A look back in time...previous Bolder Boulders

Since this blog is all about training for the Bolder Boulder, I thought today I'd reminisce about my previous experiences at the race.

Back in 2002, I was dating a girl who used to run. She suggested that I run the Bolder Boulder with her that spring. Actually, it was more like, "We're doing the Bolder Boulder in May. I signed us up for a 5k to qualify."

Um, ok. Why not? I wasn't a runner then. I was still mostly into climbing (something that doesn't help your running in the least), but I had recently started dabbling in adventure racing, so I figured a little run training couldn't hurt.

We took a day trip down to Colorado Springs and ran a 5k race in the Garden of the Gods. I crossed the finish line in 22:41, a 7:18 pace. It was the first running race I'd ever done, and it was pretty cool. [edit: oops, I almost forgot that I ran the Pearl Street Mile in 1998, so this 5k was actually my second road race!]

Three weeks later I found myself in the C-wave at the starting line of the Bolder Boulder. I couldn't believe all the people! There were well over 40,000 participants, which makes the BB the second largest 10k in the nation, behind Atlanta's Peachtree.

More amazing than the crowds, however, was how well-organized everything was. There were volunteers everywhere, offering help if you needed it. A shuttle was there to take your warm clothes to the finish line for you. There was half a block full of nothing but porta-potties. There were water and gatorade tables. As each wave started, the next wave shuffled forward to the starting line. The faster runners (and anyone who wanted) had no problem starting right on the line.

Before I knew it, my wave had started. It seemed like a band was playing on every street corner. There were belly dancers and octogenarian cheerleaders. It was almost enough to distract me from the pain in my legs and lungs. Almost, but not quite! Every mile and every kilometer were marked, and there were huge water and gatorade stations spaced regularly. I followed the crowds all the way to the finish in the CU football stadium, where I was surprised to see I'd beat my 5k PR...twice! My finish time was 44:31.

After meeting up with my girlfriend, we both took advantage of one of my favorite BB perks: the free massage! We then explored the huge expo, where samples of all sorts of things, from ice cream to beef jerky, were available from vendors. Next, it was time to watch the traditional Bolder Boulder Memorial Day Tribute, complete with a short speech by a Purple Heart recipient, a 21-gun salute, a flyover by four fighter jets in formation, and a display of skill as one member of each branch of the military parachuted into the stadium. The final skydiver came in carrying a massive American flag as "I'm Proud to Be an American" played on the loudspeakers. It all sounds kind of hokey, but it honestly got to me, and it has every year since.

Following the Memorial Day Tribute, it was a real treat to watch the pro race. Each country is allowed to send three male and three female runners to the Bolder Boulder International Team Challenge. The country with the highest-placing athletes wins. With the largest non-marathon road racing prize purse in the world at stake, countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, and of course, the USA, send some of their top guns. Along with thousands of spectators, we cheered as local hero Alan Culpepper made a bold move in a last minute charge from behind, coming within 3 seconds of Kenya's Tom Nyariki for first place. But it was the USA women who stole the show. Deena Drossin (now Kastor) led the women to a near-perfect 1, 2, 4 team victory.

It was a few days after the race that I first got the idea to try for a sub-40 10k time. A local trail running legend posted the following on a message board about my friend Bill, a fellow climber and enthusiast of all things outdoors:

The bad news is that we won't have Bill to kick around anymore. He successfully broke 40 minutes at the Bolder Boulder, annihilating the barrier with a 39:48. Way to go Bill! And I bet the guys who beat you aren't also training to climb El Cap in a single day.

There it was in print...you would be respected as a runner if you could break 40 minutes in a 10k. At least that's how I interpreted it. The other thing was that 40 minutes is a nice round number, and the splits are easy to calculate, at an even four minutes per kilometer. I thought I wasn't that far away from the goal, only four and a half minutes. Little did I know, that's a tough 4.5 minutes to find!

In the ensuing years, I mostly focused on mountain biking and adventure racing, but every year as the Bolder Boulder would come within view, I'd try to do at least something to train for it. Usually that involved running a few 5k races and adding another day or two to my typical one or two days of running per week. Surprisingly, considering my haphazard approach, my times did go down each year. In 2003 I ran 42:13. In 2004, 41:25. And in 2005, after adding a total of three track workouts to the mix for the first time, I ran my current PR of 40:39.

Last year was the year I decided I'd start to take running a bit more seriously. I planned to run four days a week, something I'd never done two weeks in a row, much less for a whole year. To help my motivation, I signed up for the May 7 Colorado Marathon, and grabbed a novice marathon training program from Hal Higdon's website. I followed it semi-religiously. My plan was to dramatically increase my mileage through marathon training. I would then be in great running shape for the Bolder Boulder that year, I reasoned.

My plan failed miserably. The marathon worked pretty well, though. My training peaked at 40 miles per week, with a longest run of 20 miles. It was tough to keep the injuries at bay, but I made it to the starting line and finished just 29 seconds shy of my goal of beating 3:30. But the marathon destroyed my legs, at least temporarily. I went for a couple of walks (not runs) that week, and gradually got back into running again over the next several weeks. But the Bolder Boulder was only three weeks after the marathon. Too soon! My legs just didn't have it on race day, and I ran a disappointing 43:46.

So there you have it, my personal Bolder Boulder history in a rather large nutshell. This year, in case you can't tell, I'm more motivated than ever to break that elusive 40-minute barrier!