Anyone who regularly follows this blog is probably well
aware that I'm way behind in posting.
That's what happens around an expedition race - more details about that
will be available eventually. At this
point, I just need to get a few notes down "on paper" about my run
across Denver so I can move on with our summer blogging.
As with my other Fastest Known Time (FKT) runs this year,
this one was for training, for fun, to explore a new place, and to set a new
(and only) posted female FKT. The
novelty here was that this one was pretty darn flat. And urban. The High Line
Canal Trail stretches from the southern part of Denver, across a variety of
landscapes and neighborhoods, and finishes toward the area of the airport in
the northeast (bypassing downtown). It
follows an old canal that in some places isn't more than a vague divot and in
others is an obvious ditch.
There are several spots where we aren't allowed near the
canal, so I followed the route from the most recent (and quite fast) FKT set by Jeremy Bradford. This included starting at Waterton
Road, detouring on Titan Road/Santa Fe around mile 9, the short
Hampden/Colorado detour at mile 36, and finishing at Picadilly Road. The route was the only thing I copied from
his run - I had the benefit of a crew (thank you John!), a pacer (thank you
Tom!), and no particular time goal to hit.
Info from the FKT board:
More info with downloadable details and a nice map:
John dropped me off just before sunrise at the southern
end. I was ready with my InReach
tracker, water bottle, some light clothes for the morning chill, a handheld
light that I mostly didn't need, and my new running vest. The vest was great! It holds just enough stuff (phone, little
med kit, mileage table and notes) and I don't notice that I'm wearing it. An excellent alternative to my small pack for
a supported run like this. Prep for the
run was minimal, mostly making sure John and I both knew where we would be
meeting up.
I started up the tracker and was on my way:
This picture makes it look dark and stormy, but in reality
it was a beautiful calm morning:
I enjoyed running along pastures and watching for the
outline of the mountains as the sky started to lighten. It felt like the middle of farmland,
complete with cows and horses and running basically through the yard of a
farm. A couple road crossings, a view
of downtown Denver WAY far away, a lovely peek at the sun before it was lost
behind clouds, and soon I was at the first crew stop.
A bit of morning sunshine:
Hi John! And thank you for the most excellent camera work!
One way I knew I was still on the right path:
Spiz refuel and a bottle swap - it's so awesome having a crew person:
I dropped off the light and some clothes and was on my way:
Right after this I heard some rustling in the canal and
looked over to see a couple little foxes!
Maybe young ones. I don't think
they saw me as they were running around.
Super cool!
I had chosen this day because it was supposed to be not
quite as hot as the others around it. I
was rewarded with clouds for much of it and wasn't affected by heat until
toward the end, thankfully.
There were mile markers, awesome! I tend to run better when I have short intermediate goals and can
monitor my progress. I haven't gotten
to the point of wanting a heavy GPS watch on my wrist, so I appreciate all
external help with mile markers and the like.
Well, so much for mile markers in the next section. Here is the major detour of the route. Previous FKT runners have found ways across
the private land along the canal, but it sounds like the landowner is less
happy about that these days. So I had
already determined to go around. Even
that wasn't great. The cutover from the
trail to Titan Road is marked as private, plus there was construction on Titan
that required a barrier hop-over. Not
sure if this might require more rerouting in the future?
Anyway, I got to Titan without issue and commenced the road
run over to Santa Fe Drive. There is
plenty of shoulder (besides getting through the construction zone), also plenty
of morning traffic. So it was safe but
loud. I was happy to get back onto the
trail 1.2 miles down at the small powerline.
The detour added perhaps a mile and a half to the optimal route, putting
my current mileage after that point close to the posted mile markers (which started at 1.7
because the accessible trail doesn't begin right at the beginning of the
canal).
I started wondering if/when people might be able to begin at
mile 0, 1.7 miles up Waterton Canyon (probably requiring a walk to the
start). Interesting to contemplate how
an FKT route could evolve over time. Or
not, if people settle on a standard.
It's good to know the history behind the run and the route. Just something to ponder.
Back on the quiet trail, back to my podcasts! It was the perfect day to catch up on
podcast listening. Fun stories, feeling
good. Lots of little bunnies hopping
around and across the trail to make me smile.
Just to show that some of his pictures weren't quite as good :)
This was mile 12, a good refill spot before heading up the
road to finally cross Santa Fe Drive.
The area felt a bit industrial, opening up into a golf course. Looking at the map now, apparently I crossed
Marcy Gulch and didn't even know it! I
might have seen my first fellow runners in here, finally a little company for
the morning. The trail seems to be
known by a few people but not heavily used.
People walking dogs, runners, people out
walking. It was a lovely morning for a
stroll.
I crossed under C470 and the trail wound around a bit along
it. I knew the trail would wind this
way and that, with lots and lots of S-turns, doubling back, zigzagging every
which way. I determined not to pay too
much attention to which direction it was going so as not to get frustrated by
the lack of northeastern progress sometimes.
The mile markers were what mattered.
The trail looks quiet in this photo near County Line Road
(mile 16.7)...
...but I think this is where a large group of runners came barreling toward me. Maybe right after my stop with John. It looked like a training session. They were running a lot faster than I was!
At the next little park I ran over to the bathroom, happy to
have a real toilet and also an enclosed spot to pee. It was getting more difficult to find a tree to hide behind, with
all the people on the trail.
The trail was mostly flat, except where it crossed under
roads or through (?) creeks. The canal
might temporarily stop, the trail would dip down to the creek and then back up,
and the canal would resume on the other side.
Sometimes the canal flowed across inside an enclosed wooden tunnel. Sometimes there was water in the canal,
sometimes it was dry. Interesting to
watch.
The next several miles were beautiful, tree-lined, shady,
nice running. I saw John when I crossed
Broadway the first time, but he said the truck (and actual "meeting
point") was at the next crossing point.
Without a view of the mountains I had no idea which was I was
facing. Pretty funny. It was better that way, just running and not
trying to keep up with my position on the map (at least for now).
Coming to the next resupply point, almost 1/3 done:
I think this is where John showed up with some croissants
from a French bakery that Tom had recommended, yum!
Continuing on, one more Broadway crossing, then more shady
path. I found DeKoevend Park and the
many ballfields, then lost track of the trail.
Somewhere around the intersection with Big Dry Creek, Arapahoe Road, and
University Boulevard, there was a lot going on at once. I tried a couple quick things and then
pulled out my phone to check. Ah, OK, I
see. Back on track, only a couple
minutes lost.
Running through nice neighborhoods. Hey, there's Tom! He had just parked and was coming down the trail looking for me,
hoping he hadn't just missed me.
Perfect timing. I think he asked
a group of runners ahead of me if they had seen me, mentioning what I was
doing. I expect not a lot of people
consider the idea of running the whole way along the canal!
We had a great time running and talking, Tom adjusting his
pace downward to my easy lope and occasional walk. The next miles passed quickly, and there was John again.
More excellent photography from John today:
And good company from Tom:
Thank you John for finding and documenting this somewhere along the trail:
More good conversation and company from Tom. It helped me keep up a decent pace, as I was
starting to feel the effects of the miles but still feeling good. We talked about our upcoming expedition
race, training, and various random stuff.
Tom grabbed a picture of me with a mile marker, thanks Tom!
A couple street crossings, Tom mentioning where he has been
biking and running in this area. We
reached Jefferson Street, and it appears that the trail is signed to the right
and over to Colorado Boulevard at that point.
I'd recommend taking that route, for any future FKT'ers reading
this. We followed the direction of
previous FKT reports and ran up to Hampden before turning right for the detour
around the golf course. There aren't
any sidewalks along Hampden so we were running on the grass.
Once we got to Colorado we had a sidewalk and all was good
again. I'm guessing Jefferson Street is
a better option (and the same distance) vs. Hampden, and the reason for the
signage in that direction.
Eisenhower Park, yay!
Mile 36.6, over halfway done.
Thank you for the running company, Tom, that was great!
Teammates ready to take on Cowboy Tough:
John shuttled Tom back to his car and I headed out on the next section toward the highway crossing:
My pace slowed a bit with less motivational company and a
bit of sunshine warming up the day. I
still managed to keep moving OK, happy to have mile markers to keep me
honest. The tunnel under the highway
was a nice milestone and a nice shady spot before popping back out in the
sunshine.
The east side of I-25 was rather quiet for a while, and I
think I found a good porta-potty in here somewhere. The trail loops way around the bottom of Bible Park on a wide
dirt track and you can see the other side the whole way. There's John waiting in the shade,
excellent:
I wasn't too hot (yet) but the shade was greatly
appreciated. John might have had a cold yogurt for me to eat here, if memory serves.
More zigzags that I was becoming more conscious of, with the
direction of the sun and more views of the mountains to work with. I was just running along, minding my own business, when something
stung me on the leg! I guess it was a
wasp or something. Nothing like a
stinging pain to get me to run faster for a while.
Somewhere around Evans and Yosemite streets I was supposed
to see John again. I noticed those street
names over to the left, but no sign of John.
I stopped to check my phone - yep, I'm in the right place, and John's
Google Map icon is not far away.
There's the truck! He continued
a short way down to a new parking lot, nice spot. He ran up to the trail with the cooler, all apologetic for being
late. No worries, I don't mind a short
break, especially since I'm not on any time schedule and it's later in the run
(around mile 45).
I think he did miss taking a photo in here, also no worries.
I'm not for certain since I'm writing this 2 months late, but I think this next section had a lot
of trees, a nice neighborhood, and plenty of wonderful shade for which I was
thankful.
Down to the final 3 sections, all over 5 miles. I made sure to drink up and carry a full
water bottle each time. I crossed
I-225, I think also the commuter rail line.
Now there were fewer neighborhoods and more wide open spaces. I could see quite a ways ahead, not worrying
about getting there quickly, just "being" and listening to my iPod.
Back on the trail:
Working some heat management strategies, doing more fast
walking and trying to be efficient.
Somewhere up here the prairie dog towns took over part of the landscape
- mounds of dirt out to the horizon, dogs standing and watching and scurrying
away. Too funny.
I went over and along Tollgate Creek for a ways, in fields
with the canal fainter at times. Sixth
Avenue was a larger road crossing, then back into more of a neighborhood
feel. It was interesting how the
character of the area changed in each large block and over the course of the
journey.
It was nice to reach Colfax Avenue, with a sense that I was
getting into the northern sections.
More prairie dog villages, more open space, more sunshine. Thank goodness this wasn't actually a
"hot" day, just moderately warm.
Listening to some excellent "This American Life" podcast episodes. Finally to mile 60! I had scouted the section from here to the
end, and I was really glad that I did.
Everything up to this point was pretty well-signed and mostly obvious. After mile 60 there are some questionable
sections, and it's good to either know it already or have enough battery in your phone/GPS
device to figure it out.
My last pre-set meeting spot with John!
I asked if he would mind meeting me for an additional water refill, since I
was draining my water bottle after about 5 miles, and this last section was
almost 6 miles long. No problem, he was
happy to help me finish this thing up without too much suffering.
Out across Colfax one last time, then along the confusing
parts by Tower Road. Still following
the faint traces of the canal. The
crossing under I-70 was interesting, wading through some vegetation and ducking
under the bridge supports. Open field
to the business park.
He gave me more water for the last several miles, thank
you sir. The next field has indications
of private property; this might be the next required reroute if the owner gets
serious about keeping people out. For
now it seemed OK to head across the field.
Back to "civilization", a paved path through a
park. Into the last neighborhood and a
nice way to finish up. The trail (and
canal) still does a fair bit of winding around, but at least there are
interesting things to see along the way.
The end of the trail at Piccadilly Road!
My final time - 14 hours, 4 minutes, 29 seconds for 66+ miles:
The remnants:
I made it before sundown!
Hitchhikers from the last field (I was glad to be wearing the mini-gaiters):
Phew!
Feet in good shape, ready for a bath:
Leftover pastry for breakfast! Thank you John for that and everything else you did!
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