Rah Matt! Boo Steve!

I hate to continue a discussion that started last summer with Matt Carpenter’s article “Peaktus Interruptus,” but after two different responses I felt compelled to add a third. I ran my first Pikes Peak Ascent in 1983, ran the round trip in 1984 and have trained on the mountain every summer, running one race or the other when health permits. I have met Matt at Barr Camp and had a wonderful conversation with him, coming away with a feeling that my accomplishments, slow as they are, are just as important as his. After running the Ascent, I had the same feeling (and have had each time since) that he described to a “T.” It is not a put down to, or criticism of, Ascent runners as was stated in the January issue letter. Perhaps it takes having done both races to feel more satisfied (is that the right word?) with the round trip. In the years I have done the Ascent I have always followed the next year with the Round Trip — it just works better for me.

There is an organization of women who run the Peak called the Peak Busters. They’re based out of California but include any women who choose to join. Many of the women are triathletes, many run ultras, and all are very fir, both physically and mentally. Rarely does the conversation turn to ascent or round trip. As confident as I am that Matt was not putting down ascent runners, I am also confident that this group comprises many extremely authentic mountain athletes. In his letter, Steve Ilg starts by saying that Matt was not belittling the Ascent runners but then goes on to, in my estimation, berate them himself.

As one who is not a Trujillo, Sobal or Carpenter I have, in my own right, been following these super athletes, sometimes only up, for over a decade. I feel I have always brought myself to the level of the challenge, as needed for my own satisfaction, and hope this never changes. I hope it is any years before my exercise is limited to Stairmasters and that I can enjoy the challenge of mountain running for years to come.

Susan Cogswell
Colorado Springs, Colorado

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