Finding Personal Peace: The Journey of Robbie Pike 

“I bought a full suspension mountain bike back in 1997, and it was like the new thing then I just started. I didn’t have a car at the time, so I just rode my bike everywhere, and I would log anywhere from 50 to 100 miles a week on my bike because that was my major form of transportation,” says Robbie Pike, describing his beginnings with endurance sports. At the time, Robbie would have never realized that he was about to embark on a journey of finding personal peace. 

His Gateway

With mountain biking as his gateway, Robbie eventually migrated to trail running in his early 20s after moving to Colorado. He recalls, “I would go ride for like 10 miles, and it just wasn’t long enough. So I started putting together longer rides. Then I was getting up to about 30 miles with no nutrition, no clue on what to eat or drink, bunch of epic bonks on the bike.”

His First 50K 

Robbie ran his first 50K in 2011, poorly paced and painfully slow. It took him 11 hours to finish, taking 6 hours for the last 6 miles, but Robbie was hooked. He began regularly running ultras and found community by joining group runs with the Front Range Ultrarunners. Their monthly fat ass events gave Robbie the structure he craved. “I just started running those and having tons of fun,” he says.

An Identity Crisis 

After running his first 100 miler in 2014, Robbie reached an identity crisis. He struggled with his ego and did not want to be identified as only an ultrarunner. “I kept backing away. Deep inside of me is like I’m a human being first and I want to be thought of as a human being before an ultra runner.” He distanced himself from the sport for a couple years in an attempt to develop his core identity.

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Self-Supported Wilderness Adventures

The trails called Robbie back in 2019 for his 2nd 100 mile race, the Scout Mountain 100. Although Robbie had a good experience, he fell off again in 2020. He focused primarily on self-supported wilderness adventures. As Robbie puts it, “I would look at a mountain and go, I’m not going to go up a standard trail. I’m just going to find my way up to the top. That brought back a lot of the joy of just being outside.”

Old Habits 

However, when Robbie moved to Rapid City in 2021, he slipped back into old habits. “I started to find out, the only way I could feel accepted was by drinking and being around these groups of people there where I felt welcomed. And it always surrounded alcohol,” Robbie confesses. Come 2022, Robbie recognized the dysfunction in swapping addictions, knowing running wasn’t helping him grow. As he explains, “I knew it wasn’t healthy because just flip flopping from one thing I learned in recovery, like, recovery is about growth, and I wasn’t growing.”

A Human Who Loves Moving Outdoors 

Once Robbie had that realization and broke away from the man who would drink during races, he found his love for running again. Now in 2024, Robbie identifies first as a human who loves moving outdoors with inner peace guiding him. He says, “I want to chill. Like, if I’m taking water out of the stream to filter, it could be 10-15 minutes of me just standing around, hanging out with my dog, looking at the views.” Robbie finds this the best way to handle his anxiety stemming from past traumas. “I really find a big sense of peace when I do those mountain adventures.” 

Passion for Wild Spaces 

Robbie recognizes the rollercoaster his running journey has been. But through deep self-work, he seems to have struck a sustainable balance that nourishes his whole being. What’s next for Robbie is unknown, but his passion for wild spaces keeps propelling him forward. Robbie continues on his journey in finding personal peace.

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