BOULDER, Colo. — Peter Julian, the man largely responsible for bringing next month's U.S. cross country championships to Boulder, and his wife Colleen recently adopted a boy from Nepal.

There are some people who are elite runners, others who are top coaches, and a few more who have the smarts and organizational and people skills to put on a national championship race.

Julian, an Ashland native, is that rare person who seems to do everything well, all the while maintaining a pleasant personality that has many in the running world singing his praises.

Julian, 35, is a 10-year Boulder resident who is a national-class runner and Pan American Games bronze medalist, head track and cross country coach of Metro State College of Denver, and the organizer and director of the Boulder-based Feb. 10 U.S. cross country championships, one of the most important running events ever to be held in Colorado.

And if that were not enough, in the midst of the winter weather that hit Colorado, Julian and his wife, Colleen, found time to travel to Katmandu, Nepal, where they adopted their first child, a vivacious 2-year-old named Wade.

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"Peter is an inspiration," says Rich Castro, head of the Boulder Road Runners, one of the sponsors of the national championships. "I don't know many people who would attempt to do what he does. He is the kind of person we need in our sport."

"Pete is just amazing," adds former elite marathoner Don Janicki, a volunteer with the cross country championships. "I am impressed with how organized he is. He is the type of guy running needs."

In a recent telephone interview, Julian spoke while holding Wade, who could be heard having some kid fun in the background.

"With my own personal running and racing, the coaching and the cross country championships, all are about running and I am able to make things work," he says. "But a 2-year-old does not care what your schedule is. It is about finding a balance, and I couldn't do any of this without Colleen.

"She is taking more of the parenting responsibilities for now, all the while still finishing up her degree (a doctorate in medical anthropology), until the USA cross champs are over. After that, I'll take up the slack so Colleen can finish up. By summer, all three of us hope to be on a sandy beach somewhere with some cool things accomplished."

One of the biggest accomplishments, of course, should be the cross country national championships, being held in Boulder for the first time largely due to the bid and proposal put forth by Julian starting back in 2005.

"Things with the race are going really, really well," says Julian, a four-time All-American at the University of Portland. "The snow slowed us down, but it also gave us a glimpse of what to do if it does snow. It is going to be an amazing event, watching these guys go at it."

The guys include the best runners in the nation going head-to-head in one race, from milers through marathoners. The men's and women's open and junior races will produce the runners who will comprise the U.S. squad that will compete in the March 24 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Mombassa, Kenya.

"The competition is going to be so good that if all we had was some cones and a starter's pistol, people would come out to watch," says Julian.

Julian, who has run as fast as 28 minutes, 5 seconds for 10,000 meters and 13:33 for 5,000 meters, has made three world cross country teams. However, he will not be putting on spikes this time around. Instead, he will be running around the course making sure the races go off on time and without a hitch.

"I'm a control freak," he says. "This race means so much to so many, and we want it to be the best cross country championships ever."

Despite a schedule that would overwhelm most, Julian remains calm and patient, coaching, training, organizing the cross country championships and getting acquainted with his son.

Where does his seemingly boundless energy come from?

"Hard to say," Julian says after a pause. "I love the sport, I have a passion for it. I love training and I love racing. The fire is still there, which makes it easy to get up at the crack of dawn and go down to meet Jonesy (coach Steve Jones) and the guys, even if I've had only a couple hours sleep.

"In coaching, it is great to see how running can transform young men and women. It is not about them becoming faster. It is about them becoming better human beings."

Michael Sandrock is a sports writer for the Daily Camera in Boulder, Colo.