Mt. Evans Ascent 2010

Last Saturday Pat and I raced in the Mt. Evans Ascent. It's a road race, on the highest paved road in America, to the summit of Mt Evans. You started at 10,600 ft and raced 14.5 miles to the summit at 14,264 ft. There is a time limit of 4 hours and 30 minutes...that was our goal. Surprisingly, we did really well. I felt great the entire time and ran quite a bit. It was hard, but not as brutal as I thought. The altitude never bothered me, which I contribute to my exercise asthma. I can't breath very well when exercising at home, so it's not much different at altitude (the only time it's beneficial to have it). My legs felt a little heavy in the last couple of miles, but I wasn't completely beat. My finish time was 3 hours and 24 minutes and Pat's time was 3 hours and 41 minutes. We were both VERY happy! Pat said he wouldn't run it again, but would be my support vehicle. I would definitely run it again. I am also thinking about trying the Pikes Peak Ascent next summer...although I have read it's twice as hard as Mt. Evans. Bring it on! I'm always ready for a challenge. The next big race is my first marathon in Colorado Springs on September 6th.

Pat and I before the race started. Echo Lake is in the background.
These next pictures Pat took. This is at mile 5 looking up the hill.

Looking back from mile 5.

Around mile 9. This is where it started to get "really hard".

These cute mountain goats were all over the summit to greet us.

These ones were hanging out by the restrooms.