MANITOU SPRINGS — It wasn't enough for Lindsey Durlacher to power-hike 1,700 feet straight up the brutally steep mountain trail known as The Incline. The Olympic hopeful in Greco-Roman wrestling decided to throw in a series of lung-burning sprints at the top of the trail Saturday before heading back down.
"You want to bring back a medal this summer, be in those (Olympic) Games, that's what it takes," Durlacher said from a perch high above Colorado Springs, sweat pouring off his brow.
Durlacher's extra-credit effort got the attention of young Jake Deitchler, a prospect visiting from Minnesota who hopes to join Durlacher as a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center. If a former world championships bronze medalist like
Durlacher does extra sprints without a coach telling him to do them, Deitchler would, too. Deitchler, 18, wants to be the best in the world some day.
"I'm trying to do what it takes," Deitchler said. For years The Incline, also known at the Cog Trail, has been a place where Olympic wrestlers regularly torture themselves to prepare physically and mentally for the rigors of their sport. The Incline also attracts triathletes, speedskaters and mountain runners.
Olympic speedskating champion Apolo Ohno is legendary for how quickly he can pound up the trail. Ohno's thighs are like steam-engine pistons, and The Incline is partially responsible.
"He's pretty mean on this sucker," Durlacher said.
Located at the foot of Pikes Peak, The Incline can be a very busy place despite its steepness and thin air. A steady stream of serious athletes, weekend warriors and out-of-breath tourists tackled it Saturday morning.
"This is a majestic mountain, and it pushes you in ways you can't be pushed in practice and match situations," said Durlacher, who made it up in 32 minutes.
A little longer than a mile, The Incline follows an old cable car route straight up Mount Manitou, topping out at 8,500 feet above sea level. The rails
are mostly gone, but the wooden ties remain, often askew. The vertical rise from trailhead to the top is about the same as the Sears Tower in Chicago — including its antennae.
"It's just a grueling run/walk up the railroad ties, straight up the mountain," said head coach Steve Fraser, who led the U.S. Greco-Roman team to its first world championships team title last fall. "It's a bear."
The wooden ties make it like climbing a very steep staircase, but there are hazards that require constant vigilance — loose gravel and rock, drainage pipes with gaping holes, wobbly tourists and dogs without leashes. The wrestlers don't have to run, but they are supposed to power-walk all the way without stopping.
"You want to bring back a medal this summer, be in those (Olympic) Games, that's what it takes," Durlacher said from a perch high above Colorado Springs, sweat pouring off his brow.
Durlacher's extra-credit effort got the attention of young Jake Deitchler, a prospect visiting from Minnesota who hopes to join Durlacher as a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center. If a former world championships bronze medalist like
Durlacher does extra sprints without a coach telling him to do them, Deitchler would, too. Deitchler, 18, wants to be the best in the world some day.
"I'm trying to do what it takes," Deitchler said. For years The Incline, also known at the Cog Trail, has been a place where Olympic wrestlers regularly torture themselves to prepare physically and mentally for the rigors of their sport. The Incline also attracts triathletes, speedskaters and mountain runners.
Olympic speedskating champion Apolo Ohno is legendary for how quickly he can pound up the trail. Ohno's thighs are like steam-engine pistons, and The Incline is partially responsible.
"He's pretty mean on this sucker," Durlacher said.
Located at the foot of Pikes Peak, The Incline can be a very busy place despite its steepness and thin air. A steady stream of serious athletes, weekend warriors and out-of-breath tourists tackled it Saturday morning.
"This is a majestic mountain, and it pushes you in ways you can't be pushed in practice and match situations," said Durlacher, who made it up in 32 minutes.
A little longer than a mile, The Incline follows an old cable car route straight up Mount Manitou, topping out at 8,500 feet above sea level. The rails
are mostly gone, but the wooden ties remain, often askew. The vertical rise from trailhead to the top is about the same as the Sears Tower in Chicago — including its antennae.
"It's just a grueling run/walk up the railroad ties, straight up the mountain," said head coach Steve Fraser, who led the U.S. Greco-Roman team to its first world championships team title last fall. "It's a bear."
The wooden ties make it like climbing a very steep staircase, but there are hazards that require constant vigilance — loose gravel and rock, drainage pipes with gaping holes, wobbly tourists and dogs without leashes. The wrestlers don't have to run, but they are supposed to power-walk all the way without stopping.
"It's a good workout in a general sense, but also from the mental standpoint," said wrestler R.C. Johnson. "It's a test: Can you keep going, can you do it without stopping? If we're doing sprints, how far can you make it?"
The mental challenge is especially tough on Incline neophytes closing in on what they believe is the top, only to learn they've reached a false summit two-thirds of the way up.
"They've got to keep going, and that's what we want them to learn," said Greco-Roman development coach Ike Anderson. "We want the kids to learn they can overcome adversity."
Even super heavyweights will do The Incline. Retired Olympic champion Rulon Gardner used to do it. Former world champion Dremiel Byers does it occasionally.
"You know they're struggling, they're carrying a lot of weight, but that's what makes them champions — they push through it," Anderson said. "This humbles everybody."
Wrestlers often site The Incline as a source of physical and psychological strength.
"It's a challenge that, if you can succeed at it, it gives you confidence," Anderson said. "When you're wrestling someone, you'll have something to draw back on. Things may be tough, and all of a sudden you go, 'Wait a minute, that Incline's tougher, this is nothing.'"
via The Denver Post
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