Summer Camp for Runners

Most summer vacations involve trips to the beach or the amusement park. Perhaps as’mores-filled camping trip or a tranquil island getaway.

And then there’s the vacation that requires running 113 trail miles over six days inlate August through Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. The Gore-Tex TransRockies Run,dubbed “summer camp for runners” by many previous participants, appeals to a wholedifferent kind of vacationer.

I know because I’ve been there. Last year, I signed on for the race with good friend andrunning buddy Caroline Ly. Unlike most running events, the six-day TransRockies Runrequires teammates to cover the entire course together.

Partners can tow each other uphillwith a rope attached to their waists, carry each other’s gear, or shout encouragement atone another, but they have to cross the finish line together. You can only run as fast asyour weakest link.

The relationship doesn’t end when the running shoes come off at night.

Teammates alsomust share a tent together each night, meaning the TransRockies week can be one of thelargest tests of both romantic and platonic relationships. Some teammates argue on thetrail, others develop deep understandings, and a select few even fall in love. (In a nod to those who don’t want to run with a partner, TransRockies last year debuteda shortened three-day event for individuals. That popular event has 10 spots left for thisyear, out of 100 entries.)

When Caroline and I heard about the race from fellow running friends, we thought theevent would be perfect us. After all, we ran our first ultra together—the White River 50Miler—and have been signing up for races as a team ever since. We dubbed ourselvesTeam A Foot Apart (in reference to my 5’11” stature and Caroline’s 4’11” frame) andheaded to Colorado with eagerness and a bit of trepidation.

Upon beginning our research, we soon learned that TransRockies remains a relativelyyoung race, as are running stage races in general. The team that started the TransRockies,in 2007, also formed the TransAlpine Run in Europe in 2005 and the TransRockies Bike(a mountain bike stage race in Canada) in 2002. Other existing multi-day runs includeDesert R.A.T.S. in Utah and the hard-core Marathon des Sables in Africa, which requiresparticipants to carry all of their food and gear. The idea of having to lug all of our waterand clothing sounded ludicrously difficult to us, and so we opted instead for the luxury ofTransRockies, where event staff schleps everything.

Our preparation for TransRockies included a number of spring and summer long runs.

Though we covered plenty of Pacific Northwest trail miles, we quickly discoveredColorado could provide a new kind of challenge. The course begins in the town of BuenaVista, at an elevation of about 8,000 feet. Altitude tops out at Hope Pass near Leadville,which sits at a lung-burning 12,500 feet. Since we flew into Buena Vista from sea levelSeattle the day before the race started, we skipped any chance to acclimatize.

Colorado’s weather, we found, is similarly extreme. No mellow 55-degree mist andcloudy skies for us Northwest girls. We woke up in our sleeping bags shivering, withtemperatures dipping down into the 30s. As soon as the sun poked above the mountainhorizon, days became scorching hot. We soon learned the importance of packing iceinside Caroline’s white hat to keep her jet-black hair from burning up under the blazingColorado sun.

In addition, the TransRockies course itself provides ample challenge. The single-tracktrails and mountain roads we traversed over the six days include 19,000 feet of elevationgain. We ran up and down mountains, soaked in ice-cold mountain streams, crawled intoour tents, and then got up and forced our weary legs to do it all over again.

If TransRockies is beginning to sound like a ridiculous kind of vacation for anyone butthe insane, let me now try to convince you otherwise. It may be the hardest summer tripyou’ll ever experience, but it will also be one of the most rewarding. Each day, Carolineand I ran up spectacular mountain peaks, across wildflower meadows, and through sun-dappled forests. We splashed through streams, ran down the ski slopes of Vail, andsoaked in the stark grandeur of Hope Pass.

TransRockies isn’t all about the running. At camp each afternoon, runners can kick back,sprawl in the sunshine, and form new friendships. Since race organizers set up tents foryou, haul your luggage from point to point, and cook all meals, runners must worry aboutvery little. The race even provides a trailer truck with hot showers and hand-washingstations, ensuring grimy runners stay relatively clean all week. Each night at dinner, wereceived free schwag, including Gore-Tex gloves, Salomon shoes, and a fleece blanket.TransRockies may be summer camp, but it’s a very pampered summer camp.

As for my friendship with Caroline, it only grew stronger. We discovered how tomaximize our running strengths, with Caroline darting downhill ahead of me and thenme catching up by powering uphill. When she suffered from the heat, I doused her withwater. When I ran out of water on one particularly hot afternoon, she poured half of herbottle into mine. Crossing the final finish line in Beaver Creek at the end of the sixth day,we felt a sense of real team accomplishment.

Of course, not every moment in TransRockies is filled with joy. The first day, Carolinesuffered from the high desert heat and threw up multiple times during the run. Sinceall runners sleep in a tent city, it’s difficult to avoid being woken by neighboringconversation, tent zippers and morning alarms. By the sixth day, we never wanted to seea packet of Gu, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a banana again—nor did we wantto spend one more night shifting aching muscles around on a camping pad on the ground.

But the scenery, camaraderie and personal satisfaction of TransRockies somehow cancelout any lingering memories of creaky joints and trail running woes. In fact, I became soenamored with TransRockies, I’ve signed on to do it a second time. (And so can you, asthe race is still accepting entries for the 200 available team slots.)

This time around, I’m teaming up with my boyfriend, Charlie, who is more of a rowerthan a runner, but nonetheless is game to tackle the TransRockies challenge. Last Sunday,I took him for a 31-mile group run around Tiger Mountain, effectively doubling thelongest distance he has run in years. He came through it smiling and unscathed, and isalready getting excited about our week in Colorado.

I’ll be curious to see how the race this August will differ from my past experience onan all-female team. Whereas Caroline and I have run almost every ultra we’ve enteredtogether, Charlie and I are more likely to hop in a two-person rowing shell. And whileCaroline and I are simply good friends, I imagine completing the challenge with asignificant other will bring new and different challenges and rewards.

Flipping through last year’s photos of the spectacular Rocky Mountain scenery, I can’twait to take on TransRockies again. And, if you’re looking for a vacation that is anythingbut typical, you and a teammate can come join me.