mission

I will be running to the summit of Mt. Royal 365 times this year, hoping to raise food donations for the Family and Intercultural Resource Center in Dillon, Colorado. I also would like to inspire others to join me on the trail and to help those less fortunate throughout the year.

On top of my year long mission I will be running and representing the Leadville Running Company as a member of their 2013 Ultra Running Team.

Summit Daily News Article regarding the project.

Be sure to follow on Facebook


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Mountain runnin'

Wednesday: 65 minutes up and down Royal with a little added on at the end.
Thursday: Peak bagging with Sage and Jon. Mt. Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross (all over 14k) 3:00 3200 ft of vertical.
Friday: Tagged Royal with a few Miners Creek/Peaks Trail loops 1:50.
Saturday: Ran home from work with Jamie. Long and slow in the 20 mph winds and snow. 1:40
Sunday: took a day off due to the -20 temperatures with the wind chill.
Monday: Out to Breck via snowy bikepath and back via Peaks Trail. Snow up to my shins, impossible to run parts. 3:35
Tuesday: Royal 2x with some loops through the woods. Once in the morning with Summit Trail Runners and once early afternoon. Snow is making it tough. 2:40.

Video of us tagging some 14ers here.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Thanksgivng Week

I have fallen a little behind in my daily summits, due to various reasons. One including a sweet trip to Zion where a few of us ran the Zion Traverse. 48 miles and about 7500 feet of vertical which can be read about here, Jon Harrion's blog.

Big thanks to Sandi Nypaver for sending over a bag of canned goods - Good luck this weekend at the TNF championships!

Ran a new pr up Royal this week in 27:13.


Monday, November 19, 2012

54 Summits

Thanksgiving is this week, so if you can, help the food bank during this super busy time. I appreciate all the help and support I have received.

Big thanks to Kenny and Andrea this week for helping out!

Running:
Wed: Tagged Royal 3 times and ran to Breck on the Peaks Trail. 3:24 4k feet of vertical.
Thurs: Peaks Trail to CT to Miners Creek Road and up Royal 2:15 2k feet of vertical.
Friday: 1:45 with some Gore Range action and a Royal Summit 2k feet of vertical.
Sat: Ran home from work on the bike path 1:22
Sunday: New personal best on Mt. Royal 27:46. Up and down for :53 minutes. 1500 ft of vertical.
Monday: Ran up Quandary Peak (14,265). Up and down in 2 hours. Saw some awesome mountain goats (see below) 3100 ft of vertical.







Sunday, November 11, 2012

Updates

Running:
Tuesday: 2:01 total for the day including a Mt. Royal Summit...pretty slow pace..easy transition from 2 days off.

Wed: 2:45 Headed out on the Peaks Trail to Upper Miners Creek Road which climbs to10,550, back down then up Royal and did some flat faster work on the bikepath through Frisco. Legs felt real strong late in the run which is a good building point as Bandera gets closer.

Thurs: 1:30 with a Royal Summit thrown in. Legs felt really tired.

Friday: Those tired legs from above were even more tired. Royal Summit and back home 1:01

Saturday: FRESH SNOW! Lots of it on the trail. It probably snowed close to an inch while I was on the trail. Shuffled my way through the snow from Frisco to Breck on the Peaks Trail and down Ski Hill Road to make it a solid 2 hour outing.

Sunday: Ran/hiked with Steph for just over 2 hours. Out on the Peaks Trail over to the Upper Miners Creek Road TH. Snow was crazy. Temps -19 here with windchill. Legs should be fresh to start getting ready for Bandera 100k.

Monday: 1:21 with a Royal Summit. Met with Jamie later in the day and did 1:03 on the CT/Tiger Road.

Totals: 13:30 or so, with 13k of vertical

 Feeding the hungry!

75 pounds of food. Big box from Efren to the right. 10 lb bag of rice, and a lot of pasta!

Saturday, November 3, 2012

43 Summits

43 Summits so far. Below are some cool pictures from the top of Mt. Royal.

Keep supporting the food bank as we get closer to the holiday season!

Some updates on training:
Monday: 2:30 total with a Royal Summit
Tuesday: 1:30 in the am then 1:05 in the pm 3 Royal Summits
Wednesday: 82 mins with a Royal Summit
Thursday: Run/hike up to Royal with Steph then a hard hour (9 miles) to Breck. 2:20 for the day
Friday: Easy hour in the am with a pm hike to Mt. Royal. 3:20 Total for the day
Saturday: 1:30 with a Mt. Royal Summit then 1:02 with Steph around the bikepath




Wednesday, October 31, 2012

40 Summits

40 Summit Recap

Well in 42 days, I have reached the top of Mt. Royal 40 times. A lot of food is going to the food bank this week - close to 100 pounds thanks to the donations of Pete and Jodie Lefferts and old rowing/running buddy Efren.

The past few weeks have been filled with tons of running. Lots of volume in the realm of both mileage and vertical, and speed. I have put more 3 hours days in the past 2 weeks than I ever have in my life in such a time span. But I am having SO much fun. The cold, snowy days have been really inspiring and have been able to run/hike with my roomies and Steph a whole lot. I am also proud of my 9 miles per hour pace for some shorter attempts, as well as speedy summits.

Over the past 2 weeks I have met some new friends and supporters on the trail which always keeps my legs moving up the steep, snowy mess that makes up Mt. Royal this time of year.

I put a few races on the schedule with the help of Miles and Donna of the Leadville Running Company. These include the Bandera 100k in January and the Badger Mountain 100 in March. I am excited to race with some of the best and learn as much as I can.

With the winter approaching I look forward to meeting new people, helping the food bank, and running as much as I can. Join me on the trails!

Check out  the Leadville Running Company here!

Also, big thanks to Cliff Bar and Udo's Oil for their support!


Wednesday, October 24, 2012

33 Summits

I can't say thank you enough to those who have supported to the project this far. The reception in the community is bigger than I thought it would be. 

I have been able to speak with numerous Summit County residents out on the trail about a variety of topics, all leaving me inspired to slog up to Mt. Royal another time. We're at 33 summits so far and I am certainly feeling motivated and inspired, even as the cold is coming in.

I am most excited about my numerous trips to the food bank this past month with boxes of great food items.

Thank you for the support everyone, join me for a run or a hike!

Thursday, October 18, 2012

28 Summits

Big thanks to Nicole Beltz for her support from back East. Nicole is a great friend, fellow 7 mile islander and TNF teammate.

Also, big shout out to the St. Augustine Prep Community with their post.

Monday: Peak 1 from my doorstep in 1:39. I am certainly impressed with this time because of the techy/sketchy rock scrambling once I got over Mt. Victoria. Hit some side trails on the way down for a 3:02 with about 4300 ft of vertical.

Tues: Got lost on the Ophir Mountain trails before tagging Royal, 2:00, 2k of vertical.

Wed: AM: Met with Jamie for a loop on the Peaks Trail, then linked back up with Steph for a total of 1:53.
         PM: Tired, cold, trek to the top of Royal, back down giving me 2:53 for the day with 2k of  vertical.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Review of the Ultraspire Spry

I'm happy because I am confident in my gear, and playing in the mountains.
People have noticed me on the trail wearing The Ultraspire Spry. People often ask where I got the pack from, and why I am using it the way I am. I figured I would write a review on my new favorite pack to educate some fellow trail goers about the product...

Where to begin? Let me start with my personal background and needs.

I reached out to the good folks at Ultraspire for some support for my charitable project, 365 Mt. Royal Summits for the Hungry. I needed a functional, dependable pack that I could use all year. I expressed my interest in the Spry, and they sent me a pack to use on my daily runs. AMAZING. So, a huge Thank You to everyone at Ultraspire.

I enjoy running in the mountains year round. This means I need a variety of different items, depending on weather,terrain, and distance I will be running. I am not a big fan of dealing with bladder systems all the time (sometimes they're necessary) and I like to keep my hands as free as possible for rock scrambling and accessing energy foods. I also need simplicity and comfort that will work for a  shorter, faster run, as well as for a longer mountain traverse.

The Spry satisfies all those needs. The Spry is super lightweight and has a basic strap system across the sternum. I can throw a bottle or two in the front pouches (I usually use one 20 oz bottle), along with gels, a camera, gloves, hat, and trash (from my gels and anything found on the trails). If you handhold your bottles, there is even more extra room in the front two pouches. A bladder can be placed in the back pouch when needed, however when I have a bottle in front, an extra layer or two in a plastic bag works really well. Sometimes I stash extra foods back there for the group I am running with. Right now, as winter approaches, I am working on rigging an ice axe to the back. Overall, knowing I can store all my needed items while still be light and comfortable, goes a long way.

The Magnon Electrolyte pocket easily stores your electrolyte pills, or even a key or two. Its a magnetic pocket, which allows for easy, simply access. I like the long zipper pulls on the pack so when your hands get cold or if you have gloves on, they can be easily pulled. The extra straps and pockets up high on the shoulder straps allow me to throw extra gels, and like in the picture above,  strap an extra hat that I may need once I reach a peak or pass. You can also put your bladder's tube through the straps if you desire. The adjustable straps on the side of the Spry are super easy to use, and adjusting according to the terrain you are running is easy to do on the fly.

Overall, it is a reliable product, perfect for short or long adventures in the mountains.

Check it out and pick one up.


Thank you for reading and all the continued support.




Monday, October 15, 2012

Some really good times

Running is so much fun
Saturday: Met some great friends in Leadville, where we drove to Cottonwood Pass...Ran 23 miles through the snow up and over a mountain pass to Winfield (halfway point of the Leadville 100)..ended the day drinking beer and eating chili...You can read it about it here as Jon Harrison basically wrote the greatest synopsis on a day running ever.

Sunday: Hung out with my mom and pretty much just kept it low key. Body/mind had a rough week so it was good to lounge around with a few walks mixed in.

Monday: Up to Peak 1, tagged Royal on the way up and down. Really techy ridge as I avoided the normal route due to snow. I didnt trust what was under the snow, so I rock hopped the ridge to the summit in 1:39. Slowly made my way down (wishing I had an ice axe for parts) and tagged Royal again. Took some side trails down and made it back to the house in 3:02. Really fun way to continue the snow capped peak mountain running from this weekend.

Seeing a lot of people on the trail up to Royal running. AWESOME. Thanks for the continued support.


The start, 8:15 am, Cottonwood Pass
Im happy in the mountains with good friends

Made it up to the pass!

Beautiful Lake Anna and Mt. Huron




Friday, October 12, 2012

Lots of support and love

More, More, More, love from supporters. Its fantastic. Big thanks to Kyle Lefler, great gal and fellow UMW alumni for her support.

Tuesday: Up and down, nothing crazy. 21st summit. Lots of good convo on the trail.

Wed: Fun 1:40. Peaks Trail to Miners Creek Rd to a Mt. Royal ascent. Side trails down and back to the house.

Thursday: Great news from Kyle Lefler, more support comg my way! Running : Really quick up and down as well. Legs have been tired and mentally totally drained. 23 summits.

Friday: Mom was in town and she tagged her 1st Mt. Royal summit and aided in my 24th. Crazy cold, snowy, rainy, conditions that yielded a ton of fun.

Stay tuned for some sweet pics.

Thanks again friends.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Some pictures courtesy of Steph

Greys and Torreys

Steph and I on the summit Sunday

View of 70 and the Gore Range

The mountains are my home

Monday, October 8, 2012

The cold is coming...

I have been getting a lot of love and support on the trail from fellow hikers. The positive feedback has certainly inspired me when my legs get tired.

I thank everyone who has donated thus far, and who will continue to support FIRC.

If you would like to get together for a run, don't hesitate to contact me, my email is mikeamb1987@yahoo.com. I would love to get together with some fellow trail runners.

Sunday: Post two double shifts at work, I needed to spend some time in the hills. I left in the morning (it was 15 degrees) and my I sluggishly stomped up and down the peaks trail for an 1:05 out with I am guessing close to 1k of gain. I turned back and met Steph at the Mt. Royal TH in 1:57. We tagged Mt. Royal (18) and spent some time soaking up much needed sun and wind at the summit. It was still frigid so we headed down and did a little detour through the woods and through town. Finished the run at 3:05

Later in the evening I put up another summit (19) in a peppy fashion, up and down in 48:05. I then spent the night around the campfire by Rainbow Lake with Backcountry Brewery IPA and Ryan and Chris.

Total 3:53, 4k vertical.

Monday: Miners Creek Road to Peaks Trail to Mt. Royal Summit, back down and around through the woods and Frisco for 1:24. 1800 ft vertical

Stay tuned for some sweet pics courtesy of Steph.

Still no moose sightings in quite some time. Frisco is cold. Working doubles is lame.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Mt. Royal from my house


15,16,17

Running: It has been pretty simple and easy the past few days. Feeling really strong and fit.

Tuesday: :17+1:22. 1500 ft of vertical. 17 mins out with Steph, Restarted the watch and did some intervals on the Peaks Trails and tagged Mt. Royal towards the end of the run.

Wednesday: 70 mins,1500 ft of vertical, put up my fasted summit from the house in 28:20. The rest of the run was tempo pace, feeling really strong.

Thursday: 17 summits thus far. 75 mins, 1500 ft of vertical. Loop on the Peaks Trail, summit, back down around Frisco.

Cold weather coming up, looking forward to some snow covered peak bagging. Welcome Winter 50k in Leadville next week, super stoked for that. Especially with the get together after. Beer and friends.


 Dropping some more food off next week. Thanks!

Monday, October 1, 2012

30 pounds of food, 14th Summit

30 pounds of food is soon to be dropped off at FIRC - awesome job everyone THANK YOU.

If you saw the Summit Daily and would like to get in contact with me to pick up food donations, email me at mikeamb1987@yahoo.com.

Running things:

Sun: Ran with Steph to the TH, and tagged Mt. Royal (12) in 32:xx mins. Hung out at the summit and met Steph up there. I did a Peaks Trail/Town loop  back to the house in 1:05. 1500 feet of vertical.

Monday: 2:23 Total. 3500 ft of vertical. Doorstep to Peaks Trail to Mt. Royal Summit (13), back down out on the Gore Trail, spun, back up to Mt. Royal (14), down through the Peaks Trail/Bike Trail, back to the doorstep in 2:23. Legs felt kind of sluggish today. Still trying to work in the running  mixed with the steep hikes.

30 pounds of food!!


Sunday, September 30, 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

10th,11th, Summit Daily, Friends

 Many thanks to Abbey and Maura for their large, generous donations. I am very excited to drop off the first round of food this week to FIRC.

The Summit Daily is finishing up their story on the project. I met at the TH with one of their staff photographers who got some sweet shots. Big thanks to the Summit Daily.



Running....

Wed: Super tired and dragging. Tagged Mt. Royal for the 10th time and did a few laps on the Peaks Trail. 1:15 with about 1700 ft of gain.

Thurs: Little longer of an effort. Took the Peaks Trail to Barton Gulch, spun, and headed up to the high Miners Creek TH where I headed back down the 4x4 road. Intersected the Rainbow Lake trail and met the photographer in 1:48. I made my 11th ascent and back down for 2:34 with about 3,000 ft of vertical today. Pretty solid outing. I got in some good running as opposed to the big hikes, felt good to keep the legs turning over.

Its been over week since I have seen a moose...


Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Snowy Scrambles


9th Summit on the way down from Peak 1. Super cold and snowy up there (pics below). Tagged Peak 1 in 1:35, my fastest time yet. I am starting to get really comfortable in the alpine especially with the scrambling.

 Ran into some hikers on the trail who said they would drop off some food at FIRC. I am starting to feel like this whole project is coming together nicely.

Fun class 2/3 along the ridge

The last little bit of techy rock before the summit
Beautiful snow capped peaks

The beautiful town of Frisco

Cold, Tenmile Peak (Peak 2) in the back

9th Mt. Royal summit



Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Sunday, Monday, Summit Daily, Tuesday

I met with Paige from The Summit Daily today (9/25) for an interview on the project, it went super well and I was glad to really talk about the project.

Thanks to Efren Cazales and Amy Newcomb for their added support to FIRC. Both good friends and runners with a philanthropic attitude.

Sunday was laid back, ran to the TH with Steph and I put up an ascent in 32:xx mins. Our plan was to tag Mt. Victoria and Peak 1, but the incoming weather and wind turned us around. We trotted lightly down and home. Good off day that was needed after a hard  welcoming week to the high country.

Monday was a fun day on the trails. Ran with Steph to the TH then I headed up to summit for the 7th time in 32:16. Winds were whipping nicely. Steph caught up and I met her back at the house. I finished off by running the Peaks trail out to the CT/CDT and headed back Miners Creek Road for 1:47 mins today. Cool photo of the cliffs on top of Mt. Royal below.

Tuesday I got up early for a tired leg, slogging to the top of Mt. Royal. I took the peaks trail to the Mt. Royal TH and tagged the summit in 44 minutes (about 26 from the TH).  8th summit. Ill prob rest the remainder of the day as I plan to hit some high peaks later in the week.


Sunday, September 23, 2012

Friends, donations, photos, running

Big thanks to Michael Chau for sending some donations to FIRC from Maryland. Michael is an old running buddy I met doing the Ragnar Relay in DC. We ran the Stone Mill 50 together last year, and got together for some other training runs.

Friday was a fun day of running. Steph and I did just under an hour on the Peaks Trail then I met up with the boys for a evening ascent of Mt. Royal. Ryan Krisch got some sweet photos...see below.

Saturday was pretty laid back as my body was feeling pretty beat up from a solid week of running. I went from my doorstep on the Peaks trail to Breck (where police went into the woods looking for a moose with shotguns) which is about 12 miles or so to downtown Breck.

Thanks again everyone for the support, especially Ultraspire for sending me a sweet Spry pack this week...see below.




Thursday, September 20, 2012

Newspapers and mountains

Next Tuesday I meet with the Summit Daily to talk about a write up about the project. Pretty stoked for that. Some more food donations are coming in, so things are moving along pretty well.

And for the running...

Doorstep to Copper Mountain, up over Peak 5 and 6. Took a minute to bag Peak 6 and scramble on the ridge a bit before reconnecting with the Colorado Trail into Copper. Tough, long, slow ascent but the alpine was super runnable and the descent into Copper was super fast. Legs felt poppy.

Doorstep to Copper parking lot 2:54. Approx 13 miles or so with 3500k of climbing.

Made it back and Steph and I went up Mt. Royal. Steph set a PR on the hill and the descent was peppy and fun. Really fun summit after a day of hard running. Made it home before it got dark.

Great day, keep the food coming and ill keep running.

4:10
5,000 feet of climbing
4th Summit.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

A day of 2's

 Day 2
2 pounds of food collected!
2 Mt. Royal Summits

 First 2 pounds of food collected! It's very exciting and encouraging to get support so early in the project.

Went up solo this afternoon and knocked out a 29:06 summit from my doorstep. Came back and picked up Chris and made it up in 31:46. Quads felt a little beat up on the downhill but Chris kept me booking pretty quickly.

Splits:
Summit 29:06
House 56:56
Summit 1:27:42
House 1:46:39

Really fun day on the hill, 3k of vertical, 2 lbs of food collected, and another sunny day in beautiful Frisco.
Please drop off donations at:

FIRC Office:
103 Main Street Dillon, CO
Contact: 970-262-3888

Food Bank Donations are accepted Monday-Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm

If you are a friend from back home or would like me to pick up any donation, contact me personally and I will send you an address or set up a time to pick up.

Thanks!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

1 down 364 to go...

Stepping out of my house this morning, I almost fell on some ice. You know you live in Colorado when you have ice on your walkway in September.

A cool morning at about 35 degrees with bright sunshine facilitated some great running. I ran through town to the base of Mt. Royal and started the climb, my intention was to tag Mt. Royal on the way down after a summit of Peak 1 (12,805).

Winds were strong and I threw on a windproof shell and gloves as I made my way to the summit. Lots of snow up there which made for some really fun class 3 scrambling to the peak. Tagged Peak 1 and on the way down stopped at Mt. Royal for a gel and some water.

Back to my doorstep in 2:54. Really fun day in the mountains with about 4,000 feet of vertical.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Officially a Frisco resident

After my first night as an official resident of beautiful Frisco, I was able to get plenty of good running in both the morning and the evening. It has been pretty hectic the past week or so getting ready to move from New Jersey and getting everything set up for the next year that it felt good to spend close to 3 hours on the trails today. I got in a warm up summit on  Mt. Royal, doorstep to Summit in 29:58. I also have gotten a lot of help and support from my lovely girlfriend Stephanie in prepping this blog and facebook page.

Tuesday, 9/18 will start the official summits for the year, and donation locations will be posted accordingly. I will also have contact info for myself if you would like to get in touch directly. When I am running and routes I will do will also be posted for anyone wishing to join. I am always eager to run with new people.

Recap on the day:
AM: Peaks trail, doorstep to downtown Breck 1:50
PM: Mt. Royal, doorstep to summit, back through town 1:02