Today is the official launch of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons. (Yeah, pretty cool, right?!) I guess that makes it a pretty good time to announce the previously unnamed grand finale of our RFP Launch Week contests. We’re giving away a free entry into the 2011 GORE-TEX TransRockies Run held on August 21-26. Yes, you heard us right – the winner (and his or her choice of partner) will get to run all 6 days of this year’s race across the Colorado Rockies free of charge. If the winner prefers to roll solo, he or she has the option of running the coincidental three-day RUN3 event.
As it happens, this contest wraps up a week’s long series of giveaways to celebrate the launch of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons. Be sure to check them all out. (Feel free to spread the word.)
I ran the TransRockies Run back in 2008 and absolutely loved it. It’s like a week-long, running summer camp for adults. For six straight days the world class TRR organization provides a spectacular race with all the amenities. They also transport your gear from the previous day’s finish to the next day’s start, set up a tent village daily, bring in an oh-so-welcome shower truck (it’s the best!), cook up breakfast and dinner, provide access to massages, hold a daily award ceremony with prizes and video footage of the day, as well as dealing up numerous extras to go along with enthusiasm that’s hard to match.
Then there are your fellow runners. While I’ve not raced TransRockies in two and a half years, I still count many of those with whom I attended TransRockies among my best friends. Some were folks I previously knew, but with whom I cemented that bond on the course or hanging out with in camp. Others, I met for the first time at TRR. Spending a week with such an enthusiastic group of people (both racers and staff, actually) is something that you really have to experience to appreciate. For those taking part in the full GORE-TEX TransRockies Run, you run with a partner the entire race. This is a unique dynamic that, while possibly trying at times, is hugely rewarding.
Of course, there is a race. At the front of the fields (there are many fields – co-ed, men’s, women’s and both open age and 80+ years combined age), there’s stiff competition drawn by a combined $25,000 in prize money. Racing is fast and furious for these speed demons. That said, for the mid- and back-of-the-packers, the event has many different meanings. Some are veteran ultrarunners out there to enjoy the enjoy a week of well-supported running in breathtakingly gorgeous mountains. Others have never run so much as a marathon. For them, completing the event will be an accomplishment that requires them to muster all their courage. Regardless of reason for running, all must cover 119.5 miles with a combined 20,800 feet of elevation gain over country that ranges between 7,400 and 12,600 feet above sea level. Wow!
Starting last year, the RUN3 events occurs during the first three days of TransRockies on the same daily courses. The difference? You go solo. There’s no one to hold you back (… or to tow you). This year the RUN3 runners are scheduled to cover 58.4 miles with 8,600 feet of elevation gain.
How To Enter
The CONTEST HAS CLOSED for this ridiculous prize valued at $2,900! Sara M of Yarker, ON, Canada, pack your bags and your passport… you’ve got a race in Colorado this August!
iRunFar Reader Bonus!
If you don’t happen to win this contest, we can still help get you to the starting line in Bueva Vista, Colorado. All iRunFar readers receive a discount $200 off a TransRockies team entry or $50 off a RUN3 solo entry by entering TRR11IRUNFAR while checking out. Those looking to try RUN3, you’d best enter in a hurry, as there are fewer than 20 spots left!
Bryon,
Steve Harvey (66) and I (Team California Old Goats) have been running Transrockies as you have since 2008. Love Transrockies. AND who wouldn't LOVE to win your $2,900 team entry contest!! In case you haven't heard – Steve Harvey has heartlessly abandoned me as his team mate and will finally run it with his wife Annie as Team Old Goat and Ewe. (Annie is 10 years younger than Steve and a faster trail runner than either of us.) It took a while, but I finally found a new suitably elderly team mate for Transrockies. Well he is not all that “new”. He is 64 years old and thus officially qualifies as a California Old Goat. A 6’ 4” giant who wears size 15 running shoes! My daughter Michelle Barton (also running Transrockies again this year – her #5) who introduced us tells me he is a tough old bird who is still running 100 mile races! The last 3 years Michelle has paced him for the allowed last 40 miles of the Western States 100. I am hoping to beat all my previous Transrockies times for each stage because the studly giant wants to tow me and not mess around on the trails. There goes my beer breaks at the aid stations! For some unknown reason this Gordy Ainsleigh guy always gets bib #0 for the Western States 100 race and never has to enter their lottery either? Very strange to say the least.
(Don’t forget – Geezers scraping by on Social Security need to be sent to running camp AKA rolling party too!)
Alameda, CA
My podiatrist and his spouse, the Hannafords, mentioned TransRockies to me in January when I asked them "what they'd been up to lately." Accomplished endurance athletes, Dr. Dave & Deb raved about this staging event that provides top-notch support all throughout. I'd love to do the Run3 because I've never attempted any staging event, let alone one in the gorgeous Colorado Rockies. It's also an excuse to visit a dear friend from high school 25+ years ago, who's already said he'd drive me to Buena Vista and pick me up at the finish. As a working mom of two young kids, I need balance — I believe that training for and participating in the Run3 would afford me that balance to make me healthier & happier. Thanks!
The TransRockies Run3 sounds so amazing. I run the north shore trails in British Columbia and trail running is my passion. The best part of trail running is the comraderie and connections you make within the running community. I watched the TRR video last night and was very impressed with the organization and the tent city. I would love to get an entry to the run, happy trails.
As a road and mountain biker for over 25 years, I always thought running was too slow and boring. Then in January 2007, my younger sister talked me into running a California marathon in December with her and our older brother. (They were already runners. Where did our parents go wrong??) I could not see the point of training for almost a year just to run a marathon. But for the sake of sibling camaraderie, I very reluctantly agreed to do this ONE marathon. Well, 27 marathons and 9 ultras (both road and trail) later, I am still running. I hope to be selected for entry to the 2011 TransRockies Run so I can take my sister with me to finally get revenge for getting me hopelessly addicted to running! I will be 61 and my sister will be 52 by race day, but we both feel like 18-year-olds because of running!
Joyce Ong
Bristow, Virginia
Ken Eng
Smithers, B.C.
Canada
I've gotten back into running in a big way in the last couple of years after 10 years of not running. I've set some tough goals for myself this year – lots of miles, multiple ultras, and becoming the best runner I can. The TransRockies is on my bucket list of challenges to pursue. I've followed the race the last couple of years and love the concept, the passion of the people that run it, and the idea of being totally immersed in running for 6 days in the Colorado mountains. It would be a blast!
Love the blog. Am looking forward to the 2011 Run3. No team to run with so why not go and run with some new friends. Isn't that what this is all about? Adventure. Discovery.
As avid trail and ultra runners, TRR would be a fitting honeymoon for my fiance and I this summer. But it would also be great to race against some of the biggest names in ultra running and see where a couple of east coast ultrarunners could stack up – I think we could surprise some folks.
Brian Rusiecki
S. Deerfield, MA
Arnau mundet
Barcelona. Catalunya. SP.
Paulette Zillmer
Scottsdale, az
I want to run transrockies to have FUN!! I couldn't think of a more enjoyable way for a teacher to spend her summer vacation.
Although I have 5 years running , this is my first year of ultrarunning. 3 weeks ago I did my first ultra of 53K in the Seaton Trail Mud Puppies race in Ontario. Great and rally muddy, it was a great race for me. In two days I'm doing my first 50 miler, The endurance challenge In Bear mountain, NY. and I'm really exited.
Running is a passion and mixed with nature is a dream.
Armando Bajares
Montreal QC
Keith Heller
Albany, CA
Kate Fogelberg, Arequipa, Peru.
I dream about trails in Colorado. My husband and I moved overseas from Denver three years ago to open up offices for Water For People, a Denver-based charity that provides clean drinking water to people who don't have the luxury of turning on a lap. Runners at heart, we can be found dodging donkeys and prize-winning fighting bulls on the dirt roads that surround Peru's second-largest city. It would literally be a dream come true to get back to Colorado trails for 6 days this August.
I want to run as redemption for my last 50 mile! I covered over 7500' of elevation gain in 50k, and felt fantastic but had to drop due to injury. This would totally make up fo it!
Lauren
Tempe, AZ
the only thing better than spending an entire day running in the backcountry is to spend multiple days doing it!
brent boyle
atlanta, ga
Run with a friend? stage race? 6 days? Colorado? Sounds crazy.. sounds awesome!
Payam
San Francisco, CA
After having five kids and training like a mad woman nothing sounds nicer than some self torture in the high elevation of the Colorado rockies. This is an experience of a lifetime to do something I love and bring back stories to share with my kids. Hopefully inspiring them to live their dreams. I will be a proud mom after accomplishing a race like this with my best friend.
Running is my life. Now that I'm 50 I'm ready to tackle the mountains of the Rockies.
I haven't had a chance to run in the Rockies yet and would love to get the chance. Just got into Ultra's last year and I'm hooked!
David Henry
Baker City, OR
Nat couture
Fredericton, NB,
Canada
Awesome book so far.
Chris Swenke
Hudson, WI.
One word. EPIC.
Paul,
San Diego, CA
WOW! Isn't that the most incredible prize ever?!?! I don't want to win the Transrockies entry for me, but for my husband, so that he might be able to run Transrockies in support of Wounded Warriors again. He and his teammate didn't find sponsorship for this year, so yours would truly create a priceless entry for him!
Matt Santo,
Arequipa, Peru
Since we can't get your book down here, what better excuse to fly to the US and buy it….
This race is definitely on the "bucket list" but not sure I could justify the expense. (Family first!) Winning this would definitely justify the cause, and I'd love to add this race to my "Done" list.
Dave Allen
Seattle, WA
Ben Lewis
Salt Lake City, UT
I read about TransRockies years ago in a running magazine, and since I was living, working, and running in Colorado at the time, I eagerly looked up the race and entry fees. A slap of reality- of course a fully supported, 6 day stage race was going to be expensive, and the reality of it was that, as a seasonal Forest Service employee and now graduate student, I wouldn't be able to afford something like this for a long time. As an avid adventurer and trail ultra runner, TransRockies represents the ultimate culmination of my outdoor loves, and I would relish the opportunity to once again run through the mountains of Colorado.
…from Flagstaff, AZ
Justine Morrison
Washington, DC
Because I would love to race in coloRADo!
Jeremy G.T.
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
I would like the chance to run so I can be an inspiration to those around me. I want to be proof that a person's only limits are those they impose on themself.
Jared Sweet
Las Vegas, NV
This race is just about the coolest event of the year. The sheer accomplishment of the finish makes all of the training worth it. I have thought of signing up for this event many times but could never pull the trigger. I let my fears and doubts get the best of me. Even though I am trained for the multi-stage race, it still plays in my head that I may not be. By winning this entry it will force me to face those fears and overcome them. That is what ultrarunning is about to me and sometimes I need a little push to accomplish it ;-) Best of luck to the winner of this contest and everyone who is brave enough to run this event!!
Congratulations on your book rockstar Bryon! I look forward to devouring it!
Anyone who is a trail runner should definitely consider running TransRockies.
The course is absolutely breathtaking! The event has a fun factor that is second to none! I wouldn't miss it, this will be my 5th year competing. :-)
Thanks, Michelle! You're right… it's hard to beat TransRockies in terms of fun for a race. Actually, I think that'd be impossible. Have fun this year!
John Dove
Macon, Ga.
Gaylord Michigan here
I just love to run. As my high school team t-shirts say.
RUN.
Mark Manz
Baltimore, MD
My best friend and I have talked about running Transrockies since we first heard about it the very first year it started. It's been a dream and a goal of ours for the past few years and the only thing really standing in our way is the price tag right now. I would JUMP at the chance to spend a week running in the mountains of Colorado!
Six days, running, rockies. What could be better?
Two 50+ grandma's who have been running ultramarathons together since we turned 50 who would love to end this running season with the grandmother of all adventures – the Gore-tex TransRockies Run!!
Christina Flaxel
Portland, Oregon
I'd like to do TransRockies so I can put to practice the thing I learned from but MdS and RFP.
Dusty Hardman
Victor, Idaho
I was always one of the last students to be picked when teams were chosen in school. I didn’t do any high school sports. I was pregnant six times and gave birth to seven children (twins at the end). Two years later at age 36 I accidently started running. At age 47 I ran my first ultra. I’ll never win an ultra, I just make the fast ones look even faster. For me it’s not about winning, it’s about finishing. My running partner and I show that you don’t have to be elite to be an athlete. We’d love to show others that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
Coral Hammond
Aurora, Oregon
PS We’re doing our first 100 miler in July so we’ll be trained. Could you add a 100+ category for us?
I would completely love to race the Trans-Rockies. Why??? Because I am tired of competing against individuals on concrete. I need to fight against my fellow runner, head-to-head, on the trails. I live in an urban environment and running in Colorado is my escape to the mundane- I am TIRED and WORN DOWN by the typical sidewalks and roads…. I have done several western trail-races before, so I know there is a demanding/extra requirement associated with racing in an altitude environment- But everyone needs a challenge! I would love another race, to push the sport, my own limits, and the limits of the entire mountain/trail-running community ahead just one more notch!!! TRR!
Mark Pokora, Ann Arbor, MI
Chihping Fu
Fremont, CA
Brian Raines
Woodway Texas
I want to run the gore Tex challenge in order to continue improving at ultra running. The last part of the book about other activities to do really got me thinking about stage races. I have the marathon DES sables as a dream race for 2012 or beyond. I think getting some practice in stage races here would really help. I'd probably do the gore Tex challenge solo, but I'm not sure.
Ps. Love the book! Finished it yesterday. I’m getting ready for my first ultra. Running 35 mile training run this morning.