Race Organizing - A Labor Of Love

Throughout the ROutsider blogs, we’ve continued to share many stories of folks enjoying the trails of Colorado Springs and throughout Colorado - which often include participation in bike or run races. We’re excited to share the story of someone behind the scenes now, who put together a race here in the heart of Colorado Springs this last summer!

Drew, with his Pulpit Primer hats and other race swag.

Drew Vidano, a friend of Routes and regular participant of The Trailblazers Bike, Run, and Hike Group, organized in the summer of 2022 the inaugural - and maybe final - Pulpit Primer 10K at Pulpit Rock Open Space.

Drew is from Monument, CO and graduated from Western Washington University in 2020. He studied marketing and entrepreneurship and also ran for the cross country team.

Drew currently works as a rep for Adidas Terrex & Five Ten, but he and a high school buddy, James, also have a business named ‘Berziege’ - German for ‘mountain goat’. They started the company with the mission of building the community of trail running and progressing the sport through unique, local races. Pulpit Rock Open Space was specifically chosen for this 10K because few people around town know of its beautiful trails or the adjoining Austin Bluffs Open Space.

Drew and James immediately dove in with their first few tasks…

1. They started by navigating the process of acquiring permits from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (who owns much of the land), and securing the necessary insurance for the event.

2. With other established races happening in town that same weekend, they had to find creative ways to promote the event, mostly online. Drew also designed a free hat for the first 25 runners to sign up. They set up social pages and accounts, and continued to try and get the word out organically.

3. They sought sponsorships to help offset the cost of the event for participants. Unfortunately, most of the bigger brands already had their sponsorship money allocated for the year or were hesitant to invest in a first time event. Despite the void in available sponsorships, Starbucks donated coffee and Hoka donated some gear.

By race day, 43 runners had signed up.

And all of Drew’s family - his parents and younger sisters - agreed to volunteer.

Race day came…and…

Unfortunately, no one was in the mood to drink the coffee they were handing out because it was the hottest day of summer thus far. And…Drew and his partner thought they had the 10K route marked well with flags the day prior, and even stationed a couple of volunteers at key intersections - but some runners still took wrong turns and had to backtrack. It was hard to ignore these elements of the day that felt a bit sour.

In the end, when Drew saw the first place runner approach the finish line, he felt a wave of relief. Not all was lost! The top runner finished the techy, single track course in just under 45 minutes. And they celebrated this finish in more ways than one.

After all the runners crossed the finish line, from ages 14 to 63, Drew relished in seeing how satisfied they were with the race and having the chance to explore new trails. Plus, he and his partner were excited to hand out some nice prize money for the top 3 finishers for the men and women - a common practice for European races but not yet here in the U.S. Facilitating the race was a tremendous amount of work for Drew and his partner, and they are not sure if they will do another one, but are grateful to have organized an experience that brought a lot of fun and enjoyment to others!

In the end, isn’t that what it’s all about?

RACING, VOLUNTEERING, AND FINDING COMMUNITY

A fun personal story from a friend of Routes and local community member…

Moving to a new state amid a global pandemic was not ideal. Leaving my family and friends to pursue this new adventure with my boyfriend of two years was already a leap out of my comfort zone that I didn’t think I was entirely ready for…or capable of. That I arrived as Colorado shut down and mandated masks didn’t help. Soon, I secured a traveling job that put me at risk of infection and kept me from exploring my new home. Then I received an email that crushed me.

“It is with deep regret that we must cancel the full marathon and relay for this year….” 

madmooseevents.com

I had been training for a year to do the Niagara Falls International Marathon with my best friend…and having to take the deferral to 2021 felt like all the work I’d done didn’t count. It seemed like life was dumping disappoints on me, and I needed a positive goal to focus on. I registered for the Valkyrie Trail Marathon in Cheyenne Mountain State Park to give me something to work towards ⎯ a challenge to distract me from how left out I felt as all my friends’ lives moved on without me.  

Months passed and I couldn’t shake this feeling of being utterly untethered. There would be pops of color when friends and family came to visit and then it would all dull back to the same gray of my everyday life. I ran to keep myself from admitting that it felt like I had made a mistake. I couldn’t understand how I could be so torn between such a beautiful state, holding the possibly of the life I always saw myself living and still wanting to move back to a state filled with humidity, mosquitoes and all my loved ones. I don’t know that I’d ever felt so lonely. 

September faded into winter and then spring, and the Saturday before my race I flew home from a work trip in Seattle. That Thursday my dad and sister flew in to spend the weekend with us and to cheer me on.

We hiked some of the course and at the Garden of the Gods and made tamales from scratch. A blink later, it was Saturday morning. My dad and sister left early for their morning volunteer shift, helping to set up the start/finish line and the aid stations.  

My boyfriend and I drove to the state park blasting Pusha T’s “Untouchable” on repeat. I felt recharged on the weekend’s positive energy and ready to go. My sister, dad and boyfriend were going to post up at the aid station I would pass four times throughout the race, and every time I saw them the whole table of volunteers erupted into cheers. It carried me through. 

madmooseevents.com

I finished my first trail marathon 24 minutes under my goal time while enduring some major stomach issues the last 5 miles. I was exhausted and so grateful for the whole experience. 

It wasn’t until we got back home late that afternoon that the true magic of the race unfolded ⎯ after forcing down lots of fluids, cooling down and reliving the race mile by mile for my family. 

My dad handed me a mask with a sharpied phone number and said, “I made you a friend. Here’s her number.” 

Little did I know, this was the turning point I had been needing. 

Another volunteer assigned to the table started chatting up my incredibly quiet dad, and today, she is one of my best friends. She helped me build a strong and supportive sense of community here in Colorado, and I have finally found where I fit. Within the running community here, I’ve found my people and everything that was missing.

From Burnt Out To Trailblazing in Colorado Springs

By Nate Van Noord (RO Staff)

After living and teaching in inner-city Detroit for the last 14 years, I needed a break. I was burnt out and needed rest. I needed some extended time away to reflect on my years there and discern what was next.

My sister lived in The Springs, and when I would visit her in the summers, she would take me for a run through Garden of the Gods, do “The Incline” with me, or show me the trails around Cheyenne Canon. After each time visiting her, I always felt refreshed. 

Moving to The Springs seemed like a great spot to find some rejuvenation. 

So in the summer of 2021, I moved out to Colorado Springs, and realized that the city has A LOT of easily accessible trails. I bought a bike and explored Ute Valley. I ran up Stratton Open Space to Gold Camp Road. My sister bought me a pass to explore Cheyenne Mountain State Park. I had to pinch myself that I was living in Colorado - the mountain views, the little scrub trees and yucca plants, and ALL the sunny days. 

I moved to Colorado to explore its beautiful landscape, but I didn’t want to do it alone (after two knee surgeries, my sister plays pickleball now instead of running and biking). I wanted to be a part of the outdoor culture and meet like minded folks. 

After Googling ‘trail running groups’ in the area, I found Trailblazers at Trails End Taproom. The website said it was for bikers, runners, and hikers. On a Wednesday night, I showed up to the Old Colorado City location with my running shoes. After walking past about fifty mountain bikers, I saw a dozen other folks stretching, checking their watches, and chit chatting. The group’s run leader, Sarah, introduced herself and a few others in the circle. After a few minutes, we jogged from the Taproom over to the trailhead at Red Rocks Open Space. Since the group ran the same basic 4-5 mile route each week, some folks sped ahead, and after a mile or so, waited for the rest of the group to catch up. I met another guy from Michigan, a lady who ran ultramarathons, and a couple who play pickle ball.  

Trailblazers is a welcome group for many levels of running. No one gets left behind. Getting out on the trails is what matters most. Doing it together makes it that much more fun.

After the run, folks stuck around, had a drink, and ordered a pizza. I learned about other local trails to run, races people were training for, and what the Tuesday Trailblazers in Monument was like. After coming for a couple weeks, I exchanged numbers with the couple who play pickleball and we played doubles with my sister. Now we run together outside of Wednesday nights, explore local restaurants, and still get the occasional game of pickleball in. 

With the help of Trailblazers, I have found people to explore all the beauty of Colorado and to find rest and rejuvenation with a community of others.