Charles Trujillo has come a long way from being a pool rat, riding his Big Wheel, and outrunning the neighborhood bully! In 1984, at Northglenn High School, a defining moment signaled the rise of a remarkable running career. Setting the Colorado State two-mile record, Trujillo announced himself as an athlete driven by discipline, resilience, and perseverance. That performance earned him a full athletic scholarship to the University of Colorado Boulder, where he captured three Big Eight Conference titles and earning NCAA Track & Field All-American honours on three separate occasions.

After graduation, Trujillo remained deeply connected to the sport, transitioning into a coaching role at the University of Colorado while continuing to chase his own competitive ambitions. He spent six years racing semi-professionally with Team Reebok, stepping onto the international stage and representing the United States on two world teams. Among his career highlights were an 11th-place finish at the Junior World Cross Country Championships in Portugal and a start at the World Half Marathon Championships in Oslo, Sweden—competing shoulder-to-shoulder with the world’s elite.

In the months leading up to the 1998 Boston Marathon, Trujillo pushed himself to the edge, enduring an intense three-month training block in the high heat and altitude of Mexico. At 33, after years of chasing the finish line at the highest level, he faced a harsh truth—his body could no longer keep pace with the relentless demands of elite competition.