Pulling An Audible

Audible: A play change at the line of scrimmage. The quarterback changes the play using spoken code.

According to Greg, I am the Peyton Manning of running. A play has been called, but I go up to the line and make a last minute radical change. And that my friends is how I checked off the state of Colorado.

I was originally scheduled to run a 7k snowshoe race in Frisco, Colorado Sunday morning, about 90 minutes from Denver and 7 miles from Breckenridge (my favorite ski town). However, an unanticipated snow storm moved in closing portions of 70 and making the Eisenhower Tunnel challenging at best with Loveland Pass closed. Since we're driving the Gerard Butler car (Chrysler 300) and it has less traction than my running shoes in an Alaskan blizzard, we opted to skip the race. On a whim, I checked to see if downtown Denver had a race and they did. Hot damn! The 30th state would get checked off afterall. So with my trail shoes and lots of shivering, not to mention a hope and a prayer that the altitude would not wear me down (hello super-thin air!), I toed the line at the incredibly icy start and finished the Super Bowl 5k run. Best of all, we met folks from CLE and ended up having a hell of a good time! We knew they were from Cleveland because he was totally decked out in a parka and gloves with Browns logo all over. So cool to see. He hadn't lived in Cleveland since the early 80s, yet would only root for the Browns no matter where he lived.


Runners gathering at the race start - check out the ice under the snow!


Proof positive that I was in Denver!


I wish I had a little Captain in me, but this pic was taken to show the snow Denver received!

The course was wicked icy because Denver had rain most of Saturday, followed by a snowstorm Saturday night into early Sunday morning. But the post-race shwag was kick-ass and the small race feel couldn't be beat! They served coffee and bagels. Sketchers passed out pedometers. Cascadian Farms, Larabar, Sport Beans, Pop Chips and Muscle Milk all passed out free samples. Nice, friendly, small race that may turn out to be one of the more fun races I've tackled!