Steve Rossi is getting back on the trail this Friday for his fifth 100-miler. At over 70, he will be the oldest runner in Routt County’s Run Rabbit Run this year – but that’s not slowing him down. Steamboat Magazine caught up with Steve (figuratively, not literally!) to hear about his plans, goals and hopes for the race.

Steamboat Magazine: Tell us about the race last year – how did it go? What was a memorable moment for you?

Steve Rossi: It went pretty good for the first 70 miles…or, according to plan anyway. And then I started slowing down more than I thought I would. By mile 85, my back was hurting so I slowed down a lot then. The last six miles coming down from Mount Werner were really bad. I was almost having to crawl. But I made it through anyway. It was my first Run Rabbit Run, but my third hundred miler. There were a few memorable moments: One was that I was surprised 13 miles from the end to see my brother and niece. They had walked all the way out there to meet me and cheer me on. That was when my back was hurting and I needed some cheering up. But it got a lot worse before it got better. About a mile from the end, my family walked out to meet me. My 7-year-old great niece was there and I really liked seeing her. My 94-year-old mom was at the finish line and gave me a big hug. The race took three hours longer than I thought so they had been waiting there for a long time. 

SM: Are you planning to do anything differently this year or have you adjusted your training regimen in any way?

SR: I felt a lot stronger last year. I’ve been injured for the past month so I haven’t been doing too much. I decided my core was probably weak so I worked on my core all year to make my back strong. I’ve been working on my running posture, too. I was using trekking poles and I think that made my posture weird which hurt my back. So no more poles. This year I think I’ll ease up at the beginning, climbing up Mount Werner, but I don’t know. When there’s other people with you, you tend to go faster.

SM: What kind of training do you do for these long, long races?

SR: I train all year. I take some time off after a race but about eight weeks before a hundred miler, I start trying to get 80-100 miles in a week. Then I taper off about two weeks before a race. This year I didn’t really do that for Run Rabbit Run but I followed that for a race I ran in Nevada in February.

SM: What are your goals or hopes for this year’s Run Rabbit Run?

SR: Mainly to finish! Since I’m over 60, as long as I finish, I don’t have to pay the entry fee for the following year. So the main thing is to finish – and to meet friends along the way.