Running the Rock

Today I ran the Rock in Castle Rock.  Guess I should say I ran up, around the top, down, around the base, back up, around the top again, and down.  I've certainly seen the Rock from the highway but never hiked or run it.

So today I had to drive to Castle Rock and decided running the Rock was going to be my workout for the day.  I really enjoyed watching the clouds roll and winds pick up as I went up, down, and around the Rock.  If you do it once around the distance is 1.4 miles.

I ran the .5 miles up the John Emerson Summit first, then did the .2 miles around the Rock, then back down the half mile trail, then around the Paul Hill trail, including the climb on the other side of the Rock that leads you back up to the top, then the .2 miles at the top again, and back down.  Total for me was 2.6 miles going from a starting elevation of 6,220' and peaking at 6,590'.

The Summit Trail

View from the top

Loop around the top

On Paul Hill Trail

Close to the top

That's Pikes Peak in the distance

I really enjoyed the solo time and running somewhere new.  Now to spend some time with my foam roller!