DHS runners turn their attention to the Colorado Trail
The Durango High School cross country team will host a trail-run fundraiser Aug. 8-11 before the season gets underway.
The run will take place on the last four sections of the Colorado Trail and will cover between 70 and 90 miles depending on the access to one section above Silverton.
Demons’ head coach David McMillan said he anticipates having 15 to 20 experienced runners with him out on the trail.
The runners expected to participate recently ran in the COHIPAC Collegiate High Peaks Camp, where they ran up Mounts Sherman, Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Princeton and Yale, spending between three and six hours daily running up each peak and educating themselves about the various aspects of running.
The group spent the week camping above 10,500 feet near Buena Vista and Fairplay, were up at 5:15 a.m., on the trailhead around 6, and were up and down the mountain before the afternoon thunderheads rolled in.
DHS record-holder and Weber State recruit Joe Maloney and Carly Pierson were camp counselors, and Durangoan Randal McKown was the camp chef.
DHS also hired a pair of assistant coaches for the season:
Brett Wilson is a former Loveland High School and Luther College runner and also will teach Spanish at DHS.
Mary Kate Jackson, a conference champion and school record-holder at Western Illinois University also will join the staff.
For more information, visit www.durangodemonsxc.com or contact McMillan at cohipac@gmail.com.
Durango Herald
