colorado springs / woodland park
WOODLAND PARK
Maybe one of the best kept secrets in American Distance Running, Woodland Park sits merely 20-miles above Colorado Springs on a high plateau with an altitude range between 8,500 and 9,000-feet, the elevation considered by sports physiologists as the “Sweet Spot” for altitude training. A friendly tourist town of 2,500, Woodland Park, sits just below Rampart Reservoir, a national park encircled by a 13-mile long dirt trail.
Other trail runs and dirt roads in Woodland Park offer views of the north face of Pikes Peak, considered to be America’s Mountain’s best profile.
COLORADO SPRINGS
Colorado Springs boasts some of the best and the most varied trails anywhere in an other-wordly geologically formed environment. With the back drop of 14,000-ft Pikes Peak, the area provides for breathtaking training. One of the best climates with the least snow along the front range of the Rocky Mountains, there is seldom any reason not to run outside. Some of COS’s ideal training venues include:
Monument Valley Park - a flat level loop allows for even paced tempos and mile loop intervals. An 80-meter short hill
New Santa Fe Trail - Stretching for more than 30-miles going north to south, the New Santa Fe Trail provides an ideal location for quality long runs. To the north, toward the Air Force Academy, the trail provides rolling hills at an ever increasing elevation. South of the town, the trail stays relatively flat and is the lowest elevation trail in town.
Gold Camp Road - One of the most beautiful runs in the Colorado Springs area, Gold Camp Road starts at just over 7,000-feet. Following the original road that brought miners into the mountains and brought gold back, athletes run through a number of tunnels carved through the rock of mountains and enjoy spectacular views.
Red Rocks Park - Another city park, that provides some interesting trails through a red rock canyon. Beautiful views of Pikes Peak, Cheyenne Mountain and Garden of the Gods.
Cheyenne Mountain Track - An idea track always open and adjacent to trails for warmups, Cheyenne Mountain Track is also the training venue of the Army’s WCAP (Word Class Athlete Program athletes)
