Imogene

Anthony and I at the start.  It was cold.

Last year I ran my first trail/mountain race, the Imogene Pass Run, at the behest of my friend Anthony Arena.  When he was making this suggestion, it was May, and he was insisting that I needed to stay up until midnight so that I could register immediately in the wee hours of the morning on June 1st.  I did so, and was pretty amazed the race filled up in like, 5 hours, but didn't really understand any of this until having run it last year.  It's an amazing event that takes you on jeep roads and scree fields from Ouray at 8,000', up over a 13,000' pass (the Imogene Pass), then drops you down on a twisting jeep road into Telluride (7,000').  And it was great.  Without knowing much about the race, or what the hell I was doing running in the mountains (I had spent the better part of the summer in sea-level Virginia), I finished 6th overall, a result that got me excited for trail running as a meaningful activity of focus.

This year, even though training hasn't recently been going well, I eagerly stayed up to register, succeeded in doing so, and am looking forward to the race on September 10th, again with Anthony.  Doing well here is a big objective for my season.

Included here are some pictures of last years race, courtesy of Cara Arena:

An unbelievable number of people come to run this race.

The start, down Main Street, Ouray, CO.

Cara and Alice's last glimpse of me until the other side.

In Telluride.  Note the amazing scenery.  You can just see the Imogene Pass, above the car to Alice's right.

Awards Ceremony: L-R, Me (6th), Eric Bohn (7th), IPR Race Director.

I was pretty pleased.

Alice and I following the race, in Scurvy Dogs gear.