Phil Parker on the Pikes Peak Ascent

Laura: I totally screwed-up and forgot to send you a race report on the Pikes Peak Ascent.

Anyhow, here is the brief version of Pikes Peak – Altitude is hard!  13.32 Miles over rough trails 7815’ of vertical gain, all up hill to 14,115’ elevation.  You cannot understand the effect of altitude until you experience it.  Absolutely wonderful race organization, great crowd, spectacular views above tree line.  Manitou Springs is a gorgeous little village.  This should be on every trail runners bucket list.

I finished in 3hrs 36:39 – just under my Vancouver marathon time.

Couldn’t have done it without my training partners/buddies.  A big thanks goes out to: NSA marathon clinic pace coaches, Laura and Keith for the sick drills, Wednesday night KneeKnacker training run crew, Carey Nelson for the speed work coaching.  Of course big thanks to the Baden-Powell and Grouse Grind – couldn’t have done it without you!

Cheers,

philip