Imogene Pass Run 2008 Race Report

Imogene Pass Run

In early September of 2008, I ran what some might call an adventure race in Colorado. The picture that you see at the top of my blog page (also included in this post) is at the summit of the race, altitude 13,114’!

The race starts at 7810’, in the old mining town of Ouray, CO (pronounced YUR-RAY with the accent on the last syllable). It is run mostly on what is an old dirt road that starts out well maintained but quickly becomes much less maintained and passable only by 4-wheel drive. It is 10 miles from the start to the summit. The finish is 7.1 miles from the summit at 8750’ in the town of Telluride, CO. According to the website one should plan on making the 17.1 mile run in approximately their marathon time as the altitude and ascent make it very difficult to run very fast. The winners are usually in the area of a 2:15:00 time. My time was 5:34:54. You can get information concerning entering the race at this website: http://imogenerun.com/

Course Profile:

The race gets its name from Imogene basin named by Andy Richardson for his wife, Imogene. He is reportedly the first white man to ever enter this basin. There is an interesting book based on the diary of a housewife during this time and place called, “Tomboy Bride” by Harriet Fish Backus, Pruett Publishing Co. Boulder, Co. I found it to be a good read since I love reading about life during the gold rush days, especially if it is set in the mountains of Colorado. You see I was born in Denver and mostly grew up in Golden, CO. at the base of the Rocky Mountains. I have very fond memories of my youthful days and the times spent roaming those mountains near home. The San Juan mountain range in southern Colorado is quite a bit different from the mountains near Golden and Denver. While I love both, I think the San Juan rage is much prettier overall.

The race began at 7:30am and the weather was quite brisk. You never know what kind of weather you are going to get in the Colorado Mountains in September. I entered the race two years prior and it was the first time they ever had to alter the course because a major snowstorm the day before made the pass almost impassable. It was very disappointing for everyone. That is why I had to do it again two years later even though I had just come off an injury and depression and was not really in shape to give it my best effort!

We were mostly all dressed in layers, as we would be going through several climate changes during the run. I unzipped my jacket about 3 miles into the run as I warmed up enough to be sweating pretty well. It was still around 50 degrees at that time and the steady uphill effort was already fairly intense. It was really great to smell the pine trees and hear the birds singing as we ran along. The road began to get more faint and at times looked more like a wide trail than a road.

As we began to climb out of the woods at about 10,600 feet the views became even more spectacular with bright blue skies and a mixture of cloud formations. The lighting was constantly changing giving each view several different textures and hues. My lungs were now really beginning to feel the thin air and it was getting much harder to actually run. Many of the hills were now being walked briskly rather than actually running. Every time we would get to a bit of more level ground I would sigh with relief but it was always short lived.

As we got up above 11,000 and 12,000 feet I actually had trouble doing a brisk walk. And by the time I was within 600 feet of the summit I even had to take breaks from walking. If you have never been at these altitudes or tried moving with any speed at this height, it is really hard to describe the feeling of weakness that comes over you. This is why some put this into the “adventure race” category. Others just call it a difficult trail race!

As I reached the summit I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that there was very little uphill left on the other side. The warm chicken broth tasted great and was very comforting to my stomach. Someone offered to take my picture and I offered to take others pictures, as I was not in a real hurry to head back down the other side. After taking about a 5-minute break at the top I started my decent.

The beginning of the decent was rather steep, which wasn’t what really bothered me, rather it was the slick shale like footing that made it hard to navigate without slipping and falling. The previous year one of my friends did the race and had a fall cutting her leg. She was able to tie her jacket around the cut and make it back to the finish, but she ended up having close to a dozen stitches. She was brave enough to come back and run the race with me again this time as we had planned on running it together the previous year but I was not able to make it.

It was hard for me to imagine that some of the front-runners were running between 6 and 7-minute miles down this side of the mountain. I was a bit timid the first part of my decent, probably more so since hearing of my friends fall the previous year. After about 2 miles the footing began to get much more firm and I had no problems other than general race fatigue. Soon I could look out over the valley floor and see parts of the town of Telluride in front of me. I could also see the ski slopes on the mountain range on the other side of town. Telluride is a very beautiful mountain resort community. Very expensive to live there, but I can see why anyone who has the means would absolutely love it!

As I crossed the finish line I felt the joy and relief of finishing another great race. It was great to be greeted by my brother Pat and several of my friends. Now it was time to celebrate with a good meal and take in the sights and sounds of the town of Telluride.

There are many other places and sites to visit while staying in this area such as the Silverton Railroad, in the town of Silverton. Orvis Hot Springs near Ridgeway.  Not to mention the towns of Ouray and Telluride.

My hope is to get another chance at running this race and I hope I will be in much better shape. I am 30 pounds lighter now than I was at that time back in 2008. However, I am also 5 years older. This race is very popular and there is a limited number of entries so it sells out in a few hours, but they do have a bib exchange policy. June 1rst is opening day for registration so if you are interested make sure you have it marked on your calendar. 

Happy Trails,

Russ Barber