| Marathon notes: 'Super Dave' Sorensen does it all |
| Sunday, August 21, 2011 20:26 |
|
JOE PAISLEY AND KEVIN CARMODY, THE GAZETTE ‘Super Dave’ Sorensen does it all for races One of the busiest of the 800 volunteers at the 2011 Pikes Peak Marathon on Sunday is arguably one of the most valuable. “We call him ‘Super Dave’ Sorensen,” race director Ron Ilgen said of the event’s official timer. “He just does a little bit of everything. He’s first on the site at 3:30 a.m. and then he rides off into the sunset. Literally, since he’s often the last to leave. Sometimes it is dark before he goes.” The self-effacing Colorado Springs resident was always in motion as the runners approached the finish line in downtown Manitou Springs whether he was double-checking the timers, adjusting banners and ripping up the little pieces of tape that hold the official results up for runners to check their finish. He was in earlier setting up the barriers, wiring and scaffolding long before the race began at 7. “I just want to give something back to the sport,” he said. “I’ll never be a great participant so I try to do other things.” That means working most every weekend as the official timer for Pikes Peak Roadrunners, which was hired by the Marathon organization. “He’s just tireless,” Ilgen said. “He just does his job, gets it right, and then goes home. He’s real unassuming and comes back ready to go again the next time.”
“I’m just part of the team,” Sorensen said. This year’s Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon featured the debut of the HydraPour system, a portable plastic pouch that served as an alternative to paper cups. But the cups aren’t going anywhere, yet. “We just introduced it, to put it out there so they knew what it’s about,” Ilgen said. “Folks are conscious about litter, and I know the runners will support it. It’s just an educational process for them.”
Ilgen estimated that 25,000 cups were used at the seven aid stations over the duration of the two races. Consider the feat once accomplished by Marshall Ulrich. In 1993, he completed the Leadville Trail 100 Run and the Pikes Peak Marathon in the same day. Ulrich hoped to see Colorado Springs runner Dan Vega repeat the historic double, but Vega, who was registered for the Pikes Peak Marathon, did not finish the Leadville portion of the weekend. “We joked about it for a few years, but I wanted to show that it could be done,” said Ulrich of Idaho Springs, who recently released his first book, “Running on Empty.” “Back then, I was the first Colorado finisher in Leadville and the last Colorado finisher in the Pikes Peak Marathon. Going up was very slow and hard, but people can do more than they can conceive. The only limitations are in your mind.” Mexican runner really knows about altitude By living in Mexico City, Alejandro Lopez Reyes trains at an altitude of 7,390 feet, advantageous in his training for Sunday’s Marathon. But it’s what he does for a living that really gets him off the ground. That’s because Lopez Reyes has spent the past 20 years as a commercial pilot with Aeromexico. Lopez Reyes flew to Colorado Springs for the first two Triple Crown of Running races — the Garden of the Gods 10-Mile Run and the Summer Roundup Trail Run. He did not take part in the Pikes Peak Ascent.
“I’m here on vacation, and I really like Colorado Springs,” Lopez Reyes, 42, said. “To me, it’s very quiet and has nice people. I’m thinking my next goal is the Leadville 100 next year, but after that, I’d like to come back here in 2013.” |
