Stage 5: GORE-TEX TransRockies Run

Red Cliff to Vale

23.5 miles

9,443 feet of total elevation change

Stage 5 looks tough on paper, and paper doesn't do it justice. The stage includes a whopping 9,400ft of climbing and descending, capping out at an altitude of 11,500ft above sea level (for comparison, the Empire State Building rises to an altitude of 1,250ft above sea level).

After departing Red Cliff the course weaves along an endless succession of switchbacks up the backside of the Vale Mountain Ski Resort. At the summit of the climb you're standing atop the highest chairlift on the mountain looking down at the base of the resort miles below.

For anyone who's ever run up a mountain before, you know that running back down can often be more painful than the upward journey; especially with a cumulative 90+ miles of running through the mountains already on your quads. The run down into town was punishingly glorious!

My running partner today, Ian Pund, was super strong. A 5-time Ironman finisher, Ian knows a bit about pain. We really pushed each other on the climb to the summit, and absolutely pounded the downhill. We had to. I've got a six o'clock flight from Denver to Kansas City, Missouri for the inaugural Kansas City Marathon.

Ain't no rest for the weary, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Charging onward,

Dean