Colorado 2024 and the Ouray 100

8/3/2024

Colorado 2024 and the Ouray 100

I think this was taken approaching Chicago Tunnel early in the Ouray 100.

The Ouray 100 is one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The beauty was endless and it provided a test unlike any I've experienced before.

I don't even know where to start as I sit down to write about Colorado 2024 and the Ouray 100. I guess the beginning would probably be a good spot.

Ouray 100 Origin

Sometime in November 2023 I was searching the internet for a challenging event. In July 2023 I had completed the Pike's Peak 50 Mile Endurance Run and ran into a few problems I hadn't needed to solve in previous events like GI issues and lack of oxygen.

I'm not sure how I stumbled across the Ouray 100 but after emailing the race director my ultra running resume, I was offered a spot and took it. Here is a link to the event website.

Ouray 100 Training

I didn't really know what I was getting myself into but I knew there would be a lot of climbing so that's where I started. I would put "Ouray Climb" on my calendar multiple days per week. Ouray Climb was a 30 minute climb at 15% incline. I wasn't too concerned with speed at the beginning, just getting the climbing in. Looking back I would have been even less concerned with climbing speed. Slow is the only speed I needed on the climbs.

I reached out to a few people around the Twin Cities that I knew in the ultra running scene and sent off a message to Aaron Boike at Performance Run Gym. I messaged him to see if he had heard of the Ouray 100 before. Turns out he had. In fact, we was one of the five finishers of the event from Minnesota and he'd coached a runner to a finish there too!

I knew he would be my coach, but first I would work with a former Coach, Jamie Blumentritt at PT on the Run as I worked my way back from injury.

Physical Therapy on the Run

I had worked with Jamie before and had a great experience. Before I jumped into more event specific training with Aaron, I needed to work my way back from an injury. I'm not even sure where the injury came from but my right inner knee was giving me all sorts of fits to the point I wasn't able to run. After my diagnostic meeting with Jamie she put together a "return to run" program that helped me get back on my feet. Jamie was my coach through February. Thank you Jamie!

Performance Run Gym

In March, I signed up with Aaron at PRG after having him on the Relentless Courage Podcast in December 2023 to talk about his Ouray 100 experience in 2021. You can listen to that episode HERE.

We created a plan and then it was all about training. In my initial meeting with Aaron I mentioned that the discipline to train consistently and dial in was my main objective for picking an event as hard as the Ouray 100. I had no idea how hard it would actually be.

The Actual Training

My goal by the time I made the transition to working with Aaron in March was to be up to seven hours on my feet training per week. That gave us a good goal to get to and Jamie got me there.

Once I got started with Aaron it was all systems go. While it seemed like I was training a lot and I didn't miss one workout from March through Ouray, it never felt overwhelming. Sure, there were days when I did not want to train. There were evenings after a long day at work when I did not feel like going for an easy run or hopping on the treadmill and climbing for an hour, but I did it every time. I'm proud of that and that discipline stays with me after Ouray.

I kept a running diary of my training for Ouray on my facebook page. You can take a look/follow HERE if you'd like. I still document my training there.

At the peak of my training I had a few 15 hour weeks. That did seem like a lot and I visualized what I thought I was getting myself into for hours and hours during those training sessions. There were a couple of videos that I watched too. They are Beautiful Strangers and 100 Miles with Simon.

Building Up to the Trip

Like most of us there was work, and finding people to cover my shifts while I would be away. It wasn't too bad especially since I work with a pretty great team of people.

I would leave on July 6 and return on July 24. There were a few logistics that needed to be squared away.

Thankfully I was able to stay with the Preusse family for much of the time I was gone. It was great to spend so much time with them. Thank you Josh and Stephanie for putting up with me for a couple weeks. We did so many cool things. Even just hanging out was super fun!

I would camp for a few days, so arranging a Rocky Mountain National Park permit and getting camping gear organized and packed was part of the planning.

Then, the Ouray portion of the trip from July 17th through the 23rd. That part of the trip included all running gear that might be needed.

Time with the Preusse Family

I drove straight through to Castle Rock, CO and got in around 7pm on the 6th. It was great to see Josh, Stephanie, Miles and Andre, not to mention Vinny (dog), Lola (dog) and Oscar (cat).

I don't remember all the things we did but a few things include golf cart rides, heading to the skate park, fishing, eating really good food, watching movies, cleaning the car, going out to lunch and talking about all sorts of stuff. Thank you Preusse's!

Thank you Preusse Family for your hospitality! We had a great time doing all sorts of fun stuff.

One of the things we did was hit up the skate park for a few hours one night. Lots of cool tricks thrown down.

Long's Peak Campground

The reason I went out to Colorado so early was to acclimate. Initially I was going to head to Ouray for a few days and spend some time on the trails around where the event would take place. That would have probably been helpful.

Instead I decided to stay at Long's Peak Campground at almost 10,000 ft above sea level, just a couple hours from Castle Rock. My plan was to get used to the altitude and do a few workouts there.

On my way there I was passing through Boulder and finally got to connect with Brandi Roberts, a fellow member of the original School of Greatness. Her and her husband Jason met me at a burger joint in town and it was great to meet in person! We didn't get a picture.

My tent site at Long's Peak Campground.

Eggs and potatoes were a go to at Long's Peak. They were so good!

Long's Peak was incredible and the camping part wasn't too bad either. Long's Peak is just 15 minutes from Estes Park and it was fun to drive into town and try my hand at fishing trout. I got skunked but had a bunch of bites. Estes is a beautiful town!

As I got to the campground I met the volunteer rangers and they told me about a sunrise drive I would not soon forget. So, I set my alarm for 4:30am and headed to the mountains for sunrise. Trail Ridge Road is a family favorite so the only part I missed was not having them with me to see the sunrise over the mountains. There is a one way dirt road with lots of switchbacks that ends at the Alpine Visitor Center. I took that road up and Trail Ridge Road back down. It was good to get a workout in at the top between 11,000ft and 12,000ft.

I got up early to take a one way, windy dirt road up to Trail Ridge Road. The sunrise was beautiful and I saw a bunch of elk near the top.

One of my workouts from Long's Peak was performed at Alpine Visitor Center on Trail Ridge Road.

Trail Ridge Road sunrise panorama.

Other than that I pretty much tried to bank sleep and connect with the land.

Ouray

On the morning of the 17th I drove to the airport to pick up John and Jesse, who were traveling on separate flights. As I got to the Denver airport I didn't know how I would find them both. Call it an omen but as I pulled up they walked out of two separate doors and we all met at the exact same time. It was pretty wild and probably an answer to prayer.

We met up with Aaron and headed to Ouray, about a six hour drive from Denver. Next time we'll fly into Montrose. We drove through a lot of really big mountains for a while, some of the big ski resorts, then hit some desert along the Colorado River before turning back East in Grand Junction. As we got closer, we could start to see the mountains and we knew we were approaching the venue.

I thought I knew what to expect but I didn't really. The mountains in Ouray crowd the town and just a little ways down the Million Dollar Highway, they open up to some of the most incredible panoramas. There really aren't many words that can describe Ouray or the Ouray 100. Below is a picture from the balcony outside our motel room.

The view from outside our motel room.

Aaron and I headed out to the Silvershield section just before sunset. It was beautiful and where I got some sense of what the event would be like.

Aaron and I at the top of Silvershield two days before the event. Thank you Aaron!

The Ouray 100

If you've read this far you're probably interested to hear about how the event itself went. Let me tell you...

Ouray 100 event start.

As we started I met up with Lee Brown from Silver Bay, MN. I met Lee at Sawbill aid station during the Superior 50k in May and it was good to see him. He and I would spend the first few hours together until we hit Lower Camp Bird Aid Station the second time. Then, he was gone. I would see him a few more times on the course and he always had a smile on his face.

Alpine Lake - first hole punch

We climbed for awhile, turned around and went back down to the Lower Camp Bird Aid Station for a second time. Once we left there we were off to Richmond Aid Station. After climbing to Richmond Aid we climbed to Chicago Tunnel.

The climb to Chicago Tunnel was tough. The air was thinning and there were no flat spots to even catch your breath. It seemed to take forever!

Chicago Tunnel

After leaving Chicago Tunnel we headed back down to a fork in the road and headed up to the highest point on the course, Fort Peabody. We saw lots of jeeps on the road to Fort Peabody and the air was really thin near the top. The view was amazing but I didn't stay long. There was weather moving in. On the descent to Richmond the skies opened up and we got wet. There was hail, thunder, lightning and the roads turned into rivers as the water made its way down the roads.

From Fort Peabody at 13,300ft.

After leaving Richmond a second time I headed to Richmond Pass. I don't remember this climb being very difficult and I knew I would see the crew soon at Ironton. As I crossed over the pass I was struck by the expanse and the beauty. The trail on the way down was quick and I started to feel the down a bit here.

Sunset over the Red Mountains

It was great to see the crew. I changed out my socks and shoes and started the first Ironton loop. I thought it would get dark on loop one so I had my headlamp. Shortly after I crested the mountain I would need to turn it on and the night had arrived.

This is still on loop one, near the top, over the red mountains.

After I got through loop one it was time to turn around and do loop two. Loop two took much longer than loop one. It felt like the uphill would never end and I was taking breaks often on the way up. There is a false peak on the return trip. You start heading down, then have another half mile or so uphill which was a bit discouraging.

I don't have any pictures of Richmond Pass on the way back through but I am proud that I got the heck out of Ironton and back over the pass. One major goal I had was to not drop at Ironton.

I did take a short video as I left Ironton for the third time. You can find that and a handful of other videos from the Ouray 100 HERE on my Instagram page.

During my third pass through Ironton I closed my eyes for 20 minutes in the car. My trip back over Richmond Pass started just after 2:00am Saturday morning.

My pace had slowed considerably and I was resting on my poles every .04 miles or so for two or three deep breaths. As I reached the top I started to feel raindrops, then the sky opened up and I began my descent in earnest.

Thunder rolled, lightning lit up the mountainside, rain pelted every inch of me, temps had dipped and I was chilled to the bone. There were three others at Richmond Aid on the way back down and we were all very cold huddled around a small space heater. The event ended at Richmond for two of the four of us. I headed out hoping the quicker downhill pace and rising sun would warm things up.

A picture from the video after getting to the bottom of the hill on the way to Richmond Aid after the rain storm.

After I warmed up and left Richmond Aid Station it was all downhill to meet up with my first pacer, John. On my way down the hill I began having GI distress. I'm not sure if it was the shivering from the cold that took away the ability for my body to process fuel but it was a feeling I was all too familiar with from Pike's last year. I would need to stop a few times on the way from Richmond to Weehawken.

Alpine Mine Overlook

From Weehawken we headed up to the Alpine Mine Overlook. I was slowing down and GI was catching up with me. John was a trooper and supportive all the way up and down. The climb seemed to take forever and at one point on the way down I stepped off the side of the mountain with my left foot. My right leg did a deep pistol squat and I think that pretty much did it for the knee that had been supporting me from the bottom when I would rest on my poles while climbing. We made it down to the aid station with just a few minutes to spare. So, we filled up on water, electrolytes and fuel and off we went to Crystal Lake.

My friend and pacer John walking over Hayden Pass. This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole experience.

We had three hours and forty five minutes to get over the pass. I moved faster during this climb than I had moved for hours. John was pushing me from the back and Nolwenn, who we met as we entered the climb, was pulling me from the top.

After we had covered two miles and as we began to climb I knew deep down that I would not be able to make it in time to make the cutoff. I didn't want to miss the cut, I just had a feeling I wouldn't be fast enough at this point. I called Aaron and told him. He encouraged me to continue and see what I could do. I'm so glad he encouraged me to press on, and press on we did.

Like many of the climbs at Ouray 100 this one seemed to never end, even when it seemed like it was over. There were switchbacks upon switchbacks and just when you thought you made it to the top, there was another surprise in store. At one point we thought we reached the top with an hour and fifteen minutes until the cut. At that point we thought we could make it. Then, instead of going over the pass, we headed back into the mountain and began traversing through the woods.

Then, once we came out of the woods it was another mile over the pass, which was probably the most beautiful part of the whole course.

Sitting with Nolwenn before descending to Crystal Lake. We knew at this point our race was over. We did not make the cut at Crystal Lake.

As the timer told us we were done, we continued to see people come back up the pass from Crystal Lake, Lee included. It was great to see him and so many others had made it! I told them all I would see them in Ouray at the finish line.

It was at that point that John and I realized we were low on resources and we'd better get off the mountain. None of us realized just how far down we would need to go. John started to cramp up and I gave him some salt tabs that freed him up to start making his way down the trail.

I was out of water and my right knee didn't like going downhill at all. As Nolwenn and I started heading down, Aaron was coming up. He was set to join me at Crystal Lake for the last 35 miles of the event. I didn't make it that far but was thankful he came up the hill with a hydration pack full of fluids. We swapped out the bladders and I was able to rehydrate on the slow trip to Crystal Lake.

After the Event

Even on just 20 minutes sleep I didn't really feel tired. We drove back to the motel, I took a much needed shower and we planned for dinner on the town. I can't remember the name of the place we ate but they had good burgers and fries.

I thought the lack of sleep be more of a problem in the days to come but it never really affected me that much. A few naps and a couple good sleeps and I was feeling normal energy levels.

The Next Couple Days

After I finished there were still quite a few folks out on the course and I told everyone I saw at the top of Hayden Pass that I would see them in Ouray so Sunday morning so we grabbed our camp chairs and walked down to the finish line.

This is a pretty low key race so there weren't any big crowds or fancy banners, just a set of orange construction cones in the middle of a field. Runners would run through the cones, get their buckle and collapse, often in tears on the lawn. It was cool to witness people accomplishing something that I knew first hand to be so difficult.

The finish line has a pretty low key vibe.

Monday was a chill day in Ouray and we laid around, walked around town and prepared for Tuesday travel. It was cool to take in the town and walking around was probably the best thing for me.

From Box Canyon on the East end of town.

Travel Home

Tuesday we left Ouray and headed back to Denver. John and Jesse had flights to catch and I was eager to get back to Castle Rock, one step closer to home.

Jesse drove the six plus hours to the airport and I cruised into Castle Rock sometime mid afternoon. I had planned on staying a few days with Josh and his family but decided I'd start my trip back to MN early Wednesday morning.

We had another great meal and I got packed up for the return trip. Part of me wanted to stay longer and a bigger part of me wanted to get back home to see my family and my dog. I missed them.

The drive back started around 4:30 Wednesday morning and it turned into a long drive once I got into Iowa. A quick stop for a 20 minute power nap and I was back on my way with Joe Rogan talking to Tank Abbott about old UFC stories. Once I got into Minnesota the time flew and I was home before I knew it.

The sunrise outside of Denver on the return trip home.

I missed my dog and I think he missed me too.

Take Aways

I've always said that big events are more of a reflection than a projection and I didn't really know what I would learn on this trip. Indifference is the word that comes to mind. That freaks me out actually.

The trip was great. I was able to connect with the Preusse family which was a highlight for sure. I spent a few days in the mountains alone which I really enjoyed. The Ouray part was fun and the company only added to that part of this adventure.

As I've reflected on my Colorado 2024 trip, I went there for the Ouray 100. The training for the event is what I was really looking for. I take the discipline to train every day no matter what I feel like. Even if training might look different than miles on a trail or climbing a hill.

There were no real negative times out there. I didn't really experience any lows during the Ouray 100. There were times when I was frustrated that I couldn't move as quickly as I'd have liked to, especially near the end of my experience. But, those moments were short lived and I was grateful to be in the mountains, on those trails, with those people.

As I search for meaning in my Ouray 100 experience I am kind of at a loss. My guess is that lessons and takeaways will come to me in the coming weeks, months and maybe even years, but for now there is a lot going on right in front of me. That's where I'll place my focus.

My body is pretty much already healed and I come away with pictures, stories and memories. My goal now is to take the discipline I was able to experience during my training for Ouray and apply it to other areas of my life.

If anyone is looking for a personal trainer or running coach in the Plymouth, MN area, that's what I do. My approach is individual and I'll create a progressive program using NASM's OPT model geared to help you get to your goals. Initial consults are free and can be done in-person or via Google Meet. You can reach out via email at [email protected] to schedule today. No obligation. My goal is to leave you closer to yours whether you sign up for training with me or not.

Ultimately, I was able to cover 65 miles, climb 24,000 feet, bag 9 of 14 peaks and get through Ironton and back over Richmond Pass in around 36 hours. Many consider this to be one of the most difficult races in the world.

Will I head back to Ouray for another go? I'm not even sure if they'd have me but if they would I think I would have a better idea of what I was getting myself into. Time will tell.

A Few More Pictures

After the trip John presented me with this handmade cutting board. The design is the Ouray 100 race profile. This cutting board will stay out in the kitchen and be used often.

We thought we had reached the pass and the trail took a hard right back into the woods. This is where we pretty much knew we weren't going to have enough time to get to Crystal Lake.