Join us at Team Racing Colorado and we’ll give you the coaching to finish your holiday shopping strong. There’s even a super secret injection for you, probably banned, but totally undetectable. Yes, it’s our ONLINE ATHLETE’S STORE where we’ve done your pre-shopping for you. We’ve waded through all the garbage at Amazon, carefully selecting items that are just what your favorite athlete wants this season. We give you just a few pages of good stuff, not a few million pages of blab blah blah… Of course there are recommended books that belong on every athlete’s shelf. There’s also cycling cuff links, GPS training systems, heart rate monitors, and a tight red speedo for you ladies who want to spice up your man in the pool this holiday. You can find all kinds of performace wear and training aids as well, and if you’re really looking for punishment, of course you can jump off into the thousands of aisles in amazon.com. It’s still not too late to do mail order this season, but it’s definitately time for your final sprint (e-gift cards from REI and trisports.com are also an option). You can also visit this page for discounts on other sweet, athlete-specific items from Oakley, REI, H2O Audio, and Accelerade, not offered in the store.

So heading into the final stretch, we’ll make sure you don’t bonk this holiday season. Just follow the system built by our top staff of coaches, trainers, docs, and psychs, and we’ll see you on the holiday shopping podium!

The Mile High United Way Turkey Trot is a long-time tradition, drawing thousands of runners each year to Denver’s Washington Park on Thanksgiving to run and raise money for charitable causes.  At four miles, it’s a good race for those who are more likely running (or Heaven forbid, “jogging”) but not really “racing”.  But whether it’s Bolder Boulder or a crowd of thousands packed into Washington Park, those looking for a fastest race will have their work cut out for them.  Along with winding around runners (or worse, being jostled when getting passed), the logistic issues of getting an accurate time from the starting line to the finish line require a really outstanding run to score your PR.  Here are some comments of some of the Washington Park runners from the beginningtriathete.com forum:

Holy cow!!! My husband and I went with our two boys in the double BOB and we had no idea there were going to be so many people. I think the announcer said 8000 people!!!!!!!!! It was insane.

I’m all for helping a good cause, but I find it hard that they have been doing it for 30+ years. The finish line was a mess. There were so many people that we actually had to stop running 15feet before the finish. Then, what a mess with the timing chips. Why was it timed anyways?? There’s too many people for that. I could see it were ALL runners, but there were families, kids, older people, lots of walkers, etc.. I think they should have a rule (like they do with The Race For The Cure) that all walkers stay to the right. It was crazy trying to dodge all the people with my stroller. Yikes!

…next year, we’ll donate the money to a cause and run our own path. It’s just a little too difficult with two young kids-ya know?

I had heard amazing things about this race, but was a little unimpressed. The whole finish line fiasco did not help. There were WAY too many people to have 1 shotgun start. I am happy I did it as it is for a great cause, but not sure I’ll do it next year.

The WPTT supports a good cause but I’ll pass.  The Turkey Run at Highlands Ranch is much more manageable…about 1,000 runners.

It is a large race and I knew from last year a large turn out… I think most the people that do a Thanksgiving Turkey trot run are doing it for fun and not really competition.

I’ve never run in Wash Park but it seems to be the most generic place that everyone likes to hold their races at, i.e., pick a cause and throw it in front of “5k” and you’ve got a race.  Might do the <Jingle Bell> “5k” in December and this would be my first Wash Park experience.  But otherwise, no thanks…

This one is a decent, small scale half marathon.  Course is point to point, mostly flat, which is nice for speed.  While it’s nice to have a course that doesn’t compete with the cars, racing on the bike path isn’t my firts choice.  I personally prefer a dedicated half marathon without the 5K, 10K, Kids Run…. but I guess the race would be on the small side and I know the point is to profit.  The race shirt was a white long sleeved tech shirt, with black ad logos which probably contributes to the $45 early bird entry fee.  I thought there would be a little more happening at the finish line.  The beach/park offer the potential for some post-race fun, but overall I can’t complain.  A glass company had donated their service van to help runners get back to the starting line.  Overall, no major snafu’s - I could do it again next year.

The season’s winding down, but we still have Mammoth Cross at Fossil Trace, Supercross in Colorado Springs, and the annual “On The Cross” at Chatfield to go. Check out the race calendar for more details on these.

]]> http://www.racingcolorado.com/raceblog/colorado-cycling/bowl-of-death-taunts-colorado-cyclocross-riders/feed http://www.racingcolorado.com/raceblog/colorado-running-races/2008-chatfield-five-and-dime http://www.racingcolorado.com/raceblog/colorado-running-races/2008-chatfield-five-and-dime#comments Sun, 16 Nov 2008 00:46:42 +0000 heather http://www.racingcolorado.com/raceblog/?p=153 Well my friends it was cold this morning. But not cold enough to stop a pretty good size crowd from rockin’ the trails at Chatfield State Park. Organized by the Colorado Masters Running Association, the Five and Dime consisted of a 5 mile and 10 mile trail run.

This was my very first trail run and it was awesome. As far as the level of fun had while running a race goes, this is way at the top of my list. The course started on a dirt road that wound through a field and turned into single track about 2 miles in. I was super nervous about rolling an ankle at first, and though the trails got pretty narrow, they stayed relatively smooth for the first 6 miles so I had a good chance to get comfortable with the course and my pace. This particular section (from about mile 2 to mile 6-ish) was so much fun to race on… and not just because nobody can pass you due to the narrowness of the track (hahaha to everyone stuck behind me)! It moved quickly through a lightly wooded area and had several turns and small but worthy hills to keep the legs limber and the mind active. After mile 6, the course took runners out into a field where the path itself was quite a bit rougher and involved some longer hills (including some sketchy and steep down hill sections) but did offer more visibility, and of course the prospect of the finish line.

So, the race itself was amazing. Getting to the race was… questionable. The CMRA website is a bit rudimentry and doesn’t include contact or registration information. It was only after I talked to a few people who had done CMRA events  that I realized one can just show up to the race and pay. The only other thing that bothered me was that the location was listed as “Chatfield” and it took a conversation with a less than pleasant park ranger to find out where exactly in “Chatfield” the race was.

While I did hear a few people mention that course wasn’t marked well, I didn’t have any real problems finding my way around and felt pretty confident the whole time. In fact, I have to say I was impressed with how smoothly things went along once underway. And hey, for only $10, one can’t really complain.

Despite a few very minor glitches with actually getting myself to the race (old-school website, no contact info, etc), I think the Five and Dime was pretty well organized and the only thing missing was a t-shirt to commemorate the event (though, with that kind of price tag, I can probably make my own).

This is by far my favorite race this year - fun course, small race, laid-back atmosphere, cheap, good competition if you’re into that and plenty of folks just out for a good run - and gets my very selective and awesome stamp of awesomeness.

Red Thread Run

Here’s a comment from Amy, one of the recipients of a free race entry from Racing Colorado.  Nice job, Amy!

I ran the Red Thread Run with my comp entry Saturday (thanks Racing Colorado) and had a blaast! The course was changed from last year which was nicer, as we ran on the streets within the City Park the entire time and never had to run on sidewalks as we did last year. I was able to run with my dog, which really excited me!

The race shirt is long-sleeved (yippee). Kids submit drawings and one design is selected to be on the shirt. There were plenty of beverages and snacks after the race. A lot of door prizes (gift cards to Dick’s Sporting Goods and Safeway, etc.) were drawn for particpants at the end of the race.

This is a fun, small race with many participants being parents and small children (proceeds are for adoption grant programs) that is also trying to recruit serious runners with a $150 cash prize for the top male/female. I had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the gorgeous weather and surroundings!

When I stumbled on this last year, I happened to read a little blip on the Littleton Public Schools website saying something to effect of “For the experienced runner, this is the most challenging course in the Denver-Metro area”. Being the snob that I am, I instantly thought “Psssh. Whatever, Littleton Public Schools.”

Yeah. They weren’t joking.

The event benifits (um, obviously) Littleton Public Schools and consists of a 10k run, 5k run, 5k walk, and 1k fun run. While I can’t speak for the 5k or 1k course, I can absolutely attest to the beastiness of the 10k course. It is hilly. And when I say “hilly”, I mean borderline mountainous. I consider myself a strong runner and this course just rocked me. After the first two miles my legs felt like marshmallow fluff, my lungs felt like they may be bleeding, and I found myself wondering why I payed money to put myself in such a position. If it means anything to you, I finished in 43:30… and I won (okay, okay, I was the first female, but 6th overall).

What I didn’t see this year was Derek Griffiths of Colorado Runner Magazine out taking pictures… Ya know, high school volleyball players seem to get more press than even the fastest runners in Colorado, so a nice little shout out in Colorado Runner is pretty awesome (even if it’s a bad picture, which it will be ’cause this race doesn’t make anyone look pretty). So I don’t know if that happened this year or not, but I’m pretty vain so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Either way, it’s suuuuuuuch a good race. When you’re done and you get over the strange and disturbing burning sensation in your bronchial tubes, you feel like you should be hanging out with the X-Men. The Littleton Stride also seems to be pretty well organized - there’s a ton of parking, plenty of port-a-potties, a fair price tag, and a well marked course which employs a lot of high school students to cheer for you (which they do quite well - thank you to all the girls in the tie-dyed shirts and the folks on the corners going “First Girl!! Woo!!!”).

This is one tough but tasty cookie. I highly recommend giving it a try if you haven’t, and I will leave you with a bit of advice: hill repeats are indeed your ally, and keep your eyes peeled for folks jogging with strollers and dogs. Hope to see some more of you out there next November!

Red Thread Run

City Park is a favorite running race location along the front range, and this year Red Thread Run is throwing in $150 each for the top male and female runners!  Add to that the beautiful weather we’ve been having, and this race is a can’t miss!

We have two ways for you to win a free entry.  You may post a reply comment to this blog post (or any others here on RaceBlog), and include something like, “… and please try to set me up with a free race”.  Don’t want to speak out in public?  No problem.  Just give us your opinions on what makes a good race by taking our short survey on Colorado running races.   For more details, take a look at our official promotion page at Racing Colorado.  Don’t dilly dally - this promotion will end Nov. 6th!