Colorado Varsity Trip 2010

The genesis of this trip goes back about five years to when the girls team first started to visit Colorado in July 2005.  Coach Currins took the girls to Snow Mountain Ranch and also had the team be hosted for dinners by the Hogans in both Boulder and Winter Park.  Amy Laskowske was on that team so it was a great familial invite from the Laskowske-Hogan crew, and the girls ended up having a phenomenal time.

Mike Hogan approached me soon after about doing a boys trip with both of his nephews, Tommy and A.J. Laskowske.  We could never quite get the money to work, and we had established a pretty firm tradition of doing our varsity trip at Fred Miller's cabin in Michigan.  After Fred retired in May and A.J. becoming a senior leader on our team, the time was right.  The Johnson and Laskowske families put a ton of time, research, and planning into the logistical aspects of the trip, and we worked throughout the year to make sure that the team could raise some money and fund part of the trip for the athletes. 

As things fell into place, the vision became broader and more special.  Steve Johnson knew Ed and Jorge Torres through Greg Fedyski, who coached all three of them during junior high.  Ed came and talked to the distance crew last year, and Steve made sure that we were also able to meet Jorge and go for a run with him.  Similarly, Matt Sheehan talked with high school rival Pat Rizzo at the state cross country meet last year and that led to a running date with Pat.  Mike Hogan also used his relationship with Neal Henderson at Boulder Sports Medicine to ensure us a tour and a sweet talk on the physiology of distance running.  After planning for so long, it was weird that all of it became reality, but I can safely say that I had the running time of a lifetime.

We landed in Denver in the mid-morning after a very early flight out of Midway, and our first run right out of the box was with Olympian Jorge Torres.  We drove up Canyon Boulevard to his house, Fight Club, and Jorge took us to a trailhead that essentially went straight up for the first 15 minutes.  I was in total asphyxiation soon after we started.  When I looked at my watch, it read simply 3:26 and counting.  Welcome to altitude, a vertical climb, and Jorge Torres.  Jorge is a legend in Illinois high school cross country: second in the state as a frosh followed by three straight state titles.  He ran 14:00 on Detweiller his senior year, qualified all four years to the Foot Locker National Championships (which he won), won an individual and team title in NCAA Division I for Colorado, and was the 2006 USA champion in the 10,000 meters.  Thank God he took it easy on us!  It was incredible to run and talk with one of my favorite runners, and I had a bit of my fan boy geek going on (see my pic at the Fight Club sign on the front page).  After the run, Jorge gave us a tour of his property and then we all took an ice bath in Boulder Creek.  Afterwards, it was off to downtown Boulder where we watched some of Jorge's "friends" run in a local 3K.  Of course, Jorge has "friends" like Ben True who run 8:29 in local 3Ks on random Thursday nights in Boulder.  It was a lot of fun visiting with him, and we all got a taste of the big time on our first mountain run.  Thanks so much Jorge!  After the race we all went out to eat on Pearl Street Mall and checked out all of the various freaks on parade.  Great people watching.  Run total was only six miles, but with our travel day included I think a mountain run with an Olympian sufficedquite nicely.

The next morning we got up nice and early and got ready to tackle Magnolia Road.  Mags was made famous by Chris Lear's book Running with the Buffaloes, which is a great read about college cross country and life in general if you ever get the chance to pick it up.  We were told that the run begins when the pavement turns to gravel, and we endured a long, twisty road and some white knuckle driving from Steve J to get up there.  We're pictured above just before the start of the run, and we kind of played it by ear.  Mags has a net elevation rise from 8,100 to 8,800 feet, and we weren't quite sure how everyone would react to the altitude or how far we would go.  I, of course, was sucking air really hard at the first major uphill, but most in the group seemed to acclimate to the altitude as the run progressed.  Four miles in we decided we had to at least run to the end of the road and see what was there.  Disappointingly, it just ends at an intersection.  We expected cotton candy factories and exotic woodland creatures, but it wasn't meant to be.  We doubled back up some devilish hills another three miles to make it an even 10 miles.

After running Mags we had an invitation from Mike and Karen Hogan for a barbecue at their house in Louisville just outside of Boulder.  Mike had been one of the major reasons for the trip, and it was really important to me for our kids to meet him.  Mike ran for Joe Johnson on our 1982 team that placed sixth in the IHSA State meet, and he has since gone on to become a World Champion mountain biker in the Master's division.  Karen also bikes competitively.  Like everyone we meet in the Hogan clan, Mike, Karen and their kids are incredibly active and competitive.  They must have had thirty to forty bikes in their garage, and the whole crew had a great time hanging out, eating hot dogs, burgers, and ice cream, and going downtown for a neighborhood music fest.  With Fred retiring I want to keep our connection to the Joe Johnson traditions alive and there was no better way to do that than make sure they met an All-Time Great like Mike Hogan.  The boys did a five mile easy run before the barbecue to run our daily total to 15 miles.

Day three kept the hits coming.  Pat Rizzo had recently moved to Boulder, CO to work with Steve Jones, former world record holder in the marathon and Jorge Torres' coach as well.  Pat had previously run for Brooks-Hansens out of Michigan and achieved a marathon PR of 2:15, but he moved to CO seeking even more.  Pat was a multiple time All-American at North Central College in Naperville, IL as well as an all-state performer for our MSL rivals over at Schaumburg.  Check him out above with Steve and Tim J and Zach Gates as he sports the baddest-ass tattoo in all of running.  The plan was to get in a long ten-mile 6:50-7:00 pace run around the Boulder Reservoir, which blessedly is flat and was just what most of us were needing after two grueling mountain runs on the preceding days.  We got a bit lost after picking up the pace a bit so the run ended up being a solid thirteen miler.  Some guys suffered a bit from fatigue, the altitude, and dehydration, but the run was another great scenic journey enlivened by Rizzo's easy going demeanor and great stories.  A big thank you to Pat for taking time out to run with us and probably being late to work since our run went long.  Good luck this fall.

We played in the creek and slept for much of the day before catching a talk by Neal Henderson at the Boulder Institute for Sports Medicine.  Neal had helped Mike Hogan with the rehab on his knee after a bad fall, and he tailored a really nice presentation for us on the physiology of distance running.  Neal works with a lot of the best endurance athletes in the world, but he did an even better job of translating some pretty complex science down to the level our guys could understand.  I was grateful to have so much of our training reaffirmed and to acquire an even stronger language for describing why we do what we do.  Neal showed us a ton of data about oxygen uptake, the different energy systems and training zones, and workouts that pro runners and cyclists use to adapt their bodies to championship levels.  Later in the afternoon we caught a four mile run along Boulder Creek and checked out the locals (i.e. the girls) as we ran.  Total mileage for the day was seventeen miles.

Afterward we went out to eat on Pearl Street mall and saw a whole load of street performers and general Boulder oddities (see above and in the photo gallery for more).  I had the opportunity that night to catch up with a couple of my childhood friends who live in the area so that was sweet for my family as well.  This was our last night in Boulder so everyone started to pack up and relax for the journey up to 8,000 feet in Winter Park.

The guys got in one final five mile run in Boulder before leaving.  Due to some faulty directions, I ended up taking an incredible scenic route through Rocky Mountain National Park.  With much of it over 9,000 feet, the drive was both scary and incredible.  I got some great pics of McGough and Gates running up a mountain peak and Madeline was finally able to see the big mountains we had promised her.  We rolled into the Snow Mountain Ranch around 3:30 just in time to check in to our huge cabin.  We quickly scoped out the grounds and ran a solid hour run on one of the more moderate trails.  Total mileage for the day was around 12 miles.

I had noticed on day one that the map indicated there was a trail up Snow Mountain (pictured above).  I am always looking for challenge runs for us, and I scoped this out at as the first opportunity.  None of us had any idea where the trail led or how hard it would be to run to the top, but I wanted all of us to try.  We had Brian Smith, our lone soph on the trip, lead it up as we all enjoyed a really difficult but incredible experience.  Snow Mountain is actually a series of four peaks.  Once we were up the first one we had to do all four.  Peak two got so steep and violently difficult that we had to slow up and walk, but this run was our first opportunity to do some real exploring.  We spotted a mountain road across the valley on another ridge, and A.J. Laskowske noted that we should "run up that road."  I filed that away.  Later in the day we did a nice easy 4-5 mile run up toward a small waterfall so the day yielded around 10-11 miles in total.  We ran or hiked for at least two hours each day, but the severe slopes took a toll on many a quad and calf muscle.  Being from Illinois, it was weird to spend two hours running and end up with only 10-12 miles. 

The next day was easily one of the most anticipated of the whole trip because we had planned to climb James Peak, some 13,600 feet above sea level.  I had been inspired earlier in the summer when looking at Lori Laskowske's vacation pictures of her mom and dad and Tom and A.J. up at the summit.  On the way I was flipping through Mr. Hogan's guidebook and saw just how many of these mountain peaks he had hiked.  I just hope I can be that fit when I am in my sixties (or seventies).  We drove this ridiculous and brutal road from Winter Park up to the trailhead, and I think everyone involved was more dejected by the horribly slow bumpy ride than the difficult 2 1/2 hour hike to the summit.  We all packed lunches, water, and some winter wear and headed out on an incredible journey.  Everyone grouped up and enjoyed the hike at their own pace, and I am pretty sure that no one will forget the difficult finish trail as we neared the summit.  Trust me, the best part about hiking mountains is taking breaks from hiking mountains.  The last 20 minutes up were tough on some already sore muscles, but the view at the top was worth it.  The picture above is taken facing W-NW toward the town of Winter Park in the valley below.  The pic below shows all of us together at the summit after everyone came up.  It was a gorgeous day to enjoy my first ever mountain hike, and I know that everyone enjoyed the great conversations and views.

Later in the day we did an easy 45 minute run to end up with a deceivingly low six mile total for the day.  It is against all the fiber of my being to count walking as running, but it suffices to say that we ended up with three or more hours of aerobic activity and everyone was pretty beat.  We all gathered that night at the Hogan's cabin for a massive spaghetti dinner, and it was great to catch up with them.  Maryann told me that she and her husband cross country ski some 60-70 days a year while fitting in a ton of hiking and fishing.  Now everyone could see why A.J., Tom, and Amy were/are such tough runners.  The apples don't fall far from that Hogan family tree...  We had a great cookout while the boys played bags and shot BB guns in the yard.  It was also nice to catch up with Tom Laskowske, who was visiting and helping his grandparents cut down trees on their property.  Tom gave up running competitively after high school to devote himself to wrestling, and he hopes to be in the starting lineup at 125 lbs. for Division III powerhouse Elmhurst college.  Check out how buff Tommy has gotten in the photo below.  After not needing to cut weight last year, he is up to 135 pounds and looking strong and fit.  Tom is a recent All-Time Great who ran in the IHSA State meet on teams that placed sixth and tenth. 

The day after our barbecue ended up being an emotional rest day.  Sheehan and I wanted to get away from the guys for awhile so we asked them to do their 90-120 minutes in whatever groupings they chose.  Most guys ended up running a solid 12-14 miles of recovery as we geared up for the final challenge run on the following day.  The highlight in the middle of the day was the high ropes course.  I put some of the pics up on the front page, but there are a ton more action shots in the photo gallery.  Tim Meincke actually managed to jump off, reach the bar, and stay on while many others reached the bar but couldn't keep their hold.  Later that night the Johnsons projected all of the pictures of the trip on a wall in our cabin, and then we all gathered to talk about what we had learned as a group on the trip.  Fred and I have always liked to give a team space to come together on these varsity trips.  My goal was to create a lot of challenging runs and then see what new relationships, sentiments, and attitudes popped up.  You could feel the team closing in on each other day by day.  There is no shortcut to forming a true team bond.  I think we all went through a lot of adversity and difficulty together that caused us to tighten up, to learn to rely on one another.  The hope is that these bonds formed in practice glue us together in a race when the going gets tough.

The next morning was the Challenge Run, and I had been pretty tight-lipped about what it was going to be.  I wanted to build an aura of drama and fear about what we were going to do.  In my mind the sense of fear and worry before a hard workout mirrors what a runner feels before a race: Can I do it?  How hard will it be?  How much will it hurt?  Will I disappoint myself or my teammates?  I like to produce these worries because one of the most important factors in being a good racer is reducing them to the mental rubble that they are.  Worries and performance fears are mental constructs that can be torn down as easily as they can be built.  The goal of the Challenge Run is to take the athletes to the physical edge and teach them how much more they have to give and what they can accomplish when faced with real difficulty.

We awoke on the final day to a valley full of fog.  It had rained the night before, and I was worried that my mountain road might be impassible.  A.J. Laskowske's comment that we "should run up that road" never left my mind, and I spent the better part of two days scouting a road run to the top of Blue Ridge Mountain.  Our site map showed a road running to the top, but I had no idea of the distance or the difficulty.  The elevation change was tough: 8,600 feet to 10,600 feet.  It had taken us seven miles to climb 700 feet on Magnolia Road so I knew that this had to be much more severe, and this run started out where Magnolia finishes and got quickly into really thin air.  I took Madeline Grace for a hike one day and then decided I'd take my mini-van up there and check it out.  I'm surprised the rental company took back my car because I'm pretty sure pieces of my muffler are still up on the rocks on Blue Ridge Road.  I ended up turning around when I started to fear that we'd pop a tire and strand ourselves four miles up in the middle of nowhere, but my reconnaissance showed that this was the right run.  I took Sheehan up there two days later, and he concurred that the route was brutal.  The first three miles went up the entire time with no leveling off.  Every time  you turned a corner, it kicked again.  The switchbacks didn't stop for nearly 4.5 miles, and it was just a bit over 5 miles to the summit.  Even Sheehan thought it was a disgusting route, and we agreed that the Challenge would be to get the entire team up there in 75 minutes or less.  We told them they could walk if necessary, and we made sure water was available at miles 1, 1.8, and 3.0.  Past mile three no one but the team and coaches was allowed.  The last part was for us alone.

We drove in silence out toward where the road started up the Blue Ridge, and the vibe in the van was great.  It had that nervous-fear-tension-concentration mix that happens before a big race.  No one but the coaches knew what was up.  We drove through the fog in silence.  At the bottom we let everyone out and explained the challenge as I did above with the caveat that we thought 5-7 guys could do the run in under an hour.  The pace started out hot, and I quickly settled into last.  I knew what lay ahead, but the audacity of youth is a beautiful thing sometimes.  Slowly but surely the group made progress and then started to wear.  Guys would drop off and walk for 10-15 seconds, lost in the fog by themselves or with a teammate.  Shrouded in mist and fog, my goal was clear: I wanted to make it up at a gradual pace without walking.  People were starting to roll nicely just past the one mile mark (I was 9:43 or so and in 10th place on the road).  Then things got brutal.  We slogged side by side, step by step up the steep early sections just straining to get to the van for another drink and a brief respite.  As I splashed down some water and took off, I saw Roehrborn and Kuerschner running together on opposite sides of the road, disappearing into the mist like ghosts.  Best friends.  Killing it for each other, devoted to each other and the team.  I got the chills just watching them. 

Slowly but surely another phenomenon started to occur.  The fog appeared to be lifting, but that wasn't the case at all.  Somewhere on the way to mile three we ran above the cloud line.  As I looked to my left I screamed up ahead to a fading Marcus Garcia and always steady Laskowske to look down below.  The white soupy fog had enveloped the entire valley below, obscuring all but the mountain tops.  We were literally running into the heavens, above terrestrial life now, on the envelope of uncharted waters.  No picture could have done it justice because pictures can't capture the emotional connection of the moment.  To be there, to be doing it together meant more than a picture or even these words for that matter.  At three miles we stopped for final water and luckily Tony and Monkey hadn't gotten lost.  They were in the lead and cruising with Garcia, Laskowske, Roehrborn, Kuerschner and myself in close pursuit.  We hung a right and bore down.

The end of the run is a bit of a blur.  Roehrborn stopped to vomit and dropped off to walk a bit.  Garcia dry-heaved, but laid it down to stay with me.  A.J. and Kuersch were side by side rolling with the two leaders gone up the muddy and rocky road.  As per usual Marcus regrouped and toughed it out, and we both got rolling as we hit the false flat that leads gently up to the summit.  We put the hammer down and laid it on the line, hitting the top around 45 minutes.  Luckily, we got there just in time to stop Tony and Monkey from going down the other side and driving themselves into pure oblivion.  I was so exhausted and proud I couldn't stop the tears from flowing a bit, and I gave everyone a big hug for the effort.  Within two-three more minutes four more made it up, and all fifteen plus the two coaches were up by 53 minutes. 

No words, no pictures can describe the view from the summit on that day.  To feel that sense of accomplishment, to see the view, the altered landscape below, and the mountain where we had just gained dominion was too much.  The metaphor of the "Run to the Top" was not lost on any of us.  It was a physical symbol of our journey, our season, our aspiration to be the best.  We have been on that podium in Peoria four times in the last seven years, but never at the top and everyone felt the difficulty and possibility of that mission.  We found our SOUL GLUE on this trip, and you could feel the shared sense of devotion and sacrifice as we talked and joked our way the five miles back down the mountain.  We talked the night before about how we had two goals for season: 1) Establish a common set of memories and relationships that would last us for a lifetime.  We want our memories to be full of the time we spent together. 2) Win the state championship.  One goal is metaphysical, the other is tangible.  Let's hope we reach both.  The Run to the Top is here - Palatine CC 2010.

Above: The Quick family poses before heading home from Colorado.  Thankfully, my wife is the kind of person who is fine using a cross country trip as our main family vacation of the summer.  Madeline is soon to be four while Christopher turned two the week after the trip.  Thanks for the support, and I love you guys!