All the ultra athletes seem to live in Boulder, CO. One of the reasons is the extensive network of mountain trails. So I thought I would give it a shot! Had to fit this in before my 8 AM meeting.
Woke early, took an Uber to a trailhead that I found on a blog called “The Best Trails to Run in Boulder.” Just as the big sky above the Denver area got its first ray of sunshine, I hit the trail.
The loose gravel trail meandered toward a forested mountain landscape. All the while heading up hill, I was reminded that I was at 5000 feet and not at sea level anymore! I got to an small rise and could see 360 degrees, and the sun was just beginning to rise. This image does not do it justice. This time of year you would be hard pressed to find a more beautiful place on the planet.
A mile or so further up “the hill” the path I was running on narrowed and began to descend into a small canyon lined with pine trees. I had to jump over a few small streams and started to make my way through the foothills and into more of a rugged landscape. The path continued and I started to catch my breath and began to enjoy the scenic beauty around me.
I soon started really climbing. I was pretty happy with my progress, I was running smoothly, tripped only once, and did not find the climb too challenging. A grove of trees came into view, and as I got closer I noticed a herd of deer grazing in their morning breakfast grass. Too many vegan Californians must have moved to Boulder, because these deer were not afraid of me at all. In fact I ran right up to one and she only looked up casually and then continued to ignore me and went back to grazing.
As I ran into the trees, a few of the deer started running through the meadow next to me. The bounced ahead and then stopped. I thought, wow, if this was a Western film my new name would be “Dancing with Deer” or something like that. Soon, I left them behind and made my way further into the mountains.
At one point along a narrow trail on the edge of a cliff face I came to a small pass heading into a hidden valley.
I thought it was a cool looking, snapped a picture and then thought…if I do not turn around now I will be late for my 8am meeting. I had been running about an hour and if I turned around, I could make it back to the hotel by 7am. But the path looked really compelling, and in thought that this had to come out somewhere. Should I continue? Should I take the risk and be late for my leadership meeting? I decided to just see what was on the other side l, so I ran forward and……
I ran right into this little guy. Literally ran right into Wiley Coyote. He jumped just about as high as I did and we both ran away in the opposite directions. We turned to face each other. I took his picture and he sized me up, thought better of it and slowly backed away. I had my answer. If this was Journey to Ixtlan, then I would have recognized that this was the answer from my spiritual familiar. Yes, take the risk.
So, I ran on into a canyon and further into the mountains. I found a great path and followed that until it started heading around one of the ridges. The sun peaked through the trees and I had to stop and just admire the view.
I eventually found a trail that headed downward, I ran down that until I ended up on a highway. It was 7:20 when I got out my phone. I got lucky and found a nearby Uber driver and he found me along side the highway. I made it back and got to my meeting on time.
A few hours of running on a majestic trail run. Hard to have a bad day after that!
Guy Reams
365 Alumni
17 Days Left
