Train with the Fort Collins Trail Runners

Our local Fort Collins Trail Runners group runs year round on the Blue Sky Marathon trail system and other trails in the surrounding area.

Regular group FCTR runs include a variety of social runs, hill workouts, speed and tempo runs, and long weekend runs.

Click here to sign up for the FCTR Yahoo group for current updates.

To prepare for the Blue Sky Marathon and Half Marathon, we recommend the following runs. Details are announced weekly on the FCTR Yahoo Group.

Hill Workouts

Towers Rd Time Trails
Soderberg Trailhead
Every other Thursday at 6pm

We meet every other Thursday evening at the Soderberg Trailhead for a handicap time trial ascent up Towers Rd. The route is 3.4 miles from the trailhead to the first set of Towers on the left at the top. Total elevation gain is about 1700ft and it takes anywhere from 28:50 (Sam Malmberg’s current FKT) to about 75 minutes for runners to get to the top. Runners who plan to reach the top in 50 minutes start at 6pm. Anyone who needs more time can show up early and estimate their own handicap (i.e. a 60 minute ascent estimate would start at 5:50pm). Faster runners will start later based on their ascent estimate or previous PR time. Everyone gets to the top at about the same time so no matter how fast or slow you are, you’ll have some good encouragement and competition on the way up. Once everyone meets at the top, we jog back down the hill together.

For marathon runners, this is an essential workout since the course will go up the first 2 miles of Towers Rd and will have plenty more hill climbing through the rest of the race. But this is one of the best ways to boost cardio fitness, leg strength, and endurance for any runner.

For more info on the Towers Rd Time trials and previous results, you can read Nick Clark’s blog reports online here:
http://irunmountains.blogspot.com/search/label/Towers

Social Runs

These aren’t necessarily the best "workouts" to train for your race but they make nice recovery and taper runs. And you’ll have the opportunity to meet the race committee and other runners training for the Blue Sky marathon races.

Trailhead to Trailhead Social Run
Reservoir Ridge (at the end of Michaud Lane)
Every Tuesday 6pm
We run a 3.75 mile loop around the ridge and stop several times along the way to make sure no one gets left behind. After the run, we head down to the Trailhead in Old Town for 2-for-1 burgers or veggie burgers and beers.

Thursday Pineridge Social Run
6pm at the Dog Park at the end of Horsetooth
Every other Thursday at 6pm
We run a casual 5 mile loop around the Pineridge natural area with several stops along the way. There are also options to shortcut if anyone wants to run less. After the run, race committee members Alex and Ean May host a BBQ at their house around the corner from the park. Feel free to bring a side dish, drinks, or a couple dollars to chip in.

Long Runs

We do not have any formal long training runs planned but anyone is welcome to post an invite on the Fort Collins Trail Runner’s group to coordinate a group run. Someone from the FCTR group is always going out for a run somewhere every weekend.

For the marathon, here are two ideas for ideal long training runs:

Blue Sky to Devil’s Backbone:
Start at the Soderberg Trailhead and run the full length of the Blue Sky trail to the Devil’s Backbone trailhead and back. If you skip the Indian Summer Loop, the total distance is about 20 miles. Add about 1.25 miles if you add the Indian Summer loop. There is a water pump at the Devil’s Backbone trailhead where you can refill. Just note that you will not run all the way to this trailhead during the race but you can get familiar with the loops in Devil’s Backbone and note the turn around location at the end of the Hunter loop. This is also a great training run for anyone traveling up from the south since you can save some drive time by starting at the Devil’s Backbone trailhead in Loveland. Devil’s Backbone is also a free trailhead – the Soderberg and Blue Sky trailheads both charge a $6 day fee.

Horsetooth loop plus the Blue Sky Half:
Start at either the Blue Sky or the Soderberg trailhead and run the first north section of the marathon course in Horsetooth. Refill water back at the trailhead and then run the Blue Sky Half Marathon route around the Indian Summer loop and back. This is a perfect 20 mile training run that combines the harder hill climbing at the start of the race with the rolling hills of the Blue Sky trail.