Marathons help runner deal with self-diagnosed midlife crisis

With his 40th birthday approaching, James Mejia needed something to cope with his self-diagnosed midlife crisis.

“My friends and I were all turning 40,” said Mejia, who hit the milestone in February. “Everyone was doing seminal things like skydiving or going to Vegas.”

Mejia, a Denver resident, didn’t have enough money for a Porsche so he decided to dedicate himself to running.

If he failed to qualify for the Boston Marathon, Mejia told himself he would have to run 12 marathons in 12 months.

Even though Mejia qualified and then ran the Boston Marathon in April, he decided to go through with his personal challenge anyway.

On Sunday, Mejia completed the Pikes Peak Marathon — his 10th of the year and 31st of his lifetime — with a copy of his “Mid-Life Crisis Tour” itinerary inscribed in permanent marker on his back.

“I thought, ‘Why not?’” he said. “I wanted to see how my body would respond and I’m running faster than I have in 12 years. It’s a healthier thing than taking up drugs and alcohol anyway.”

Mejia, who started running about 15 years ago to stay fit while business traveling, said age has taught him to train smarter rather than faster.

While running single-file on certain portions of the Barr Trail, Mejia said a few people questioned his choice.

“‘Why didn’t you just get the Harley?’ one person asked me,” Mejia said, adding that the cost of running the Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Boston marathons wasn’t cheap. “It’s still cheaper than a Harley, though.”

Champion to cheerleader

Four-time Pikes Peak Marathon winner Danelle Ballengee could not participate in the race because of injuries suffered in a December training accident in Moab, Utah, in which she survived about 56 hours in the wilderness after shattering her pelvis in a 75-foot fall.

Accompanied by her dog, Taz, who played an instrumental role in her rescue, Ballengee served as inspiration to women’s winner Salynda Fleury and runner-up Keri Nelson.

“I saw her and saw her amazing dog,” said Fleury, who called Ballengee her hero. “She told me I was doing awesome.”

Nelson, who began to feel ill on the way down, got tough love from Ballengee.

“She told me to suck it up,” Nelson said. “It helped to have her out there.”

Etc.

Lilly Blase, a 51-year-old from Lincoln, Neb., dodged the 10-hour cutoff by a second. ... Nearly 800 runners finished the Marathon — 584 men and 189 women. ... Matt Carpenter, who won Saturday’s Ascent and Sunday’s Marathon, was among 119 men and 22 women who doubled, competing in both events. ... Winners of the Triple Crown of Racing — which includes the Garden of the Gods 10-miler, the Summer Roundup 12K trail run and the Ascent or the ascent portion of the Marathon — will be determined “in a day or so” and posted at www.thetcr.com, race director Ron Ilgen said.