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Since Landon Cooper was 15 years old he dreamed of running across America, he never dreamed it would be for such a worthy cause; Sarcoma Cancer Research. [caption id="attachment_1192" align="alignright" width="300"] Landon presents Buzz Burrell with his signature on the Access waist pack he wore from the start in California all the way to Boulder.[/caption] On his recent 157 day team running tour he witnessed…

[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…

This week was my mom's 65th birthday and retirement party, on the same day. Mom has been an educator for 34 years and Friday was finally her last day of school. I drove the 9 hours home to Niobrara, NE to celebrate with her and my Dad, and the entire way I fought a vicious northerly headwind that left my ears ringing and my brain…

I never intended to become a runner. As a kid I hated running as a sport... I never really thought of myself as an athlete. I didn’t do organized sports at school. Fitness and “exercise” were things I associated with that old dude in the sweats on TV. But I grew up skiing, and have been doing it as long as I can remember. When…

"In a strange kind of way, lifeless landscapes have so much to say." --Porcelain Raft, Shapeless and Gone April on the Front Range had record snowfalls, so a trip south to the desert made sense. Joe had a planned rendezvous with his uncle in the Grand Canyon and my apartment sublease was up and I needed a long, hot run to get ready for Transvulcania next…

I knew it was a different morning on Longs when I left the parking lot with a bare head and bare hands. Usually I'm pretty chilly at the trailhead, but on this day the sweat was pouring off my eyebrows and nose on the very first steep cut up through the trees, and instead of dreading the breeze at treeline I welcomed it for its…