Ok – so if you haven’t noticed, my blog has gotten a nice makeover. The makeover includes an updated theme from Cordobo along with a few additional tweaks, several links to my other social sites (twitter, facebook, etc.), as well as a commitment to update the blog on a regular basis.
The blog is going to take a more professional direction, which means I’ll discuss internet marketing more so than I have in the past. I’ll still post about my whereabouts, my travels, and my recreational activities, so no fear! I plan on having fun with this.
I’ve been testing various wordpress themes like crazy over the last 24 hours. I think I’ve finally settled on one, but hang tight a little longer while I work out the bugs.
On that note, check out a blog I set up for my sister, Michele Goodson. I bought the domain and set up the blog yesterday… let’s see how long it takes for here to rank first in Google for her name. Stuff like this excites me!
Yeah… I haven’t posted here in a while. I am watching the Syracuse vs. Arizona St. game right now (March Madness is great) and I thought I’d type up a few words during a timeout.
Anyways, last time I posted looks like it was back in October. Since then, I’ve done a few cool things. I ran the Ouray Mtn. Trail Run in Colorado in mid October to cap off the running season. Since then, I’ve probably run a total of 7 different times… just been taking it easy and enjoying the snow rolling into Utah. I’ve been doing a lot of downhill skiing up until late January, when the great skier that I am, ran into a tree fracturing my collarbone. It’s healed by now, and I have been skiing a little more (just staying out of the trees!)
Some warm weather rolled in a few weeks ago and has been melting the snow quite a bit. It got up to 70 degrees yesterday, which warranted a hike/run to the top of Grandeur Peak. Despite not running a whole lot in the last 3 months, endurance doesn’t go anywhere. I am signed up to run thet Squaw Peak 50 in early June, so I got to get my run on eventually! We’re looking at close to a foot of snow this afternoon to tomorrow, and snow showers for this upcoming week. Guess the warm weather will have to wait.
I also got a road bike a few weeks ago – a Cannondale Six13. It’s pretty sweet… looking forward to getting some nice rides on it over the summer. Also been playing a lot of guitar with some other pickers here in Park City… I plan on hitting up some bluegrass festivals this summer.
That’s my last 4 months in a nutshell. Not very exciting, but as the warm weather rolls around and running/hiking season gets into full gear, I’ll be updating a little bit more. Chow!
During the last week, I have been thinking a lot about the AT a whole lot; reading people’s thru-hike stories, looking at pictures, and formulating a new way to backpack even lighter and more efficient than before all in preparation for a proposed future thru-hike in the next few years. Karl and his AT hike have completely opened my eyes and have taken my “sense of adventure” to a new level.
I’ve “known” Karl since about 2005. I considered myself an ultra-runner long before a hiker and in the world of ultra-running, everyone knows the name Karl Meltzer. He’s the 100 miler champ, reigning from the Wasatch Mountains in Utah. I remember reading a trail-runner magazine article featuring the “people of Hardrock”, featuring articles of folks who competed in the toughest (in my opinion) 100 miler in the US. Karl, having won this race numerous times, had a page featuring him. I remember reading it like it was yesterday, even though it was years ago, thinking to myself “here is a guy that has it all figured out”. I was impressed with his feats, with his lifestyle, and his approach.
When I saw a job opening for Backcountry.com in UT in January of this year that matched my expertise, I was excited, but I didn’t know many folks from the area. I had been following Karl’s blog and decided to e-mail him some questions about the area, thinking to myself “he’s too cool to respond to my e-mail”. I got a well-thought out response in a few hours, 5 paragraphs long. I was very happy to say the least.
Fast forward 7 months, and I was sitting in the RV multi-tasking; taking care of the whereskarl.com blog to the best of my ability, crewing for Karl, navigating where to go next, making sure we had supplies, etc. It was a great opportunity that I wouldn’t miss for anything. I love ultra-running and follow ultra-running like any SEC frat-guy follows college football, but unknown to a lot of my peers, I’ve had an AT thru-hike in the back of my mind since the first few years of high school. Flying to the east coast, I wasn’t sure what to expect. A little nervous, but definitely excited.
Right off the bat, I saw what I was getting into, and loved every second of it. I met a myriad of people associated with the AT. The first day in PA, I met Billy (aka Woodstock), TrailAngelMary, folks at the Doyle in Duncannon, several thru-hikers (Stilts was one of them), John DeWalt (one hell of an inspiration if I’ve ever seen), folks that came out to cheer Karl on (particularly Karl from Carlisle and his family), Karl’s parents, and of course Karl. This was all in the first day, and it was quite the whirlwind.
When Karl was running, he was all business, but at the end of that day, he was the most down-to-earth guy I had ever met. I know it sounds cliché, but it’s true. Karl is one heck of a nice, sincere, fellow. Any time someone came out to visit him and say hello, he would always take time to converse, discuss, and learn about the AT from the locals. The first night in the RV, a family from Carlisle PA has come out to see Karl – two kids wanted to talk to Karl and get a picture with him. Despite it being “past bedtime”, Karl was sincerely excited to have folks from the area come by. I was thrilled to see this side of Karl, and how genuine it was.
This is how it was for the next week with Karl. I met so many folks from PA, to MD, to WV, all the way to Daleville, VA. Every individual who I talked to touched me in their own unique way. I consider myself “AT knowledgeable”; I have section hiked quite a bit of it. I’ve done pretty much all of NJ and GA, all of the Smokies, all of Mt. Rodgers in SW VA, and I consider Front Royal down to James River my stomping ground (I’ve been hiking those parts since I was 7 years old). I knew the “where” of the trail, but didn’t get the “who”, “what”, and “why” of the trail until Karl and Billy gave me the opportunity.
The AT has an incredible culture. The trail is special not just because it’s remote for detachment, narrow for chosen company, winding for leisure, and lonely for contemplation, but because of the people that reach out and are willing to help folks who are on the trail. Terms like “trail angels” and “trail magic” are now happily in my vocabulary. As Billy reiterated, “it’s great to see folks who are willing to bend over backwards for strangers in this day and age”. I couldn’t agree more. I was only on the trail there for a week with Karl, but I am sure what I saw was the tip of the iceberg.
And as I try to write one more paragraph, sitting in my recliner drinking a beer after a long day of running on some trails here in UT, and fiddling around with my new “Tarp Tent Contrail” that I received in the mail this morning (I love it… thanks for the recommendation Billy!) I can’t think of what to say, but I believe Billy summed it up the best, so I’ll go ahead and copy and paste what he wrote:
I’m getting to see some things up close that have humbled me. Karl Speedgoat Meltzer is a great person filled with admiration for this trail and the highest respect for the record Andrew put down. I have seen a man walk out of here some mornings that almost brought tears to my eyes. It has not all been pretty to say the least. What he is doing is so far off most of our radar it’s impossible for me to communicate. He is the toughest human I have ever been around, period, end of story. If anybody wants to argue that, they can talk to me. This has been and continues to be a great challenge, an inspiration to my spirit, and a huge opportunity to be a part of a beautiful thing. I’m in love with this trail and I am fortunate to have the opportunity to help a good man and a good friend live out his dream. Go Speedgoat, you can do it man.”
Karl – savor the finish and enjoy Springer! I’m with you all the way… what you are doing is special and I am humbled to be a part of it.
Well, I can’t tell you, but I will be able to in a few days. Straight from Where’s Karl headquarters!
I am flying out of Salt Lake City this afternoon to meet up with Karl Meltzer on the AT. Starting next Wednesday and lasting for a week, I’ll be his mobile aid station volunteer; feeding him, doing his laundry, taking care of the RV, and just general crewing for him will be my day to day tasks.
If you’ve haven’t been following this, let me fill you in very quickly. Karl Meltzer, reigning from Sandy, Utah, is a very experienced ultra-runner who is being sponsored by my company, Backcountry.com, to try and break the Appalachian Trail speed record. He set off from Baxter State Park in Maine on August 5th, and has been at it ever since. He had a few days off after a bad case of tendonitis caused by a change in stride from a case of trench foot due to the torrential rain he had to face, but he has been making some good progress in the last week, logging in 50+ miles each day the last two days.
About 7-8 folks from Backcountry.com will be helping him in week segments, and its my turn to fly out there, and give him what he needs to make it to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the AT. I’ve crewed some folks in the past on 100 mile footraces, and paced a good friend of mine at Umstead 100 in April, so I think I’ll do a good job in keeping Karl’s mood up. I’ll be travelling with Karl in PA, and MD most likely, but it’s always hard to predict where exactly he’ll be, hence the site www.WheresKarl.com, dedicated to you following his progress.
I’ll be constantly updating the Where’s Karl blog while I am out with him on the road and trail, so check in there to see what I am up to, and more importantly how he is doing. All very exciting! See you on the AT!
About 115 runners gathered at the base of the Snowbird Tram around 6:15 for pre-race instructions. The morning brought rather warm but manageable temperatures. I was excited to start, but definitely a little nervous. After Logan Peak 28 miler a month ago (or the Crash and Burn 28 miler as I refer to it), I was curious to see how I’d do in my 2nd mountain ultra.
Karl Meltzer, the RD of the Speedgoat 50K, counted down from 10, and we were off. Known as the toughest 50K in the US, the first 8.2 miles of the race climbs from about 7,500 ft. up to 11,000 ft. to the top of Hidden Peak, where the Snowbird Tram ends. Given my performance at Logan Peak and my lack of time spent at over 9K feet, I decided to take the first half of the race relatively slow, and pick it up after that depending on the conditions.
Around mile 1.5 or so, pre-race nerves got to me a little bit, and I upchucked some Gatorade and a Clif Shot block I had just eaten. Not a great start! However, I felt instantly better after the fact (boot and rally, anyone?) From there on out, despite the long climb up, I felt pretty good. I hiked most of it, but ran some when I felt good. I reached the top of Hidden Peak in 2:24. Slow, but definitely felt comfortable. After a bathroom break, a few snacks and a little light-headedness, I hit the trail again to head downhill towards Mary Ellen Gulch aid station at mile 14.5 at 7.5K ft. elevation.
The downhill felt pretty good. After a quick rollercoaster run up down Hidden Peak and back up Mt. Baldy, we travelled down a very steep downhill equipped with ropes and assistance from Black Diamond. I generally take my sweet time on sections of trail like this, and I went especially slow as the volunteers said someone had just fallen. After the climb down this steep section, I passed the runner who had fallen; a good amount of blood on her head, and definitely not looking in the best of shape. She was being helped by 4 other folks, and they seemed to have the incident under control, so I pushed on. I never heard what had happened, but I do hope everything turned out alright!
The next 5 miles were all downhill. Every now and then, I would turn around just to see the top of Hidden Peak in the distance getting further away. Stinks that we have to climb back up! After a nice spill running downhill too fast, I hit the Mary Ellen Gulch aid station in about 4 hours flat. Feeling good and knowing full well that a large climb was ahead of us, I fueled up, took out the sunglasses and bandana, and it the road. The hike to the next aid station was 3 miles up and one mile down according to the folks at the aid station, which seemed accurate. I felt good up to this point, and was glad I saved enough energy to hit the 2nd half of the race feeling great.
The climb back up to Mineral Bottom (water only) aid station had treated me well. I passed about 10 folks, and felt great all the way up. 18 miles down, about 13 to go. The next 2.5 mile would lead up a little more to the tunnel aid station at mile 20.5. I hit the Tunnel aid station in about 6 hours. I grab a quick bite to eat, and enjoy a small conversation with volunteers before I headed back out.
This is where things took a turn. I had been enjoying the race up to this point, and felt comfortable. We were only about 500 feet from the top of the ridge, and I had the impression that the next 5 miles to the next aid station were going to be along a ridge, or on relatively flat ground. With the last 5 miles being all downhill, I had thoughts of finishing the race in 8 or 8 ½ hours. As soon as we exited the other side of the tunnel, we headed down. The downhill would not stop, and I was starting to get a little concerned about the uphill that would follow.
Finally the uphill came, and it was one heck of a trail on a ridge, heading straight towards the top of Hidden Peak. I could see the peak getting closer and closer, and I was craving some sugar like no other. Maybe some solid food. Maybe a cold Mtn. Dew! I had some gels in my pocket but I figured I wouldn’t need them as I could see the peak in the distance that held the last aid station. Plus, with nausea returning, I didn’t want to risk trying to stomach a gel, and throw it back up. About 100 feet from the top, I pass a hiker. She then says “great job… about a mile and a half to the next aid station!”
I had no idea that once we reached the top, we had to take another dip in elevation and climb switchbacks in some snow before we got to the top. Talk about a false front! I was completely devastated… it was like a dagger in my heart. With the switchbacks in front of me after jogging down the hill, I filled up my water bottle with a stream created by snowmelt. I drank some, and poured some over my head. I was not looking forward to the next climb. Granted this next climb would be the last 1K climb of the day, bonking at the bottom of it kinda sucked. I took a gel and a 3 minute break on a rock, and climbed halfway up the switchbacks. After about 500 feet up, I took another break and another gel. Cooperating with my stomach, I finally pushed on, and eventually reached the top. Those 6 miles that I had thought would just be lollygagging on top of the ridge ended up being a 140 minute death march.
I sat down at the top of Hidden Peak for about 10-15 minutes. My legs felt good, but I had 0 energy. Fully well knowing that the last miles to the finish were all downhill, I was confident that as long as I could get my ass out of the chair, I’d get to the finish. Feeling a little sick, I decided to suck it up, and head out of the aid station.
The last 5 miles were bliss. It was all downhill, and I passed the 5 folks that passed me in the aid station. Like I said, my legs felt great and the downhill was awesome. I stopped to take in some of the views, finally knowing for the first time in the race that I’d finish it feeling pretty good. As I got closer to the bottom, I could smell the barn, picking up speed. After a long 9 hours and 27 minutes on the trail, I cross the finish line, happy to be done, and feeling pretty good.
The Speedgoat 50K was definitely the toughest 50K that I have done. Rather than underestimating the later miles in the race, I was rather happy with my performance. With that being said, I am still getting used to the altitude difference. I still find myself breathing hard at the top of climbs, and my heart still races when I run over 10K feet. In the 4 weekends leading up to this race, I did a lot of hiking and running, putting in tons of elevation gain between 8K and 11K elevation. Without that specialized training, I definitely would have struggled much more. With my second mountain ultra behind my belt, I am looking forward to my third!
Despite training going well as of the last month, and feeling like I could have kept moving after the race, I will be putting my plans of running a 100 miler on hold until further notice. Though I finished Logan Peak a month ago, and even felt good yesterday crossing the finish line, I am still not running at the level I’d like to be. I also have to figure out this nausea problem. Getting sick at the top of the mountain at 11K due to altitude is one thing, but getting sick 2 miles into the race? I’ve got to figure something out. I’ll be smoothing out the kinks in the weeks ahead, with the intention to maybe get a race or two in before November hits.
As you are all probably well aware, Karl Meltzer is going to begin his AT Assault in about a week’s time, so I will definitely look forward to that. Remember, you’ll be able to follow all progress of his 2175 mile trek at WheresKarl.com.
Karl and his volunteers pulled off a great event. Very challenging and very scenic. Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a challenge. I ran Mountain Masochist 50 Miler about twenty months ago in about 10 hours and 20 minutes, only an hour slower than this 50K. It definitely puts the two races in comparison. Have no doubt though, the winner of the Speedgoat 50K finished in 5 hours and 43 minutes… unbelievable to me!
I guess what the title says – that’s kinda what I have been doing since Logan Peak…
Actually, a lot has been going on. Definitely in the good way. First off, I was correct in saying that Logan Peak didn’t slow down my training, if anything it helped. It was a great wake up call like I stated, but I was back on the trails 2 days after the race, picking up where I left off. The July 4th weekend gave me the opportunity to put in plenty of training, and plenty of climb. I enjoyed a nice “speed hike” on the 4th, exploring the web of trails in my backyard. Saturday and Sunday brought 3+ hour long runs. Over those 3 days I put in about 14.5k of elevation gain.
It’s a good deal I got going on -The Canyons ski resort being in my backyard and all. Reasons being that it is free to take the gondola down the mountain, which is open every weekend through September. There are some great trails and forest roads that lead up to the gondola, and each trip up there is about 1,800 feet elevation gain. Good training. With that being said, I have been working on my “uphill power hike form”. If I want to do well, or at least finish, this thing called Speedgoat 50K in 10 days (damn, 10 day already?), I gotta accept the fact that I will be walking a lot.
This past weekend I put in a 5 hour run on Saturday that included running from my apartment up to the Wasatch Crest trail, lollygagging around 10K feet for a few hours, and coming back down. Felt great. The scenery definitely distracted me from the tired legs. Sunday was followed by a hard two hour run, which included a 2,700 ft. climb on the north side of The Canyons, ended by a sprint on the Mid-Mountain trail towards the gondola.
A few hours ago I completed a good 90 minute run that included an 1,800 ft climb, followed by a decent on the Holly’s Downhill trail (the gondola is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays). For those of you who have run down Holly’s Downhill trail, you know its 30 minutes of pure bliss.
This weekend is the last weekend before the Speedgoat 50K – as a “taper” I’ll be enjoying a 4 day backpacking trip in the High Uinta Wilderness, camping and hiking between 10K and 12K feet elevation (maybe it will help with elevation sickness I had at Logan Peak?)
Yeah… I love vacations
I am also going to be visiting family in August, as we have a family reunion beach get-together every year. I am looking forward to that very much so!
Finally, I am very excited to say that I will be taking a week off in early September to help crew for Karl Meltzer during his Appalachian Trail speed attempt. If you haven’t noticed by now, I am not a big fan of talking about my job on my blog (even though its a kick ass job!). Not that I am that dumb to post stuff in a negative light about my job in which people from my company can see, I just prefer to completely leave it off my blog.
However I’d like to make an exception in this case as Backcountry.com (who is sponsoring Karl Meltzer to attack the AT from Maine to Georgia starting August 5th) is sponsoring some employees to assist, crew, and work behind the scenes. I happened to fall on that list after much waited anticipation! I am very, very excited to be a part of history, and part of a company that can give an amazing athlete like Karl an opportunity as such.
The world will be able to follow Karl’s progress online at WheresKarl.com, which will be updated daily with pictures, videos, news, gear reviews, thoughts, updates, and so much more. It’s going to be awesome – I am very excited! I am unfortunately missing the weekend when the Mid-Mountain Marathon and the Wasatch 100 are being run, but most definitely worth it!
That’s all I got – definitely a lot of great things to look forward to! And oh yeah, I started up guitar lessons again, watch out flatpickers of America – I’m gonna be dangerous!
Yesterday morning around 5:45am, about 45 or so runners gathered at Gibbons Park in western Logan, UT at the base of Dry Canyon for the start of the 2nd Annual Logan Peak Trail Run – a 28 mile trek from the base of Dry Canyon at 4847ft to the top of Mt. Logan at 9710. The morning brought cool temperatures and no clouds – a beautiful day to run.
In the days leading up to Logan Peak, many thoughts about the race went through my mind.
First off, I was excited to go into an event with a racing attitude. Despite running several marathons and shorter races in the months leading up to Logan Peak Trail Run, I feel like I haven’t tested out my race legs since Mountain Mist 50K in late January.
Second, this will be my first race out west, and my first race at elevation. I have been putting in some very quality miles since I moved out here, and I think I am about ready to go (despite being no higher than 9K feet in my training).
Finally, and contrary to my second thought, in the back of my mind I kept thinking that I haven’t done any long runs as I usually have in training for such an event. I have done weekends where I have run, 3, 4, and 5 times in the span of 36-48 hours, with each run between 5-12 miles in distance, but I haven’t put in that many long runs over 18 miles. I’ll be curious to see how I perform after we hit the 3 hour mark.
I looked down at my watch – 5:50am. With the race starting in about 10 minutes, I gather up my last minute belongings (watch, gels, hat) and decide to chow down on half of a mojo bar. Now I’ll have you know that I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself, especially in a race that I expect to do well in. I’ll be honest, approaching this race, I had full intentions on being competitive, definitely thinking about top ten, and hopefully coming within 45 minutes of the leaders. With my stomach already filled with butterflies, the mojo bar clashed. I took two bites that did me in – for whatever reason, I felt like vomiting. I had already eaten a large pre-race breakfast and a few gels 25 minutes before, and I knew throwing up wasn’t a good option as I would have lost all my race energy.
From this point to the finish, that is the main plot of the race – just nauesa the entire time. I have run 24 ultras/marathons now and this race was the hardest race on my stomach and head. Regardless, the start came at exactly 6:00am, and we were off!
The first 4-5 miles were all about hiking… up, up, and away to the first aid station up Dry Canyon. I ran as much as I could, but there wasn’t a whole lot of running going on. I was feeling pretty good at this point – the sickness in my stomach subsided and I was taken away by the forests and the occasional views through the trees. Around 7:22, I hit the aid station, feeling pretty good, but admittedly a little tired. The climb to the first aid station was a good one as shown by the elevation profile of the race:
As soon as I hit the aid station, I felt a little low on energy, so it was GU time! I shot a GU and like deja-vu, my stomach hit rock bottom. I came close to throwing it up again and decided to stick around the aid station for another few minutes to walk off the nausea. My ultimate plan was to walk up the first climb to the first aid station and then kick it into gear, running a good amount of the remainder of the race. Keeping that in mind, but with some lingering nausea, I decided to move on, and ran a good portion of the next few miles, passing about 4 runners and feeling pretty good. By the way, the views of the surrounding mountains and the valley down below was beyond description. Just incredible!
In between these next aid stations, I found a little waist belt bottle in the middle of the course filled with gel. I decided to be a good citizen and pick it up and return it to the folks at the next aid station. The jeep roads and trails lead me to the next aid station in good time; still feeling a little sick, but enjoying myself. As I entered the aid station (by the way, the volunteers in the race were awesome!), I flash them the gel bottle that I picked up.
“Oh! The runner in front of you was looking for that! He said he dropped it somewhere on the trail. He is probably about 4 minutes in front of you!”
With a simple mile and a half to the next aid station, I decided to kick it into gear and run a good amount to see if I could catch him. I knew whoever dropped it would probably like their energy before stomping up Logan Peak. I took off at a good pace, and actually caught him relatively quickly, maybe within 10 minutes. Thankful I had picked it up, we chatted a little bit on an uphill section, and then he took off as the trail leveled out as I decided to walk and catch my breath a little.
Hitting the next aid station, I chowed down on some fruit (mainly grapes and watermelon) as my stomach was still not craving any solid food, like cookies, chips, and sandwiches. Because of this, with a big climb to come, I knew I was in trouble. I did have some GUs, some Clif Shot Blox, and some fruit in my pocket to assist me with the out and back section up Logan Peak, but I knew I was in for a good climb. As I left the aid station, I joked with the aid station folks “I’ll see you in 15 minutes!” The climb ahead was a 6 mile out and back, marching up to the radio tower at the peak at 9710 feet elevation.
This section was fun, and also very tough. About 80% of the course from here was covered in several feet of snow leftover from the record-breaking winter Utah enjoyed. The runners in the lead were on their way back down, which was fun watching them play fox and hound, chasing each other down the snow. What a performance! The climb up was a tough one, getting steeper and steeper, but finally, after a good hour and a slow 3 miles, the tower was only several hundred yards away.
I wish I had pictures from this point in the race. You could see forever when you hit the top. Rather than being in an airplane or in a car, I had never been at this high elevation before. I definitely felt dizzy walking up the last 1/4 mile of the peak. The trail was a dirt road underneath the snow, so there was plenty of room to hike up the slope without worrying of falling off the side, but man it was steep on each side! I got up to the top and walked around the tower to take the views in from all directions. Just awesome! The following video isn’t mine, but it’s the view that we all witnessed from the top:
Had it not been a race I would have stuck around up there for at least an hour. After unsuccessfully attempting to stomach a few shot blocks, I headed back down.In general, I consider myself a great downhill runner. I hear a lot of folks complain about downhill running just because it is tough on your legs and knees. Rather than an occasional toenail crying mommy, I can turn up the heat on the downhills. I could not muster any energy however, and felt like I was stumbling down the peak. I was even passed in this section, which was unlike me. I crawled into the next aid station, returning from the out and back section with hardly any energy left.Dropping out at this section definitely crossed my mind, I won’t lie. I felt like it would be impossible to complete the next few sections with the energy I had left. I decided to stick around the aid station a little longer than I generally would, and chit-chatted with the volunteers (did I mention they were great?). I joked around saying that I probably should have volunteered as opposed to run the event. We all laughed, when deep down I was thinking that maybe I should have
There were 3 reasons why I decided to push on:
I have never DNFed from a race and wasn’t about ready to start today
I am considering running a hundred miler by the end of the season, and if I couldn’t push through this, that would have a poor affect on my confidence
I kept coming back to Karl Meltzer’s AT speed attempt coming up in a few months – if he is able to average 45+ miles a day for 47 days straight, surely I can push through one bad day of 28 miles right? It’s all about the ups and downs in a race of this nature, and I was just in a rut.
I pushed on with very little energy towards the next aid station, which was quoted to be 5.5 to 6 miles away. Man it felt like an eternity! There was a good amount of downhills in this section, and I tried to run as much as I could without collapsing It was starting to warm up, and there was about 3 miles of this section that were completely unshaded. It was a death march to say the least. The trail however, was unbelievably beautiful. The views into the canyons, the views back up towards Logan Peak, the valley down below, I could go on and on. The views helped with the hike towards the next aid station. Just one foot in front of the other right?
Finally after a long 1:35, I hit the next aid station, completely zombified. I was so happy to see people with food, and even more happy to see a chair. I sat down immediately. I know you aren’t supposed to sit down in a chair in an ultra as chairs usually mean the end of the race, but I was in a good position depending on how you look at it as it was impossible to drop of at this point. The aid station folks had hiked to this section and there was no transportation down the mountain without hiking out.
I have volunteered at about 10 aid stations in the past, and I felt bad for the volunteers putting up with me. They were very helpful, retrieving food requests and asking if I needed anything. I felt like I was a crab. I was thinking to myself, “man, talk about a crash and burn victim at mile 24″. Usually when I run into the last aid station, I have the finish line in my sight, thinking about how many people I can pass before I hit the tape. All I was thinking about here was trying not to completely burn out.
Despite the last four miles being downhill, I don’t think I could have made it without taking in any sugar. I was fed shot blocks, some coke, and a full bottle of gatorade, just enough to get me off the mountain. I probably spent 10-15 minutes at that last aid station, “regaining conscientiousness”. Finally, I got off my butt and made a move towards the trail. Thanking the volunteers, I was off towards the finish.
The next section towards the finish was actually great. Like some folks said, it was tough not to run this section as it was just constant downhill. I probably put in 9 minute miles down the canyon, and after a quick stop at a cooler for a drink at the trail head, I hit the finish line in 7h15m and change. I was told I came in 26th place but I was just happy to finish, and for the first time in the race, feeling pretty good.
I learned a lot from the race. I learned what to eat before the race, what not to eat, and never to underestimate a race. Being my first ultra out west, I am not all that disappointed with the finish as I can hopefully take away some aspects of racing out here and apply it to future mountain ultras. I was comparing this race a lot to my last 50K that I had run in January, and was hoping to have results similar to that race and finish in the top 15%. I put together an elevation comparison chart to the two races, and realized maybe comparing these two races was flawed thinking:
Probably not the best way to compare a mountain course to a “hilly course” and it’s probably not fair to compare the two courses, but I thought matching one elevation chart to the next tells a good story. Finally, with the Speedgoat 50K coming up in exactly a month, I know how to train better. I have been training pretty hard in comparison to how I used to back in Atlanta, but if I want to do well, I will really have to put in some quality miles. I am not talking increase the mileage necessarily, but put in a lot of miles with climbs and elevation change and run at higher elevation. Thankfully I have The Canyons in my backyard, which will help me in the next months training.
Because of my nausea yesterday, the Logan Peak Trail Run was more like a hike to me. With that being said, I am still tired, but my legs aren’t sore. Usually after running a hard ultra, I am knocked out for a good 5 days, but I feel good enough to go for a run right now. Maybe I will do just that.
Logan Peak Trail Run results
Runners M/F Age Finish Time Overall Place
Jonathan Allen M 29 4:51:30 1 (new course record by 1:25)
Brain Beckstead M 26 4:53:38 2
leland barker M 50 4:53:52 3
Wade McFarland M 52 4:57:35 4
Jon Wheelwright M 28 5:37:05 5
Drew Michener M 28 5:39:02 6
Sarah Evans F 35 5:42:25 7 (1st female)
ryan brueggman M 32 5:47:15 8
Jami Smith F 31 5:49:52 9 (2nd female)
Brandon Haddick M 43 5:52:41 10
Jamie Williams F 38 6:04:44 11 (3rd female)
Jim Skaggs M 49 6:12:34 12
Jen Clancy F 29 6:15:00 13 (4th female)
Davy Crockett M 6:25:57 14
Mark Ellison M 43 6:29:53 15
Aric manning M 36 6:30:10 16
Dave Evans M 31 6:30:14 17
Matt Lloyd M 38 6:33:00 18
Daniel Bray M 49 6:41:19 19
Jared Storrs M 33 6:45:00 20
Jill Bohney F 43 6:48:33 21 (5th female)
Terry Williams M 51 6:49:05 22
Cody Blackett M 34 6:49:05 23
Steve Cracroft M 29 6:49:44 24
Bill Emmett M 56 7:07:07 24
Brita moe F 31 7:10:34 26 (6th female)
Greg Goodson M 24 7:15:19 27
Larry Mangum M 54 7:29:31 28
Jake Stephens M 26 7:57:06 29
james mcgregor M 65 7:59:03 30 (7th female)
Caroline LuckettF 41 8:11:00 31
Tony DeArcos M 55 8:32:00 32
Dave Isom M 43 8:36:55 33
Lisa McMillan F 45 8:38:32 34 (8th female)
Celeste Collman F 54 8:43:03 35 (9th female)
Marc Collman M 51 8:44:33 36
Bruce Burnham M 9:05:30 37
paul cracroft M 52 4:26:45 1st syncline loop
joseph macavintaM 33 7:57:53 2nd syncline loop
phillip maestas M 33 7:58:43 3rd syncline loop
The Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay was this past weekend… what a blast! My company sponsored 4 teams to run in the Wasatch Back Relay which is a 12-person, 181 mile relay race from Logan to Park City, UT. Our teams all started at 8:20 am on Friday morning and finished within 90 minutes within each other.
The race itself was a blast! The scenery was awesome, the format of the relay was great, and it was a great team building activity so-to-speak. Getting 3.5 hours of sleep the night before was the only factor that slowed me down. The lack of sleep hit me hard around dinner time around 9:00pm on Friday night. Luckily, we got 3 hours of solid sleep from 11pm to 2am, when the team called in and said it was about time for us to start running again. I ran 2 legs back to back around 3:00am, which allowed me to proudly say I put in 10.5 miles in my Pajamas (seriously!) through farmlands from Oakley, to Kamas, to Francis. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky… it was awesome!
Our teams finished around noon the next day, which meant at 2:00pm, I was finally able to get some sleep!
Next weekend is the Logan Peak Trail Run. I just got an e-mail from the RD saying that there is still a good amount of snow on the course, but it is melting fast. I ran a total of 21 miles during the relay, all on the road, and I am a little sore and my right foot has been reaggrevated again. I have been taking some advil, icing, and I didn’t run today, but I will probably run 5 miles tomorrow nad test it out. I think I have a good chance at doing well to Logan Peak as I have been training on some great terrain in the last month. Only time will tell!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video with 60 fps that is 10 seconds long worth? This video was taken the morning of June 11th from my apartment window. Give me a break!
I am flying out of Salt Lake City this afternoon to meet up with 
Yesterday morning around 5:45am, about 45 or so runners gathered at Gibbons Park in western Logan, UT at the base of Dry Canyon for the start of the 2nd Annual Logan Peak Trail Run – a 28 mile trek from the base of Dry Canyon at 4847ft to the top of Mt. Logan at 9710. The morning brought cool temperatures and no clouds – a beautiful day to run.
