Once again, the Colfax Marathon weekend of running is off to a fast start with the Colfax 5K taking place Saturday morning.
“I’m really happy. There’s been some fun things that have happened this morning. We’ve had a record turnout,” said race director Creigh Kelley.
Thanks to meticulous planning, the Colfax race crew is ready for anything mother nature could throw at them, except what she has; a thick blanket of smoke.
“We look at all eventualities; lightning, thunder, hail, snow, rain, whatever. We didn’t anticipate smoke,” said Kelley.
That could be a problem for some, because a marathon is the ultimate test of cardiovascular endurance, and the recommendation for days like this is often to stay indoors and limit your physical activity outdoors if you can.
“You have to monitor your own health and fitness,” Kelley said.
Kelley is a former competitive runner and has also been running for more than 50 years. They hope the smoke will clear out by Sunday morning but if not, he says the race will go on despite any lingering smoky conditions. Kelley says while you should take medical advice from your doctor, if you choose to run, there are ways to get through the race if you start struggling.
“Walk, run rather than just run,” said Kelley. “You have to monitor your own health and fitness.”
Plus, he says the Colfax Marathon has their own medical team which includes medical professionals every two miles on the course and a traveling team of mobile paramedics in case you start feeling ill.
“We’ve enhanced our medical coverage over the last week in anticipation of this,” said Kelley.
If you’re still nervous, Kelley says maybe the time-tested marathon rule of thumb will save you a lot of heartbreak: “Go out much easier than you think you should. It’s much easier to do what I call ‘negative splits.'”
“The first half should be slower than the second half,” he continued. “Your running adventure really begins at about 20 miles.”
Kelley says there will be no refunds given if you can’t run, but you can run it virtually on a different day if you can’t run in the smoke and they will work to give you your finisher’s medal and shirt.
Source: Rocky Mountain News
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