TH E FAST L AN E
RUNNERS OF THE YEAR The winners of the Colorado Runner Racing Series competed among 15 different races, ranging in distance from a 5K to a half marathon. The series started in January and concluded in October. The winners led 4 age categories, from open to seniors. Mountain. I love trail running. This one is close to Denver, so it’s easy to get to. The trail has a rocky start, plenty of shade, a lot of twists, lots of ups and plenty of downs. With the uneven terrain, it’s easy to get tripped up, so I get to spend the whole run focused on where my feet are landing, avoiding rocks, and on dodging branches. What is your biggest challenge? Injuries and an inadequate recovery have been my biggest challenge. When I start training for an event, I want to train harder than anyone else, and I fail to give my body adequate recovery. I used to suffer from chronic shin splints, and those eventually turned into stress fractures. So, nowadays, I slow down or pause my training when I feel an injury about to come on.
Kara Ford, 39, was the female open winner of the Colorado Runner Racing Series. Ford lives in Broomfield.
JULIO BONILLA
Julio Bonilla of Denver won the men’s open category of the Colorado Runner Racing Series this year. Bonilla works as an accountant for Diablo Media.
What was most memorable about your running this year? This year, I ran a 100+ mile relay race with friends in the mountains. We camped, and we competed amongst ourselves to see who could get the fastest times out of our team. We each ran three times, we all ran in the dark at least once, and we all pushed ourselves more than we had in a while. Since it had been years since I had ran consistently with a team, it was very nice to race as part of one again. What are some of the highlights of your career? I completed the Boulder Ironman as my first triathlon. I heavily underestimated how difficult it would be. Running has never felt as painful as it did on that day, and there has been no other finish line that I have been as excited to finally cross. My PRs are 4:39 - 1,600m; 9:06 3,000m; 10:02 - 3,200; and 16:24 - 5K. 10 coloradorunnermag.com
KARA FORD
Do you have any secrets to your success that you’d like to share? Consistency is important. When I first started running, I went over a year without taking a day off. Also, when I don’t have much time for a workout, or if it’s too cold to run outside, I get on the treadmill, set the speed to 10 min/mile and I crank up the incline to 15%. I run until I absolutely can’t anymore. Every time I do this, I try to last a little longer. What is a week of training like for you? Monday - short, easy jog or off Tuesday - hard, short, fast run Wednesday - short, easy jog Thursday - hard distance, fast jog Friday - easy distance, easy jog Saturday - easy jog or off Sunday - easy long run When I am training for a specific race, every week, I increase the mileage for all of my workouts, I increase my pace on the hard days, and I try not to increase my pace on the easy days. Do you have any favorite places to train? Beaver Brook Trail at Lookout
What was most memorable about your running this year? I would say that the most memorable thing about my running last year was simply my sheer enjoyment of the sport. I have reached a stage of life where I am less focused on “goals” and more focused on truly enjoying myself. And interestingly, as I think often happens when we let go of our expectations, I’ve ran consistently better the last couple of years than I ever have before. What are your upcoming goals? I’d like to stick with the shorter distances this spring, cap my spring season off with a strong half, then train for a fall marathon. It’s been 3 years since I have ran the full marathon distance. I was injured a few years ago and took my time coming back to the full, trained for the California International Marathon last fall and was in great shape for it, and ended up injuring myself in a really silly accident just six weeks out from the race (running with my dog!). So I am looking forward to getting that fitness back and seeing what I can do in the marathon this fall. Do you have any recommendations? RL Smith with Runners Roost in Boulder. He is amazing at fitting you with the right shoe and making custom orthotics designed for runners. Al Kupzak, top-notch Massage Therapist. Josh Vickers, Chiropractor with Allied Chiropractic in Westminster. He is phenomenal, smart on smart, by far the number one provider I have ever seen for sports-related injuries, and the reason that I am healthy and running again after
Photography By DEE BUDDEN, TIM HANCOCK, VICTOR SAILER/PHOTORUN AND CLAY SHAW
