Four or five miles can go by pretty fast when you get lost in conversation with a fellow runner during a casual jaunt around Carbondale. That’s often how it is at the Independence Run & Hike Thursday night Run Club, which can draw anywhere from four to 40 runners on a given week. Who knows, […]
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Jeff Colt’s journey to ultra runner
It was the middle of the night, 12:50am on July 19. Darkness hanging over a meadow a few miles south of Buena Vista, there was a lull of tired anticipation. Every year prior, those gathered near the cluster of tents at the finish line hadn’t expected anyone to emerge from the dark until close to […]
Posted inSports
Running coach and ultra-athlete Zoë Rom reflects on Valley’s athletic culture
In the Roaring Fork Valley, one need only go for coffee to encounter an acquaintance who participates at a high level in outdoor sports. Each year, countless local residents podium at trail races and in various snow sport competitions. The Sopris Sun receives more tips lauding sports accomplishments of siblings, children, parents and friends than […]
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Carbondale’s Carrie Vickers inducted into Colorado Running Hall of Fame
They became known as the “Steeple Chicks,” a self-branded title of a group of post-collegiate female runners who became the pioneers of the women’s steeplechase event in track and field back in the mid-2000s.For her part, Carrie Messner-Vickers of Carbondale, a four-time All-American cross country and track athlete at the University of Colorado Boulder, would […]
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Joseph DeMoor wins gold in Skyrunning World Vertical Championship
Elite mountain runner and Carbondale local Joseph DeMoor is no stranger to podiums and fastest known times (FKTs), but his dominant performance at the 2022 Skyrunning World Championships, held Sept 9-11, is one for the record books. Attracting world class athletes from over 35 countries to the awe-inspiring Ossola Valley in Italy, the championships featured […]
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Elks Traverse record shattered by local distance runner
The Elks Traverse — a route which connects every 14er in the Elk Range — extends approximately 54 miles and totals over 23,000 feet of elevation gain. From north to south, that’s Capitol, Snowmass, North Maroon, Pyramid, Maroon, Conundrum and Castle. On Tuesday, Aug. 9 — at about 4 a.m. — Valley local Michael Wirth […]
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More space means new possibilities for Independence Run & Hike
Brion After, longtime owner of Independence Run & Hike (IRH), breathed a small sigh of relief while looking around his store’s new location the night before reopening on May 5. “We’re in and it feels so good,” After said. “I’ve put a lot of time, energy and money into it, and it’s so nice to […]