2009 August 13 « Dirty Shoes

The High Country

Mountaineer Bowl

Altitude Camp

I’ll be running in and writing from Gunnison, Colorado for the next week or so. I’m here for work, teaching a ten-day wilderness medicine course at Western State College, one of Colorado’s several state schools. The drive today, about four hours from Denver crossed some of the finest scenery in the country, vistas that remind me what I love so much about living in the West. After checking into my room at the Wildwood RV Resort (which features a golf theme that my Dad would’ve liked), I headed to the track at the college for my workout today. A few members of the school’s national-champion cross-country team were stretching at the entrance and were happy to invite me onto their home track, a resource that is open to the entire community. The track, and the football field it encircles, have the distinction of being the highest in the NCAA at 7,750 feet. I got most of my workout in but I needed to finish early so I could drive across town to meet my co-instructor at the airport. Endurance athletes have long found benefit from training at altitude. No doubt the thin air here will help me get ready for the challenging workouts in the coming weeks. I’m looking forward to sharing this part of the state in my posts with you this week.

August 13, 2009 Posted by David | Running | Leave a comment

About

My Blog

images Welcome to Dirty Shoes. You’ll find details here about my training for the Denver Marathon and my efforts to support the mission of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Expect to find regular updates about my progress as well as features like my “Run of the Week”, sharing some of my favorite runs around the country, and “The Stamina Soundtrack”, a playlist of songs to keep you moving. I’ll also drop in tips and information about running, racing, and the landscape and phenomena that serves as the backdrop and inspiration for my running ambitions. This blog is an effort to give back to those who support my cause. I hope it will allow you to come along with me on this journey. Let me know what you think. Please share your thoughts and comments.

If you’d like to help me raise funds to research a cure for blood cancers and to support other families who are facing the challenges that these diseases bring, this link will take you to my fundraising page: http://pages.teamintraining.org/rm/denver09/dbraun

My Dad

Paul David Braun (November 29, 1944-October 12, 2008)

I’m running the Denver Marathon in memory of my father. During a full life, my Dad modeled values that I make every effort to live up to each day. He exemplified integrity, character, honesty, and faith. When he was diagnosed with a rare leukemia in 2005, my family was badly shaken. But his strength, pragmatism, and demeanor throughout the course of his treatment comforted me in difficult times and his providence, love, and foresight help me move forward in his absence. I miss him everyday but his spirit persists in many tangible ways. He does not live in my mind with the illness he suffered but rather in the many long and happy years that preceded it. For visitors who knew my Dad, I hope this site recalls memories that make you smile.

Running has been a rare constant in a rambling life. I’ve spent much of my adulthood moving from one place to another seeking education, adventure, and experience. In each new place, running has provided an opportunity to refocus and to know that place well. I’ve run along dramatic mountain ridges snaking through vast wilderness, and along cracked asphalt alleys slinking through urban districts. I’ve run along palm-lined beaches and along graffiti-lined bridges. Whether bounding down desert canyons, or cranking miles out on pavement I’ve found great satisfaction. Running helps me stay centered in a life that has been, geographically at least, anything but. It has helped me find peace during times of upheaval and clarity during times of confusion. It has given me gladness in times of hardship and novelty in times of dullness. I’ve had friendships built solely around running. It has been a big part of my life. I’m grateful that something I have a passion for can be used to purpose. I hope that my commitment to run in memory of my father will inspire you to turn your own passions to something greater. Or at least to go for a run.