Steamboat Springs Marathon

Sunday, I ran in the Steamboat Springs Marathon. Sure, it was some hard work, but it was a lot of fun and quite an experience. The run is all above 6000', but shortness of breath didn't seem to be an issue. One altitude related issue (that Josh, Brad, and Andy will support) is that the sun is much more intense out here. I kept pretty covered up. I finished with a 4:52 (unofficial), which seemed good to me.
I was a little concerned that the start would be cold, being up the valley and early in the morning, but it wasn't bad at all. I would have much preferred being in the shade and 42 for more of the run. It got up to the mid-80's by the time I finished. I sure wasn't passing any water stops.

Right before the start. The field was capped at 500, and they did not sell out. I would guess that there were 450 registered, or so.

The view looking back after one of the steepest hills. The course was mostly downhill, but there were still some uphills to help you remember you were in the mountains.

Somebody had a nice ranch along the creek in the valley we were running down.

View back to the east along the course. I liked the hills.

The view along the course as we were leaving the wider part of the valley. The road, creek, and mountainsides got close together up ahead.

Just another picture that I liked.

I tried to capture the purple of the larkspurs out in the field. This was maybe after 22 miles. For some reason, I didn't take any more pictures while running. ;)

Here I am finishing in downtown Steamboat Springs.