Best Trail Runs Denver, Boulder & Colorado Springs

by Adam W. Chase, Nancy Hobbs, Peter Jones

Overview

Best Trail Runs Denver and Boulder features forty of the best trail runs within an hour of both cities—complete with color photos, maps, and detailed specs and trail descriptions, as well as GPS coordinates for all trailheads. Sidebars throughout the book highlight useful information about local restaurants, lodging, entertainment, and other amenities, as well as information about local running clubs, outdoor retail shops, and more. More than just a “where-to” guidebook to the best trail runs in and around these urban areas, Best Trail Runs Denver and Boulder includes vital information on warm-up exercises for each area’s specific terrain, as well as hazards in the area (and how to prepare for them), and the best seasons to run which trails. Full of inspirational photos throughout, this book also includes practical maps and must-see features along the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493023417
Publisher:	Falcon Guides
Publication date:	10/30/2017
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	1,086,065
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.98(h) x 0.49(d)

About the Author

Adam Chase is a U.S. trail running brand ambassador at Salomon, and is the gear and adventure editor at RunHaven.com. He is a former editor at Running Times and Colorado Running Magazine. Co-Author Nancy Hobbs is the founder of the American Trail Running Foundation and is the manager of the US Mountain Running Teams.

Table of Contents

Introduction 7

Trail Running 101 to Post-Doc 8

Getting Started 8

Trail Training 8

Distance Training 9

Speed Training 11

Boulder Runs 17

Mount Sanitas 18

Mount Sanitas Summit 19

Hills 22

Mount Sanitas to Lion's Lair? 24

Chautauqua Park 27

Mesa Trail to Eldorado Springs 27

Mud, Snow, and Ice 30

Green Mountain 33

Bear Peak 36

Fueling Your Run 38

Flagstaff Mountain 41

Boulder Valley Ranch 44

Marshall Mesa 48

Heil Valley Ranch 51

Wapiti-Ponderosa Loop 51

Hall Ranch 53

Bitterbrush-Nelson Loop 53

Boulder Urban Trail 55

Doudy Draw 57

Denver Runs 59

North Table Mountain Loop 60

Golden Gate Canyon Loop 62

Green Mountain Loop 64

Mount Falcon 66

Cherry Creek State Park Loop 68

White Ranch Park 70

Longhorn to Shorthorn Loop 71

Longhorn to Belcher Hill Loop 74

Injury Prevention 76

Mount Galbraith Park 79

Mount Galbraith Loop 79

Summer Weather Hazards 82

Big Dry Creek Open Space 84

Big Dry Creek Trail 84

Winter Weather Hazards 88

Apex Park 90

Apex Out-and-Back 90

Grubstake to Hardscrabble Loop 94

Apex Outer Loop 97

Altitude 100

Bergen Peak and Elk Meadow 102

Elk Meadow/Meadow View Loop 102

Bergen Peak/Too Long/Meadow View Loop 106

Bear Creek Lake Park 109

Mount Carbon Loop 109

Bear Creek Lake Full Loop 113

Deer Creek and South Valley Parks 117

Plymouth Mountain Loop 117

South Valley Loop 121

Highlands Ranch Open Space 124

HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Half-Marathon 124

Recovery, Rest, and Common Sense 128

Castlewood Canyon State Park 131

6-Mile Lake Gulch/Rimrock Loop 131

2-Mile Castlewood Loop 133

Roxborough State Park 134

Carpenter Peak Out-and-Back 134

Colorado Springs Runs 136

Bear Creek Regional Park 137

East Side of Park Repeated 4K Loop 137

West Side of Park 4-Miler 139

Fox Run Regional Park 141

Perimeter Loop 141

Looped Route with a Finish on the Road 143

Garden of the Gods Park 145

Palmer Park 148

Mesa Trail 148

Templeton Trail 150

Section 16/Palmer Loop 153

Red Rock Canyon Open Space 156

3-Mile Loop 156

10K Keyhole Loop with Out-and-Back 158

North Cheyenne Cañon Park 160

Columbine Trail/Spring Creek Trail Loop 160

Mount Muscoco 164

11-Mile Loop in the Cañon 167

10-Mile Loop: Seven Bridges, High Drive, and Buckhorn 169

Stratton Open Space 171

4-Mile Loop 171

Ute Valley Park 173

5K Loop from Piñon Valley Park 173

Perimeter Loop 175

Cheyenne Mountain State Park 176

Talon Trails 177

Caring for the Trail 180

Palmer Lake 182

Ice Cave Creek Loop Trail 182

Mount Herman 185

Monument Rock Loop 185

Overlook to Memorial Grove 187

Spruce Mountain Open Space 188

Greenland Open Space 190

Philip S. Miller Park 192

10K of Connecting Loops 192

10K on Lower Loop Trails 194

The Mini-Incline 195

Manitou Springs 196

Iron Mountain Trail 197

Barr Trail/Manitou Incline 201

Incline Loop 201

Appendix A ATRA Rules on the Run 203

Trail Race Etiquette for the Race Direction and Competitor 205

Appendix B Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) General Running Safety Tips 210

Appendix C Useful Websites 212