Today is the official launch of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons. (Yeah, pretty cool, right?!) I guess that makes it a pretty good time to announce the previously unnamed grand finale of our RFP Launch Week contests. We’re giving away a free entry into the 2011 GORE-TEX TransRockies Run held on August 21-26. Yes, you heard us right – the winner (and his or her choice of partner) will get to run all 6 days of this year’s race across the Colorado Rockies free of charge. If the winner prefers to roll solo, he or she has the option of running the coincidental three-day RUN3 event.
As it happens, this contest wraps up a week’s long series of giveaways to celebrate the launch of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons. Be sure to check them all out. (Feel free to spread the word.)
I ran the TransRockies Run back in 2008 and absolutely loved it. It’s like a week-long, running summer camp for adults. For six straight days the world class TRR organization provides a spectacular race with all the amenities. They also transport your gear from the previous day’s finish to the next day’s start, set up a tent village daily, bring in an oh-so-welcome shower truck (it’s the best!), cook up breakfast and dinner, provide access to massages, hold a daily award ceremony with prizes and video footage of the day, as well as dealing up numerous extras to go along with enthusiasm that’s hard to match.
Then there are your fellow runners. While I’ve not raced TransRockies in two and a half years, I still count many of those with whom I attended TransRockies among my best friends. Some were folks I previously knew, but with whom I cemented that bond on the course or hanging out with in camp. Others, I met for the first time at TRR. Spending a week with such an enthusiastic group of people (both racers and staff, actually) is something that you really have to experience to appreciate. For those taking part in the full GORE-TEX TransRockies Run, you run with a partner the entire race. This is a unique dynamic that, while possibly trying at times, is hugely rewarding.
Of course, there is a race. At the front of the fields (there are many fields – co-ed, men’s, women’s and both open age and 80+ years combined age), there’s stiff competition drawn by a combined $25,000 in prize money. Racing is fast and furious for these speed demons. That said, for the mid- and back-of-the-packers, the event has many different meanings. Some are veteran ultrarunners out there to enjoy the enjoy a week of well-supported running in breathtakingly gorgeous mountains. Others have never run so much as a marathon. For them, completing the event will be an accomplishment that requires them to muster all their courage. Regardless of reason for running, all must cover 119.5 miles with a combined 20,800 feet of elevation gain over country that ranges between 7,400 and 12,600 feet above sea level. Wow!
Starting last year, the RUN3 events occurs during the first three days of TransRockies on the same daily courses. The difference? You go solo. There’s no one to hold you back (… or to tow you). This year the RUN3 runners are scheduled to cover 58.4 miles with 8,600 feet of elevation gain.
How To Enter
The CONTEST HAS CLOSED for this ridiculous prize valued at $2,900! Sara M of Yarker, ON, Canada, pack your bags and your passport… you’ve got a race in Colorado this August!
iRunFar Reader Bonus!
If you don’t happen to win this contest, we can still help get you to the starting line in Bueva Vista, Colorado. All iRunFar readers receive a discount $200 off a TransRockies team entry or $50 off a RUN3 solo entry by entering TRR11IRUNFAR while checking out. Those looking to try RUN3, you’d best enter in a hurry, as there are fewer than 20 spots left!
