June 2011 Big Mountain Adventure Newsletter

Big Mountain Adventure Newsletter

June 2011

Get Ready for Rampart RAGE!

In This Issue

We can't say enough good things about the Rampart RAGE Adventure Race. The course is challenging and beautiful. The ropes are fun and memorable. Best of all the race is worlds away while being so close to your Front Range home. Want to learn a little more about adventure racing before diving in? Join us at our Adventure Racing Clinic at REI Colorado Springs on Thursday July 7th at 6:30PM.

Spread the Word!
We are hoping to inspire as many people as possible to join in the adventure racing fun and comradery. Please share this newsletter with friends and family who also have a taste for adventure, and lets build a friendly and fun community of adventure enthusiasts in Cclorado. Got adventure? Get some and get some more... and invite the other adrenaline junkies along with you!! :)

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter

Also, sign up for the outdoor sports social community Pikes Peak Sports and afterwards join the Adventure Racing Group!

The Rampart RAGE Adventure Race
Adventure Racing Clinic at REI COS
Volunteers Unite!
Carefree Chiropractic Offer
Foot Issues in Endurance Athletes

Quick Links
Big Mountain Adventure Website

Big Mountain Adventure Blog

Pikes Peak Sports AR Group

FROG AR Group

July 7th, 2011:
Adventure Racing Clinic at REI Colorado Springs

July 16th, 2011:
Rampart RAGE AR

September 17th, 2011:
The Big Mountain Adventure

Rampart RAGE Adventure Race


Soar down this zipline over the lake.	Sport racers will tackle a 300ft traverse	Enjoy this view during the race!

Find out why this race's checkpoints have descriptions like "On Tree @ Amazing Lookout". Take in the fresh mountain air this summer at one of Colorado's most beautiful race venues at the Rampart Reservoir. Trek through the forest amidst beautiful trees and rock formations, drop from a giant boulder onto a 300ft zipline over the lake, paddle an inflatable kayak on a scenic mountain lake, and mountain bike some of the most fun single track that Colorado has to offer!

Choose between a beginner-oriented sprint length (5-8hr) or the sport length (12-14hr) course option. The sport length also includes a 300ft tyrolean traverse. Beautiful camping is available at the start/finish/post race party location; lodging in Woodland` Park is also available. Kayaks and paddles are provided for each racer. Ropes gear rental options are available. Our last race sold out - don't miss out!

Get Registered Today!

Adventure Racing Clinic at REI

Want to learn more about adventure racing before trying your first one? Have you done an adventure race but want to learn more about training? Just want to meet BMA and ask us some questions? Join us on Thursday July 7th at 6:30PM at REI Colorado Springs!

Come learn about all the fun you can have while adventure racing - such as paddling an inflatable kayak on a scenic mountain lake, dropping from a giant boulder on to a 300ft zipline, trekking through the forests amidst trees and rock formation, and mountain biking on sweet single track. So if you are into nature, camaraderie, fun and adventure, you should come check out what adventure racing has to offer, and Big Mountain Adventure would love to tell you about it.

Volunteers Unite!

A BIG THANKS to all the Rock2Rock volunteers ! You were an integral part of making the race happen and we really could not have done it without you. You even camped out to monitor the ropes, came multiple days to help set up the screaming zip line, and braved the crazy April snowstorm to keep the race going! We could not be luckier to have had such an amazing group to help us. Thank you so much!! And don't forget to use your race vouchers to race in or upcoming Rampart Rage or Big Mountain Adventure races this year.

bikers PJ Snow, one of our R2R volunteers is putting on an event we'd like you to support. Check out TwoCor Project's 50 mile mountain bike ride from Monument Valley to Palmer Lake and back on June 25th... all for a great cause for troubled youth. This will be an awesome ride for an awesome cause, so don't miss it!

Finally, if you'd like to get more exposure to adventure racing by volunteering and also get to soak in some beautiful scenery at the Rampart Range and Reservoir area, come join a great group of race volunteers and the Big Mountain AR crew at the Rampart Rage Adventure Race. Free camping is available for volunteers as well as race vouchers and swag! If interested please send an email to: bmar@bigmountainar.com.

An Offer From Carefree Chiropractic

Carefree Chiropractic is the official chiropractors of Big Mountain Adventure Racing. They keep us tuned up for our races as well as help us recover from setting up our races. They are excited to offer up an opportunity for Big Mountain Adventure racers to benefit from our community:

Carefree Chiropractic is excited to offer all Big Mountain Adventure Race members a chance to get healthy! We would like to welcome you to our office and allow you the opportunity to meet our doctors and see that we can meet your needs. We will provide a consult, exam, report of findings, half hour massage and xrays... a $450.00 value for $30.

The health of your nervous system is vitally important to your performance. Chiropractic care is an important part of an overall approach to your health. We also help with lower back, neck, sciatica, headaches, numbness and various other conditions related to the nervous system. We also care for individuals and families who are experiencing pain and soreness resulting from car accidents. We bill insurance plans, but we also have many patients on very affordable cash plans. Be assured, we will work with you financially.

We would love to serve you! Our office is located at 3365 North Academy, Colorado Springs, 80917 (at North Carefree and Academy in the Safeway shopping center). We have appointments available six days a week including evenings till 6pm. Call us at 572-0211 to schedule an appointment and get started on the road to health.

Here's your chance to get healthy! We're waiting for your call!

Dr. Douglas Johnson
Carefree Chiropractic

Foot Issues in Endurance Athletes

This is it - the last featured article but BMA's own orthotist and prosthetist Chelsea Luttrall.

Newsletter Articles:
Problem 1: Over-pronation (February)
Problem 2: Plantar Fasciitis (March)
Problem 3: High Pressure Points Resultant of High Arches (May)
Problem 4: Chronic Forefoot Striker vs. Heel Striker (June)

As an orthotist, I see a lot of folks with foot problems. Some can be helped with foot orthoses (FOs), and some can’t. However, I also see tons of people spending $300-$400 on custom foot orthoses that may or may not help their condition. And, no, most insurances do not help with costs of foot orthoses.

With cars, shoes, clothes--almost everything, you get to test drive before you shell out the cash. But with custom FOs, you have to pay and trust that you’re in the 50% of people who can be helped by custom FOs.

Endurance athletes are interesting. If, we put in as much daily mileage as the average American, we’d likely have very healthy feet. But because of the repetition and duration of endurance sports, subtle problems can surface, magnify, and wreak havoc on our training and racing. .

I’m of a different camp than most. I believe, first, that many of these conditions prescribed custom FOs can be helped by non-custom, over-the-counter FOs if used correctly. And second, that many patients (excluding diabetics and folks with true foot deformity), should first pursue cheaper, non-custom options to see if they see marked improvement in their condition. Then, once you know your feet can be helped by FOs, you can either stay with the over-the-counter option, or invest in the custom, slightly more durable FOs.

SOLE FOs are some of the best over-the-counter options on the market today. They are heat-moldable to accommodate the needs of the wearer. They are affordable relative to custom FOs --usually around $45. And, they are still flexible enough to allow healthy amounts of pronation, which is necessary for runners and endurance athletes to avoid stress fractures and unnecessary joint trauma. What’s more, SOLE stands behind their product, and has a money-back guarantee if you don’t see results within 90 days.

Problem 4: Chronic Forefoot Striker vs. Heel Striker
When experts say, forefoot striking is ideal, they typically mean mid-to-forefoot striking. There are some who run on the extreme forefoot and develop metatarsal pain. Others put all of their force into their heel with each step, and develop heel pain. Besides chronic pain, both can result in stress fractures over time.

Possible Cheap Solutions to these issues:
Ultimately, to reduce the risk of further injury and pain, the runner should meticulously and consciously try to retrain him or herself to land more mid-to-forefoot while running. This is not an easy process and will probably take years. However, SOLE FOs can sometimes help reduce these pains in the meantime.

For the forefoot pain, you may want to get a SOLE FO that offers more cushion. Then, add a metatarsal pad as listed previously to reduce peak pressures over the “landing zone.”

If you are the heel striker, having a good heel cup as provided by the SOLE FOs can help distribute pressures over the entire heel as opposed to the impact spot, until retraining of your stride is complete.

Beware of Something Under the Surfacee
Now, these are problems I often see in athletes, but if you’re having foot pain, I definitely do recommend seeing a doctor first to get a diagnosis using an XRay or MRI to ensure that nothing else more complicated is going on under the surface. But if your problem fits into one of these categories, and you’re not into the idea of possibly being out of $400 if it doesn’t work for you, give these ideas a try and see if they work for you. Good luck! And I hope you get to enjoy a foot-pain-free race season!

Support Our Sponsors

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