Chuncky Cheeks 22 Miler

I have to start out by thanking NClark for opening up his house and hosting such a fun get together.

This past Saturday morning, I got the opportunity to run the Fort Collins FA for the first time. My first ever FA and it was an absolute blast.

Staying at the in-laws the night before up in Loveland saved me an hour on my drive up to Fort Collins for the 7am start. Saturday morning started out brisk, 20 or so degrees, and thankfully calm. At the start, I quickly grouped with PatrickG, RyanK and Jeremiah (whom I hadn't met before) and we all made slow work as we approached the Horsetooth Park some 3/4's of a mile away from Nick's driveway.

The trails quickly revealed what was in store for the day. Lots of snow. So much that when we briefly ran on actual dry single track trail, it felt odd and out of place. There was also nothing flat about the day's journey with heaps of vert to be had regardless of distance being covered. Lastly, sun. A beautiful clear calm blue bird day that so often greets a Colorado winter day. Everything set up perfectly for a day of trail running.

(Approaching Horsetooth during the early miles)

(On top of Horsetooth looking south towards the rising sun)

(Our exit chute off of Horsetooth with Towers, aka climb #3 of the day, in the background)

Overall the running pace was good. Making quick work of the downhills, working the uphills and enjoying downtime at all the major intersections. Thankfully none of us were in a rush to get anywhere and we were all just enjoying the day of trailrunning and the great conversation.

(Our footing for most of the day)

The third and last real climb was the longest, snowiest and possibly the steepest and we all we're moving at a respectful clip. And this is where we got lost.

Apparently near the top of Tower Road, before the real steep section, we were to turn left. We would have known had we read the directions. Instead we muttered a "fucker!" or two at the steeps and proceeded to run it and before long we were at the top of one of the dead end towers. A quick turnaround and up another fork of the road and we were at dead end tower #2. Looking at the map revealed that some bush whacking would get us back on course and before long we were finishing off the last long stretch home.

In hindsight, I should have left my yak traks, extra set of socks & gloves in the car in exchange for an extra 15 ounces of water. I was overdressed for most of the run but still had my Tuesday morning run in -15 degree temps fresh on my mind. So I was fine with being extra warm. Other then that, I felt great the whole time and could have ran more had time allowed.

22 Miles - 5,000 feet of vert - Official Time of 5 hours, 29 minutes, 26 seconds. Somewhere between 45 to 60 minutes of that spent at intersection or at high points doing nothing other then enjoying a Colorado day on the trails.

(Jeremiah and Patrick refueling while Ryan wonders if Western States drew his name - which they did!)