Sometimes living in Boulder is hard work
Published in the Boulder Daily Camera, May 28, 2011
Boulder is a great place to live, but sometimes it is really hard. Sure, everybody knows that housing costs here are ridiculous and it’s tough to find a good burger for under ten bucks, but, let’s forget these well worn complaints and consider something Boulder demands that’s well worth it – in Boulder, to fit in, you have to be fit.
Boulder is a Mecca for fitness. I grew up in Buffalo, New York where exercising was an oddity for people over the age of 21 (actually, 18 before they raised the drinking age). When my wife and I moved here 30 years ago, we knew right away that this town was different. I was caught up in the short-lived jogging craze (started by Forest Gump according to Paramount Pictures), so I assumed that everyone running around Boulder was too. One night during our first spring here, we were having dinner with Our New Friend Stan. He asked me what I did for exercise (a Boulder question in and of itself) and I told him I jogged. He mentioned this 10k race that had started a few years back and two weeks later, I ran my first Bolder Boulder. Thirty years later, I still run the Bolder Boulder every year. I tell myself it’s my annual physical, since, when I cross the finish line, the clock tells me about as much as I need to know about my health. Great stuff, and it appears that about 50,000 other folks, including my children and grandchildren, find the same joy in communal exercise immediately followed by a beer and a show at Folsom Stadium that is unlike anything else in the world. And, I still hang out at the Stadium with My Old Friend Stan who is now one of Boulder’s Boldest who has run every single one. A few years ago, he even timed his knee replacements so he could run the race. That’s the price we are willing to pay to stay fit.
While the Bolder Boulder is still the marquee event in Boulder fitness, Boulder has become a town unique in the world of endurance sports. I suppose the diversification started when local favorites Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney started winning bike races, and, suddenly, there were bike races going on all over town. Next thing I knew, I was riding my bike to work and spending vacations doing bike trips. Two years ago, I took my family, including our 2 year-old grandson, on a bike trip and he loved it. Hard work, but, hey, I live here and it’s what we Boulderites do.
Then my kids got involved in the Boulder Valley Summer Swim League. Anyone in Boulder who has participated in this knows what a wonderful competitive program they have in one of the few sports where a whole family of siblings can be part of the same team. So, for 10 years, my wife and I spent summer Saturday mornings by the pool shouting words of sporting wisdom to our children such as “go faster” and “don’t breathe.” They worked harder than I did, though.
When my son started college, he (and many others) decided to put it all together and started doing triathlons. I guess the Boulder fitness bar was just moving a little farther up. Then, I heard about the Ironman – a 2.4 mile swim (in the ocean, nonetheless), a 112 mile bike ride and then a marathon in one day? Nobody can do that! But, lo and behold, Boulder is now home to many Ironman World Champions and medal winners, and based on the chatter at my health club, just about everybody is training for one. Last November, I enjoyed one of my finest moments watching my son complete his first Ironman in under ten hours. It took him all of half an hour after the race to forget the pain and start planning the next one. And I thought I worked hard…
But, I’m not done paying for this Boulder life. For Christmas, my son’s gift to me was signing me up for the Boulder Peak Triathlon. So, I am now swimming, biking, and running to get in shape for this July event. It’s all hard work; I am swimming miles in beautiful oceans and lakes, riding my bike through spectacular mountains, and running some wonderful trails. And I’m more fit than ever.
No sir, sometimes Boulder living ain’t easy, but it’s sure worth it.
Boulder is a great place to live, but sometimes it is really hard. Sure, everybody knows that housing costs here are ridiculous and it’s tough to find a good burger for under ten bucks, but, let’s forget these well worn complaints and consider something Boulder demands that’s well worth it – in Boulder, to fit in, you have to be fit.
Boulder is a Mecca for fitness. I grew up in Buffalo, New York where exercising was an oddity for people over the age of 21 (actually, 18 before they raised the drinking age). When my wife and I moved here 30 years ago, we knew right away that this town was different. I was caught up in the short-lived jogging craze (started by Forest Gump according to Paramount Pictures), so I assumed that everyone running around Boulder was too. One night during our first spring here, we were having dinner with Our New Friend Stan. He asked me what I did for exercise (a Boulder question in and of itself) and I told him I jogged. He mentioned this 10k race that had started a few years back and two weeks later, I ran my first Bolder Boulder. Thirty years later, I still run the Bolder Boulder every year. I tell myself it’s my annual physical, since, when I cross the finish line, the clock tells me about as much as I need to know about my health. Great stuff, and it appears that about 50,000 other folks, including my children and grandchildren, find the same joy in communal exercise immediately followed by a beer and a show at Folsom Stadium that is unlike anything else in the world. And, I still hang out at the Stadium with My Old Friend Stan who is now one of Boulder’s Boldest who has run every single one. A few years ago, he even timed his knee replacements so he could run the race. That’s the price we are willing to pay to stay fit.
While the Bolder Boulder is still the marquee event in Boulder fitness, Boulder has become a town unique in the world of endurance sports. I suppose the diversification started when local favorites Connie Carpenter and Davis Phinney started winning bike races, and, suddenly, there were bike races going on all over town. Next thing I knew, I was riding my bike to work and spending vacations doing bike trips. Two years ago, I took my family, including our 2 year-old grandson, on a bike trip and he loved it. Hard work, but, hey, I live here and it’s what we Boulderites do.
Then my kids got involved in the Boulder Valley Summer Swim League. Anyone in Boulder who has participated in this knows what a wonderful competitive program they have in one of the few sports where a whole family of siblings can be part of the same team. So, for 10 years, my wife and I spent summer Saturday mornings by the pool shouting words of sporting wisdom to our children such as “go faster” and “don’t breathe.” They worked harder than I did, though.
When my son started college, he (and many others) decided to put it all together and started doing triathlons. I guess the Boulder fitness bar was just moving a little farther up. Then, I heard about the Ironman – a 2.4 mile swim (in the ocean, nonetheless), a 112 mile bike ride and then a marathon in one day? Nobody can do that! But, lo and behold, Boulder is now home to many Ironman World Champions and medal winners, and based on the chatter at my health club, just about everybody is training for one. Last November, I enjoyed one of my finest moments watching my son complete his first Ironman in under ten hours. It took him all of half an hour after the race to forget the pain and start planning the next one. And I thought I worked hard…
But, I’m not done paying for this Boulder life. For Christmas, my son’s gift to me was signing me up for the Boulder Peak Triathlon. So, I am now swimming, biking, and running to get in shape for this July event. It’s all hard work; I am swimming miles in beautiful oceans and lakes, riding my bike through spectacular mountains, and running some wonderful trails. And I’m more fit than ever.
No sir, sometimes Boulder living ain’t easy, but it’s sure worth it.
