Join me, as I train on the trails through the parks here in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and tag along, as I travel to and run races throughout the year. I really enjoy trail running and taking trips to run ultra-races. My favorite distance would be the 50k. I have always been a runner, but I did not take up running ultra-races till I was 53 years old. I'm 58 now and still going strong! Follow me @craigrunsultras Craig Sommerdorf
Great job on your race! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your filming throughout the entire course and showing us all the beauty of the race; I’m running it next week and glad to see a perfect preview of what I’m getting myself into!
Glad you enjoyed it! I am running it again this year. I'll be car camping Thursday night at the race. If you see me, say hi. It's a great race and I know you'll enjoy it. Good luck and have fun!
Thanks for all your race and training videos, I really enjoy them! Curious about your current running shoes and how many miles you typically get from them?
@@57mgmurray1 Thanks for watching! 98% of the time I wear the Altra Superior shoes. I only wear Altra shoes because of the wide toe box and zero drop. I wear the Superior shoes because they are a minimalist shoe. I like to feel the ground with each step. I have to be a lot more careful with my foot placement when I'm running technical trails, otherwise I'll bruise my heels if I land wrong. I typically will wear a pair for only about 500 miles, so about 2 months I'm putting on a new pair and I will wear a new pair every time I race.
Enjoyed watching this loop that you did. I'd like to try it soon (but will mostly be hiking, ha). Question for you; do people have to cross busy roads to get from East Bear Creek to West Bear Creek? I've looked at several maps and can't see where any bike/walking paths go under or above streets to connect the two areas of the park. I try to avoid crossing busy streets as drivers are so bad these days. Thanks for filming, as always :)
@@Dora-bmrwarrior Thanks! Unfortunately, you have to cross 21st street, but at least it's at a traffic light, right at the entrance to the Bear Creek dog park.
CCC, exciting! I was hoping to get in this year but missed out. Hopefully next year. I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of CCC videos but I loved the “Kelp & Fern” video for the quality as well as this one from “Pistachio” who showed the aid stations very well (choice of snacks and layout) as well efficient aid station usage: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wfmBEU9IMcc.htmlsi=05YWy5YdGXiZ5aoY
@@Smashycrashy I feel very fortunate to have the ability to run CCC this year. Thank you for the info! I'll definitely be watching them. I'm actually watching last year's live coverage right now. Hopefully you get in next year.
@@CODistanceRunner this was the kelp & fern link, he brought along one of those expensive, heavy, fancy cameras so the quality is above other videos. Certainly gives you perspective of that first climb out and how long it will take lol: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2gH9YhOiV24.htmlsi=2GzqcK6BaCYY6eRj
@@drhenderson40 desertrats.utmb.world/ I've done the 50k distance and this is a great race and not too hard for your first ultra...and it's only about 4 1/2 hours away from where you live. I also did a video of this race.
Moving to springs for about a month starting July8, primarily to train , do the never summer 60k. Would love to connect with you to show me some of your routes and just have a chat please and thank you. Also what’s your Strava please ?
@@marvinakins6874 That was the plan, but it's too small, even though it's the exact same pack as my old one and it's not as comfortable. So for CCC, I'll be using my old pack.
I like going down SK at nautical twilight like you did in the video. It balances the earliest start you can get without sacrificing views. I believe the cars at the SK trailhead were employees and backpackers with backcountry permits not people doing the “highway” of SK-NK-BA trails. I park my car at BA trailhead and call the Xanterra taxi so when I top out there is no fuss getting where I need to go. They are turning off the water between July 8-12, I am wondering if they will finally fix that break in the main you showed bubbling up through the trail. I always enjoy your videos, thanks for sharing.
That looks like a nice place to run and that weather sounds lovely. Colorado looks like a nice place to spend summers. Good luck to you and Laura in your races.
I've been watching this video several times, as I am doing 50K this year. Great finish time. Congratulations!!! Hope to meet you if you are doing this year :)
Congrats on doing those canyon trails! I've camped at the campground where you were camped at and did some hiking but that was years ago and I don't think I went very far. I also watched your videos of Red Rock Canyon outside Vegas. Also hiked that area years ago - great place to go for sure. Great videos, thanks.
I like the trails at Cheyenne Mtn SP because one can always loop around and get back to the clean bathrooms - ha! Well done getting up to the top of Cheyenne - I hope to do it someday.
I'm hoping to get on at least some sections of the trails you were on for this run. Great job and glad you scared off that bear lol. Question; was the parking lot a pay or free lot? Manitou area is such a challenge with the pay lots and tons of tourists :) Great job on the run and filming, thank you!
Thanks. There are 10 free parking spots at the end of Canon Ave. in Manitou Springs. It's parking for William's Canyon. These are the only free spots left to park in Manitou Springs. If you have trouble finding it...let me know and I'll send you a map or something.
@@CODistanceRunner Thanks! I will look at all those lots on google maps, etc. and may meander over there next week. Will let you know if I can't find them :)
That's awesome that you're training for CCC! Best of luck. I wasn't expecting you to fall on the trail (scared me. Haha)! Hope you recovered well. Great job out there!
Well done on that 20 plus miler! Funny you mentioned getting a bit lost in Stratton Open Space.... I have only been there once, last spring. I did a fairly long hike and got lost a few times but eventually found my way. I found the markers and the map a bit confusing, ha!
I'm trying to get thru some videos in my watch later playlist. Nice run! You do such a great job filming your runs. They provide great references for me so that I can find those trails. Have yet to get on the 7 bridges and associated trails but hope to soon :)
You can make your own window blockers by buying black foam posterboard from the Dollar Tree . For under 15 dollars and a few hours of your time, you can trace out the shape of your windows and then cut them to fit. It's a great temporary solution.
hi, my name is Neil and you quickly recorded me on the run video clip 20:49. I passed you on the way out. I was bib number 95. I finished the 50 miler at 12:44:53. I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS! It was a tough run with all the mud and rain! WE DID IT!
Great work! I was out there on Saturday as well and must have seen you at some point!! It was quite the muddy and wet day so nice work with the extra challenge. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Alright! You did it! That lloked like a really solid run. We signed up for Race the Wolf. If it's something you want to do, we have a guest bedroom so lodging is free at least. Hey you'll have an altitude advantage on the steep climbs coming from the Springs.
Thank you! and thanks for the offer, that race looks fun, but I have way too many trips this year to fit in another race out of state. Right now, I need to focus on getting in some good vert. and miles for UTMB's CCC (Aug. 30th). Have fun at Race the Wolf!
Hi Craig - great meeting you on the course as well. I was the runner that finished a few minutes after you, and we had the opportunity to sit next to each other at the finish line and chat for a few minutes. Love the video and RU-vid channel. Keep posting... and running!
Congrats on finishing strong in the race! Awesome job. Wow - wet & mud for tons of fun, haha. I used to do field work in that area years ago, would fly out from Denver for week or two week long work trips. Enjoyed hiking some of those trails on my days off. Really enjoyed the video, thanks!
Thank you for sharing , my housing situation is extremely unhealthy for me and i don’t have anywhere else to go , it’s nice to know that I can pretty easily camp in my car when I need to get away
Another great video Craig! I always enjoy your positive attitude! I usually watch your videos in the morning while im getting ready for the day because i find them so inspiring and positive! Good luck on the 50!
Go Craig! It's the couple you met on the local trails and ay javelina last fall. Good luck on Lake Sanoma! You're going to crush it! We moved to Sandpoint ID. You should check out Race the Wolf. It's an epic marathon at Schweitzer. It'll feel like a 5k after Lake Sonoma 😅
Great job on your long run! Question; are there any reasonably safe places to park a car in your neighborhood or adjacent to it? I'm trying to avoid the 'car break in' thing as best I can. I can't trail run yet but hoping to get more familiar with trails in that area. I'm limited to shorter hikes w/very short sections of jogging (ha, slogging). Thx again for filming your runs!
Ok thanks! I'll send a text in a day or so re: parking spots. Your number is in my phone now so you can delete your reply if you want. Appreciate this 👍
Nice video and run! I''ve been hearing about all the downed trees on the trails in the canyon. The trail maintenance folks are going to be kinda busy, ha. I haven't spent much time in Cheyenne Canyon yet; only been on a few hikes but it is so beautiful! I'm slogging along on the trails in town as I try to get better health and fitness for running. Gonna take a while. Good luck with the Sonoma event; will you be filming your race?
