Author Topic: The Middle of the PPA Pack Perspective: More Competitive Hike than Half Marathon  (Read 3992 times)

kiwiliam

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Hi, I was a first time Ascenter in 2017. I finished mid pack 951 out of 1842 entries. It was an interesting experience, definitely tough, even though it wasn't really a trail run. More a collective hike with a lot of really competitive people. I thought my account might be of interest to people looking at this as personal challenge. Much of what I read before I arrived in Manitou was written from an elite runner's perspective, but that is not how most people will experience the PPA.

I've tried to outline my background, training and race experience without getting too bogged down in the details. I hope its helpful.

https://medium.com/@kiwiliam/a-middle-aged-man-tackles-the-pikes-peak-ascent-americas-ultimate-challenge-51b4d38434fb

Kip Russell

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Thanks for a great read!

It is, indeed, just a "fast" hike for most of us and I will never stop being amazed at the weird things that happen with time/distance after A-Frame.

I'm just a tad older than you; I did my first PPA 25 years ago and was devastated with my time (4:12).  I tried again last year, got sick and DNF'd.  This year I finished... barely.  So yeah, I'd kill for the time I put in as an out-of-shape kid.

At about 13500 feet this year, I told myself it was out of my system now and I could move on.  On the shuttle, on my way down, at around 13500 feet I said "&%$# you, Pikes Peak.  See you next year."

That being said... see ya next year? :-)
« Last Edit: August 29, 2017, 03:22:25 PM by Kip Russell »

Joebad

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I "ran" the marathon. Really I've been calling it an aggressive hike with some intermittent jogging.  :)

My wife jokes that it's a "fake" marathon put on by hikers to embarrass the runners. I covered the 26.2 so I'll be d*amned if I'm gonna call it a "fake" anything! ut it felt a little like that up there. :) I passed the true hikers on the way up to Barr Camp. They started passing me around A-frame. I passed (some of) them on the way down.

I'm a flat-lander who tried very hard to read up and set realistic expectations. I'm in about 3:40 shape for a typical marathon, so I added the suggested 30 minutes to my goal for the ascent, thinking 4:10 ascent, 6:30 total. The ascent took me 4:47. 7:42 total. Obviously experiences vary - I think the message is you just don't know what to expect, so be ready for anything. The last mile of the ascent took me 42 minutes. I didn't feel bad at all in terms of being dizzy or sick - I just got immediately exhausted when I tried to go over 1.5 mph or so.

Totally worth it!