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Rick Trujillo

    Richard “Rick” Trujillo (1948–) is a Colorado mountain runner best known for starting the Imogene Pass Run in 1974 and winning the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon{ six times in the 1970s, long before trail and mountain running became popular activities. Later in his career, Trujillo helped scout the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run course through the San Juan Mountains and also made two record attempts on Colorado’s Fourteeners. He was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame in 2014.

    Early Life

    Born in Montrose on March 13, 1948, Rick Trujillo moved to Ouray with his family when he was a year or two old. As a young boy, he hiked trails around town. He then discovered his love of running, and specifically mountain running, while on the track team at Ouray High School in the early 1960s. He also excelled at traditional track, road, and cross-country races, winning the state championship in the mile three times in high school and then continuing to run on the college team at the University of Colorado. In Boulder, Trujillo earned All-America honors in cross-country for his seventh-place finish at the 1967 national championship race. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in geology, which he chose in part to learn about the mountainous terrain on which he liked to run, and moved back to Ouray, where he got a job at the Camp Bird Mine.

    Pikes Peak and Imogene Pass

    After college, Trujillo gave up track races, but continued to run competitively on the roads until he learned about the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, a trail race that took runners from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak and back. He signed up in 1973 for his first real mountain race and won in 3 hours, 39 minutes, setting a new course record. He returned and won each of the next four years, lowering his course record to 3:31 in 1975, and then came back again to notch a sixth victory in 1979.

    While training for the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1974, Trujillo decided to run from Ouray to Telluride on rough old mining roads over Imogene Pass (13,114 feet). That run inspired him and locals in Telluride to start a new race, the 17.1-mile Imogene Pass Run, held annually in September. Trujillo won the race in its first three years and again in 1979. He served as race director for many years.

    Later Colorado Mountain Feats

    In the 1990s, Trujillo shifted to even longer-distance mountain runs. In 1992 he used his knowledge of the San Juan Mountains to help plan and scout the course for the first Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run, where he later finished second in 1994 and first in 1996, at age forty-eight.

    In 1995, when Hardrock was canceled because of deep snow on the course, Trujillo teamed up with Ricky Denesik of Telluride to try to climb all fifty-four of Colorado’s recognized 14,000-foot peaks as fast as possible. That summer they finished in 15 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes, the second-fastest known time to that point. Two years later they attempted to set a new record, but Trujillo had to drop out during a storm on Grays Peak. He continued to support Denesik, who forged ahead and set a new record of 14 days, 16 minutes.

    In 2014 Trujillo was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame. Still a resident of Ouray, he continues to volunteer at the Hardrock Hundred and serve as president of the Imogene Pass Run board of directors.

    Richard “Rick” Trujillo (1948–) is a Colorado mountain runner. He is best known for starting the Imogene Pass Run in 1974 and winning the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon{ six times in the 1970s. Later in his career, Trujillo helped scout the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run course through the San Juan Mountains and also made two record attempts on Colorado’s Fourteeners. He was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame in 2014.

    Early Life

    Born in Montrose on March 13, 1948, Rick Trujillo moved to Ouray with his family when he was a year or two old. As a young boy, he hiked trails around town. He then discovered his love of running, and specifically mountain running, while on the track team at Ouray High School in the early 1960s. He also excelled at traditional track, road, and cross-country races, winning the state championship in the mile three times in high school and then continuing to run on the college team at the University of Colorado. In Boulder, Trujillo earned All-America honors in cross-country for his seventh-place finish at the 1967 national championship race. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in geology, which he chose in part to learn about the mountainous terrain on which he liked to run, and moved back to Ouray, where he got a job at the Camp Bird Mine.

    Pikes Peak and Imogene Pass

    After college, Trujillo gave up track races, but continued to run competitively on the roads until he learned about the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon, a trail race that took runners from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak and back. He signed up in 1973 for his first real mountain race and won in 3 hours, 39 minutes, setting a new course record. He returned and won each of the next four years, lowering his course record to 3:31 in 1975, and then came back again to notch a sixth victory in 1979.

    While training for the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1974, Trujillo decided to run from Ouray to Telluride on rough old mining roads over Imogene Pass (13,114 feet). That run inspired him and locals in Telluride to start a new race, the 17.1-mile Imogene Pass Run, held annually in September. Trujillo won the race in its first three years and again in 1979. He served as race director for many years.

    Later Colorado Mountain Feats

    In the 1990s, Trujillo shifted to even longer-distance mountain runs. In 1992 he used his knowledge of the San Juan Mountains to help plan and scout the course for the first Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run, where he later finished second in 1994 and first in 1996, at age forty-eight.

    In 1995, when Hardrock was canceled because of deep snow on the course, Trujillo teamed up with Ricky Denesik of Telluride to try to climb all fifty-four of Colorado’s recognized 14,000-foot peaks as fast as possible. That summer they finished in 15 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes, the second-fastest known time to that point. Two years later they attempted to set a new record, but Trujillo had to drop out during a storm on Grays Peak. He continued to support Denesik, who forged ahead and set a new record of 14 days, 16 minutes.

    In 2014 Trujillo was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame. Still a resident of Ouray, he continues to volunteer at the Hardrock Hundred and serve as president of the Imogene Pass Run board of directors.

    Richard “Rick” Trujillo (1948–) is a Colorado mountain runner. He is best known for starting the Imogene Pass Run in 1974 and winning the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon{ six times in the 1970s, long before trail and mountain running became popular activities. Later in his career, Trujillo helped scout the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run course through the San Juan Mountains. He also made two record attempts on Colorado’s Fourteeners. He was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame in 2014.

    Early Life

    Born in Montrose on March 13, 1948, Rick Trujillo moved to Ouray with his family when he was a year or two old. As a young boy, he hiked trails around town. He then discovered his love of running while on the track team at Ouray High School in the early 1960s. He also excelled at traditional track, road, and cross-country races. He won the state championship in the mile three times in high school. He continued to run on the college team at the University of Colorado. In Boulder, Trujillo earned All-America honors in cross-country for his seventh-place finish at the 1967 national championship race. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in geology. He chose his major in part to learn about the mountainous terrain on which he liked to run.  Trujillo moved back to Ouray and got a job at the Camp Bird Mine.

    Pikes Peak and Imogene Pass

    After college, Trujillo gave up track races. He continued to run competitively on the roads until he learned about the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon. The marathon was a trail race that took runners from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak and back. He signed up in 1973 for his first real mountain race. He won in 3 hours, 39 minutes, setting a new course record. He returned and won each of the next four years, lowering his course record to 3:31 in 1975, and then came back again to notch a sixth victory in 1979.

    While training for the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1974, Trujillo decided to run from Ouray to Telluride on rough old mining roads over Imogene Pass (13,114 feet). That run inspired him and locals in Telluride to start a new race, the 17.1-mile Imogene Pass Run, held annually in September. Trujillo won the race in its first three years and again in 1979. He served as race director for many years.

    Later Colorado Mountain Feats

    In the 1990s, Trujillo shifted to even longer-distance mountain runs. In 1992 he used his knowledge of the San Juan Mountains to help plan and scout the course for the first Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run, where he later finished second in 1994 and first in 1996, at age forty-eight.

    In 1995, when Hardrock was canceled because of deep snow on the course, Trujillo teamed up with Ricky Denesik of Telluride to try to climb all fifty-four of Colorado’s recognized 14,000-foot peaks as fast as possible. That summer they finished in 15 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes, the second-fastest known time to that point. Two years later they attempted to set a new record, but Trujillo had to drop out during a storm on Grays Peak. He continued to support Denesik, who forged ahead and set a new record of 14 days, 16 minutes.

    In 2014 Trujillo was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame. Still a resident of Ouray, he continues to volunteer at the Hardrock Hundred and serve as president of the Imogene Pass Run board of directors.

    Richard “Rick” Trujillo (1948–) is a Colorado mountain runner. He is best known for starting the Imogene Pass Run in 1974. He won the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon{ six times in the 1970s. That was long before trail and mountain running became popular activities. Trujillo helped scout the Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run course through the San Juan Mountains. He also made two record attempts on Colorado’s Fourteeners. He was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame in 2014.

    Early Life

    Rick Trujillo was born in Montrose on March 13, 1948. He moved to Ouray with his family when he was a year or two old. As a young boy, he hiked trails around town. He discovered his love of running while on the track team at Ouray High School in the early 1960s. He excelled at traditional track, road, and cross-country races. He won the state championship in the mile three times in high school. He continued to run on the college team at the University of Colorado. In Boulder, Trujillo earned All-America honors in cross-country for his seventh-place finish at the 1967 national championship race. He graduated in 1970 with a degree in geology. He chose his major in part to learn about the mountainous terrain on which he liked to run.  Trujillo moved back to Ouray and got a job at the Camp Bird Mine.

    Pikes Peak and Imogene Pass

    After college, Trujillo gave up track races. He continued to run competitively on the roads. Then, he learned about the Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon. The marathon was a trail race. It took runners from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak and back. He signed up in 1973 for his first real mountain race. He won in 3 hours, 39 minutes. His time set a new course record. He returned and won each of the next four years.  Trujillo lowered his course record to 3:31 in 1975. He came back to notch a sixth victory in 1979.

    While training for the Pikes Peak Marathon in 1974, Trujillo decided to run from Ouray to Telluride. His route took him on old mining roads over Imogene Pass (13,114 feet). That run inspired him to start a new race. The 17.1-mile Imogene Pass Run is held annually in September. Trujillo won the race in its first three years and again in 1979. He served as race director for many years.

    Later Colorado Mountain Feats

    In the 1990s, Trujillo shifted to even longer-distance mountain runs. In 1992 he used his knowledge of the San Juan Mountains to help scout the course for the first Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run. He finished second in 1994 and first in 1996.

    In 1995, the Hardrock was canceled because of deep snow. Trujillo teamed up with Ricky Denesik of Telluride. The men decided to climb all fifty-four of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks as fast as possible. They finished in 15 days, 9 hours, 55 minutes. It was the second-fastest known time to that point. Two years later they attempted to set a new record. Trujillo had to drop out during a storm on Grays Peak. He continued to support Denesik. Denesik set a new record of 14 days, 16 minutes.

    In 2014 Trujillo was inducted into the Colorado Running Hall of Fame. He's still a resident of Ouray. Trujillo continues to volunteer at the Hardrock Hundred. He also serves as president of the Imogene Pass Run board of directors.