. We even need to step off the trail at one point to let a man pass by on his mountain unicycle. What???? Talk about BADASS!!!
We finally made it to the top of Mt. Falcon, and the next part of the race was some undulating trails lasting a bit more than a mile. This was the prettiest part of the race! We went along the back side of the mountain where it was shady and forested. These were some fun trails! We wound our way along, and finally made it back to the main trail down. The trail was getting busier now, we didn’t see many of the racers, but lots of people were using the trail for hiking and biking. It was around this area that I started feeling fatigued, and then the next thing I knew, I had tripped and spilled onto the rocky ground. I hit hard on my right side, mostly my arm and hip. Sean came back to help me up. Fortunately, I was only scraped and bruised, nothing broken. Our motto is: Nana Korobi Ya Oki*, or: Fall Down Seven, Get Up Eight. So, after crying for a couple of minutes (because that’s what girls DO! Even if we are tough trail runners!), I dusted myself off, pulled myself together and continued on the three mile descent. Sean kept the lead and I carefully picked my way down the mountain path.
We finally made it down the mountain and across the finish line! We were tired, but happy. It was a great race. The run was challenging and the scenery did not disappoint!! The altitude and elevation made this a very difficult race, but it is very well done and worth the extra effort! I will definitely be back to Colorado for more trail running and trail races.
*Our trail running pup’s name is based on this saying as well. Our Belgian Malinois’ name is NiKYO, an acronym for Nana Korobi Ya Oki. Check out NiKYO’s adventures on his Instagram page @NiKYOpup :-)
Mt. Falcon 15K Race Report The Floridians hit the mountains!! I have been wanting to take a trip to Colorado this summer, so Sean and I decided to combine our love of trail running with a weekend vacation.