Aug Roll Call (Pat)

Living In Faith Exchange Runners (LIFER's)
* Shane, John, Tracy, Steve, Chad, Bill, Rich, Courtney, Angi, Pat, Scott, Ben, Doug
* Team blog at marathon-for-life.blogspot.com.
* Team mission: God first, ProLife, encouragement, fitness!
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Hi, LIFER's Team!

For several of the C. Springs LIFER's, the highlight of this past month was the Pikes Peak Ascent (Scott), Ascentathon (Steve, Angi, read below), and the Marathon (Doug, Pat). For the marathon, Doug and I dealt with snow/ice packed trails for the top 2 to 3 miles of the mountain (picture from Sun morning attached). This was nothing compared to what Scott, Steve and Angi encountered...as well as Steve's wife (Tina) who was waiting for them at the top (see comments below)!

* Steve Simon said: "I was about ¼ mile from A-Frame when runners started coming back saying it was closed. I pressed on until the aid station. I was cold and tired, but still disappointed. I think they made the right decision, though, because I would have continued if they’d not closed the course. I ran part way down with a guy who made it about a mile past the treeline and turned around on his own because it was so nasty. I talked to a guy who finished and he said letting them go was a mistake. Said it was way worse than 2005. The run down wasn’t as bad as I always thought it would be. Maybe I’ll do the marathon someday. I went back Sunday to get my drop bag, and they gave me the finisher shirt and medal. Said we finished the new event, the “Ascentathon.”

* Tom Lear said: "I was at the top from about 0630 organizing the finish line, and I can vouch for the miserable conditions. Just over 750 folks finished out of the ~1960 folks registered for the Ascent, and about 80 of them were treated for hypothermia, including the #2 male finisher. The biggest problem was people were soaked before they got to altitude. It just got worse as the day went on and conditions became very unsafe. Although it would have been quicker for runners to get to the top in most cases, the issue was the exposure to lightning, hail, freezing temps, etc. I know I couldn’t feel my fingers and toes after being up there for awhile, and I went through every piece of dry clothing I had. Under normal conditions, most well-trained runners take an hour and a half to get to the top from A-Frame. As an FYI, it took me almost 2 hours with the ice and snow-pack on Sunday, plus the fact that runners (sliders) were coming down the mt at that point (16 golden stairs were almost hand over hand)."

* Faith note: Last week, my Grandma Mary passed into the Kingdom, and I spent three days in Sioux Falls. On Sunday morning just before departing for the Marathon, a fox calmly came up on the porch of our house and sat down for at least 10 seconds while Doug, Steve, Courtney, Angi and I watched it through the glass screen door (5 or 10 ft in front of us). Steve and I took this as a God Sighting from my Grandma Mary. Thank you Lord for helping us see You amongst the distractions of the world. Amen.

Training: Looking forward to the group long runs on the weekends now that the Peak training is over.

Runner Updates: Hope to get a Roll Call from everyone...

ProLife Ministry Fundraising: Let's reach out to our friends and family to support our cause ($/mile). Angi and I are running to support the new local Pregnancy Center in Old Colorado City.

Run for ProLife,
Pat (aka M.A.)
Phil 4:13