Colorado Springs runners, and those in Manitou Springs specifically, insist that their trail system is second to none. For national-class trail runner Peter Maksimow, it’s the Paul Intemann Memorial Nature Trail that’s a particular favorite. Maksimow tells us how to take in the best of Colorado Springs trails in the November “VFuel Colorado Trail of the Month.”
“It’s right up the road from me in Manitou Springs and connects downtown Colorado Springs, via Bear Creek Park and Section 16, up to Jones Park and Mt. Rosa and Cameron Cone over to the new Iron Mountain route, Red Mountain, the base of the Barr Trail, Manitou Incline and Ute Pass Trail,” Maksimow says of the abundant opportunities that the Intemann Trail offers.
“It is part of the Ring the Peak Trail and recently was extended up to Iron Mountain to bypass a disputed private property area. The trail includes technical singletrack with steep climbs and descents, smooth mellow paths, and grand panoramic views of Pikes Peak, Manitou Springs, Garden of the Gods, and Colorado Springs.”
Access of the point-to-point trail at one end is typically in Manitou Springs and off of Gold Camp Road at the other, but the collection of connections that the trail joins with makes for a series of maps and other potential access points. Similarly, mileage can vary considerably depending on one’s route.
Thought to have been just a short-course trail runner, Maksimow himself raced his first true ultra this summer and finished 20th overall at the Les Templiers event in France. Needing a nutrition solution, he turned to VFuel’s Peach Cobbler gels and drink mix.
