EverymanTri.com

TransRockies Camp living: In Case You Were Wondering....

In case you have been intrigued by the idea of participating in the GORE-TEX TransRockies Run, but are wondering about the basics of camp life, let me enlighten you.   My expectations going in were far more rustic than reality;  the well-planned infrastructure is geared toward making sure that you never feel like you are truly roughing it. 

Without a doubt, the most frequently-asked question I got from friends and family was: "weren't you all tremendously smelly after running and camping for a week"?   Enter Burt.  He enjoys rock-star-like status at TRR because he's the Shower Truck Guy.  His mobile setup is at camp every day, boasts about five private shower stalls each for men and women, and pumps virtually endless hot water.  The truck also has a row of sinks and mirrors for shaving, teeth-brushing, etc.  After a tough morning on the trail, and a therapeutic soak in a nearby icy river, I looked forward to that shower.  People trickle back into camp at their own pace, so I never experienced a wait.

2011 TransRockies: Reflections From The Side Lines

So the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies is over. It was over for me pretty much in the first stage when my teammate did a face plant in front of me and I had to hop over her to avoid a major collision. In the process I rolled my recently healed ankle. I felt a searing pain and hobbled away from the scene in major discomfort.

So I did my best to run with a foot injury, but this is not like running a nice smooth road race. The Gore-Tex TransRockies offers up some of the gnarliest running terrain on the planet, and this does not bode well for any racer with a significant injury.

I was pretty impressed that my mind did a great job of blocking the pain for two and half days and 47 miles, but at mile 14, during Stage 3 from Leadville to Camp Hale, my brain sent a text to my body to shut down the power valves. With each mile up a steep long ascent, I felt the body slowing down and shutting down the gas! I was done, my mind and body were spent and with encouragement from teammate Lori, I decided to call it a day at the second check point. Game over!

TransRockies final results FlagStaffers take title in Beaver Creek

Jason Wolfe and Mike Smith (Team Run Flagstaff) won the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies title in Beaver Creek. After six ultra-competitive stages, the men from Arizona, clocked 14h57m23s over 125 miles of grueling mountain racing. They also increased their lead to 21m50s over runners-up Max King and Ryan Bak (Team Bend) over a tough 24 mile finale from Vail today.

"It was like the final rounds of a boxing match, where the fighters are punch drunk and swinging with everything they've got", said an exhausted Mike Smith after clinching the title today. "We planned to push hard all day, but it was a tough stage, and we managed to pull close to 6 minutes on Max and Ryan today, after cranking up the ascents. It feels really good to be done with this six day battle."

Elite Racer Interview: Jason Wolfe

Team EverymanTri caught up with Flagstaff's Jason Wolfe for an exclusive chat at The GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run. Jason and his teammate, fellow Flagstaffer Mike Smith, are contenders to win the very competitive Open Men's category of the six-stage, 120 mile race.

Team EMT: Jason, you took second last year at this event - did you come back because you have some unfinished business here?

Jason: Lots of reasons, actually. One, I'm a GORE associate, and since it's a GORE-TEX sponsored event, there is always a lot of electricity at work leading up to it, folks training for it, and preparing for the race. There is also a fairly large representation from Flagstaff, and a tremendous amount of energy in the running community - it's easy to get swept up in the whole vibe of it. Of course there's also the 'unfinished business' part. I feel like we can win it, which is always better than second place.

Team EMT: What's your favorite part of the race?

TransRockies Day 5 results: Smith and Wolfe take control

Jason Wolfe and Mike Smith (Team Run Flagstaff) (pictured here) took control of the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run with a dominant performance in the penultimate stage of the race from Red Cliff to Vail today.

The Run Flagstaff duo completed the 24 mile, course in an amazing 2h44m, which was close to 14 minutes ahead of arch protagonists Max King and Ryan Bak (Team Bend) who finished third today, with Bak struggling with multiple injuries, sustained in yesterday's stage. The British pair of Tom Owens and Ricky Lightfoot (Team Salomon) were second today despite losing their way on the course.

TransRockies Day 4 results: High Noon In Redcliff

The pendulum kept swinging in stage 4 of the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies run. in Red Cliff today. The 14 mile stage, which included a 27 degree climb of four miles, was again a duel between the leaders Max King and Ryan Bak and chasers Jason Wolfe and Mike Smith.

Today it was the turn of Smith and Wolfe to win the stage in 1h44m from Coloradans Peter Maksimow and Alex Nichols (Inov 8). King and Bak faltered on the steep descent when Bak took two major tumbles which cost them valuable time, and they crossed the line 5m43s behind the winners, which drops them back to second in the GC. Bak was taken to Vail hospital for treatment to his lacerations after the stage.

TransRockies Day three results: Team EMT's heartbreak moment

It was a tough day for Team EverymanTri, with Paul Shippey dropping out of the stage at mile 14, leaving teammate Lori Lyons to run solo to the finish at Camp Hale in 6h03m. This effectively drops them from the race classification of the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies run.

'This is a tough race to run with injury and sickness and after three days of pain and not feeling great, my body had the final say today. I may be able to soldier on tomorrow, but today was brutal for me and my teammate', said Shippey after the stage.

It took three stages, but finally the 'king' of the GoreTex TransRockies Run came good. Max King and Ryan Bak (Team Bend) blasted through the 24 mile stage from Leadville to Camp Hale in 2h47m and in so doing moved into the overall lead of the GC.

Today's stage, arguably one of the toughest of the race - with 3000ft of vertical, provided yet another intense battle between the leading protagonists - with Jason Wolfe and Mike Smith (Team Run Flagstaff) running in second on the stage, some seven minutes adrift of the leaders. Wolfe and Smith seem to have the upper hand on the uphills and King/Bak have the faster legs on the descents, which has set up an interesting contest between these four.

TransRockies Day two recap: the wounded warrior

The day's crossing of the Continental Divide was magnificent. The elevation map of the route was fairly straightforward, looking much like the bell curve. Based on dinnertime and pre-start conversations, I was not the only only one intimidated by the climb/descent of Stage Two; even Max King, who was not pleased about his second place finish yesterday, was concerned about his ability to retake first on this particular stage.

We would be climbing over 3,000 ft up a singletrack to Hope Pass, which lies at an elevation of around 12,700 ft, and navigating our way back down a steep, rocky trail on the other side. Once the tedious descent was behind us, we had another 6 or so miles of rolling trail though the forest and alongside Twin Lakes to the finish of day 2 of the GORE-TEX® TransRockies race.

Three things worried me: The rapid elevation gain could lead to altitude sickness, Paul's ability to manage the technical descent with a sprained ankle, and, of course, my ability to stay upright.

TransRockies Day two results: team EMT moves up to 5th place

Team Salomon runners Ricky Lightfoot and Tom Owens won the second stage of the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run from Victorville to Twin Lakes today in 1h52m.

Team EverymanTri athletes Paul Shippey and Lori Lyons, moved up to 5th in the Mixed 80+ division with a solid run in 3h20m. Shippey, struggling with a sprained ankle, sustained in avoiding his teammate's fall on stage one, hung in to finish despite some discomfort on the steep descents.

TransRockies Day One recap: team EMT suffers first injury

My friends know two things about me: 1) I have zero natural navigational skills, and 2) I am about as klutzy as they come. And while I didn't get us lost on yesterday's course, I did manage to catch a toe on some (real or imagined) obstacle, and eat some sand.

I emerged from the tumble unscathed (plenty of practice) but Paul, who was directly behind me, leapt to the side to avoid stepping on me, and rolled an already weakened ankle. I was on the ground congratulating myself for not trashing my legs when I heard the painful groan (followed by #bleeeeep#) behind me. We were only eight miles into a 120 the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies, and I had managed to take out my partner.

Nice.

TransRockies Day One: Team EverymanTRI in the hunt after 20.8 mile stage 1

Mike Smith and Jason Wolfe battled it out with reigning champs Max King and Ryan Bak for overall honors in the Men's Open division on the first stage of the 2011 GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run held in Buena Vista, CO, today. Smith and King finished in a rapid 2h17m, with King and some 4 minutes behind at 2h21m.

An elated Jason Wolfe said at the finish that it was a great battle all day. "We swapped the lead with Max and Ryan several times during the first 10 miles, and then managed to pull out a bit of a gap over the final 6 or so miles. It feels great to be in the lead, but we still have five days of racing to go."

The 20.8 mile stage was held in warm conditions with the mercury hovering around 80F, however was not as warm as last year's 89F.

Ready To Rumble In The Rockies

Amazing how fast a year goes by...This Sunday, the fifth annual GORE-TEX® TransRockies run starts in Buena Vista and a record 370 runners will do battle to decide the fastest team in the country to race over 125 miles of mountain trails.

Over six grueling days, competitors will do battle over several mountain passes in the Rockies as they wend their way to the finish on August 26 in the Beaver Creek resort for what promises to be another epic finish.

2011 will be the second year of competition for Team EverymanTri.com. In 2010 the team entered the male over 80 division and for 2011 we are mixing it up with a co-ed team. Team leader Paul Shippey will have Lori Lyons by his side this year's race and is super excited about the prospect of racing in the mixed division.

Elite Racer Interview: Anita Ortiz

As part of the GORE-TEX® TransRockies preview, Team EverymanTri caught up with Anita Ortiz for an exclusive chat.  Anita was the GORE-TEX® TransRockies Open Women champion in 2008 with partner Katie Mazzia.    She will be returning for the 2011 race with a new partner, Angela Mudge.
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Team EveryManTri:   Why come back to the GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run event?

Anita:  Basically because it’s like a running camp for grown-ups.  If you love to run, what more could you want?  It’s beautiful, the food is awesome, you’re catered to in every possible way, your stuff is transported for you, your tent is set up for you, they thought of everything.  So it’s like easy camping, and the atmosphere and people – oh my gosh, it is so much fun.

Team EveryManTri:  What is the hardest part of the race for you?

Anita:  Being away from my family.  I love it while I’m there – I love the running, sleeping in the tent, and I love just every part.  But I get homesick for my kids.   My kids are older and they can take care of themselves so I don’t worry about them, but they grow so fast I just hate missing even a single day.   Most of the places we camp don’t have cell service, so it’s like cold turkey.  No kids.

Video: Team EverymanTRI gets ready for the ultimate mountain run

In the 2010 Gore-tex TransRockies Run, Paul Shippey’s teammate (and fellow Boulder resident) Paul Mandel suffered Acute Mountain Sickness, along with a host of other participants.   Racers got used to falling asleep at night to the background sounds of the mountain wildlife, rushing streams…and vomiting. But along with a few strong others, Mandel toed the line each and every day, overcoming the practically debilitating headache and nausea that comes with altitude sickness.

So when Paul and Lori decided to be partners for the 2011 race,  altitude was a big topic of conversation.  Lori does much of her training at sea level, and Paul wanted to make sure she gained enough experience at altitude to hopefully avoid Mandel’s fate. Each person’s susceptibility to altitude sickness is different, so Lori needed to properly test hers. Paul wisely advised her to find opportunities to train or race in places that will most closely resemble TransRockies conditions.

Team EverymanTri completes the 2010 Gore-Tex TransRockies race: Paul's race report

Editor's Note: This week Paul Shippey and Paul Mandel finished the epic TransRockies running adventure, which traverses the Rocky Mountains Below are Paul's refextions on completeing the race of a lifetime.

It’s all over folks. The 2010 GORE-TEX® TransRockies race ended in Beaver Creek Friday afternoon and what a finish it was as we dropped out of the aspens and into the finish at the ski village after 27 hours of trail running. I must admit I got a little choked up with a few miles to go as I contemplated finishing this running odyssey across the Rockies.

Team EverymanTri goes long at 2010 Gore-Tex TransRockies race: Stage 5 report

Editor's Note: Paul Shippey and Paul Mandel are taking on the epic TransRockies running adventure, which traverses the Rocky Mountains from August 22- 27. Below is the stage 5 press update as our boys were out of cell phone and internet reach in the high Rockies.

With over 44 miles of running and 10,000 feet of elevation gain during the last two stages, there’s no easy way to the finish line of the GORE-TEX® TransRockies Run. Stage 5 from Red Cliff to Vail was going to be the longest day on the trails of the 2010 TransRockies Run with the most climbing and the hottest temperatures of any day so far this week.