Drew runs the Aspen Backcountry Marathon

So, my long time friend Drew ran the Aspen Backcountry Marathon and from his report it doesnt seem like they took the words Backcountry lightly, further proving that Colorado hosts some of the most rugged ultras in the US. 

Nevertheless, Drew killed it in under 6 hours.  When I asked him about his nutrition diet, he says he eats alot of local foods:

"My nutrition plan is pretty simple. I try to eat a ton of local fruits and vegetables. Ideally, fruits and vegetables make up the majority of my calories. I also eat beans, rice and fresh, local meat. I only drink water, black coffee (lots of antioxidants) and beer (keeps me sane).

When I run for more than an hour at a time, I treat myself to dessert. I drink gatorade for electrolytes and a sugar boost, and I eat Snickers bars for quick calories, protein and lots of sugar. It's not very healthy, but I find it hard to eat while running, so I eat stuff that tastes really good.

Of course, I break my own rules fairly often, but I always strive to follow my diet plan. I'm trying to make the diet (and running) part of my normal life, so I don't really do anything different for a long run or a race."

Drew relives those 6 hours and thanks his Wal-Mart sponsor in his memoir below:

"So, the Aspen Backcountry Marathon was much harder than I expected. I trained for a 4.5 hour run. I barely broke 6 hours. In fact, over half the racers failed to break 6 hours. Only two guys broke 4 hours. Racers with GPS said the course ended up being closer to 28 miles, instead of 26.2 miles.

The first 11 miles climb from town up a mountain to 10,000 feet. The views up there are s

pectacular. Most people walked big chunks of the first climb. I ran the whole thing. I ran down the other side of the mountain, and I was surprised how well I was doing. In hind sight I really wasn’t that far from the leaders. I started patting myself on the back. Then, around mile 20 I hit the wall. I couldn’t run uphill anymore. By mile 22 I was struggling to jog the flats. 

                                                                                  Drew in the zone

By mile 24 I was struggling to run downhill. With 1.7 miles to go, the course turned straight up another mountain. I didn’t see anyone run the final climb. I was next to an ex-Johns Hopkins University cross-country coach when I started the ascent. I was relieved to hear him cuss and say how ridiculous the course is. With about half a mile left 20 people passed me. I recognized them all. I had blown past them on the first climb. I thought: “So, that’s why they walked in the beginning!”

200 people signed up for the race. 173 people actually started the race. 164 people completed the race. I was the 72nd person to cross the finish line. That’s better than I expected. I think I was the only person with no previous race experience (unless you count sprinting for the middle school track team in the early 90’s). I was one of a very few people that had never run a marathon before. And, I was definitely the only person to complete the race in shoes from Wal-Mart.

I learned a lot, too. I need shorter shorts to look cool. Everyone sucked down gel packets and drank HEED. I still don’t know what HEED is. I stuffed my pockets with Snickers and drank orange Gatorade. I didn’t stop at any aid stations. I don’t see how people can mill around so much and then start running again. I guess I need cooler shoes, too. But I trained all summer in 2 different pairs of shoes. The total cost for both pairs was $34. Do I need to spend $120 on one pair? Nope.

My goal was to complete the race without injuring myself, so mission accomplished! See you next year Asssspen."

                                                                                presented by WalMart

Drew is running the Camp 4 Cart to Cart 19-miler on September 22. Good luck Drew!

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