There aren't a lot of trail runs or Ultra's in Colorado in the winter. For fairly good reason, most trails, especially those at any elevation, start to be covered in snow and "running" these trails can become more of a postholing through snow session rather than actual running of any type.
However, it can be quite fun to participate in a winter trail run, for me this year I choose to run the Sawmill 16 mile Trail Race, put on by the Human Potential Running Series (https://humanpotentialrunning.com/). I have run several races with this race series in teh past. I enjoy their races as they are very low key, even for Ultras, generally have generous cutoffs, are high in difficulty, low entry price and well supported. One of my favorite Ultra's of all time are the Sangre De Cristo Ultra's held in September every year. I have run the 50k and 50 mile distances at that event and hope to go back for more beautiful and challenging runs there in the future!
This year (unlike pretty much every past year), race day greeted us runners with absolutely perfect weather. Due to limited parking at the trailhead we were all shuttled to the start/finish location so I, and many other racers, arrived about an hour early. This was probably the toughest part of the race, hanging out from 7am-8am in the cold, while not running yet. I brought extra layers to wear during this time and was very happy that I did. Once the race started I knew it was going to be a wonderful day on the trails. Although a good portion of the race course, which consisted of two different, 8 mile loops, was covered with packed snow, it was very runnable, even without microspikes, and a a lot of the course was still dry!
One of my major goals this training "off-season" is to improve my climbing speed and endurance so I worked on running sections of the uphills and power hiking the rest, then running the downhill sections. I was pleased with my effort, and was over an hour faster than my previous run at the same race in 2020 which was encouraging. ONLY big downside of race day was turning my left ankle, the one that I injured a few times in the summer of 2021 (kept me from completing my first Leadville 100 attempt). I shook it off, tightened my shoelaces and kept going but once home I realized I might have to adjust my training for the next week due to some decent swelling in my ankle and foot.
One of the best things about races, especially those within an hour of so of where I live, is that it helps me discover new, amazing trails near me for future training long runs. This race was held at Staunton State Park, only an hour from my home and after the race I am inspired to get back out there to do some training!
Life can be very challenging, very difficult at times, but running is simple. Hard, but simple. Just one foot in front of the other, which also reminds me that even when life complications arise that's all I have to do in life as well, do the next right thing and focus on what is in front of me, one step, one decision, one right action at a time.
