Starting August 25, 2023 at 03:24:30 AM I started at the Junction Creek Trailhead and started running the Colorado Trail from Durango to Denver, Collegiate West route. I finished the entire trail on September 6, 2023 at 11:29:07 AM at the Waterton Canyon Trailhead.
The trip was not without its challenges. Starting the night of the fourth day my left knee really started to bother me and hurt with every step. It felt like it was twisted and like the muscles surrounding the knee were pulling on it from every direction. Every step was painful. Massage of the muscles that tie into the knee offered some relief however the pain continued to return frequently for the remainder of the trip. I also had right heel pain probably due to tight calf and plantar.
My support team was awesome and a huge reason I finished the trail. My husband (Doug) and friend (Christine) started out the trip as my support team. Doug drove to various support intersections to re-supply my hydration and food needs, massage as needed and even run in from the opposite direction to pace me back to the next support point. Starting from Twin Lakes Doug paced me the rest of the way to Waterton which was HUGE. Christine drove our support van to various points along the way, worked on keeping my feet happy, fixed hot food and pretty much did everything as well. She paced me from North Pass for 4 miles which was a lifesaver as I was having a tough start that morning.
On days 2 and 3 Michael came and paced me from Molas Pass to Spring Creek. It was awesome to have him there on trail with me supporting and encouraging me. On day 3 after we had been on trail for about an hour (about 3:30 am) I saw the meteor that was in the news (https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/colorado-meteorite/73-53b2cade…). It came down right in front of me! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen!
When Christine had to leave towards the end of the trip Chad and Michelle showed up for a couple of days to take over Christine's role. They cooked food, drove vehicles around and picked up any needs we had while they were there.
After Chad and Michelle left, my parents, John and Selma were a huge help to us. They moved our van around to the last 2 spots we needed it to be as we moved down the trail.
Water and food was re-supplied at trail intersection points that my support team drove in to along the trail. At these points they would re-fill my water and trail food as well as check my feet and reapply foot salve (Squirrel's Nut Butter Happie Toes) as needed. I also changed shoes out once or twice a day as needed.
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UPDATE: Two weeks after finishing the trail I figured out why I had so much knee pain. I got an MRI of my knee which revealed that I had a small crack in my knee cap. No wonder I had so much knee pain.