I’m heading to Vail over the July 4th weekend and ran across the flyer for the “Hill Run” up Vail Mtn. Any of you other tri-folks ever do this event? Know somone who has? I’m considering it but being from the “lowlands” I want to gauge the difficulty. FWIW - I am about in 1/2IM shape at this point and will be doing the Muncie 1/2IM two weeks later. I was considering this for a hard workout run. Or…would I be better off (being only two weeks out from my 1/2IM) just going for a slow 10-15 miler in the valley?
I have done the hill climb and it is tough with some fairly steep sections and it is up a fire road the entire way with no chance to even out or go downhill. It is a fun race and great scenery from the top an definitley worth doing. There are all ranges of abilities and attracts some serious trail runners.
I think you can do it and recover in time for a half IM if you take your time and don’t try to blaze it, it will fulfill your hard workout run criteria. A run along the river isn’t a bad choice either. The hill climb will definitly be more demanding on your legs.
I did it a few years back…goes up to top of Vail at about 10,000 Feet. The views are spectacular. The elite runners can carry a pace of about 7 minutes per mile or maybe a bit faster.The rest of us mere mortals well…something slower than that. They have a big oxygen bottle at the top. After I sprinted with this guy to the top for the 3oth place he threw up!! LOL I ran it ok albeit slowly and lived in Boulder, CO at the time. Good luck if you do…its all uphill so won’t beat up your legs.