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Post by Peter Bakwin on Nov 2, 2009 16:55:22 GMT -5
Andy Wacker set the N to S (43m22s) and round-trip (1h28m52s) FKTs on August 14, 2016.Dave Mackey had the previous FKTs, N to S in about 47m and round-trip in 1h34m29s, June 3, 2003.
The Mesa Trail is a gem of Boulder Colorado's City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) system. The Mesa Trail has to be one of the best and most famous short trails in the country. It runs 6.7 miles from Chautauqua Park in Boulder to Eldorado Springs Drive, following a rolling and very scenic route along the foothills, with spectacular views of Boulder's famous Flatirons. The trail was cairned in 1924-25 by Ernest Greenman and the Rocky Mountain Climber's Club. Originally, the southern terminous was in the town of Eldorado Springs, but this was changed in the 1980's due to land ownership and parking issues. However, the original alignment still exists as an "undesignated" trail. OSMP does not allow races on its property. Nevertheless, informal competitions occur from time to time, as they have for decades, out of sight of city officials.
During one of these informal competitions, on June 3, 2003, Dave Mackey set what was for over 13 years the FKT for the Mesa Trail in one direction as well as out & back. Starting at the Chautauqua ranger cottage (at the small concrete bridge) he reached the South Mesa trailhead in about 47m, and made the round trip in 1h34m29s. These times held up until Andy Wacker lowered the mark to 43m22s (N to S, starting at the gate at the bottom of the Bluebell Road) and 1h28m52s round-trip. Wacker's GPS track is linked below, and shows that he did not take the "Mesa Connector" shortcut near the south end, but stayed on the "true" Mesa Trail.
Of course with any classic trail someone will come up with an ultra-distance challenge. Paul Pomeroy and Mike Pont did 100 miles on the Mesa Trail in the early 2000s: 15 "laps" of the 6.7-mile trail. We do not have details such as their time or even when exactly this happened. Mike Priddy repeated the feat starting about 6pm on October 3 and ending about 1am on October 5, 2015, for a total time of 30h58m46s. Note that Priddy used the true Mesa Trail near the South TH, and did not take the "Mesa Connector" shortcut, which is about 0.1 miles shorter (and would result in a run of less than 100 miles over the 15 laps).
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Flatirons from Chautauqua, Boulder, CO
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Post by bill ahlers on Nov 8, 2012 1:35:21 GMT -5
Is there a grand master division for fkt's? If not why?
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Nov 9, 2012 0:23:32 GMT -5
No - we have never kept track of age group records. There are simply too many possibilities.
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Post by bill ahlers on Nov 10, 2012 10:49:43 GMT -5
I was just thinking a simple grand masters of 50 and older seperation considering most records are held by younger runners. I see your point though, if you have a GM then where do you stop. Is there a grand masters fkt's site that your aware of?
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Nov 10, 2012 18:31:03 GMT -5
Let me modify my previous note on age groups. While I make no effort to record the age of FKT holders, anyone is free to post here claiming an age group FKT. I suppose it could add a second layer to the verification issue: can you verify what you did (e.g. GPS track), AND can you verify your age? A photo of your driver's license might suffice for the latter.
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Post by bill ahlers on Nov 12, 2012 9:01:30 GMT -5
Yes I like that idea. Thanks Peter!
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Post by mcintyre on Sept 24, 2013 16:23:18 GMT -5
New to your wonderful site -- what a lot of fun! -- and I have a suggestion: why not send the question of age-grouping to your readers? Could also ask them for help/suggestions about how to handle the issue of complication. I have a whole lifetime of age group competition, including track running, roads and now ultras, and it has added a wonderful dash of spice to activities I love just because they are fun in and of themselves. My experience with age group anything (think about masters swimming and handicapping in golf) is it heightens the sense of community. Thanks very much!
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Post by Andy Wacker on Aug 14, 2016 12:42:12 GMT -5
NEW FKT Thanks to Dave Mackey for setting the standard in 2003! 13 years in Boulder is a good long run! 43:22 for North to South (oneway) and 1:28:52 roundtrip Start at gate, down from Chautauqua ranger cottage, turned at South Boulder TH, where trail meets parking lot. www.strava.com/activities/676019591/overview |
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Post by marcybeard on Jun 25, 2017 9:19:49 GMT -5
Hello! I'm planning to run/trek the Mesa Trail later today, N to S starting from Chautauqua and hopefully turning around at the S. Mesa TH to return to the north end. The goal is to post a female time, and I can tell you now that it will be easily beatable. I have a slightly gimpy knee, so it might not even be completed. Tracking will be via my InReach: share.garmin.com/MarcyBeardLooks like a great trail, I look forward to seeing it for the first time  |
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Post by marcybeard on Jun 25, 2017 20:32:42 GMT -5
Mesa Trail roundtrip completed today (June 25) - first reported female time (I have to imagine plenty of ladies have done it faster and I fully expect this to get beaten easily). North to South watch time = 1:27:03 (From the gate at the bottom of Bluebell Road to the South Mesa parking lot; I took the true Mesa trail and not the cutoff near the south end of the trail) Round trip total watch time = 3:03:51 (including a short break at the south end) All unsupported. That's a fun trail, nice climbing, great variety, excellent signage, a bit rocky here and there, and wide open running on both ends. Wonderful views of the Flatirons. Tracking file for my InReach and a couple photos attached. Blog post with my report: marcy-twss.blogspot.com/2017/06/mesa-trail-fkt-run.html-Marcy Beard ![]() |
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Post by marcybeard on Jun 28, 2017 7:31:17 GMT -5
I have a question about timing the runs. I've been using my (non-GPS) watch as my "official" time, taking pictures of it. Obviously that's not easy to verify by someone else. I also have my GPX file from the InReach. I've been starting the tracking on the InReach, sending a "Starting My Trip" message, putting it away (maybe taking a couple minutes to finish getting ready), then starting my watch. At the end I stop the watch, and within a couple minutes I get around to pulling the InReach out of the pack to send a "Done" message and stop the tracking.
I'm not certain yet if the resolution on the InReach is good enough to use for official timing. Looking at the data for last Sunday, it gives a total time of 3:05:30 (vs. the watch at 3:03:51), which I expect is pretty good. I've been assuming this is acceptable as a backup to the watch photos. But now I wonder if I should be focusing on the InReach timestamps for the official time? I can redo my times based on that, if needed.
Thanks!
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Jun 28, 2017 10:10:17 GMT -5
I think use the watch time. You have the InReach as backup. Ultimately it would be good to press the message button on the InReach when you start & when you stop.
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Post by marcybeard on Jun 28, 2017 13:46:49 GMT -5
I think use the watch time. You have the InReach as backup. Ultimately it would be good to press the message button on the InReach when you start & when you stop. Thanks Peter! I used the watch times above. For future adventures I'll focus on also getting the InReach start/stop messages closer to actual since it looks pretty accurate. |
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