The San Juan mountains beckoned for the second time in a month. As beautiful as they are, I hope to see them not shrouded by clouds one of these day. After pacing the Leadville Trail 100 last week, I was inspired to enter a race. The Silverton Alpine 50k takes place on a section of the Alpine Loop Back Country Byway between the cities of Silverton, Lake City and Ouray. These sorts of expeditions for me are usually an excuse to take pictures more than anything else. But with it being a smaller race and having been motivated by the Leadville weekend, I decided to leave the camera and just run as hard as I could.

Leila and I represented the Rocky Mountain Runners contingent. She posted a 5:04 for a win and a new course record. I lumbered in with a 5:23 which I was very happy with. Next time, I’ll carry a camera!