Matt Hopper

The Red Rocker of Running!

“If you don't fall, you're not running hard enough!”

City: Colorado Springs State: CO

Favorite Shoe: La Sportiva Size: 9EEE

Age: 55.6 years old

Marital Status: Happily married since 1985 to wife Doree

Family members:
Wife Doree - since 1985!

Dana - Oldest Daughter - goes to UCCS.

Andrew - Son - goes to Coronado H.S., loves video games.

Hanna - Youngest Daughter - also goes to Coronado. She does Pet Sitting !!

Sampson - Alaskan Malamute - I had to retire Sammie permanently in November of 2010.

Sampson & Thunder (our previous Malamute), and all my other previous dogs (King, Champ, & Adam), all await me at the Rainbow Bridge...

What I do for work:
Landscape Construction. Design/Install Landscapes. Specialize in Water Features, Outdoor Entertainment Areas, Irrigation, Night Lighting & Drainage Solutions. Spas (Hot Tubs).

Places I’ve called home and why I like where I am now:
Originally from Chicago. Nice place to be from. Lived in Long Beach, CA for a few years. I love Colorado for its beauty. I knew since I was a kid that I was going to live Colorado, just not sure where. Glad we settled in Col. Springs, love it here...

When I started running and what got me started:
Started running as a kid in Jr. High (middle school). Went onto X-Country when I got into High School.
Got started because it was an Olympic year, & some of us kids decided to have our own "Olympics" in the neighborhood. I really liked the running portion. Been running - off & on - ever since.

What does running mean to me:
I just enjoy getting out there. 95% of my running is on trails. I enjoy the scenery & getting away from everyone.

Running accomplishments: View my Pikes Peak Ascent/Marathon results
Finished 5 PPA's & 4 PPM's. Doubled twice...

What I like about trail/mountain running:
Getting away from most everyone. And the people you meet while trail running are running trails because they like it too!

Favorite running trail and why:
Seven Bridges, off of Gold Camp Rd, at North Cheyenne Canyon Park. Sammie and I used to run there all the time...

Favorite trail/mountain race and why:
A tie. The Barr Trail Mtn. Race and the PP Marathon. I ran both races for the first time in 2008. Fantastic!

Best running experience:
Running Bolder Boulder 10k race, 4 days after blowing up my knee. Had the knee wrapped 7 ways to Sunday. Had forgot my running shoes at home, so went to the 24 hour Wal-Mart and got their "best" pair of $30.00 running shoes....

I took off 2:45 from my previous P.R. - for a 10k, that's like :25 per mile.... HOW COOL IS THAT!!??!!

Worst running experience:
Running a 10 mile race, with a huge hangover. Ouch!

Running related bathroom stop story:
Lets just say there is some "Matt scat" on Pikes Peak, and we'll leave it "at that"....

Running pet peeves:
Litterers. Both of the human nature and the pet nature. Come on people, clean up after yourselves and your pets!

Something non running related that no one would guess about me:
I'm uncomfortable around heights, but never on Pikes Peak...

Other hobbies and interests:
Reading. Camping. Skiing.

Other stuff:
Took over 35 minutes off of my PP Marathon time from 2010. The past 2 years, I've taken off approx. 1 hr 20 min from my 2009 PP Marathon time. Thank you Incline Club! The best group of runners in the world. You are all very inspirational!

Page last modified: 8/27/2011