Kahtoola Snowshoe Marathon '11

I decided to take a bit of a challenge to start off 2011. Having run the 25k for the last two years at the Kahtoola Bigfoot Snowshoe Festival I chose to go to the next level. The marathon consists of three 10k groomed loops through the golf course with an additional 2k (1.2 mile loop) during the middle 10k, as well as two steep mountain 5k loops. Total elevation gained is about 5,000 ft....in snowshoes. A good challenge.

The temps were a bit milder this year which was nice and as we started out I had little expectations. Having only been putting in 25-30 mile weeks I was not in the best shape for such a race. Bob, from S. Dakota, was a little different. He was running the 50k and had been training like a mad man for the event. As I was talking to him on the first lap I realized that this proud owner of 8 pairs of snowshoes was legit. The course conditions were very fast this year. We clocked our first 10k in under 52 minutes. (would have been the 10k course record prior to this year)

The 5k mtn loop we chewed up easily in 36 minutes. I started the second 10k loop strong. Bob was still moving well and then as I did the extra 2k loop he was gone and I was alone. I knew that both of us had our races won at this point. Finishing my 3rd loop my time was 2:34. I had run 27k 11 minutes faster then I had run the same 25k last year! Fast....too fast. As I started up the 5k mtn loop I purposely held back trying to save some energy for that last 10k loop. I ran the loop in 50 minutes.

I was at mile 20 with 6.2 miles to go. It was tough. The last 2.5 miles are all downhill but getting to the top was a struggle. My legs were so heavy, my quads and calves were cramping but I pushed it in to win the marathon in 4 hrs 41 minutes. Challenge accomplished.

Those first two laps were too fast but overall I ran well ate well and frankly had a great time. Miles 21-24 were really tough but it comes with the territory. I have yet to get a blister in myAltra Lone Peaks!! I've put at least 500 miles in them and they are bomb proof! The loop thing isn't all that bad. I typically shy away from such courses but having my drop bag there with everything I needed was quite nice. I'm not sure of the total number of participants but there seemed to be a great group of people out and about. Very fun festival and having run 3 different events over 4 consecutive years, I'll be back next year!

Results here.

Fun little video about the marathon made by Randall Davis

Winter Running

I had two great runs this weekend. I really enjoy winter running. There is little pressure to put the miles in, just relaxing runs. I've been doing a lot of miles on snowmobile paths with my Kahtoola Microspikes. It's been great.

Saturday however I decided to do the Kahtoola snowshoe marathon on Jan 29th so I buckled up my snowshoes and ran the Days Canyon to Kirkmans Hollow loop I did a few week earlier. Instead of 5 1/2 hrs it took me 2:47. The conditions were perfect with the paths already packed down and I had a great time. The only disconcerting part was the amount of cougar tracks I came across. In two spots along the route were not a set of tracks but 8-10 tracks criss-crossing the area. Definitely cougar terrain. Felt good and am hoping to hold up for the whole 26.2 miles in a few weeks.

Martin Luther King Day I ran south BoSho. With temps near 50 it was a slush fest but all fun as I was able to get another 2 hours out on the trail. I've only found two problems with winter running neither of which affected this past weekends runs. 1st-Lack of daylight. Since it's only light 8-9 hours of the day, getting a run during working daylight hours can be tough. 2nd- Late winter slush. It's great but I have this issue of following the slush through the whole spring as I attempt to run the high trails. During winter it's fine but by May I'm tired of it, yet I'm never content running the low trails all spring. Come April-May I'm anxiously attempting the high country a bit too early and end up post-holing through May and into June.

It comes with the territory though and my affinity for the mtns calls regardless of the temps or conditions. One of the allures of trail running though is the various conditions one finds. I've had 3 races in which it snowed during the race...and those races define my ultra experience becoming icons of the sport. However I'll complain about the snow until it gets too hot....man I hate the heat....:)

Days Canyon Loop

Ended 2010 with a bang! A group of us met at Jolley's Ranch up the Right Fork of Hobble Creek and headed up the canyon. We ended up going up Days Canyon and down Kirkmans Hollow for a cruel yet incredible loop. The person in front could usually only last 5-6 minutes due to the exorbitant amount of powder. The whole loop is packed down now which I hope is the case for the remainder of the winter. It took us 5 1/2 hours but it was great. I think I can do in 3 hours now that it is packed down. So far all this snow hasn't been too bad!

First Road 5k in years

So I up and did a road 5k the other day. No speed work, just left over ultra training. I went out uber conservative. After half a mile I picked up the pace and after the first mile I decided to go for it. I passed person after person. Once I had the 3 mile marker in site I kicked as hard as I could passing 3 more people. I finished in a time of 17:56. I was quite proud of myself. Especially, since I was wearing the Altra Adams which is a super minimalist shoe. With only a 3mm outsole and 3mm of cushion under my foot I had much less than a racing flat under my foot but I didn't mind as I cruised up and down the undulating course. Most shoes are way overbuilt in my opinion and with decently strong feet and good form, you just don't need so much shoe! Anyway, I loved the shoes and had a ton of fun for my first road 5k in nearly 5 years. It was fun and made me want to do a few more road races. I'm seriously considering doing a road marathon next year just to see what I could do time-wise. Anyway, I was surprised how much fun I had and how well I did in this fun little 5k.

Total Ultra's

I've had a bunch of people ask me recently how many ultra marathons races I've run. I couldn't answer as I've never counted until now. My first was Goblin Valley 50k only 4 weeks after running my first road marathon. Hardly even touched the road for training purposes since. So in 5 years of ultra running here's my tally:

3 --100 milers (started 4 but DNF'd Bear '08) '07, '09, '10

4 --100k's '06, '07, '10, '10

6 -- 50 milers '06, '07, '08, '09, '09, '10

5 --50k's '05,'06, '07, '07, '08

5 --Trail marathons '06, '06, '07, '08, '10

1 --Road marathon in '05

I thought I'd done more but in actual races it's only 18. The trail marathons I've done sure weren't weak sauce though. I've definitely done more than 18 training runs of over 26 miles however the count will stay at 18.

This next year I'll be traveling all over the country promoting Altra footwear. I'm pretty excited about the product having done my last 3 ultras in the Lone Peak. With being on the road for most of the year and not knowing where I'll be from one week to the next I'm not signing up for any ultras. It's a bit sad but if things go well I might try to lower my road marathon time. No doubt I'll be back doing ultras but without the schedule or ability to train I'll take a 1 year sabbatical. With winter setting in and sign up season in progress the realization has hit me. The only chance of me doing a ultra is if I get into Hardrock...seriously though it's my only race I'm putting in for. Hopefully I won't get called but it will keep my lottery alive so I can run it in 2012!

Antelope Island 100k 2010

I signed up for this race Wednesday night. It was one of those things where I just had the urge. After Wasatch I'd hardly trained but had been feeling good and getting in some nice runs. Mostly maintaining fitness and having fun. Antelope Island was just a spontaneous urge I had. My wife was out of town visiting her family so I drove up and stayed the night at the start. I slept great! Maybe is was the laissez-faire attitude I had about the race and maybe it was the dark cool night. But it sure was nice.

At 6am with little pageantry we were off. I got in line behind the front pack which consisted of mself, Davy Crockett, Tim, and Scott. It's was warmer then I thought it would be but pleasant. After 10 miles of nothing special we hit the beach. First was the finest softest sand possible. Slipping and sliding it felt you were going nowhere. Then it became the salt flats which was very nice to run on. However we couldn't see the flags very well and somehow ended up in a willowy marsh stomping through knee high muck and mush. I was not happy with the smell nor the wet slop that ended up in every crevasse of my shoe. After 9-10 minutes of this we reconnected with the chase pack on the right course.

The sunrise was beautiful over this next section. Scott began to pull ahead on the long climb and Davy dropped off. Tim and I ended up running together for the next 10 miles or so. This far side of the Island is of limits to the public and it was neat running through a beautiful area I'd never been. I was feeling great all the way to the half way point. Scott was 5 minutes up and I had gaped Tim 3-4 minutes. The race was now getting real and I finally started thinking competitively.

The second lap started great. Beautiful and isolated the back part of the island is surreal. I was moving well and having a nice time. As I started up the big climb I became worried that in my lack of preparation for this race I failed to put enough foot and salt in my bag. I got to the aid station and ate some potato chips killing too birds with one stone and was off. It looked like Scott had somehow pulled ahead and was now 10 minutes up and Tim was 7-8 minutes back.

First Photos by the great Golden Harper!

However I started feeling the effects of the race. Soon I was out of everything; water, salt, and food. I thought beforehand that the aid station was at the ranch but it was 2+ miles past the ranch. I kept up a decent pace all the way to the aid station but I knew I was cutting it close. At this point I began walking every 10 minutes for 30 seconds. My energy levels were really low and I was just trying to get to the next aid.

Picture by Greg Norrander

As I entered The Gate aid station I had 10 miles left. Scott was now uncatchable and Tim was nowhere is sight, 8-10 minutes back. In my cramping state I needed salt. I grabbed some much needed salt tabs, filled my water, and ate a couple potato chips & was out of the aid station. 1/2 mile out I realized I never opened my drop bag and was running with zero food. Needless to say it got ugly. I'm just an idiot sometimes on the trail. I can't believe I didn't grab any gels! I suffered to the final aid station and as I was nearing it I could see Tim in the distance pulling me in.

Picture by Greg Norrander

I filled my bottle, grabbed some nuts & two gels to get me to the finish line, and took off in hopes of beating Tim. 2 minutes out of the aid station I got real nauseous so I pulled over and sat down. The nuts and gel needed a minute to digest. Tim went by my asking if I was ok. I waived him on because it was too little too late. After another mile I started to feel better as my body processed the food. Soon I took my last gel and was cruising. By the end I was flying to the finish line cursing myself for not taking enough food and forgetting my drop bag. Those last few miles I moved as well as I had all day! I finished 3rd in a time of 10hr 28min.

Loved the race!! The course was awesome. I actually put my finishing time at 10:30, so I beat that which I was happy about. I know I lost 20 possibly 30 minutes due to my stupid planning and forgetfulness at aid stations. But that's what happens when you're not focusing and wing stuff. I actually had a really good race aside from the lack of food. My feet had ZERO issues or blisters!! My Altra Lone Peaks truly are the greatest trail shoes in the world. I'm pretty stoked about that. Since running in them I have had no worries about sore arches, feet, blisters, etc. Something I use to constantly have issues with. But what a great race. I'm sure that next year more runners will head out to the island for this awesome race. I sure had a great time!