Author: Anton Krupicka

While Hardrock is generally referred to as an "Endurance Run", and while it is very much that, each year there is unavoidably a competitive component to the event as well. Having been a part of the event five of the last seven years as crew/pacer, I definitely appreciate the community-oriented vibe that the Hardrock Board has so assiduously cultivated over the years; it's a huge…

After taking six of the previous eight months off, I finally started daily running again on April 23rd, the day I got back from a trip to Japan. The first week I began with 35-60min flat jogs, but only a month on I did my first race of the year---the Jemez 50mi---and after that knew that I wanted to find some kind of focus event…

A couple weeks ago I did a bit of a tester long run on my home trails in Boulder---31mi, 4h26min, 7k' vert---to see how/if my hip would hold up on a longer effort. It did, and afterwards I started thinking about what I could race on the upcoming calendar, despite the fact that I'd only been running pain-free for all of 16 days. Originally, I'd…

A couple weeks ago, a lot of my friends in my Facebook Feed were popping up with comments and results from the Colorado Marathon up in Fort Collins. It reminded me that, hey, I ran that race once. And that, holy shit, it was 10 years ago! In retrospect, that 2004 marathon---my third, at that point---and that spring in general, was a harbinger in a…

For the first month of 2014, I've been injured, again. Back in the first week of the year, I aggravated a hip flexor while shuffling my way up a mountain, and a month later it's finally showing signs of health. Injuries aren't unfamiliar to me, but after 19 years of running, they are no less frustrating. Especially when seemingly induced by an activity (skinning uphill)…

[caption id="attachment_1147" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Photo: Salomon Running (Damien Rosso).[/caption] I dropped from the 2013 Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc in Trient, Switzerland on Saturday morning---139km and 17hr after the start in Chamonix, France, but still 29km from making it all the way around the mountain. Curiously---despite the DNF---UTMB was one of the most pleasant, even serene, racing experiences I've had out on the trails. However,…

I came into Speedgoat this year feeling primed after spending all month exploring new (to me) routes and mountains in non-Sawatch mountain ranges in Colorado. I'd gotten my fill of the Sawatch in June. I also came in with an undue amount of competitive angst. At my core, I'm a pretty competitive person (Joe might say, "The most competitive person I've ever met."), and racing…

Capitol Peak and Snowmass Mountain in Colorado's Elk Range are unique when compared to the range's other 14ers in that they are composed of fractured granite rather than the teetering piles of sedimentary choss that make up the range's even more famous 14ers (notably, Pyramid and the Maroon Bells). Because of its mandatory Knife Edge on the NE Ridge standard route, Capitol is considered by…

When I left the Leadville Fish Hatchery at 2am on Monday morning---setting out on the Nolan's 14 link-up---I suspect I thought I would have a much longer and more interesting story to tell about my journey than the tale I have in my head right now. The short of it is that I started out stupidly early in the morning, felt crappy already by the…

On the summit of Missouri Mt, I pointed out the rest of our day's objectives to Joe. From our vantage point, the summits of Belford, Oxford, Harvard, Columbia, and Yale were all clearly visible. Joe and I both had linked up the first five summits before, but tacking on Yale at the end was uncharted territory for us, and the night before I'd even forgotten…