Rim Rock Write-Up

Here's my monthly submission to the Pikes Peak Road Runners newsletter, a quick write-up about the Rim Rock Run. Overall it was a great experience, though I left out my frustration at being unable to find a throwback Jillian Mesa State hoops jersey.



I’ve lived in Colorado for three years now, and the descriptions I’ve heard about Grand Junction being nothing but desert and oil platforms didn’t really inspire me to make the drive out there. After running the Rim Rock Run, however, I stand corrected. Starting at one end of the Colorado National Monument and finishing at the other end (hence the weird 37K distance), the race is like the Garden of the Gods 10 miler on steroids. The beauty of the park is unreal. At no point of the race do you encounter a view that isn’t worthy of a calendar or post card.

This is no easy run through the park, however. There is only one way to describe the initial climb: BRUTAL! You start climbing as soon as the gun goes off, and there’s no break for the next eight miles, which takes you from 4930 feet to the high point of the course at 6640 feet. If you have any breath left, it’s taken away by the scenery. A narrow and winding road takes you past amazing rock formations and even into tunnels dug right through the rock.

After reaching the high point, runners cover a short section of rolling hills before hitting the final downhill. All that elevation gained over the first climb is given back over the final half-marathon. Sounds like a great time, but the long descent is quite the quad thrasher. Once again, the pain is made a little easier to ignore by checking out the surroundings. The Coke Ovens, Independence Monument, Balanced Rock, lots of cool canyons and mesas, not to mention the awesome views of Fruita and Grand Junction.. There’s a spectacular view just past the visitor’s center where you can see the finish line – and see that the final four miles of the race drop you over 1000 feet with lots of sharp switchbacks. At this point your legs, which have endured the initial monster climb and the rough downhill miles that followed, aren’t very happy with your brain.

The aid station volunteers also make the suffering a little more bearable. There was an aid station challenge, just like the ones they have at the Barr Trail Mountain Race. Runners get to vote for their favorite aid station, which are located about every 2.5 miles. This really adds to the spirit of each station and that energy is passed onto the runners. Although I voted for the local Lions club, the best aid station moment for me came at the final one, when a Grand Junction REI employee informed me that I had less than two miles to go until the finish.

The post race shindig was a blast. You pick up a shuttle to take you the half mile from the finish line to the parking lot of a local adventure guide, where endless amounts of pizza and beer await. So I got to wait my turn at the massage tent eating and drinking and telling everyone who would listen my excuses for not running as fast as I had planned, since I thought it would be a flat course.

Overall, the Rim Rock Run is definitely worth the trip. It’s scheduled during the offseason for many local runners, including myself, but having it out there should keep me from getting too fat and lazy before the Incline Club starts up again. Definitely a road trip to check out to fill up an otherwise boring mid-November weekend.