This Sunday, August 12

Return from the Wild West

Against all odds, three of our group showed up in Manitou Springs, Colorado for a Saturday morning run on August 4.  Jack Ramsey lives there (except when he is here) and Leslie just got settled in her new home in Monument, a 20-30 minute drive up I25.  She is already pretty well settled in and is already talking about tackling the Denver Marathon as a prelude to Goofy in January.

 

We did a 4+ mile run with a 500 rise over two miles. Yea, 500 feet up to 6700 feet!  That's probably more than all the hills I've run in Florida over the past 25 years.  I think I get to call that a PR! (Pretty Rough!)

 

I was totally at their mercy since I didn't know any shortcuts (age adjusted routes.)  The good news is that they were kind to me, so we started and finished together.  Jack's friend Glenn is 75 years old and runs like a gazelle.  Kind of like Bob who is up there in Vermont half the year.

 

We ran in Red Rock Canyon, which is breathtakingly beautiful.  See the pictures attached.  It was really exciting to be with friends and share in the challenges.

 

Jack will be running the Pikes Peak Half in mid-August.  We're talking about an 8000 foot rise over 13 miles and only the first mile on a road.  From there it's a vertical rise.  Please join me in wishing him well!  (I did Pikes Peak also, but it was done on the cog railroad train which takes you to the top.  I've never been up that high.

 

Thanks to Chris

Chris did a great job of covering the July 29^th run. He even arrived an hour early!  Notice that he signed off as the VP-Retention. This is a little joke between Chris and me that goes back about seven years.  The Sunday running group had literally fallen apart and Chris and I vowed to begin restoring it to its former luster.  We agreed that I would work on rebuilding attendance and Chris would address keeping the runners coming out each Sunday.  Our mailing list now has over 80 people living in many places, including Colorado, D.C., Evanston IL, the Bradenton area and most lately Juno Beach, FL where Ian just relocated.  Can we yet declare "Mission Accomplished"?

 

This coming Sunday

Please come celebrate with me on Sunday as I tackle my first run as a 78 year old!  I've missed seeing the group for the past two weeks. By the way, wife Mary and I celebrated our 52^nd wedding anniversary this week.  We both agreed to extend our contract another year!

 

I look forward to a good turnout.

 

Jack