Rampf Tows the Line
Army Specialist, Colett Rampf, has been in the military since 2020. Colett was pulling double duty at the 38th Army Ten-Miler by running as an individual and team member for Fort Carson. Rampf was a member of the Fort Carson FIRST PLACE FEMALE TEAM this year at the Army Ten Miler in October.
1st Place- Fort Carson Women 0:57:23 1:04:37 1:06:55 1:10:18 = 4:19:13 Colett Rampf F, Lara Powell F, Susan Tanui F, Olivia Albright F
The following account captures the thoughts and actions which Colett took during the race. It was through her focus and dedication that resulted in her being the fastest female military runner for the day.
There are some key points to take away from Colett’s comments which you can apply. There is no mention of having a target time but putting forth the best effort which took care of the time.
You can adopt some of her points and work that into your physical fitness program.
What was your strategy going into the race?
I didn’t have a particular strategy for racing the Army Ten-Miler. My goal was to settle into the race as early as I could and find a group of runners that were running my goal race pace. Throughout the first three-quarters of the race, I wanted to stay relaxed, yet stay on pace without exerting too much energy.
I knew that the last two and a half miles would be a bit more challenging and therefore, prepared myself for a mental challenge to me being fatigued and wanting to slow down. In the end, I wanted to ensure that I emptied my tank and finished the race as best as I could.
What was your attraction to selecting the Army Ten-Miler?
The Army Ten-Miler is one of the largest ten-miler races in the world. Every year, Fort Carson sends a team to represent the post. After hearing several stories of service members about their experience at the Army Ten-Miler, I became very interested, and it became my goal to one day also tow the line and race this historic race.
How did you feel about the level of competition?
After seeing the results from last year’s Army Ten-Miler, I knew that the competition would be very strong. The Army has a lot of talented runners that are stationed across the globe.
Therefore, I think it is very special that once a year, all these runners can come together and race against each other. Also, being able to race against three-time Olympian Jenny Simpson was something very special, as I never thought that I would tow the line with a professional runner like her.
How has the Army influenced you?
The military offers a variety of opportunities to not only test your mental but also your physical abilities. When I joined the army, I knew it would be a challenging, yet rewarding and life-changing experience. I had to learn different coping mechanisms to adapt faster to constant changes.
The Army has taught me to appreciate the small things. Sometimes we take things, such as seeing our loved ones every single day, eating at a home cooked meal, and being able to take a hot shower for granted.
How do you balance military and training?
Balancing the daily workload and training for the race has not been an effortless task. I have been very fortunate enough to conduct running practice during physical training hours. The team would meet up at 06:00 a.m. in the morning to conduct running training. Being able to run with the team really helped, especially during the more rigorous workouts.
After training, I would usually work until 17:00 – 18:00 p.m., especially on hard workout days. That was not an effortless task. Recovery time after practice is very crucial for the body to adapt and improve in performance. However, at some point, my body just adapted to it.
Our coach would place our weekly long run-on Saturdays. This would ensure that we get a good rest and our body could recover from all the hard work we have put in during the week. Overall, balancing the military and training is not an effortless task, but it is doable with good time management and an excellent support system.
Does the running at Ft. Carson add to your performance?
Before getting stationed in Fort Carson, I heard several stories about how training at altitude can affect your running performance, but since I have never trained at altitude before, I did not know on how my body would react to it.
When I first got to Fort Carson, I could tell that running out there was a lot more difficult, and it took my body a while to adapt to the altitude.
I still do not feel that I have fully adapted to the altitude. I can tell that over time, my body got used to running with less oxygen available. Before racing at the Army Ten-Miler race, I asked several runners about their experience when they raced at sea level after being at altitude. The answers were very mixed.
I had runners telling me it made an enormous difference, while others said that they did not feel any difference. As a result, I was not sure how my body would react going down to sea level and whether I could perform better.
Looking back to the race, I could tell that my body has benefited from training at altitude, as I could run a faster pace for a longer duration without being too exhausted.
How did you get started in the sport?
At five, I started playing soccer at my local soccer club. Throughout elementary, middle, and high school, I continued playing soccer, while also taking part occasionally in Triathlon. During my freshman year in college, I transitioned over to Cross Country and Track. Ever since I stuck with running.
Were there any parts along the course that were a challenge?
The most challenging part of the course was towards the end, just past mile seven. The ascend to the Arland D. Williams, Jr. Memorial Bridge was probably the most challenging part for me during the race.
After already running over seven miles at a fast pace, my legs got tired. The ascend of the bridge added to the tiredness of my legs, but I knew that past that section, the finish line would not be far, and I had to hang on for as long as I could and not look back.
Were you concerned about maintaining your pace?
The race started at a quick pace and for the first 1.5 miles; I was more occupied with finding an excellent position and settling into the race. After seeing the first mile split on the clock, I was a little concerned about whether I should keep going at this pace or slow down a little to preserve energy, especially for the second part of the race.
However, I felt very relaxed and therefore continued to run at a faster pace than what I thought I could hold throughout the entire race.
What is the distance from which you feel most comfortable?
Previously, the longest distance that I have raced was a 6 km cross-country race, back when I was in college. Therefore, I felt comfortable racing a distance that falls within that range.
Since I have not raced a distance further than that, it was challenging for me to figure out how to approach this distance. However, talking to teammates that already have raced this race previously, and learning from their experiences, has helped me out not only on what to expect but also on how to approach this race and figure out an excellent strategy.
How did you maintain your concentration throughout the race?
The first two miles, I focused on trying to settle into the race and find a group of people that was running fast but steady pace. From mile two until mile eight, I focused on staying relaxed and to minimize my energy exertion.
My primary focus was to ensure that I can maintain my pace. In the last three miles, I tried to focus on resisting the urge to slow down and finish strong, not only for myself but also for the team.
You were the leading member on the team for the Commander’s Cup. What sets the team above the others?
Throughout the past few months, the team has trained very hard. We pushed each other to get faster, which allowed the team to bond through challenging workouts. On race day, we came together, put everything we had on the line and raced this race not only for ourselves, but for the team.
At the end, for the team to do well, we all knew that we had to push each other during the race, get out of our comfort zone, and finish strong.
*To see more from Army Specialist Rampf, check out this interview.
* For more information on Rampf’s running career, click here.
*For more articles like this, please visit George Banker on our AWN Homepage.
