You Know You’re a Rocky Mountain Runner If…

Nicholas T

There are two kinds of runners:  the kind that train in the Rockies and the kind that wish they trained in the Rockies.  In honor of those who are fortunate to run at altitude through some of the most gorgeous landscapes in the country, here are the 25 ways you know you run in the wild wild west.

You Know You’re a Rocky Mountain Runner If:

1. The description of your running shoe collection includes the categories “dirty” and/or “bloody”
2. Your dog is your best running companion and has as many Ruff Wear Boots as you do Brooks
3. You partake in the biggest Memorial Day Celebration in the country dressed in a different fruit-inspired costume each year at the BolderBoulder
4. You can run as fast in ski boots as you can in sneakers
5. You always need SPF50
6. Not only do you own the coolest, newest outdoor gear around, but you probably also see the inventor of said object at your local coffee shop
7. You know the Continental Divide Trail so well that you could run on it in all 5 states with your eyes closed if it weren’t for number 10
8. It’s not uncommon for you to be out-run by someone 30 years your senior, 30 years your junior or someone in jeans
9. With over 300 days of sun a year, you conveniently plan your recovery time to coincide with the prevalence of the sun
10. You wear a headlamp…of course
11. Depending upon which trail you choose in which part of the state, you will invariably run into elk, bear, deer, bison, buffalo bighorn sheep or the occasional pronghorn
12. Your definition of a “stair workout” involves running 1 mile straight up an old railroad
13. You learn about new activities and games such as Fris-Knock while on your weekend run
14. Shiners on your forehead come from tripping over fishing line
15. “No Trespassing” signs don’t scare you, mostly because you know that once you pass that line, you are completely hidden to the outside world
16. You judge the quality of your workout based upon how your lungs handled the elevation change
17. You enter road races for the beer sponsor
18. Who needs a compass?  You’ve got the mountains…and your Garmin
19. When you have a business trip, you make sure to get a run in, just to see how awesome of a runner you are at sea level
20. You wave to your kayaking friends, who are waving to your cycling friends, who are passing your dog-walking friends as you run down a trail
21. A post workout breakfast always includes green chiles and cholula
22. You have chains for your tires, and YakTrax for your feet
23. Steep and Cheap is the first website you check in the morning
24. Not only do you know what 8% grade means, you know what it feels lie, too
25. You’ve picked yucca tips out of your shins

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