#60HikesDenverChallenge – Mt. Sanitas

(In 2017, I had a goal of getting through all 60 trails in the book “60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Denver.” I didn’t make it through all 60 that year (I only got about 18) or even in 2018…and now were into 2019. I still want to get through all the hikes in the book – eventually.  All the specific trail details can be found in the book or online, but I’ll highlight some things about each trail in addition to including my experience and opinion on the trail here. The numbers below are associated with how they are labeled in the book if you have it.)

I did this hike back in April when I was about six months pregnant (I just never got around to finishing this post).

Trail #3 – Mount Sanitas
Completed: 4/24/19 | Number Completed: 24/60
Mode: Hike with Ben, while pregnant
Location:  Boulder
Distance: 3.3 miles
Difficulty: Hard
Type of trail: Round trip; hard-packed dirt for half and very rocky on the other half.
Exposure: Half shady
Facilities: Pit toilets (pretty gross ones) and picnic tables. No water.

My Experience:
I actually really loved this trail, except for the crowds. This trail is known to have a ton of people and there is barely any parking. Despite that, this trail is actually quite nice! It has just the right amount of difficulty without being a gut buster. Ben and I did this hike when I was about six months pregnant and it took us a really long time. I had to stop and rest often, but we made it the whole way. We did the loop counter-clockwise and after seeing the side we went down on, I’m glad we did it this way. When you go clockwise, the uphill part is slightly shorter but way steeper!

Pros:
-Close to town; this trail is just outside of Boulder.
-Doesn’t feel close to town. Once you get away from the road, you don’t realize you’re that close to town until you get to lookout points and can see the city.
-There are a ton of other trails nearby as well.

Cons:
-Very busy! Even during a weekday, midday.
-No facilities. There is no water and the pit toilets are some of the worst I’ve seen.
-Not much parking; the little bit that is there fills up fast!

Tips:
-Bring Water!
-Hiking poles come in use for the steep downhill.
-Bring some cash! If you do manage to get a parking spot, it does cost ($5 I believe)!

Overall:
I would love to go back to this trail now that I’m not pregnant! It was pretty hard while being six months pregnant, but manageable. It’s a short enough hike that you could add this into your week for a training run or hike like the locals do. I do recommend this as a good trail for out-of-towners as well as a great example of a Colorado trail. Plus, the views from the top are worth it. To the east, you overlook Boulder and to the west, you can see mountainous landscapes!


Park Info

Get the book!

1st Third Of 2019 – Updates

Well, my monthly update posts didn’t continue from 2018, but I’d like to keep my blog as updated as possible….

While this blog is supposed to a focus on my lifestyle with racing (running in general) and wandering (travel), this year hasn’t brought much of either of these things. However, 2019 is bringing a lot of different type of adventures, one in particular! This July we are expecting a baby boy to join us in this crazy household – whether we’re ready or not. 😉

If you missed my announcement from my end of the year post, SURPRISE! Yes, I am pregnant! We know it’s a boy and his due date is July 4th! We are busy preparing for this little one while stressing about what life will become and the changes to our jobs, finances and more. It has been quite a stressful start to the year trying to figure things out, get the house ready (yes, it’s still a construction zone around here), all while balancing my many jobs. With all that, I haven’t been writing in my blog, barely have been posting to social media, and haven’t had time to hang out with many of my friends socially.

As for running…
While there are tons of strong women out there that run all through pregnancy, that has NOT been in the cards for me. Frankly, it just feels weird for me and kinda hurts, plus my heart rate goes from 65 to 130 instantly (which isn’t a great thing for pregnancy)! So, as much as I imagined being that super cute, running pregnant lady, alas, I am not. I see lots of happy running women on my Instagram feed and they make it look so easy! But for me, it is just not working.

For the first half of pregnancy, I didn’t have much “morning sickness,” just a lot of nausea,  and was trying to exercise regularly between walking, the elliptical and weight training, but as pregnancy progressed (and my work schedule got 100x more busy with the start of track season) I have not been exercising as much and it has been hard to start back up. Nevermind the fact that I am SO TIRED and UNCOMFORTABLE! In the past few weeks I have been trying to walk more and get some hikes in to stay somewhat healthy and as to not have to start from ground zero after the baby comes (because I do want to get back to running as soon as I can – I miss it).

As for the travel part of this blog…
That has also not been in the cards for us for a while; since last year really. We haven’t been able to take much time off with all our jobs, and with home renovations, pregnancy, and finances, it’s been pretty tough to get in any type of travel, even small local trips. We did get a chance to go to Florida for a wedding (thanks to Ben’s family) and snuck in a trip to Epcot, Disney World.

And for the rest….
Yes, I am still working three jobs (helping Ben with our own business, Golden Mountain Guides, marketing and race directing for 3W Races, and coaching high school track and cross country.). It was a tough end of the year in 2018 and into 2019 for Golden Mountain Guides as we try some new pricing and marketing things, but we’re figuring it out. My other main job has some troubles I won’t get into on this blog and track has been a little more stressful this year than it should be….but we’re making it through! We still have our priorities in sight and our minds on our goals and are working every day to keep positive! No matter how stressful homelife is and finances are, we know that it will get better as long as we keep working on it and wont give up.

The first third of the year was not how we expected 2019 to start, but we’re working through!

January:
-I worked every weekend day this month.
-Between timing and race directing (sometimes both on the same day!), that was 9 separate running events I worked. Woof! That was tiring.
-Pre-Season Track also started this month.
-I also got to attend the CHSCA (Colorado High School Coaches Association) clinic and listen to some cool speakers.

And a lot of those races were FREEZING cold to work!

February:
-The weekend working streak keeps going through February until the last weekend.
-We do get to go to Florida! Ben’s family helped us travel so we could attend his cousin’s wedding!
-While we’re there, we get to sneak a day at Disney World and we went to Epcot! We also visited the beach, Disney Springs, the town of Celebration and play some putt-putt golf. It was a much need break after working so much the previous two months.
-The end of February marks the official start of the Track season!

March:
-The running job scene starts to slow down this month, and I only work four events this month.
-Track season is well under swing and the meets start to ramp up!
-I get to hang out with some of my family members that involve dinners and maternity clothes shopping!

Sometimes this is want coaching looks like

April:
-We like to call this “angry April” in track because there are a TON of track meets.
-I race direct one event this month.
-And have lots of Golden Mountain Guides meetings.
-We celebrate both my birthday and Ben’s birthday
-And we also get to celebrate Ben’s sister new addition with her baby shower!
-Then, right at the end, Ben and I are both a part of our friend’s wedding celebration. We get to be part of bachelorette and bachelor parties, a bridal hike, rehearsal dinner and a wedding ceremony in the snow!


As we get into May, I’m a little over two months from baby boy being born and growing more and more nervous (as well as literally growing more and more). We are working on finishing up the nursery and getting prepared at work for maternity leave.

As for the blog, for now, you can probably expect random, sporadic posts, info on how pregnancy, work, and our house is going and probably posts that I have started and never finished as I go through my drafts folder of this blog! I hope you all stay along for the ride, even as Racing and Wandering turns into Less Racing and Wandering and adventures with a kiddo!

BibRave Product Review: Stunt Runner Leash by Stunt Puppy!

Disclaimer: I received a Stunt Puppy Stunt Runner Leash to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!


I have always wanted a hands free leash! Always. I just have never taken the plunge and bought one. I love running with my dog when I can (I ran with Tristan a lot more before he got old). I still run with him occasionally on shorter runs (and mostly when I’m not pregnant!).

When the opportunity arose to try the Stunt Runner leash by Stunt Puppy, I was very excited! Then, the leash came in the mail and Colorado got hit by snow storm after snow storm after snow storm and my only days off between jobs were freezing or snowy. Finally, this past week, I got to give this hands-free leash a whirl!

For Running:
Going hands-free with the dog while running was a huge difference! When you have a normal leash, no matter what you do, you can’t run with your normal form when you hold the leash. To get a close to normal arm swing, you need a ton of slack in a normal leash and thus create a tripping hazard for you and your dog. With the Stunt Runner, you can still take your dog for a run with you and run exactly as you do by yourself! It was amazing!

For Walks:
Even taking my dog for a walk with the hands-free leash was a lot more convenient than a normal leash. Especially on cold days, I can still put my hands in my pockets easier with the Stunt Runner plus I am able to access my phone and do other things without having to worry about dropping the leash!

Leash Details:
-Bungee Style Connection (to stretch and allow variations in stride)
-Adjustable Waist Belt (ya know, great for when your belly grows because you’re pregnant!)
-Adjustable Leash Length (To keep your running buddy at just the right length)
-Made with tubular webbing, back tar stitching, Stunt Puppy Alpha™ hardware, and Duraflex® buckles (the same stuff firefighters gear and climbing gear is made out of. i.e. super strong and lightweight.)
-Floating D-Right On the Waist Belt (this moves around as the dog moves around so there’s no tugging on your waist.)
-A static portion (for an emergency grab handle)

Overall
When I first started using it, I had to retrain my dog to watch out for my feet. With a normal leash, I could easily move my hand around to keep him at the exact spot I needed him. With the leash runner, the flexible, bungee part makes it so your dog doesn’t yank you around when your stride changes (this is a positive, but takes some getting used to). The hard part of this is that you have to make sure your dog doesn’t get too close to you. Now that I’m used to the leash and know exactly where to grab for the static portion, I’m getting used to adjusting my dog if he gets too close to me.

The leash was everything I wanted in a hands-free leash and more. Not only did it make my jogs and walks way more convenient, but it also exceeded my standards by being made from very durable material and the adjustability. I highly recommend this leash for people that want to run with their dog!


Get one for yourself:
The Stunt Runner Sells online for $44.00 at StuntPuppy.com


See what the other BibRave Pros think:
Jessica – Fun Sized Athlete | Sam – My Feet In MotionGoOutsideGirl | Preston Ramsey | The Valley Isle Runner | Matthew – Running Through Life | Andrea | Bluegrass BAMR | With Purpose and Kindness |

2018 in Review

We are already into the second month of 2019…. but it’s not too late for a 2018 recap, right!? I’ll keep it simple since I never did get my last updates post out at the end of the year.


2018, to say the least, was pretty chaotic and stressful. It wasn’t the year we hoped for, Ben and I, and we didn’t get to do all the things we wanted to, but that’s okay. Sometimes that happens. We worked a lot, A LOT, moved into a work-in-progress house, dealt with business stresses, and got some news that will change the rest of our lives! I’m not even going to look back on the new year’s resolutions that I set at the beginning of 2018 because I know I barely checked any of them off.

Here’s to 2019 being a new adventure with no expectations! There won’t be a New Year’s resolution/goals post to follow. I have no goals for the new year since it’s all up in the air!

2018 Recap (biasedly highlighting the fun/noteworthy things):

January
-Starting off strong with lots of working between 3W and Golden Mountain Guides
-I took a scuba diving lesson. I didn’t like it. Scuba diving might not be an adventure activity I get into ever.
-Saw Silverstein at Summit Music Hall (my favorite band).
-Went horseback back riding in Estes Park! That was pretty fun!
-And whet snowboarding in Steamboat Springs!

February
-Track season starts.
-Ben and I went to Red Rock, NV to climb, camp and run!
-I ran the Red Rock Half Marathon (one of the hardest half marathons I’ve ever done!)

March
-Nothing too crazy exciting. Track is in full swing (at least five meets this month), I worked three races with 3W Races, and a bunch of Golden Mountain guides things and meetings.
-I get accepted as a BibRave Pro!
-I start learning how to chip time races.
-I visit Fayetteville, AR for my Grandpa’s funeral but get to see cousins I haven’t seen in a long time!

April
-My birthday month!
-I went to Moab for a Golden Mountain Guides guided trip.

Those are naked people doing a photo shoot. In climbing gear.

-As I’m looking at my planner, I see so much ORANGE (my color coding for track meets). There’s 8 meets this month! Geez!

One of my Triple Jumpers. Look at the double arm action! #proudcoach 🙂

May
-A friend’s wedding!
-Track finished up with State (we had a handful of athletes make it in!)
-Ben and I climb in Eldorado Springs (one of the many times in 2018).

-We have a team BBQ with our Golden Mountain Guides staff.
-Ran Bolder Boulder again.

And they capture some terrible photos of me

June
-I ran Ragnar Trail Snowmass with the 3W Races teams.

-I help a friend with a course test run of a Beer Chase Relay coming to Colorado in June 2019!

July
-Rennaisance Festival with Amanda!

– I visit Philly for a Run Sign Up (running races registration platform) conference and I get to see the Liberty Bell and eat a real Philly Cheese Steak!

-Up to Winter Park for Cross Country camp.

August
-Cross Country season officially starts!
-A lot of work this month. Very exhausting between all my jobs with the start of the season.
-My first Water Relay with XC! (Two teams, one at a time you run down with cups of water. First team to fill a bucket wins!)

-We move into our new place! YAY! No more moldy, asbestos basement!

-Got in a Hike with Amy

-Went to a Peter Frampton and Steve Miller band concert!

September
-Another friend’s wedding.

-You should see my planner this month – tons of highlighted things between all my jobs!
-Ran the Race for the Cure with Mom.

-Ran the Fortitude 10k in Fort Collins with my friend Katja (and got to be on TV)!

October
-Cross Country finishes up with State! Our girls team and one boy get to race.

-Golden Chili and Beer Festival
-Golden Haunted Hay Ride! A hayride tour of Golden to all the haunted sites!
-I got to race direct my first TRAIL RACE! That was fun!

November
-The 3W Races racing season finishes up with two Thanksgiving-themed races.
-Westminster Trail Clean Up

-And Ben and I find out we’re going to be parents (See how I just threw that in there? We’ll see how many people read this far!)

-Got in a hike with Tiff!

December
-Finally, take a breath and look at the past year.
-Keep working on our construction project of a house.
-We take a mini vacation that ends up being more stressful than relaxing but we visit Mesa Verde and the Sand Dunes.

-And another Silverstein concert to finish up the year!

That about sums up 2018! Here’s to new adventures in 2019!