Mens Fitness Magazine just named Colorado Springs the most physically fit city in America. You'd think we'd get a NFL franchise or something with that kind of talk (actually Denver was #4), but actually there are some things that make this a good place to live for the fitness concious.

1. The Olympic Training Center, with it's bevy of ancillary amateur athletic organizations that are based here, attracts and promotes fitness a lot.

2. The biking and hiking trails here are incredible. The choice of very vertical routes as well as some flat ones attracts users of all ages and fitness interests. I still don't completely get the Pikes Peak Marathon. Somehow running up (and down) Pikes Peak seems more like a heart attack waiting to happen, but hundreds do it, so it must be good for you, right?

3. The "rest" of the Colorado experience, like skiing, boarding, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, even golfing, etc, tends to be more fun if you are in at least some sort of shape. My first ski runs of the year are always a new revelation in what I did not do the rest of the year, so keeping up on some kind of fitness routine seems logical.

4. It is so pretty out so much of the time, you really want to get out and do something.



Having said all this, I am personally dragging the averages down as far as fitness goes. But let's not let this little confession discourage anyone, after all, it is about personal choices, no matter where you live!