Family vacation features skate parks and Pikes Peak

I write this column from a Hampton Inn Business Center in Denver, Colo., better known as a 10-by-10 room off the lobby with a couple of 12-inch monitors and a chair that is already not real comfortable.

Perfect conditions, at 12,000 feet, to write my 940th column for the Cape Gazette. On July 10, my family and I flew into Denver, known as the Mile High City or the retired John Elway city, and drove an hour and 20 minutes to Colorado Springs, a city known in the running world for the Pikes Peak Marathon and the new Pikes Peak Ascent.

According to the Pikes Peak website, “The Pikes Peak Ascent and Pikes Peak Marathon will redefine what you call running. Sure, they start out like a lot of races on Any Street, USA. But your first left turn will have you turning in the direction of up!

“During the next 10 miles, as you gain almost 6,000 vertical feet, your legs, lungs, heart and mind will be worn to a ragged nothingness. But it won’t be until your last three miles, with still over 2,000 feet of vertical to go, that you will realize where the marathon got its moniker - America’s Ultimate Challenge." At last year's Pikes Peak Challenge, Matt Carpenter, 46, of Manitou Springs, Colo., raced up in 2:17:39 and down in 1:35:55 for a combined time of 3:51:34.

New this year is the Pikes Peak Road Ascent to be held in August on what the website describes as America’s Mountain. Runners will race up the Pikes Peak Highway Sunday, Aug. 28.

The 11.6-mile route will start near the Pikes Peak Highway toll gate at an elevation of 7,750 feet and ascend up the mostly paved road to Glen Cove at an elevation of 11,425 feet.

The total gain is 3,675 feet with an average grade between 5 and 8 percent.

I cannot imagine running up that incline. After I got a firsthand look on Tuesday I drove to 14,115 feet in our rented Ford Explorer. It was clear, sunny and 80 degrees as we left the bottom at 7,800 feet, and when we arrived at the top we were in the clouds with no visibility at a brisk 42 degrees.

The roads are half paved and half gravel, narrow with no shoulder, and very few guardrails; usually five to eight feet to the right meant a drop-off that would mean goodbye in a hurry. I kept my hands on the wheel, tried not to shake, and stared straight ahead as my youngest fed the car with negative thoughts like “what if…”

On the way down, drivers are told to be in the lowest gear possible, and halfway down your brakes are checked, and if you fail you pull over for 30 minutes. I used the gears on the way down and only touched my brakes on two mile-stretch 90-degree switchbacks. Two cars in front of us had to pull over with brakes that did not pass, while we sailed through the checkpoint.

On the opposite side of Pikes Peak is Ute Pass, located west of The Springs on the north slope of the peak at 9,165 feet, and that is where we stayed in our cottage overlooking the lake, playground, and gazebo at a place called Green Mountain Falls. It looked as if we were staying in a postcard.

The roads are dirt and are so steep that following every rain, the tractors go up and down, filling in the ruts and regrading until it rains again, which is usually once a day late in the afternoon.

The Springs
On Wednesday, we spent the morning touring the Olympic Training Center. An average of 85 percent of the athletes who train there take part in the Olympic Trials, while only 5 to 10 percent actually make it to the Olympics.

It's an impressive facility where athletes are given everything they need to get themselves ready to compete. We walked in on a group of muscular wrestlers working on takedown moves, while five female wrestlers were prepping to begin their workout. Another building housed state-of-the-art weightlifting where men and women were pumping iron at every station.

Next stop was a 40,000-square-foot skate park at Memorial Park, where Jake and Ben could have spent their whole vacation, but after three and a half hours of kick-flipping, grinding the rail, ollying, and pop-shoving it, we pulled them away and headed north to Denver.

On this day, a group called the Therapeutic Recreation Program was hosting a neat activity on Memorial Lake that they call Leisure Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
A crew of adults was giving men and women with disabilities personal watercraft rides, while another crew with three power boats was pulling skiers as they sat in a seated position with two small skis under them. It was awesome to watch as boat one pulled the athlete, another boat followed the skier and as soon as the skier fell, two rescuers would dive out of the boat to swim to the skier.

The third boat trailed the scene and was simply a medical boat. The handicapped athletes, who I might add had incredible balance, were having a great time, and from land it was very impressive to watch it all take place.

Today we arrived back in Denver and have found our fourth skate park of the trip, while Thursday we head north to Boulder, Estes Park, and Windsor to wrap up our Western journey. More next week.

Wardian third at Badwater Ultra
The Badwater Ultramarathon held July 11-13 in Death Valley, Calif., with the final day hitting 98 degrees, is a 135-mile race, considered tougher than Pikes Peak ultra and known as The Challenge of the Champions. Our own Rehoboth racer, Mike Wardian of Arlington, Va., made his debut with an impressive third-place overall finish in 26:22:01. Oswaldo Lopez of USA and Mexico won the race in 23:41:40, while Ryoichi Sekiya of Japan was second in 24:49:37. Wardian finished ahead of defending champion Zach Ginger of Illinois, who was timed in 26:45:15. If anyone’s mind can handle this race, it would be Wardian’s, who most likely has another marathon scheduled this weekend somewhere in the country.

Seashore Striders 5K & Striders Women's Distance 5K
Enos Benbow and Susan Dunn captured overall titles July 9 at the Striders 5K, while New Balance treated the female top 10 finishers and the overall male finisher with special prizes and gift certificates. Mike Sewell and Cheryl Weir won the masters titles in the race. Results of the event can be found at www.seashorestriders.com.

Upcoming races
Saturday, July 16 - 2nd Kelly J. Fritchman 5K, Irish Eyes, Lewes 8 a.m., races2run.com

Sunday, July 17 - 6th Dewey Beach Liquors at the Cork 5K, Dewey Beach, 8 a.m., races2run.com

Saturday, July 23 - 1st Lewes 5K Run & 1-Mile Walk, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes, 7:30 a.m., www.seashorestriders.com

Sunday, July 24 - 29th Annual YMCA 5-Miler & 1-Mile Walk, Deauville Beach, Rehoboth Beach, 7:30 a.m., www.seashorestriders.com