My first Pikes Peak Ascent in 3 weeks: Any advice from those who've done it?

I ran this race a few years ago. It's totally worth it. My time was faster than my marathon PR, but uphills have always been a relative strength for me.

The one thing I would change if I could do it again would be to not run so aggressively in the middle section. It was steep for a while at the beginning, but then mellowed out somewhere in the middle. I felt good and pushed it to pass a number of people. I paid for it in the last few miles, especially up in the alpine zone where it's impossible to keep your heart rate down, even if walking. I recommend relaxing where it feels "easy" in the middle. Let your heart recover there so you don't blow up once it really has to work again.

I'm from the midwest and don't run on trails a ton and mostly train for the 5k and below. I went out there last summer in the middle of base and just ran it to see what I could do. I definitely second eating lots of foof and drinking! I basically averaged 8 :30-8:45 miles to the treeline and got destroyed. Never felt like I was going hard and only walked when there were too many people to run but above the treeline is a whole different story. I pretty much had to walk the last 2.5 miles up and was wishing for more food. Practicing hiking steep inclines at altitude and know that no matter how easy it feels it will get hard. Shoes...I just wore saucony kinvaras and was fine, the trail is very runnable, been on more technical stuff where I live.

7,815 feet of stupidity wrote:

I am already altitude adjusted (have lived in COS for about a year). Currently doing 70-80 per week at 6000 feet. I am seeded in wave 2. I haven't ever been on the Barr Trail. How rocky is the trail? Would it be better to wear trainers rather than flats? How bad will the altitude effect me once I get above around 10K feet? How much slower per mile should I plan to run in relation to a flat half marathon at 6000 feet? I'm guessing 5:00 per mile slower. Is this reasonable?

Any info from others who have completed the Ascent or full marathon will be greatly appreciated.

Alan Webbs Triceps wrote:

7,815 feet of stupidity wrote:

I am already altitude adjusted (have lived in COS for about a year). Currently doing 70-80 per week at 6000 feet. I am seeded in wave 2. I haven't ever been on the Barr Trail. How rocky is the trail? Would it be better to wear trainers rather than flats? How bad will the altitude effect me once I get above around 10K feet? How much slower per mile should I plan to run in relation to a flat half marathon at 6000 feet? I'm guessing 5:00 per mile slower. Is this reasonable?

Any info from others who have completed the Ascent or full marathon will be greatly appreciated.

Drive to the top of the Peak and run/hike down to the tree line and go up. This will give you a feel for the (lack of) air above the tree line and how your body will respond. Also, the Barr Trail has plenty of loose gravel above the tree line, so remember you'll be traversing this with tired legs. FWIW, I'm a flatlander and did this a couple of times before the race. It was very tough in training and was murder during the race. Living at 6,000' should help you out, though.

Trainers were fine in my three Ascents.

I wouldn't worry too much about how much slower you'll be per mile and would focus more on exertion. My mile splits were way slower, and were ridiculously slower above the tree line. Again, though, I'm a flatlander.

This is an honest humble man asking for honest advice. Here's my two cents sir: The first time I ran the Ascent I had never stepped foot on Barr Trail and had no idea what to expect. I won the Master's division. My time was exactly 10 minutes slower than my current marathon time. I wore racing flats and ran as fast as I could for as long as I could and had a blast. Unless you're seriously aiming for a quality performance or improving a previous performance, don't waste your time "running" the top. It'll just freak you out. Just run the road up to the spur trail as a tempo to get used to how it will feel being in oxygen debt. Once you get past the W's you'll feel better and actually feel like you're flying on some stretches. Nothing will prepare you for how it will feel from 10mi. to the top. Just have fun and enjoy the experience. Its like Boston in that you'll never fun your faster time there but you will remember it forever. BTW, I ran the Ascent five more consecutive years and never ran faster than the first time when I'd never experienced it before and didn't know better.

I concur, if you use a HRM, don't have your HR be visible on your watch. Imo hr is fine to look at for training, and then recognizing the feel for a race, but is too distracting for races.

I've never run that high or at Pikes, but I hear it's really painful towards the end if you go out too hard.

Also, do not rely on GPS to tell you where you are at. GPS will be off quite a bit, especially the faster you run.

It’s only one hill, so like any hill, start easy and start pushing about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up. Seriously.

I'm surprised no one has posted this yet. Here's an awesome description of every little detail about Barr Trail from top to bottom written by none other than Matt Carpenter, the course record holder. I studied it a ton before my first time up and I'm glad I was a little more prepared.

http://skyrunner.com/ppcourse.htm

This second link is a pace calculator. My first time running to the top of Barr Trail was after living in Colorado Springs for several months, so I was also acclimated, just like you. I predicted my time would be similar to my current marathon fitness level at the time, but I ended up being about 9 minutes slower.

http://skyrunner.com/pace.htm

I would highly recommend using the calculator above and writing your splits on something the size of a business card so it fits nicely in your pocket/backpack. Just make sure to cover it with a bunch of tape to keep the moisture from destroying the paper when you sweat. I've done this several times as my fitness has improved and it's helped me stay on pace very accurately without blowing up.

As a lot of people have already mentioned, those last 3 miles above the tree line are going to be a death march no matter how fit you are. Save some energy for this section because you'll pay the price if you don't. A couple others said that they regretted pushing the pace during the one flat-ish section of the trail that gives you a short break from climbing around mile 4-5. It may look like it's your only time to pass people since the trail is narrow in most places, but you'll be glad you held back when you start passing those who are struggling during the last few miles.

Don't forget to keep eating and staying hydrated, especially above Barr Camp (roughly halfway to the top). Also, I'm sure you were here for the crazy storms last week. I saw some pictures of washouts on Barr Trail from all the runoff, so the trail may not be in the best condition right now. That's just one more reason to wear good trail shoes in case traction is an issue.

Alan Webbs Triceps wrote:

Alan Webbs Triceps wrote:

Drive to the top of the Peak and run/hike down to the tree line and go up. This will give you a feel for the (lack of) air above the tree line and how your body will respond. Also, the Barr Trail has plenty of loose gravel above the tree line, so remember you'll be traversing this with tired legs. FWIW, I'm a flatlander and did this a couple of times before the race. It was very tough in training and was murder during the race. Living at 6,000' should help you out, though.

Trainers were fine in my three Ascents.

I wouldn't worry too much about how much slower you'll be per mile and would focus more on exertion. My mile splits were way slower, and were ridiculously slower above the tree line. Again, though, I'm a flatlander.

Just a note: the highway to the top is not open like it has been in the past although I think they are letting a few cars up. There is a shuttle now. This is because of construction of the new summit house. Also, the owner of the Cog Railway has shut it down. It has made the logistics of getting to the top a little more challenging from what I hear.

If you have been to war. This will be a joke. Because it is. Don't listent to the haters. Just run your race. Have fun!

You are going to need a decent car that won't overheat on the drive up. It is not a long drive, but has a good bit of vertical gain and that is hard on the machinery. Check your radiator fluid or change it and verify that your thermostat is fully opening at the proper temperature. Also make sure you have some meat on your brake pads and the brake fluid has been bled for the descent. Many people neglect this and since brake fluid is hygroscopic, it can become more susceptible to boiling at lower temperatures over time.

7,815 feet of stupidity wrote:

Wow, this is why good people like Tinman and JD got chased away from this message board. The ridiculous and unnecessary insults make this board barely tolerable. This is not a troll post.

These are the same people that stir up crap in the comments section of YouTube videos, which is where dignity goes to die on the internet.

Don't use an HRM the delay is so much and I don't think it works the same at altitude. My buddy used HRM and ended up running 20 min slower than me, yet he can beat me by 2 min in a 5k.

Also, don't let the race director scare you into over dressing or bringing extra clothes. I wasted so much time stripping my excess. It's a chilly start but race singlet is good enough

I ran the Ascent in 2:58., about the same as a flat marathon - But that was with very specific PPA training, generally running twice a week on Barr or trails very similar to Barr and spending time at higher elevations.

Lightweight trainers or trail shoes work well. Two or three times a week, try to get up higher in elevation. If possible, go spend some time up high running. I would recommend staying in a place like Breckenridge this weekend for at least two nights, and run some trails near the ski area, if possible. A week before the race, you could have a short easy-ish run or two up higher, but don't want to do anything to tire yourself out. Make sure to hydrate more as the race nears.

Thank you all so much for the responses. I kind of stayed away from this thread for the last 24 hours afters the first couple posts.

There is a lot of great info here to digest. I like the suggestion to drive to the top and run down a few miles and back up. Not sure how feasible this is right now with the current state of Pike's Peak and the construction.

I've used gels both successfully and unsuccessfully (diarrhea) in marathons. Since it sounds like this will take a solid 3:00 to 3:10 to the top I will give them a try and hope to not leave a brown trail on the course.

I am a little worried the pace in wave 2 may go out too fast and suck me along at an unsustainable pace. Either that or suck me along to a great time.

The main reason I have been unable to get on the Barr Trail is it's impossible Monday through Friday due to work, and my marathon prep long run takes up Sunday. I don't want to crush my legs on Saturday and try to run long the next day. My marathon prep is my priority, not the Ascent. I will at least try to drive to Woodland Park and get in some training at 8000+. With 18 days to go it is too late to make up for lost time on steep hills and extreme altitude. Just going to have to suck it up and do my best.

All the fast people are in the first wave. The second wave will have very few people who end up in the top 100. Sounds like you think you will finish in 3:10 to 3:30 and the second wave should be fine. If you run a decent time to Barr Camp (1:30 - 1:40) you can practically power-hike the rest of the way and finish in 3:30, which is respectable. But if you go too hard to Barr Camp you might find you can barely walk above treeline.

You should try to drive to the top at least once before the race and run down to treeline and jog/walk back up. I hear they have the shuttle service sorted out and people are able to manage it just fine. I am also a bit late in my very high altitude prep and will be getting up there as often as possible.

Start easy on the W's and eat a lot early because you may not be able to eat at all as you get higher. Save your effort for the last three miles.

It is one of the great races and very rewarding.

Also, just be mentally prepared to run 5:05 for your first mile and be buried in about 30th place.

A few things here:

1. Being in the second wave could be an advantage--it should be less likely you'll be pushing a ridiculous pace early in the second wave.

2. Your fastest mile should not be the first mile. If it is, you'll pay for that later. Your fastest mile should fall somewhere between No Name Creek and Barr Camp. If you're fit, this section is actually pretty easy.

3. Be sure to eat enough the night before. Running out of calories at 13,000 feet is no picnic.

4. It is humanly impossible to eat a Clif Bar at altitude and keep running. You can barely get enough oxygen as it is, let alone with your mouth and esophagus full of Clif Bar. Learned that the hard way on my first Ascent.

5. Beat the weather, do whatever it takes. It's horrific to get caught in a thunderstorm above timberline. I'd take a light shell and tie it (sleeves) around my waist. Use it only if you need it.

6. Run when you can. Power hike when you can't. You'll do a lot of the latter.