Pikes Peak Region Trail Finder

By Elise Reuter, OutThereColorado.com

Few races are comparable to the Pikes Peak Road Runners’ Tortoise and Hare. The course is set up like any other 5K, but with one important exception: there is a handicap.

It's a calculated formula that is based on age, sex, height and weight. Each runner is given a handicap time: the “tortoises” start first while the “hares” start at varying times afterward. This unique setup allows everyone to run on a more equal playing field, making for a diverse group of winners.

On Saturday morning at Monument Valley Park, the setup led to a victory by 59-year-old Chuck Smead. He was followed by Connilee Walter, 38, and Charlie Gray, 58.

Photos from the race

“We try to make everybody equal, so a 50-year-old man can run with a 30-year-old women, who can run with a 20-year-old college kid,” said Woody Noleen, who created the handicap charts with Bob Mutu.

The pair based the charts on research they turned up regarding running times, and their knowledge of local racers. As the new race continues to gain more publicity, other companies around the world have asked for the spreadsheets to create a similar experience.

Saturday's race brought in about 150 runners, a record number since the event's inception.

For Smead, the 5K served as preparation for the upcoming Dipsea Race in San Francisco, which also has a handicap system. He was quite pleased to take home a trophy from the Tortoise and Hare with a handicapped time of 13 minutes, 28 seconds (actual time of 18:39).

Results from the race

This isn't the first time Smead has won a race in the Pikes Peak region. In 1972 and 1973, he won the Pikes Peak Marathon. In 1974 and 1976, he won the Pikes Peak Ascent.

“I plan to run the Peak in August,” Smead said. “I will be 60 then. I had the record on the peak a long time ago. I held it for 23 years. I wannt to try to get the 60 and over record.”

After suffering an injury, Walter came out to the race for a workout and to prepare for upcoming summer events. The trophy was just an added bonus.

“It’s a really fun race,” said Walter, whose time was 13:54 (actual time of 19:26). “I love the format of it, and that’s why I come out every year.”
 
The Tortoise and Hare is excellent for measuring race times through the years. Many runners use it as a key to determine where they are at for the rest of the season.

“It’s kind of a capabilities test more than a goal,” said PPRR member Jon Cornick. “So I need to work out more and do more speed work; that’s what my time tells me. It’s a novelty run, it gives runners an opportunity to see what they’re possibly capable of if they could turn the clock back and adjust the scale a little bit.”