Guest Blog: Why did you come to Pikes Peak?

The following below is from Fern (@sitbones).  She has run the Pikes Peak Marathon and the Ascent 3x.  I’ve welcomed her thoughts and I think from my race report you’ll see I did start to understand the mystique.

I really started following  @nycbklyngirl on Twitter, when she mentioned that she was coming to Colorado to run the Pikes Peak Marathon. She started using the hash tag #Voldemort which meant to me that she was going to come to Colorado to defeat Pikes Peak.  I knew she was using this as a motivating factor for herself to mentally and physically get ready for this huge challenge.  She came, she saw, she accomplished her goal.  Now, as Paul Harvey used to say….I want her to hear the rest of the story.

Dear E,

Pikes Peak is one of the 53 mountains in our state of Colorado that have an elevation of over 14,000 feet.  Pikes Peak is considered one of our state “crown jewels” rising above Colorado Springs in all of its beautiful splendor and glory. As you have written, Katharine Lee Bates stood on the mountain top in 1893 and got the inspiration to write the words for the song, America The Beautiful. Because of the mountain’s location on the “front range”, there are probably more runners and hikers on this mountain than any other 14er.  We in Colorado treat this mountain as a treasure, one that always deserves our respect.

As one ascends the mountain, the beauty of mother nature is breathtaking. She must have used a paint brush because you see every color imaginable. The air is clean and fresh.  But, as the locals know, Pikes Peak also can show her fury. The weather can change in an instant. You learn to be prepared for rain, snow, hail, lightning, wind.  In other words, you pay RESPECT to the mountain at all times.  Some times she is very playful with you, you are running down the mountain and she decides to trip you with a tree root.  Everyone who has been on Pikes Peak multiple times has left a little piece of themselves on the mountain as they took a tumble.  But all know, this is part of the privilege of getting to be on this beautiful mountain.

We treat Pikes Peak with reverence at all times.  If you run to the top and back down, you thank the mountain for the privilege of the attempt. Going up and down this mountain is a lifetime experience that one will never forget.

So E, I hope you now see that in my view, you did not come defeat Pikes Peak….you were privileged to come and pay your respect to this wonderful mountain.

Fern   @sitbones  on Twitter