A relatively unknown runner at the time, Kim Dobson burst onto the running scene in 2009 with a sub-3 hour marathon in Fort Collins and a shockingly fast first-time Ascent on Pikes Peak. The 26-year-old is a second grade teacher, passionate outdoors-woman, wife of a medical student, and a rising star in the Colorado running scene.
Humble Beginnings
Dobson’s running career soft-launched in high school, where she ran varsity cross country and track for Arapahoe High School. While she loved running, Dobson says, she ‘wasn’t a standout’. In college, her bent for strength and distance started to play out, and she ran her first marathon (the 2003 Easy Street Marathon) in 3:11. Though Dobson speaks modestly of her accomplishments, her time was a still-standing state record for 19 and under females under her maiden name of Kim Sommer. She also took a stab at Boulder Backroads and Boston before an injury-induced running hiatus.
Discovering Love, and Love for the Mountains
In the meantime, she discovered two loves – her future husband Corey Dobson – and hiking Colorado’s 54 fourteeners. The Dobsons have bagged 50 of them (Corey has completed all 54). Kim says, “Rike is the name Corey and I have given to our combination hiking and running adventures, which usually last between 10 and 20 miles and 4,000 -7,000 feet gain.”
“Riking” may be her now-revealed training secret, as it seemingly helped launch her into a surprising 2:41 and second-place finish in her first ever Pikes Peak Ascent. Of the 2009 race, Dobson says, “I didn’t know what to expect (place or time) at Pikes, so I started out conservatively because I had heard how important it was to pace your-self. After a few miles, I was in about 5th place for women and felt great so I decided to push my pace. By Barr Camp, I was in 2nd place and I remember thinking “WHOA! I’m in second place and feeling great. Maybe I can catch up to first place!” At A Frame, I really picked up and tried to catch Megan, who was first. I never expected to run a 2:41! That raced hooked me on mountain running. “
The mountain running seems to be hooked on her, too, as 2010 brought yet more grateful surprises into Kim’s running career with a course record and first place win at the Mt Evans Ascent as well as another second place finish in an uber-competitive Pikes Peak Ascent year (the 7th WMRA World Long Distance Challenge was held during the 2010 race, drawing international competition to the Colorado mountain).
How does a person go from nearly-unknown to nearly-championship material in the competitive Colorado mountains? Apparently, with a good dose of natural talent. Dobson has a strong fitness base but runs relatively low mileage. She says “For the past couple of years, I have spent most of June through August focusing on mountain running. Last summer, I ran about four days a week, hiked or biked one day, “riked” one day, and took one day off. About half of the miles I do in the summer are on mountains and hills. From about September through May, I run mostly around Denver and Aurora which means not a lot of hills. Last year, I ran about four days a week (averaging around 40 miles/week), cross trained (elliptical and stair climber) two days a week, and took one day completely off. “
Looking at 2011 and the Future
In 2011, Dobson plans to increase her mileage base by increasing weekly miles to 60/week, focusing on high quality workouts, phased training, and appropriate recovery days. She’s quick to note that her “main goal is to stay injury free, so I’ll be flexible and adjust my training as necessary”. Her passion for mountain runs will surely fuel her to ‘include many mountains again this summer’ and she is eyeing a new mountain race (possibly Mt Washington, she says) and a repeat on Pikes Peak.
At the same time, she has accepted a spot on the Runners Roost Elite team which offers training and racing gear as assistance with race entry fees. “This support will allow me to get more experience racing, as I will be able to run more consistently in local races.” Dobson states, and enthusiastically adds, “Runners Roost also does an excellent job in building the entire running community through weekly Run Clubs, social networking, and local races. Even though I have only been on the team for a little over a month, I have already been motivated by so many people, and I hope to motivate people in return.”
Not surprisingly, Dobson intends to consciously ‘step it up’ in 2011. In addition to Mt Washington and Pikes Peak, she intends to be a presence at the Vail Pass Half and the Vail Hill Climb. “If I’m feeling healthy and strong in the fall’, she says, “I plan to train to run a marathon (ultimate goal of sub 2:46…!) later in the year. I’ve only run a few road races in the past few years, so it will be fun to run some 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons and set some PRs. I haven’t given a lot of specific thought to the next 3 to 5 years, however, I do dream of qualifying for the US Mountain Running team in 2012.”
As of late February, Dobson has already run an 18:46 5k, a 30:48 5m, and a 1:02:53 10m in the early months of 2011. Her step-up year, it seems, is off to a solid start.
Featured article written by: Connilee Walter
Photo courtesy Kim Dobson