Evergreen Runners Circle
Member News

October 7:
(Sorry, I hadn't written any notes for a while. New guy, Glen, mentioned that he had actually read them. That was enough for me to write again.

Lair of the Bear. 30 degrees with a light dusting of snow on the ground. A truly exceptional day and an exceptional run."New Guy Glen" joined Rob, Valerie and I. We started toward Norm's Castle and the north end of the trail only to discover that all the smaller trees and bushes were burdened with snow, bent toward the ground, obscuring the path, and forcing us to fight through like Clint Eastwood in the "gauntlet". We came through a bit wet, but it was a definitely positive experience. Just before reaching the fence Rob asked, "I wonder where the trail to the west goes". It is the remnant of a jeep road and winds uphill. I told Rob that I would explore it later. Of course, what goes up must come down so we had to bust through the snow covered trees on the way back. Then across the bridge, up the ridge, scare the mule deer, back down, to the south end chain and back to the parking lot. Except for someone walking a dog, we had the place to ourselves. Gorgeous, pristine, private - and that wasn't the good part.

Valerie and I are training for Chicago in a couple of weeks so we had agreed to run "something like 13". Saying our goodbyes to Rob and Glen, we headed back out along the same route we started, except... when we got to the jeep road we turned. (I remember Jim Lane once claiming that you could run from Lair of the Bear to Mt. Falcon. In fact, along the middle section there is a wood fence that looks like there was once a trail.) Well, guess what boys and girls! If you take the jeep road, it goes up, then it goes up, then it really goes up, but after about 15 minutes of climbing you top out on top of a ridge that looks across Bear Creek to Genessee on one side, and across a valley to the top of Mt. Falcon on the other. The jeep road became one lane and eventually peterred out, but it was under a bit of snow and with clear ground we may be able to follow it all the way to the holy grail. It was breathtaking, climbing as we had, and the view was pretty spectacular as well. After catching our breath, we ran easily back down and completed the loop. Twice more we scared the mule deer feeding along, and in, the creek. Being the anal person I am, I insisted on running for 40 seconds more in the parking lot so that my watch would read 2:00:00. Probably a bit more than the 13 but hard to tell on a very hilly trail.

We will run this one again. It may also be suitable for snow shoes or someone who is really good on cross country skiis. And I am sure that even when the parking lot is loaded with mountain bikers, walkers, and people with their pets, this is going to be as private as it gets.

Postscript: I arrived home to a message from Rob that he had lost his wallet and did I see it in the parking lot. Well, gee no Rob, I hadn't. Several hours later I got another call saying he had found his wallet on the seat of his car. I am still pondering as to the best way to take advantage of this classic example of stupidity, but I have some sense that Rob suffered enough that just telling the world-wide web may be sufficient punishment.

Dave

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June 23:
1. Take a look at Adam's Schedule of Thursday Night Runs. He has been drawing a pretty large group for those lucky people who get out of work early enough to attend.
2. Will Wyckoff has his usual trail races scheduled. These are GREAT races in the Idaho Springs area (particularly the Hamlin Scramble). July 9 is Fastrek, July 14 is the Prospector 5k, July 30 is the "Scramble". Will can be reached for information at 303/982-1958.
3. Then there are the crazies doing Pikes, Imogene, Lake City, Breckenridge and Leadville. Should be a good summer. Stay healthy.
Dave

June 2:
Last week we had 13 people at Deer Creek. For many it was their first time on the trails, and they were pleasantly surprised.. A few of us took the Plymouth trail, the first left above the bridge. Most of the group headed towards the Red Mesa loop, a few even did the entire loop. Joe & I started late and thought we would be late coming back, we were the first ones down. I guess no one heard the "turn around at 35 minutes to make your run an hour" instructions. Some of you were out there almost 1:30. Just as well. It was a nice night. I only wish I had known. Joe & I would have run longer.
Adam

April 22:
We had seven of us, including some "new blood", for an easy run around Elk Meadow. The trail and the weather were both beautiful. One of those days that makes it easy to be a runner. Adam and Robert told tales of running at the Grand Canyon - rim to rim to rim! (Yes, it is a long way. Took them 14 hours.) That plus Adam running 40 miles to celebrate his 40th birthday puts him at the top of the totem pole as far as club bragging rights are concerned.

Check your race schedules. The Turquoise Lake 20k is in the beginning of June, as is the Steamboat Marathon and Half. Some of us may try and visit Jim in his new digs. Then there is the Snow Mountain 20k (funny how the not-too-popular distance shows up twice back to back.) July will showcase the Evergreen Peak race. And the beginning of August has the Evergreen Town Race and the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half.

Finally, as the days grow longer, it is possible to meet after work for a run. Some of us were meeting haphazardly on Wednesday nights. Elk Meadow and Three Sisters seem to be convenient spots. In the next several weeks maybe we can formalize a time and place. I will post it here if we do.
Dave

End of March:
Sorry. Missed a couple of weeks. Ran Moab half. Let's say it is a nice course and leave it at that. However, John "Poobah" Chapman won his age group (male 40-45) in the five miler as did Norma Desroucher (female 40-45). Congratulations. John and I did do the Courthouse Wash on Sunday morning after the race. The greatest ditch run in America. The briars were pretty bad this year. Good thing neither of us were hemophiliacs.
Dave

April 1:
Eight inches of new snow. Broke new trail. It was really cool. Met at Evergreen Lake. Jim showed for what may be the last time. He moves to Steamboat next week. We will miss you Jim. A carpenter among scientists, lawyers, computer geeks, accountants, doctors, consultants and "you are the smartest of the bunch" until it comes to women and then you are as stupid as the rest of us. Don't worry Jim, we will visit you and the Steamboat marathon/half will become a scheduled event for the group.

From now on, the run from the lake to Three Sisters will be known as the "Key Run". Somewhere between the parking lot and the turn off to the top I lost my car key. Fresh snow and an absolutely stupid design by Bill Rodgers clothing with a hole in the jacket pocket resulted in my key falling out of my zipped pocket. So after running back, I turned around and did the loop again, looking for my key, to no avail. So I ran the six miles home on highway 74, uglier than West Colfax when the snow is melting and there is no shoulder. Ended up running 2:40, two weeks before Boston, which will be my last long run. Hopefully I will recover enough so that I won't have any excuses for yet another sucky Boston marathon.

Rob told tales of his recent travels to WherethefuckamIkajistan, one of the new republics resulting from the breakup of the Soviet Union. Turns out that they are like the worst fault zone in the world and the dam at the lake may blow any day now.

"Little Adam" recently celebrated his 40th birthday by running 40 miles. Class act. Robert rode bicycle to provide aid and moral support. Below is Adam's version of the story.

Next week at Anne and Dave's. "Free" bagels and we hope to see a good turnout (otherwise those stale bagels can take a tooth out).
Dave

March 29: Birthday Run

On March 4, I turned 40. How did I celebrate? I ran 40 miles, of course.

I parked at deKoevend Park. Starting at 6:45am, I first headed north on the Highline Canal to Hampden and back. Then, after changing and refueling, I went south along the Highline to a little past County Line Road and back.

I started alone. Some friends ran down from Hampden and met me at about 6.5 miles. I had company up to Hampden and several miles back. Then, Robert Gill met me on his bike. He had ridden up from deKoevend and accompanied me for the last 25-26 miles.

The first half was relatively easy. I averaged 8:08 for the first 21.8 mile section. The second half was much harder. There was a 9 or 10 mile stretch where I struggled to do 10 min miles. I was very glad to have Robert along side to keep me going. I lay down and put my feet up for several minutes at mile 35. After mile 36 I picked it up again -- smelling the barn syndrome -- and managed to do the final 2 miles at 8:30. My total running time was 5:55:32.

When in doubt, run uphill.
Adam

February 26:
Chief Hosa. Twenty five degrees and quite windy. Someone remarked that it is always windy there. But you gotta do what you gotta do. So we ran. Sort of. John kicked butt; claimed it was his big push before Moab. But he is only scheduled to run the five mile, so he must have meant "training to play golf and drink beer after the morning fun run."

I want to talk about something they never say much about in the popular (read "politically correct") running magazines. Running and coughing. Ok, some doctor article is going to talk about run easy if you don't have a fever and other worthless advice. I am talking more practical stuff. For example, when two guys with colds are running side by side, should the guy with the most expectorant take the downwind side of the road? What if the other fellow is six inches taller and spitting with every step? And should you turn your back out of courtesy when blowing the boogers out of your nose? If you wipe your nose on the back of your glove, and then wipe your glove on the ground, should you offer your hand in sportsmanship to the person finishing behind you? With or without the glove on? Or does proper etiquette suggest you should always use your left sleeve so as to avoid such delicate problems? What would Miss Manners say?

Jim and I ran together and we sounded like a pair of 70 year old wheezers. It was pathetic. He was spitting and my nose was making Mt. Vesuvius look like some child's Playdoh toy used in a 1970 grade B Japanese horror movie. We ran because we had to, without much discussion, certainly with no sense of competition or accomplishment. It will go down in my log as the day I walked after one mile - a P.R. of sorts. Mother said there would be days like this. See you next week.
Dave

February 19:
Eighteen degrees, clear blue skies, still calm air, and about four inches of fresh snow on the ground. We ran from Evergreen Lake, not knowing what condition the Three Sisters trails would be in. Fortunately, they had seen little traffic (so little in fact that at one point I lost the trail for lack of footprints). We had gone about a half mile when Jim, who the previous week had strolled leisurely, asked innocently enough "are we coming back the same route?" That could mean one of two things. Either he was going to dog it again and wanted to know the way back home, or he was preparing to scortch [sic] it and wanted to make sure he led the right way. It didn't take too much more time before we knew what Jim had in mind. John fell off the back and I clung for dear life as we climbed to the top of Three Sisters. John was not far behind and we reconvened and ran together until the yellow house at the top. At that point John suggested that I take the lead which Jim took as a personal affront. It was balls to the wall and pedal to the medal from that point on but Jim was not to be headed. And a good time was had by all. I don't even want to think how much faster Jim might have been if he had shaved in the past week. Looked sort of like a skinny Don Johnson with a hangover.

Laura had wrestled herself out of bed (just barely) with the promise that we may have new female blood. For those of you who called and e-mailed to join us, you are very much welcome and we look forward to meeting you.
Dave

February 12:
Saturday was a good run up Upper Bear Creek. I pulled into the parking lot and there was the long-lost but still familiar yellow truck. A decent run which finished with 1. Jim outkicking the pack (no surprise there), 2. Jim barfing in the parking lot (well, that doesn't happen every day), and 3. some guy in a pickup truck telling us how Bill Bowerman kicked him off the track for racing like that at the end of a run. Sounds like we getting some new blood. A guy and a couple of women called last week for information. I have it on good information (I am a friend of her mother-in-law; yes, Robert, she is married) that she is fast as in NCAA All American in the 200. But we don't run the 200, or even the 2000. It will be interesting to see. Anyway, new members are certainly welcome.
Dave

February 5:
A balmy 35 degrees but 23 of us met with our snowshoes on waiting to be led by Adam on a trek through the fresh powder. The only problem is that our Feerstless leader failed to show. So instead a half dozen of us ran around hilly Soda Creek instead. Three of us, including our former fearless leader who will remain nameless other than his name is an anagram of John H. Pacman, took a trail that had heretofor been unexplored. Well, "Pacman the Slow One", having announced that we tend to get separated easily, did exactly that and got himself lost. Only the smell of fresh coffee back at our house served as the secret to his rescue. After a good hour run, we retired back to the Caprera/Brenner residence for bagels, lox, juice, fruit, coffee and clementine tangerines. A good time was had be all. P.S. A Jim Lane contact was reported by Rob Wesson who says that "Jim still loves us".
Dave

January 29:
I drove up from Denver but no one from Evergreen showed for the run at 3 Sisters/Alderfer. I assume you were all shoveling your driveways. Or, maybe you thought you could take a day off since Dave wasn't going to be there.
It was cold, but the sunny skies and recent snowfall made for a gorgeous morning. Being on my own, I decided to snowshoe instead. There were just a few thin or bare spots. Otherwise, the conditions were ideal for training. I followed footsteps most of the way, then broke trail on about half of the upper loop. The new snow was fairly thin so breaking through the fresh snow wasn't that hard. It was a bigger challenge staying on the trail. It took 61 minutes to do the entire loop.
Next weekend is food at Dave & Anne's so expect a few more will show up. We know where your priorities are.
Adam

January 15:
Ran the Three Sisters route. A bit icy, I only fell twice. Adam's solution was to use the facilities on the top end so that he had an excuse for running down the road (not that he wouldn't have blown us away on the trails - this just expedited the process). Norm reports an unconfirmed contact with Jim. The rest of us are skeptical. Good to see Mary back in the fold. Question for the "old timers" in the group. What is the significance of touching the sign at the top of the Three Sisters rocks? I did it today because I knew that I should but when Robert ask "why do we do that?" I confessed I did not have an answer. Inquiring minds want to know.
Dave

January 8:
"Dashing through the snow, with no path to mark the way, oh what fun it is to trudge up Genessee Peak today... If truth be told, we didn't make it to the top. The drifts were over our heads in places (well, they were if you lay down on your back). I confess that the rest of our merry band would have likely continued to the top (or would have been eaten by bears and such) if I had not said "you know, I really don't have to go all the way to the top." So the four of us retreated, summit in sight, but still ended up running a good 55 minutes."
Dave

December 18:
We ran from the five mile marker on Upper Bear Creek. Headwinds uphill made for slow going but we all set PR's on the way back down. John showed up following Laura having employed a most unusual method in finding us. He left his home, not knowing where we were running and, of course, being too computer-illiterate to look on this website, so he figured he would drive around Evergreen until he saw someone he knew and then stalk them. I am not making this up. Well, anyway, he found Laura driving by the lake and all ended up well. I guess that is why the moniker "fearless leader" is so appropriate for him. We are posting a new schedule for January and February. Unfortunately, the weather leaves our options limited so we are sticking to the old favorites. We do however welcome suggestions at any time, particularly places that may be suitable for running in winter conditions. While we don't have anything scheduled for Christmas, I am sure that some of us will be running at some point. Send us an e-mail and we will serve as a "clearing house" for getting runners together. Happy holidays to all.
Dave

December 11:
I shouldn't have complained about last week's 18 degrees. This week it was 11 and more snow. But, runners, yeah we're different. So we perservered from the top of Alderfer/Three Sisters. Rob described it as "hilly" so you know it was a bit of a grind. Ran some very nice dirt roads (too much snow to try the trails) up and around Jim's house. Now you might think that if the group was running by your house, you might join them FOR THE RUN or at least have the coffee pot on as we went by. But instead, Jim waited until we were done and just about ready to depart to come by and say "hi". Oh well, we got to talk a bit and, you know, a week without Jim is like a month without anyone else. Laura took more pictures (check out what Annie posted). Before long we will have a regular cybercoffeetablepicturebook.
Dave

December 4:
Eighteen degrees and eighteen inches of snow made an "interesting combination". We ran the roads around Rob and Gail's house (about 5 and 1/2 miles) which Rob describes as "a steep downhill and a gradual uphill return." By my watch it was 10:30 to the bottom and 30:24 back up. One might also describe it as "jump off a cliff and then grind your way back to the top." After running we retired to Rob and Gayle's house for coffee and bagels. AND WHAT A HOUSE IT WAS! One word comes to mind immediately: "immaculate". The care which Rob had cleaned for our coming defies description, nay, defies imagination. A place for everything and everything in its place. Even in their office (where we checked out this web page), each book and paper was piled in an exact relationship to each other, giving the room a esthetically pleasing symmetrical air about it. The bagels were about the size of a dinner plate, served with lox and two types of cream cheese, juice, coffee and your choice of teas. No wonder that Jim announced he was moving in permanently and Norm, who did not run, came for breakfast anyway. Thanks Rob.
Dave

November 21:
Good run and good attendance. Most awesome were Robert and Adam. They showed up 50 minutes early and ran to the top of Genesee Peak and back before everyone else showed and then did it all again. Adam was first to the top the second time - we have come to expect that. Robert was a close second; the boy is getting strong. They plan to do the Death Valley Marathon February 5th and follow it up with the Las Vegas half the next day. Wimps I say, they ought to do the full 26.2. They also report that there will be a 10-20-30 miler at Chatfield in mid-December if anyone is interested. Also, John "I used to be a runner" Chapman showed up for his cameo appearance fee. Jim "I'm not antisocial - you're just slow" Lane was an unexpected no show.
Dave