Bret C Stevens

Runners at the Colfax Marathon

This Sunday marked the seventh annual running of the Colfax Marathon. My training partner Anna was racing, and I jumped in at mile 12 to help her along. Here's what I learned:

10. There are a lot of super-fast runners in Denver. Few of them ran the Colfax Marathon. That's because the Bolder Boulder, the premier 10k in the state, is next weekend.

9. It's totally possible -- and totally okay -- to be passed by people in costumes during the race. Know that their victory is short-lived: They're the ones who will have to deal with whatever chafing is caused by wearing a tutu and angel wings on a 26-mile run.

8. A shout-out to the residents of Lakewood, who spent their morning cheering from their front yards. Some extra love to the guys who handed out orange slices around mile 15.

7. To the people with the balcony overlooking Cherry Creek who played the Rocky theme song on repeat: Thanks! But also, didn't you get tired of listening to the Rocky theme song on repeat for three hours?

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Jonny Copp's credo for the Adventure Film Festival he founded in Boulder was "Make Your Own Legends," and while the climber/artist/musician/writer/adventurer made many legends of his own before his death in 2009, one of his greatest legacies may turn out to be posthumous, thanks to the Jonny Copp Foundation that his family, friends and sponsors set up in his memory. The foundation is currently accepting applications for the third grant cycle of its Jonny Copp Award, "created to help support adventurers, artists, and environmentalists inspire others by sharing their true passion in life."

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Stephen Batura, "Stock", casein on panel

This week's review of Appropriated: The Chronicled West at the Robischon Gallery by Michael Paglia examines the show which opened back on March 29 and runs through Saturday.

Below are a few images from the show.

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Photo by Tim Kemple, courtesy Forge Motion Pictures

Erik Boomer sends it over Sahalie Falls during filming of "Nomad"

Over the weekend, director Skip Armstrong and the Carbondale-based Forge Motion Pictures crew premiered Nomad and The Mother at the 5Point Film Festival in Carbondale. The films are the first in a planned five-part web series titled Of Souls+Water, profiling five different people whose lives revolve around water; the series will be released online over the next five months through a partnership with NRS Films and New Belgium Brewing. We caught up with Armstrong for a chat about the series and a full look at Nomad, a portrait of adventurer Erik Boomer (video after the jump).

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The Van Zweden family completed the Colorado Trail on August 12, 2011.

Hiking the 500-mile Colorado Trail from Denver to Durango is one of the most epic -- and scenic -- adventures in the state, and it's a more accessible bucket-list goal than you might think: Last year the Colorado Trail Foundation added three kids under the age of twelve to its official list of CT Completers. Tonight at 6:30 p.m. Roy Van Zweden and his sons Jonas (8), Miles (10), and Eli (12) will be at REI Boulder, 1789 28th Street, sharing tales from their 2011 trek together.

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Selp portrait on Gasherbrum II by Cory Richards, courtesy Forge Motion Pictures

The American Alpine Club announced this week that Boulder-based photographer Cory Richards has won its 2012 Rowell Award for the Art of Adventure. The $15,000 award, which will be officially presented next month during Mountainfilm in Telluride, is named for photographers Galen and Barbara Rowell, who died in a plane crash in 2002.

"Cory is inspired by the human elements, man's struggle with the wilderness and nature," wrote members of the Rowell Legacy Committee, in his award citation. "He has the rare ability to capture the rawness in all of us."

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Via Facebook

A runner and zombie volunteer post-race in Atlanta.

Luckily, they aren't the running zombies.

The "Run for your Lives" zombie 5K obstacle course is coming to Colorado this summer, where fitness freaks bored by the running routine will have to dodge "zombies" -- volunteers complete with fake blood and lumbering steps -- as part of the race.

It's like The Walking Dead, but at a faster pace (although that's not hard to do.)

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The greatest adventures are always more about the journey than the destination, but that truism can be easy to forget when you can't wait to get that heavy pack off your back. If the actual hiking isn't the most enjoyable part of your backpacking trips, then you just might be going about the whole thing the wrong way, according to Boulder-based athlete Andrew Skurka, whose new National Geographic book The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide hits the shelves at local bookstores and gear shops this week.

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Fred Beckey, author of more than a dozen mountaineering guides, has made more first ascents than any other North American climber -- and possibly more than any climber anywhere. And that's not just because he's been at it the longest, though the fact that he just turned 89 and is still bagging first ascents is going to make his records awfully tough to top. Tonight at 7:30 p.m., Beckey will be talking about his latest book, Fred Beckey's 100 Favorite North American Climbs, to Patagonia Boulder, 1425 Pearl Street, where he'll be introduced by Patagonia CEO Casey Sheahan.

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Loveland Ski Area: As seen on TV

Update, 2:53 p.m., January 16: We've picked a winner! Check your e-mail to see if you've won. Thanks for playing along.

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Of course you watched the Broncos beat the Steelers on Sunday. And if you watched the CBS broadcast of the game, you saw footage of Loveland Ski Area on Saturday and all the skiers and snowboarders donning Broncos gear. Excellent "free advertising" for the ski area, which received a dump of snow after an early-season dry spell.

Looking to go to Loveland for free? We have two passes to give away. Read on for details.

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