TransRockies Run: Day 0, Stage 1 Recap

On Saturday, August 9, I completed the 2025 TransRockies Run! I trekked 120 miles across the Colorado Rockies with a total climb of over 20,000 feet. I did this alongside 540 other runners and with the support of over 150 volunteers! It was EPIC – and truly felt like a once in a lifetime kind of experience. I shared my journey in real time over on Instagram but I’m looking forward to writing more in-depth recaps here on my blog.

The TransRockies Run is a six-day stage race that makes its way from Buena Vista, Colorado to Beaver Creek, Colorado with stops in Leadville, Red Cliff and Vail. This was the 18th and final year of the six-day event as it has become logistically and cost prohibitive to continue on. Word from the organizers is that the permitting required to get the clearance needed from all the different towns has become nearly impossible and that ever since Covid, everything is so expensive that they are losing money to host the race. While understandable, it’s a huge bummer as this is a truly one-of-a-kind race. I’m just so grateful that I got to participate in the final year of TransRockies.

That said, TransRockies does offer some incredible three day events such as the Golden Ultra in Canada and Moab Run the Rocks in Utah. There’s also a very strong likelihood that TransRockies will morph into a three-day event based out of Nova Guides in Red Cliff so I’ll share details on that if it’s official announced. Crossing my fingers and toes that it happens because I would LOVE to participate in the future and I know some of y’all would love it too. Also 99.9% sure that I’ll do Golden and Moab at some point because I am now a card-carrying fan of all things TransRockies Racing (the parent organization for all these events). Note, they also host mountain bike races too if that’s your thing.

Okay, let’s get rolling with the Day 0 and Stage 1 recap.

TRANSROCKIES RUN DAY 0 

When I last left you, I had arrived in Denver and was awaiting my shuttle to Buena Vista. That’s where we’ll pick up here!

We arranged our transportation from the race to the airport through TransRockies Running. There were so many of us going from the airport to Buena Vista on Sunday that we were on a big charter bus. The trip ended up taking a little over four hours due to the bus having to take a different route than car traffic and a bathroom/snack break. While we were anxious to get to camp to get checked in and settled in BV, the scenery was breathtaking and seeing the Colorado Rockies got us pumped up for what was to come!

I shared my TransRockies experience with two trail friends from Charlotte, Elizabeth and Will. Elizabeth invited me on my first group trail outing last July and I quickly got hooked. By August, I was texting the group chat to ask if anyone was crazy enough to do TransRockies with me and these two quickly got on board! I found out about TRR from my Instagram friend Claire who did it in 2024 and shared her experience on stories. It looked so amazing and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I was so grateful that Elizabeth and Will agreed to do it with me. After we registered, they made the announcement that it would be the final TRR so our timing was perfect!

The bus dropped us off at camp in Buena Vista where we picked up our timing trackers, bibs, duffel bags and race swag.

There was a welcome meeting at 6:30p where we got lots of details for the week ahead and the first stage. We then took shuttle vans to our hotel in Buena Vista for the night.

You can choose to camp with the crew the night before the race starts or stay in a hotel. We opted for the hotel to get one last solid night of sleep and to organize all of our gear into the TransRockies duffel. Will was a rockstar and booked hotel rooms for us way ahead of time so we were able to get prime location on the front and back end of the race. We stayed at the Surf Chateau Hotel in Buena Vista which was right on the river AND at the starting line of the race!

It was getting pretty late at this point so we ventured out in search of food. Elizabeth and I landed at some food trucks (all of the restaurants had waits).

We started with pita, hummus, olives and fried mac and cheese bites.

I had a bowl with tabouleh, greens, falafel, gyro meat and tzatziki.

After a quick walk to the store to get a box of trash bags for our gear packing, we stopped into Louie’s for ice cream.

I went with a fruity combo of lemon blackberry and strawberry in a waffle cone. This was the first of many ice creams throughout the week!

Back in our room, we spent a while moving all of our gear from our bags from home to the TransRockies-issued duffel. I put Finn’s little troll keychain on my bag for a pop of cheer and so I could spot my black duffel in a sea of duffels.

I crashed the minute I got into bed and slept really well for a race eve night!

TRANSROCKIES RUN STAGE 1 

We were up and moving around a little before 6a on Monday morning for our 8:30a start. I made a cup of coffee in the room and got all of my gear for the day laid out.

• Running belt
• Hat
• Bra
• Shorts
• Socks (so comfy!)
• Bandana
• Sunglasses (10/10 recommend!)
• Trail runners
• Hydration pack (I wear an XS in this)

Also, a drop bag. Pretty much everyone used a drop bag every day even if we were starting or ending at camp. On cold mornings, it was nice to have your jacket on until the last possible second. I was also sipping a pre-workout carb/electrolyte mix every morning immediately before the finish so I’d stick my water bottle in my drop bag. I kept my recovery slides in there as well and it was so nice to immediately put those on after every stage.

All dressed and ready to go! It was about 55 degrees out but so warm thanks to the bright sun.

The balcony off of our room overlooked the start line so it doesn’t get more convenient that that! I didn’t walk out of the room until about 8:15a.

We brought our luggage outside. The duffels were transported to camp and our through luggage was stored until the end of Stage 6.

The energy at the starting line was electric! They played the national anthem for the US and Canada and then the song that would come to play in our heads all week long – Highway to Hell. It was our starting line “go song” every single stage. A TRR tradition. TBH, I think this song will now have to be on every single race playlist that I make.

A quick selfie and we were off! Elizabeth and I originally signed up to be a team which meant we had to cross the finish line together every day. That lasted all of one stage and we gave up on it and took the 60 minute penalty every day for crossing without our partner. Although we did a ton of training together, we’re both pretty independent ladies and the days were lonnnnngggg out on the trail. It ended up being best for both of us to race our own race.

Stage 1 was a DREAM for me! Here’s why:

1. I was just so high on adrenaline and couldn’t believe TransRockies was finally here!
2. My body was really tapered and rested for running and ready to gooooooo!
3. Even though it was a very hot, exposed and sunny day, the break in humidity from what I’ve been running in all summer in North Carolina was EVERYTHING. The air felt so light.
4. Even though we gained 2,000 elevation over the course of the 19 mile run, it was mostly rolling so I was able to really push the pace without the monster, long climbs that some of the latter stages would bring.

Stage 1 was the least scenic of all the stages. It felt desert-y, dusty and dry but still so pretty to see Mount Princeton, one of Colorado’s iconic 14ers, towering in the background.

There were four check points along the way and I quickly came to appreciate the glory of trail racing aid stations!

Every day we were presented with a full buffet of pbj, pretzels, pickles, chips, watermelon, oranges, Doritos, M&Ms, gels, electrolyte tablets, energy waffles, coke, ginger ale and much more. The aid stations also had sunblock, bug spray and first aid supplies and many had a medical team. They would even pack you snacks to go! It was awesome.

My go-to aid station selection became PBJ, watermelon, a cup of ginger ale and a cup of water. I saved my gel and energy chew eating for between the aid stations.

Before I knew it, I was crossing the river back into Buena Vista and a quarter of a mile from the finish line.

It was a euphoric feeling to finish stage 1 feeling so good and strong. (Don’t worry, I would die a little the following day).

The fun part of TRR was that rarely did we ever run the exact distance of the stage so I probably ended up closer to 122 or 123 miles for the week.

Here are some fun stats:

• Average heart rate – 141
• Run time – 2:41:55
• Walk/hike time – 1:42:33
• Idle time (aid/bathroom) – 13:06
• Minimum elevation – 7,883
• Max elevation – 8,730

And the Strava stats. 1) I came to love that Grade Adjust Pace throughout the week. 2) I am using Strava – let’s be friends!

There was a party in the river after the stage. I went in to my waist and it was gloriously cold.

Elizabeth, Will and I grabbed lunch in Buena Vista before shuttling to camp. Elizabeth and I both had salads with chicken, quinoa and hard boiled eggs. We were craving veggies and protein for recovery.

But lest you think we are no fun, we also shared a whole loaf of cheesy stuffed sourdough with mozzarella and garlic.

We called a shuttle to pick us up from downtown and take us to camp. The luggage crew absolutely crushed it all week with their handling of the bags. They were always organized by bib number and if you had a teammate, your bags were stacked together. The big purple bag is my Hest sleeping pad. It was a requirement that everything fit in your duffel but if you had a Hest, they’d transport it separately since it was so big only because Hest was a sponsor.

Each day when you arrived at camp, you checked in with the tent crew. They would mark you off and give you colored tie to claim a tent.

A whole sea of tents! How incredible is it that they TRR tent crew sets up and breaks down camp every.single.day. Can you imagine the labor involved to do this!?

The first order of business was finding the shower truck and then I made my way to the Elevated Legs truck to purchase a weeklong pass for compression legs. It was an extremely worthwhile investment and I think it made a big difference in my recovery each day! I did 20 or 30 minute sessions.

Dinner was a Mexican buffet and then we had our nightly meeting where they prepared us for the logistics of the next day. We heard from the race director, medical team, course creator and anyone else who needed to speak to us. After those announcements, they showed a video with highlights from the days’ stage.

After that marathon of a day, it was bedtime! I got my hydration pack and gear ready for the next day and was in bed by 9p.

Stage 2 is next!

QUESTIONS 

Have you ever run a trail race? 

Favorite aid station food? 

Last time you slept in a tent?