GOforever / BRC Newsletter Dec 9 2022

Fleet Feet Denver December Newsletter 2023 Race Calendar Edition

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

                       Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Wednesday - 5:45 Littleton Store

Thursday      -6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store - Long Run

Note:  all the paths are quickly shoveled after snowfalls 

December Newsletter

December is the time to put together your racing plans for 2023.  We have selected 50+ of the best Colorado races.  While this calendar doesn’t include every race in Colrado,  it does capture the classic races, the big races and the funnest races.

The Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day is the second biggest road race in the Country.  The Colfax races  are the biggest half and full marathons in Colorado.   Pikes Peak Accent and Marathon, Garden of the Gods 10 Mile , Steamboat Marathon and the  Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon are classic races that have been around for many many years.  Colorado is home to many of the best ultra races in the country; the Leadville and Hardrock races are some of the most prestigious in the world.

There is a race in Wash Park, City Park or Hudson Gardens nearly every week.  The Rocky Mountain Road Runners and the Colorado Masters each put on a monthly race rotating locations and distances each month.  You can drop into these races for a very affordable price.

USATF puts on indoor track meets in the Winter, outdoor track meets in the Spring and Summer and Cross Country meets in the Fall.  These races are open to all levels and ages.

Many of the big races fill up early, have entry requirements or have discounts if you register early.  I tried to note that on the calendar.

Fleet Feet Denver will have a tent at many of the Denver area

Once you have your 2023 race schedule figured out.  Fleet Feet Denver  Run Club offers a 20 percent discount on training plans and individualized coaching through GOforever Racing GOforeverracing.com.  The monthly Fleet Feet Newsletter will offer more details about these races throughout 2023.

GOforever / BRC Newsletter Aug 1 2022

Happy August 1st!

Unbelievable that it’s come this quick. There are lots of races and group runs happening this month, and we don’t want you to miss out on any of it! Salomon will be at the weekly Monday trail group run tonight with demo shoes and there will be nutrition samples to try from UCAN! Next week, Aug 8, Saucony will join us with shoe demos at Hildebrand Ranch Park. Tomorrow, Tues, at BRC Greenwood Village we will celebrate longtime BRC runner Wayne’s 80th birthday, and then watch as he leaves us in the dust on the group run.

Rocky Mountain Road Runners and the Colorado Brewery Race Series both have events this Friday, the first events of August! RMRR is hosting a 5K at DeKoevend park at 6pm on Friday (it will run partially along Highline Canal). The 5K on the Mountain race is being held in Snowmass on Friday as well. We hope to see you there!

Make sure to check the group run and race schedules below and reach out to GOforeverRacing@gmail.com or any of the BRC stores on Instagram with questions or requests!

See you on the trail!

Zack

BRC Weekly Group Runs

All ages and paces!

Monday - 6:00p Group Trail Runs!

Aug 1 - Apex Park with Salomon shoe demo and UCAN samples (Apex Trail head)

Aug 8 - Hildebrand Ranch Park with Saucony shoe demo (Deer Creek Canyon Rd)

Aug 15 - Green Mountain (Rooney Rd Parking Lot)

Aug 22 - Deer Creek Canyon (Grizzly Drive Parking Lot)

Aug 29 - Mount Falcon with Altra demo shoes (East parking lot)

Tuesday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Greenwood Village)

Join us every week for a 5k fun run or walk with sponsor Halfpenny Brewing Co! August 1 we will celebrate longtime BRC Group Runner, Wayne’s 80th birthday - Happy Bday Wayne! We will be joined by Saucony with demo shoes!

Wednesday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Littleton)

A social workout starting with 1.5 mile run or walk around the Johnson Reservoir, a short running workout for all abilities, then an optional second loop around the lake to cool down! 3-4 miles total and all paces encouraged to join!

Thursday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Cherry Creek)

Bring a friend for an easy group jog along the beautiful Cherry Creek Trail rotating directions each week! 5k+ distances for all paces.

Saturday - 7:30a @ Boulder Running Co. (Littleton)

Meet us for a fun get together before we leave to run around the lake, Clement Park, or Lily Gulch at 7:30am.

Saturday - 7:30a @ Boulder Running Co. (Greenwood Village)

Another large group run starting at Boulder Running Co. Greenwood Village for all paces and distances. We will typically run the Highline Canal from the store.

Saturday - 8:00a @ City Park Farmers Market (Meet at CPFM Info Tent)

New group run with City Park Farmers Market. Run 1 loop (3 miles) or 2 loops of City Park Farmers Market and then go enjoy the market! Free yoga, great food, more great food, and a great place to get your weekly grocery list checked off.

Road Races

8/6/22

Pearl Street Mile

https://www.teamboco.com/#/pearlstreetmile/

8/14/22

Denver Rocks Run 5K and 10K

https://www.denverrocksrun.com/

8/20/22

All-Out Runapalooza 5K, 10K, Half Marathon

https://alloutmulticourseproductions.enmotive.com/events/all-out-runapalooza-5k-10k-and-half-marathon-2022

9/4/22

Orange Theory 5K t Labor Day Lift Off

https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/ColoradoSprings/LaborDay5kRunpresentedbyOrangeTheory?aflt_token=vkmwDmweQ4iCYn8otSOOnKQ3vCO8buOw

9/5/22

Labor Day 5K, 10K, and Half Marathon

https://www.coloradorunnerevents.com/LaborDay/

9/10/22

The Denver 5K

https://thedenver5k.com/event-info.html

9/24/22

Emma Coburns Elk Run 5K

https://elkrun5k.com/

Rocky Mountain Road Runners

Every Sat 8am

RMRR Track Workouts

https://www.rmrr.org/training-and-running-groups/track-workouts-2/

8/5/22

RMRR 5K/5 Mile Race

https://www.rmrr.org/rmrr-2022-race-calendar/

8/28/22

RMRR Fall Marathon 10M/20M Training Run

https://www.rmrr.org/rmrr-2022-race-calendar/

9/11/22

RMRR Fall Marathon 10K/20K/30K Training Run

https://www.rmrr.org/rmrr-2022-race-calendar/

9/25/22

RMRR Fall Marathon 10M/20M Training Run

https://www.rmrr.org/rmrr-2022-race-calendar/

Brewery Series

7/31/22

Red Leg Brewing 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

8/5/22

5K on the Mountain

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

8/20/22

Two22 Brew 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

8/27/22

Broken Compass 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

8/28/22

Elevation Beer 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

9/11/22

WALDSCHÄNKE 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

9/17/22

Oktoberfest 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

9/23/22

5K De Noche (Night/Glow Run)

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

9/25/22

Cabin Creek Fall 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

10/8/22

New Belgium Half Marathon & 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

10/16/22

Westbound and Down Brewing 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

10/22/22

Frolic Brewing 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

10/29/22

Boos and Brews Halloween 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

11/5/22

Five Alarm 5K and Chili Cook-Off

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

11/12/22

Veterans Day 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

12/3/22

Ugly Sweater 5K

https://breweryrunningseries.com/colorado/

Half & Full Marathons

8/13/22

Georgetown to Idaho Springs HM

https://www.gtishalf.com/

9/17/22

All-Out Fallfest 5K, 10K, Half, and Full Marathon

https://alloutmulticourseproductions.enmotive.com/events/all-out-fallfest-5k-10k-half-and-full-marathon-2022/page/sponsors

9/17/22

Run the Rockies Road 10K & Half Marathon

https://www.townoffrisco.com/event/athletic-events/run-the-rockies-road-10k-half-marathon/

10/1/22

Colorado Springs 5K, Half, and Full Marathon

https://thecoloradospringsmarathon.com/

10/9/22

Boulderthon Half and Full Marathon

https://www.boulderthon.org/

Trail & Ultra

9/17/22

Pikes Peak Ascent & Marathon

https://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/ascent.html

9/24/22

The Bear Chase 10K, HM, 50K, 50M, 100K

https://www.bearchaserace.com/

10/15/22

Suffer Better 25K and 50K

https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Pine/SufferBetterFallTrailRun

10/15/22

Sage Burner 13K, 28K, and 50K

https://www.madmooseevents.com/sage-burner-trail-race

Cross Country

7/28/22

Sundown Cross Country 5K

https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Aurora/SundownXC

8/20/22

Coyote Chase 5K

https://runsignup.com/Race/CO/Louisville/CoyoteChase5k21?aflt_token=vkmwDmweQ4iCYn8otSOOnKQ3vCO8buOw

8/27/22

D'Evelyn Dash 2K asnd 5K

https://runsignup.com/Race/Info/CO/Denver/DEvelynDash5K

GOforever / BRC Newsletter July 11 2022

BRC Weekly Group Runs

All ages and paces!

Monday - 6:00p Group Trail Runs!

Tonight, Monday, July 11 we are meeting at Deer Creek Canyon Park. Next week, July 18, we will meet at Green Mountain (Parking lot, CO-470, Morrison, CO 80465). Brooks Running will be joining us on July 18!

Tuesday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Greenwood Village)

Join us for a 5k fun run or walk followed by beer from Halfpenny Brewing Co!

Wednesday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Littleton)

A social workout starting with 1.5 mile run or walk around the Johnson Reservoir, a short running workout for all abilities, then an optional second loop around the lake to cool down! 3-4 miles total and all paces encouraged to join!

Thursday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Cherry Creek)

Bring a friend for an easy group jog along the beautiful Cherry Creek Trail rotating directions each week! 5k+ distances for all paces.

Saturday - 7:30a @ Boulder Running Co. (Littleton)

Meet us for a fun get together before we leave to run around the lake, Clement Park, or Lily Gulch at 7:30am.

Saturday - 7:30a @ Boulder Running Co. (Greenwood Village)

Another large group run starting at Boulder Running Co. Greenwood Village for all paces and distances. We will typically run the Highline Canal from the store.

Saturday - 8:00a @ City Park Farmers Market (Meet at GOforever Tent)

New group run with City Park Farmers Market. Run 1 loop (3 miles) or 2 loops of City Park Farmers Market and then go enjoy the market! Free yoga, great food, more great food, and a great place to get your weekly grocery list checked off.

Training Tips from GOforever!

How do you improve your running form?! You may have heard the popular thought that “just run more and your form will get better,” but is this true? In most cases it absolutely is NOT true! “You are what you practice” is a much better thought in the case of running form. There are several things you can do to practice good running form and none of them are challenging - they just require consistency!

The most important ingredient of good form practice is the use of form queues. These are things you can practice while you’re running and even just walking around throughout your day. One of the most important form queues you’ll ever use is, be tall! You can practice tall, straight posture while you’re running, walking, standing, and even sitting. The best queue for being tall is to pretend you are a puppet with a string on the top of your head pulling yourself to the sky. Another good queue is, think light on feet. Don’t pound your feet while running. Some people say to run as if you were on broken glass or the ground is lava. If you run on concrete barefoot for a small stretch (don’t hurt yourself!) this how you should be using your feet even with shoes on.

Form drills can help immensely with running form. It’s not as important what running form drills you do. It’s more important that you do the drills correctly and CONSISTENTLY. Doing running form drills like A skips and B skips, carioca, and single leg bounding are all great but you need to do these twice or three times a week EVERY week in order to gain the benefits from them. Look up running form drills and find 3 or 4 that you enjoy and practice them for one month before switching to some new ones. Oftentimes the goofier looking drills are the most impactful.

Strength training is yet another crucial way to improve running form, and the most critical type of strength training for running form is stability training. Think one leg balancing exercises. Any exercise you can do on one leg or on a balancing platform is fantastic for improving form. Single leg squats, single leg deadlifts, lunges, and single leg calf raises are all great just to name a few. These exercise should be done SLOWLY! You’ll benefit more from doing stability exercises slowly. You won’t improve as much if you’re focused on the number of reps or the amount of weight.

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 6/7/22

BRC Weekly Group Runs

All ages and paces!

Tuesday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Greenwood Village)

Join us for a 5k fun run or walk with Demo shoes from Brooks Running followed by beer from Halfpenny Brewing Co!

Wednesday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Littleton)

A social workout starting with 1.5 mile run or walk around the Johnson Reservoir, a short running workout for all abilities, then an optional second loop around the lake to cool down! 3-4 miles total and all paces encouraged to join!

Thursday - 6:00p @ Boulder Running Co. (Cherry Creek)

Bring a friend for an easy group jog along the beautiful Cherry Creek Trail rotating directions each week! 5k+ distances for all paces.

Saturday - 7:30a @ Boulder Running Co. (Littleton)

Large group run starting at Boulder Running Co. Littleton for all paces and distances. We will typically run around Johnson Reservoir, Clement Park, and Lily Gulch Trail. This group run is perfect for a long run!

Saturday - 7:30a @ Boulder Running Co. (Greenwood Village)

Another large group run starting at Boulder Running Co. Greenwood Village for all paces and distances. We will typically run the Highline Canal from the store. This group run is also perfect for a long run!

Saturday - 8:00a @ City Park Farmers Market (Meet at GOforever Tent)

New group run with City Park Farmers Market. Run 1 loop (3 miles) or 2 loops of City Park Farmers Market and then go enjoy the market! Free yoga, great food, more great food, and a great place to get your weekly grocery list checked off. Don’t forget your free GOforever Natural Energy Bar after the run.

Training Tips from GOforever 

Everyone knows that hill workouts are greatly beneficial for running training, but why? And how can you best incorporate hills into your training to get the biggest bang for your buck?

The first and most important benefit of hill training is improved strength, running form, and economy. Running uphill utilizes muscles and the cardiovascular system in a very similar way to running faster, but with much less ground impact. So runners are taught to drive their knees more, get more on their toes, and pump more blood to their muscles without the heavy impact associated with flat or downhill running. Good posture is always first and foremost when doing any hill workout! Lean very slightly forward into the hill, maintain a tall, strong posture, and pick your feet up. If your posture starts to slack in a hill workout, then the workout is too long, too fast, or doesn’t include enough rest. Good posture running uphill will translate into strengthening the right muscles in proper proportion.

The second benefit of running hill workouts is increased speed and power. If you’re practicing good posture during a hill workout and you’re picking your feet up quickly, then you are on your way to improving your speed! A good way to progress hill workouts for speed is to start with 4 x 10 seconds uphill at 90-95% max effort with 2-3 min rest between each and working up (over 2-3 months) to 10 x 30s uphill at 90-95% effort with 2-3 min rest between each. If you are training for a Mile or 5K, then doing hill workouts for power are essential. You can start with 6 x 60s uphill at 85-90% max effort with a slow jog down for rest and build up (over 2-3 months) to as many as 8 x 120s uphill at 85-90% max effort with a slow jog down for rest. Increased power means you'll be able to pump more blood to your muscles for longer periods and at higher speeds. Speed and power workouts can be done once or twice a week and should always be done on fresh legs. Always allow for a day of rest or easy running after.

See you on the trail!

- Coach Zack

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 4/6/22

4/6/2022

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

                           4/5 ON Demo Run

                           4/12 - New Balance Demo Run

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store - Long Run

                             5/21 - Long run w/ New Balance @8:00

                  (Routes are on store Facebook Page)

                          9:00 Littleton Store

 Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (meet at the Washington Park sign at the corner of Mississippi and Franklin)

Note:  all the paths are quickly shoveled after snowfalls

TBD - Summer Speedwork session

Upcoming Races

4/9 - Beer Bound  5K - Estes Park (Brewery Running Series)

4/10 - Platte River Half Marathon (Downtown Littleton)

4/10 - Horseshoe Half Marathon, Fort Collins

4/18 - Boston Marathon

4/26 - Cherry Creek Sneak - Cherry Creek

5/1 - Colorado Marathon, fort Collins

5/25 - Colfax Marathon, HM, 5K, Starts in City Park

5/30 - Bolder Boulder, Boulder Folsum Field

Local News

The next Team BRC race is the Cherry Creek Sneak 5K, 5Mile and 10 Mile race in Cherry Creek.  You can register for the Cherry Creek Sneak at the Boulder Running Company stores.

Registration for the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon is still open.  This year, the race moves to September and registration fills up quickly so don't wait.

Most of the Jeffco and Boulder Co Open Space Parks are now open as the trails have mostly dried out

As the Spring and Summer Racing season nears, we are looking at adding speed work sessions to our group run schedule.  Stay tuned for more details.

If you are looking to get on the track this Spring, T.E.A.M Boulder Series has three Spring meets on 4/23, 5/7 and 5/21.  The meets offer distance races between 800 and 5,000M and runners of all abilities and ages are welcome.  You will be seeded in heats based on your projected times.  For more info, go to teamboco.com.

The Boulder Running Company is proud to be a sponsor of the Colorado Brewery Running Series.  The next race is Beer Bound 5K on April 9th in Estes Park

The Colorado Boulder Running company Stores will be doing an event at each of our stores in partnership with Love for Lily called Movin with Mama on Mother's Day. Below is information for it if you could include it in the newsletter please!

A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY EVENT CELEBRATING MAMAHOOD IN ALL IT'S FORMS

Celebrating 10 Years with Love for Lily

May 1st – May 8th 2022

Powered by Fleet Feet

Come run, walk, bike, skip, dance or hike with Love for Lily and Fleet Feet anytime between Sunday May 1st and Sunday May 8th. We are celebrating all mamas and 10 Years of empowering, supporting, and connecting families in and out of the Neonatal ICU. You don’t have to be a runner to participate, you just have to have a body to get movin’. If setting a goal sounds fun, we are offering 10K (6 miles) and 5K (3 miles) training plans in partnership with Running with Muscle.

Join us if you are a mama of many, a mama with empty arms, a birth mama, an adoptive mama, a fur baby mama or a loving supporter of mamas. We encourage you to get outside with the ones you love on Mother’s Day and get movin’!

Our hope is that you grab your family, friends, loved ones or neighbors and create your own outdoor event. You can either register as just an individual or you can create a team and get your community involved.

Event sign up: https://www.loveforlily.org/events/movin-with-mama/

Tickets:

$10 for 10 years * Movin’ with Mama Ticket

$45 for 45 Day Average NICU stay * Movin’ with Mama Ticket * 5k and 10k training plan

$65 Movin’ with Mama Ticket * 5k and 10k training plan * T-Shirt

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

Achieve your goals in 2022!

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog

Race Preparation

We are getting closer to the Spring Race season.  Time to remind everyone to try to practice specifically for your race.  That means tray to add as many race conditions as possible into your training.

1. Before training runs, eat what you expect to eat before the race

2. Use the same gels and drinks as you plan to use during your race and take at the same intervals as your race plan.

3. Wear the same closes and shoes as you plan to wear during your race

4. I always recommend replacing your shoes 2.5 to 3 weeks before a half or full marathon so they are fresh during the race and don't switch to strange (to you) shoes on race day.

5. Practice running on a course that mimics your race course. For Boston, run rolling hills followed by steeper uphills at the end.

6. Try to do several of your runs at race pace (but not race distance) so your muscles become familiar to race pace. Smart watches are a great help with learning pace.

7. Run at the same time of day as your race and if possible same temperature. Although race temperature is very hard to predict for Spring races. Boston is famous for being 40 degrees one year and eighty the next.

8. Should have mentioned this one sooner: Try to run a good share of your mileage on surfaces you'll race on. Cement can be a big surprise if you train mostly on trails.

- Coach Mike

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 3/22/22

3/22/2022

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

                           4/5 ON Demo Run

                           4/12 - New Balance Demo Run

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store - Long Run

                             5/21 - Long run w/ New Balance @8:00

                  (Routes are on store Facebook Page)

                          9:00 Littleton Store

 Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (meet at the Washington Park sign at the corner of Mississippi and Franklin)

Note:  all the paths are quickly shoveled after snowfalls

TBD - Summer Speedwork session

Upcoming Races

3/27 - Rocky Mountain Road Runners 10M/20M training run - Thornton

4/3 - Donut dash 5K

4/3 - Rocky Mountain Road Runners 4M - City Park

4/9 - Beer Bound  5K - Estes Park (Brewery Running Series)

4/18 - Boston Marathon

4/26 - Cherry Creek Sneak - Cherry Creek

Local News

The next Team BRC race is the Cherry Creek Sneak 5K, 5Mile and 10 Mile race in off course Cherry Creek.  You may want to register early as prices increase April 1st.  You can register for the Cherry Creek Sneak at the Boulder Running Company stores.

Registration for the Pike's Peak Ascent and Marathon is now open.  This year, the race moves to September and registration fills up quickly so don't wait.

Most of the Jeffco and Boulder Co Open Space Parks are currently open but with the recent snow and warmer weather coming this week I suspect the trails will be muddier so I strongly suggest that you call before you go

As the Spring and Summer Racing season nears, we are looking at adding speed work sessions to our group run schedule.  Stay tuned for more details.

The Boulder Running Company is proud to be a sponsor of the Colorado Brewery Running Series.  The next race is Beer Bound 5K on April 9th in Estes Park

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

Achieve your goals in 2022!

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog

Micro Workouts

The foundation of running training is basic fitness.  Fitness is measured by function,  strength and endurance.  Good overall muscle strength assures the proper movement necessary to avoid injuries.

For many of us, it's hard to fit a 30 minute strength program into our busy day but there's a trick to sneak in  strength work during the busy week without significantly changing your daily schedule - Micro workouts

Micro workouts are just sneaking in short a few seconds here and there  between our daily activities.  A recent New York times article talked about a study where participants did only a 6 seconds max effort arm strength exercise for 10 consecutive days and were able to increase average muscle strength by eleven percent.

Here are a few ways to sneak in a few micro workouts

• Keep a dumb bell in your office to do curls and presses

• Do single leg exercises will brushing your teeth

• Sneak in some squats or lunges before sitting down for dinner

• Do stretch band exercises while watching TV

• Keep a la cross ball under your desk to massage your plantar Fascia

• Do a few very short strides after your run, they don't need to be long to build strength

• Keep a pull up bar in your garage

• Do calf lifts when you walk up the stairs.

You will be surprised at much strength you can build without spending much time and without feeling sore the next day.

- Coach Mike

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 3/15/22

3/15/2022

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 

6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

                           3/15 Sponsor DTC Nutrition

                           4/5 ON Demo Run

                           4/12 - New Balance Demo Run

Wednesday - 

6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -

6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

 Saturday       - 

7:30 DTC Store - Long Run

                             5/21 - Long run w/ New Balance @8:00

                  (Routes are on store Facebook Page)9:00 Littleton Store

9:00 Littleton Store

Sunday             

8:00 Wash Park (meet at the Washington Park sign at the corner of Mississippi and Franklin)

Note:  all the paths are quickly shoveled after snowfalls

Upcoming Races

3/19 - That Dam Run 5k/10k - Cherry Creek Lake State Park

3/19 - Canyonlands - HM & 5M - Moab, UT

3/27 - Rocky Mountain Road Runners 10M/20M training run - Thornton

4/3 - Donut dash 5K

4/3 - Rocky Mountain Road Runners 4M - City Park

4/18 - Boston Marathon

4/26 - Cherry Creek Sneak - Cherry Creek

Local News

The first Team BRC race is in the books with the Runnin of the Green 7K race last Sunday.  The weather was perfect.  Next Team Race is the Cherry Creek Sneak 5K, 5Mile and 10 Mile race in  downtownCherry Creek.  You may want to register early as prices increase April 1st.

Registration for the Pike's Peak Ascent and Marathon is now open.  This year the race moves to September and registration fills up quickly so don't wait.

With the snow last week and the warmer weather this week,  many of the Front Range Open Space parks will be closed this week due to mud; expect the closures to last throughout March as the frozen ground does not allow the mud to drain.  Please don't be "that person" who leaves 6" deep tire or shoe prints in the trail.

As the Spring and Summer Racing season nears, we are looking at adding speed work sessions to our group run schedule.  Stay tuned for more details.

The Rocky Mountain Road Runners Club was formed in 1959.  After 62 years, the club is still going strong.  The club hosts  races  of varying  distances on the second Sunday of each month and they also host  three Spring Half Marathon/ Marathon training runs on 3/28, 4/10 and 4/25 in Thornton. Races and training runs are affordable and are fully supported.  Annual individual membership is only $50 which includes entry for club races and training runs.  You can also drop into their races for as little as $10 per race.  For more details go to www.rmrr.org

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

Achieve your goals in 2022!

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog

Grant Fisher shattered the American Record for 10,000Ms at the TEN meet in San Juan Capistrano last week.  Fisher runs for the Bowerman Track Club coached by Jerry Schumacher.

I recently listened to an interview with Fisher where he talked about Schumacher's training building up to his record run.  Schumacher only planned three workouts a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday).  Fisher said that the three workouts were brutal and took him to the limits of his mind and body.  On the other four days of the week, Fisher and his teammates were on their own to build aerobic endurance through easy runs.  No throwing up on the track or seeing stars,  just easy runs.  Schumacher did not specify a mileage target,  his runners were encouraged to run as many miles as possible but still show up on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday recovered enough to do the quality workouts. 

Fisher and Schumacher's training philosophy matches that of Lydiard, Bowerman and Daniels.  Hard is HARD and easy is EASY, with roughly eighty percent of the mileage falling in the relatively comfortable aerobic endurance zone and the remaining twenty percent in the uncomfortable and sometimes painful anaerobic zone.

- Coach Mike

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 2/3/22

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store

                          9:00 Littleton Store

                         (Saturday runs in City Park will resume in May with the start of the Farmer's Market)

Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (meet at the Washington Park sign at the corner of Mississippi and Franklin)

                         The Wash Park loop is 2.5 miles and you can do as many loops as you want

Note:  all the paths are quickly shoveled after snowfalls

Upcoming Races

2/6 - Super Bowl 5K, 9:00 Wash Park, Denver

2/13 - Snowman stampede HM, 10K, 5K, Hudson Gardens, Littleton

Local News

Team BRC and The Boulder Running Company now have a Strava Club.  Search "Boulder Running Co." and join.  The club will have information on group runs and you can follow many of your fellow runners

Registration for the Bolder Boulder, Cherry Creek Sneak and the Boulderthon is now open! 

Congratulations to Boulder's Dathan Ritzenhein and  his Boulder trained O.A.C Team.   Alicia Monson, Geordie Beamish and Olie Hoare won the W3000, M3000 and Mens Mile respectively at last week's Millrose Games at the Armory in NYC.  Millrose is considered the most competitive indoor race in the US

Also, Nick Willis of the Very Nice Track Club did manage to break 4:00 minutes in the mile for the 20th consecutive year

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

Achieve your goals in 2022!

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog (Races)

Borrowing with Integrity

When I started running many years ago, there wasn't a lot of available information about running.  Few coaches were experienced distance runners; there were few good books on the sport and electronic social media hadn't been invented yet.  My primary source of running information came from Runner's World Magazine.  Now there are almost limitless  books, blogs, message boards, podcasts, experienced coaches…..

Be it good or bad, most of the information today is second hand.  Coaches, writers and bloggers borrow from those who went before them.  Today, much of the information spreading around the cyberworld is science based and time tested, but some is not.

Like most other bloggers today,  I borrow my thoughts and facts from those before me.  I like to think of it as "borrowing with integrity".  While I read a lot,  I try to limit my sources to those I have learned to trust.  The following is a list of some of my influencers and what I learned from them:

Arthur Lydiard - Run by feel, periodization, the power of aerobic endurance.

Lorraine Moeller - The Science of Lydiard Training

Dr Jack Daniels - Training zones and VO2 max tables, it's better to slightly undertrain than over train

Jay Johnson - Consistency is key,  run fast almost every day

George Sheehan - The philosophy of running

Tim Noakes - The science of running, sugar is bad

Kevin and Keith Hanson - Follow your running dreams

Joe Friel - Running and Aging

Joe Newton, Vince Lombardi, John Wooden - Leadership

2022 Team BRC Race Schedule

The schedule will also be posted at goforeverracing.com and will be updated as more race info becomes available

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 1/17/22

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store

                          9:00 Littleton Store

                         (Saturday runs in City Park will resume in May with the start of the Farmer's Market)

Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (corner of Mississippi and Franklin) The Wash Park loop is 2.5 miles and you can do as many loops as you want

Upcoming Races

1/22 - Frosty's Frozen Half/10/5k - Hudson Gardens, Littleton

1/23 - Yeti Chase 5K/10K, Bear Creek Lake State Park, Lakewood

Local News

Registration for the Bolder Boulder, Cherry Creek Sneak and the Boulderthon is now open!  Registration for the Colfax races is open and there is a price increase coming on January 26th.

Looking for a warm dry race in January and February but don't want to travel,  Try a USATF Indoor ace :https://colorado.usatf.org/

Maggie Montoya of Boulder ran a 2:29.08 marathon to finish third at the Houston Marathon last weekend.  Maggie was working in the Pharmacy at Kings Sooper in Boulder during the shooting last year.

For any High School coaches out there,  I attended the annual Boulder Running Clinic last weekend and it was amazing. 

Update from last week:

Nick Willis failed to break the 4:00 mile for the 20th year at midnight on New Year's but he will be trying again on January 29th.

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

Achieve your goals in 2022!

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog (Races)

We All Make Mistakes

Yes we all make mistakes. Every January, I look back at the previous year in my running log to see where I went wrong.  Something surely must have gone wrong because again I failed to run that 2:20 marathon that I had all planned out last January.

Here's an example of some of the mistakes I made last year, I also included some from previous years as I didn't make enough mistakes last year to put together a meaningful blog:

1. I ignored the weekly long run. As soon as my planned Marathon was canceled, I stopped the long runs cold turkey. Long runs are THE best way to build aerobic endurance and develop a Marathoners metabolism

2. I ran too hard on my recovery days which led to running easier on my hard days. By the end of the year every day looked the same; not too hard, not too easy. Easy days need to be easy enough to allow recovery!

3. Skipped periodization again. My training in January looked a lot like my training in September. If I had followed periodization correctly, I would have been working on aerobic endurance in January and February and Anaerobic endurance in September.

4. I fell off the strength training wagon every month or so. As I get older, I know the importance of maintaining strength (use it or lose it).

5. Early in the year, I discovered the benefits of a high fat, low carb diet but over time, those nasty simple carbs worked their way back into my diet. As I get older, insulin resistance is a thing that needs to be addressed more each year.

The good news is that I kept a running log so I could go back and see my mistakes

2022 Team BRC Race Schedule

The schedule will also be posted at goforeverracing.com and will be updated as more race info becomes available

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 1/10/22

Happy New Year Everyone! 

The Cherry Creek Store will be rebooting the Thursday night run at 6:00 with special guest Saucony (Joshua Moran!) and the return of a post  beer.  Many of the past runners will be returning for this event!   For all of the store runs, the trails are well maintained so a little snow will not be a problem.

Also all 5 Boulder Running Company Stores will be hosting a 5K Marshall Fire Community  Support Run to raise money to support the Community Foundation serving Boulder County and Boulder Voices for Children, see each store's Facebook page for more details.

We had a good response to the request for runners for the  Colorado Cross Country Team Championships in November so we will be able to field a team.  If you are interested, just respond to this email.

For those of you looking for a warm dry place to race, USATF Colorado will be holding Indoor track Allcomers meets each Sunday in January and February at the US Airforce Academy.

We're still not sure yet if Nick Willis has run his 19th consecutive year of running a sub four minute mile.  Due to COVID, his stroke of midnight attempt was moved from New York's Amory to a secret location and will be broadcast soon.  Dan King of Boulder was also planning to attempt to break the 60 to 64 age group mile record at the New York race. Steve Spence's streak of annual sub five minute miles ended last year at 43. 

Weekly Group Runs

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -6:00 Cherry Creek store - Run on the Cherry Creek Trail

(Yoga classes are every second and fourth Thursday of each month. See yoga.with.jacqueline on Instagram for details)

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store

                          9:00 Littleton Store

                         (Saturday runs in City Park ended with the end of the Farmer's Market season)

Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (corner of Mississippi and Franklin) The Wash Park loop is 2.5 miles and you can do as many loops as you want

Upcoming Races

12/31/2021 - resolution Run, Wash Park

See below for the 2022 Team BRC race schedule and the full 2022 race calendar

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

Achieve your goals in 2022!

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog (Races)

Aerobic endurance and the 80/20 Rule

Distance running is primarily an aerobic endeavor.  While each step requires you to engage hundreds of muscles, these muscles are not contributing anywhere near their maximum force so the muscles that do the hard work of running need endurance more than power.

Muscles are fueled by ATP generated in your mitochondria.  At slower paces, ATP comes primarily from burning fat and oxygen (aerobic); as the pace increases, ATP is generated through burning glucose and oxygen (still aerobic) and as your pace increases even further, mitochondria generate ATP without oxygen (anaerobic)

Even when you are running at 800M race pace, over 80 percent of your muscle energy (ATP) is produced through burning oxygen.

Therefore the most important component of training should be to build the bodies' ability to deliver oxygen to your muscles through building stronger heart, lungs and capillaries and to increase the number of mitochondria within your muscles to convert the fuel and oxygen to ATP. 

Running lots of miles in the "easy" zone ( 50 percent and 78 percent max heart rate) is the best way to build muscle endurance.

Dr Stephen Seiler, an exercise Physiologist in Norway reviewed the training logs of thousands of elite runners from around the world and discovered that almost all elite runners run approximately 80 percent of their miles in the "easy" aerobic zone and only 20 percent in the "harder" zone above 78 percent.

2022 Team BRC Race Schedule

The schedule will also be posted at goforeverracing.com and will be updated as more race info becomes available

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 1/3/22

12/28/2021

Happy Holidays Everyone!  Reminder,  the Thursday night run from the Cherry Creek Store will reboot on Thursday January 6th at 6:00 with special guest Saucony!  There will be no Thursday night run for the next two weeks.  Also, we are looking for Masters runners interested in competing on a team for the USATF Colorado Club Cross Country Championships next November, respond to this email, if you are interested, all levels welcome.

Weekly Group Runs

Note:  the Thursday night run at the Cherry Creek store will be taking a break until 1/6/2022.   On 1/6/2021 we will have a special 2022 kickoff run featuring Saucony shoes.

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -Starting 1/6/2022 Cherry Creek store - Run and Yoga

(Yoga classes are every second and fourth Thursday of each month. See yoga.with.jacqueline on Instagram for details)

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store

                          9:00 Littleton Store

                         (Saturday runs in City Park ended with the end of the Farmer's Market season)

Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (corner of Mississippi and Franklin) The Wash Park loop is 2.5 miles and you can do as many loops as you want

Upcoming Races

12/31/2021 - resolution Run, Wash Park

See below for the 2022 Team BRC race schedule and the full 2022 race calendar

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog (Races)

2021 Year in review

As 2021 comes to an end,  it's nice to reflect back on 2021 and look ahead to 2022. 

2021 saw  the return of most racing but with a few twists thrown in.  The Bolder Boulder was run at multiple locations; the  Colfax Races, Colorado Marathon and the Boulderthon Marathon were all moved to the Fall and the Cherry Creek Sneak and El Grito 5K races were cancelled again. 

On the National and international level,  the Tokyo Olympics went on as planned with many Colorado based athletes competing on the Track and in the Marathon.  Paul Chelimo who trains in  Colorado Springs wan Silver in the 10,000M and Kevin McDowell won Silver in the mixed triathlon relay. Finally, Molly Seidel surprised us with a bronze in the Marathon

Athing Mu, Cole Hocker, Hobbs Kessler and Cooper Teare emerged as the next generation of great American mid-distance runners.

Athlete's mental health became a topic of discussion with Simone Bile and Naomi Osaka both withdrawing from competitions due to mental health issues.

All of the World Marathons went on as planned with the exception of Tokyo but the Spring races were moved to Fall.  Shalane Flanagan at the age of 40, managed to run the six World Major major marathons  in six weeks with her SLOWEST race being in 2:46.

At the High School level, the Spring Track Season was delayed six weeks but otherwise went on as usual and the Cross Country season felt almost normal despite my HS  team missing our chance to qualify for the State meet after a COVID case caused the team to quarantine before regionals

Looking forward to 2022, despite the Omicron variant emerging as a new threat,  almost every race in 2022 is scheduled to go on as planned.  Hopefully, we will see the Cherry Creek Sneak back after a two year hiatus and the Bolder Boulder back to finishing in Folsom field

For many runners it will be a short turnaround between the October Colfax Races and the May races or the October 2021 Boston Marathon and the April 2022 Boston Marathon.

In 2022, the world Track and Field Championships will be held at the new Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.  I hope to see many Colorado trained athletes competing on the world stage.

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year's and a 2022 full of running and racing.

 2022 Team BRC Race Schedule

The schedule will also be posted at goforeverracing.com and will be updated as more race info becomes available

GOforever / Team BRC Newsletter - 12.27.21

Happy Holidays Everyone!  Reminder that the Thursday night run from the Cherry Creek Store will reboot on Thursday January 6th at 6:00 with special guest Saucony!  There will be no Thursday night run for the next two weeks.  Also, we are looking for Masters runners interested in competing on a team for the USATF Colorado Club Cross Country Championships next November, respond to this email, if you are interested, all levels welcome.

Weekly Group Runs

Note:  the Thursday night run at the Cherry Creek store will be taking a break until 1/6/2022.   On 1/6/2021 we will have a special 2022 kickoff run featuring Saucony shoes.

Tuesday       - 6:00 DTC Store - Half Penny Beer after

Wednesday - 6:00 Littleton Store

Thursday      -Starting 1/6/2022 Cherry Creek store - Run and Yoga

(Yoga classes are every second and fourth Thursday of each month. See yoga.with.jacqueline on Instagram for details)

Saturday       - 7:30 DTC Store

                          9:00 Littleton Store

                         (Saturday runs in City Park ended with the end of the Farmer's Market season)

Sunday             8:00 Wash Park (corner of Mississippi and Franklin) The Wash Park loop is 2.5 miles and you can do as many loops as you want

Upcoming Races

12/31/2021 - resolution Run, Wash Park

See below for the 2022 Team BRC race schedule and the full 2022 race calendar

Team BRC and GOforever RACING

GOforeverRacing is offering free two week training plans through their website GOforeverracing.com.  Custom plans are also available for purchase.  Plans will not be cookie cutter plans but will be constructed to meet your individual needs.

Coaches Blog (Paces)

Age Graded Calculator

For those of us that are not in the 20 to 29 age group, it can be frustrating to train harder but race slower than when we were in our 20s   This is where the age graded calculator comes in.

The calculator is very simple;  After a race, enter the race distance, your race time and your age and hit enter and the calculator compares your time to the world best time for your age.  For example, if you are 42 years old,  you recently ran a 5K in 21:00 minutes, the calculator will convert your age graded performance to 64.53%.  This grade means that you ran 64.53% as fast as the fastest person in the world in your age group.

Link to calculator: http://www.mastersathletics.net/index.php?id=25950

So as you age and your race times naturally slow,  the calculator adjusts for age.  This gives you a sliding target to shoot for.

I recently entered some of my 5K race times over a 30 year period and discovered that I'm racing as fast today as I did in my late 20s which was a nice boost to my ego.

A general rule of thumb for the calculator is as follows:

World class - score between 90 and 100%

National class - score between 80 and 90%

Regional class - score between 70 and 80%

Local class - score between 60 and 70%

Athlete - score between 0 and 60%