+ Thursday night run: Red Rocks (P=3, T=1-3, N=2)**

+ Saturday Evergreen Runners Circle run: Upper Bear Creek Rd, 5mi mark (T=1, P=2, N=1)**

+ Tue morning runs: South Table Mtn (T=3, P=2, N=4)**

+ Rocky Mountain Road Runners

+ Carpool to events

+ Races, clinics and other upcoming events

This Thursday evening's run is at Red Rocks (P=3, T=1-3, N=2)**. The main group will start at 6:15pm. An early group usually starts around 5:30pm; look for Scott, Ray, Connie or Kim.

Directions: Meet at Trading Post, just below the ampitheatre at Red Rocks.

From C470, take the Morrison exit. Head west, through the town of Morrison. Go past the traffic light at hwy 8. Take the next right and follow the signs to the Trading Post.

From I-70 (from central Denver, take hwy 6 to I-70), take the Red Rocks/Morrison exit, #259, and go south. About 1 mile down the hill, turn right into Red Rocks and follow the signs to the Trading Post.

Route (see attached): There are both road and trail options. The road is a good hill workout, has almost no traffic, and can be run without lights.

Road (T=1, P=3, N=3): Follow the yellow line. Starting at the Trading Post (TP), head down the hill. At the first junction (L), take a left and follow the road ~½mi to the Will Call booth. Take the next left on the dirt road (D1). Go left up the dirt road to the next paved road (D2). Go left up the paved road. At the 3-way junction (3-WAY), go left and head back towards the TP. Go right just before TP. This road winds down hill for about 3/4 mi. At the road junction (B), make a sharp left and head up the road to the next junction (L). You've gone ~3.7mi. From here, you can repeat the loop, staying straight at L the first time, then going left and returning to TP the next lap, for 7.4mi. You can repeat just the lower loop (TP-B-L-TP) for 6.1mi. Repeating just the upper loop (D1-D2-3WAY-TP) is 5.3mi.

There are several ways to add more. From 3WAY, run up-and-back either to the observation point (OBS), 0.7mi; through the tunnel to the upper lot (UL), 0.9mi; or both, 1.5mi.

The dirt road from D1 to D2 may be muddy, so be prepared to improvise.

Trail (T=3, P=3-4, N=2): Follow the purple line. Starting at the Trading Post (TP), head up the hill past the ampitheatre. Just before 3WAY*, faster runners should look for a trail on the right. Take the trail down the hill, then parallel the dirt road up to D2. Slower runners should go right on the road to D2. At D2, take the Red Rocks trail up into Matthews Winters park. At RR*, ~0.7mi up, stay right at the trail junction and follow the trail around the plateau. To avoid any major climbs, continue to MS or beyond; and return the same way. If you're looking for more hills, continue around to MS*. The trail comes in from behind. Take a sharp left, climb up the switchbacks (this trail can be icy), across the plateau, then down the other side. Stay right at RR and down the trail to D2. For a shorter way back, at D2, go right to 3WAY, then left to TP. For a little longer return, follow the dirt road from D2 to D1; go right on the paved road; about a 1/3-mi up, take the trail back up to TP (red on the map).

* Regrouping points. Please wait for new runners.

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This Saturday's Evergreen Runners Circle (ERC) run is at Upper Bear Creek Rd, 5mi mark (T=1, P=2, N=1)**. The run starts promptly at 8:30am.

This is a good winter running location. The run is out-and-back on lightly traveled and maintained paved and dirt roads. Start running up the paved road. After ~¾ mile, the road curves left and goes up a short hill. After the hill, go right onto the dirt road. It's another 2+ miles, gradually uphill, to the turnoff to the Elk Preserve. Stay straight another 100 yards, to the end, and turn around there. Or, go left and continue another mile up to the Elk Preserve gate.

Take the Evergreen Parkway, hwy 74, exit 252 from I-70. Take hwy 74 about 7 miles, through Bergen Park, past Elk Meadow, down the hill, towards the lake. As you are coming down the hill before the lake, just before the road curves left, veer right onto the short frontage road, then turn right at the Stop sign onto Upper Bear Creek Rd. Go 5mi up the road. Meet at the dirt turnout at the 5mile marker.

The ERC runs are usually 60-90 minutes long. Occasionally, some people will start early, or run longer, to get in more mileage. They usually go out for coffee/breakfast afterwards. Several of us do the ERC runs, but I don't organize them. Please forward your questions to Dave via the ERC link below. For more info about the ERC schedules, go to:

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Lodge/7018/index.html

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Directions: Meet at the NREL visitors' lot. Take I-70 to Denver West Blvd. Go north to the first street. Turn left. Go 2 blocks to the NREL lot. From 6th ave, exit at Indiana. Go north to Colfax. Turn right and continue past the shopping center on the left. Turn left at Denver West Marriott Blvd. Go over I-70 and follow the directions above. There are no bathrooms or changing facilities at this site.

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Many of you know that I am actively involved in the Rocky Mountain Road Runners (RMRR).

RMRR is Colorado's oldest (45 years) and largest (600+) running group. The membership ranges from kids, to those in their 70s. The bulk of the membership is middle of the packers, but there are those with mid-30s 10k speed, to those running 60+ minutes. There is also a contingent of race-walkers.

The Trophy Series (TS) is one of the key features of the club. The TS races use a handicap start and scoring system. Racers are assigned start times based on their previous performances with the slowest runners and walkers start first. The winner is the first person to cross the finish line. This way, everyone has an equal chance of winning. You accumulate points, throughout the year, based on your finishing position. The TS races are held once a month, Jan-Dec, from 2 to 10 miles, from Waterton Canyon to Westminster. The TS races are free for members.

Other member benefits include discounts to area running stores, discounts for other club races, weekly track workouts during the warmer months, and other weekly group runs.

With the start of the new year, now is the time to consider joining RMRR.

The first TS race of the year is this Sunday, Jan 9, 10km. For more information, go to www.rmrr.org, or call 303-871-8366

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Let me know and I'll post your request in the weekly messages.

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1/19, 5:30pm; Nighthawks Nordic Series, ski & snowshoe races; Eldora Mtn, Nederland; 303-440-8700 x267

1/22; Pazzo's Colorado State Championships at Meadow Mtn.; 9mi snowshoe; Minturn; 970-845-0931

1/26, 5:30pm; Nighthawks Nordic Series, ski & snowshoe races; Eldora Mtn, Nederland; 303-440-8700 x267

1/29; Cordillera Snowshoe Adventure; 5K/10K; Edwards; 970-581-5254

2/5; Snowshoe (and ski) Orienteering; Frisco Nordic Center; www.rmoc.org

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** Trail Rating - 1-5 scale, 1 being the easiest.

T = technical difficulty (rocks, narrow, curves, etc.)

P = physical difficulty (length, steepness and number of climbs)

N = navigational difficulty (ease of following the routes)