Upcoming Race- Timp Trail Marathon

My training has been great for the month of May and here I go into another race. Aside from having to travel to California over the weekend AND having a nasty head cold which keep me from running all weekend, I am feeling very prepared and excited for these next couple of races.

Timp Trail Marathon is in its first year and looks to be a classic. Race directors are Marc Sanderson and Shaun Christian both experienced ultra runners who have put together a gnarly little course that should provide quite the thrill. With 8,700 ft of gain and loss with 100% dirt this marathon should be a challenge. I know I'm excited. You can still sign up or at least put it on the calender for next year. I was out on the course today and it was amazing! I have no idea about competition but I plan to go 90% and test my fitness. Saving the A game for Squaw Peak.

Didn't get my long run in on the Squaw course last week but I've got a couple runs planned over the next week, so I'll soon post some course updates. Weather is awesome so get out on those trails!

May=Squaw Peak Training

Well it's official, I've moved back to Orem.  Finally got the internet up so I've got some catching up to do.  My training sucked last week with the move but since May 1st I've been dedicated to my Squaw Peak prep and it's going better then I had hoped.  My whole focus this year is to get under 9 hours and PR.  My training is where it needs to be so we will see how it all goes.

Course: I ran a section of the course for the first time this week.  Start to Rock Canyon Overlook.  There is a lot of snow!  Scary part is how solid the snow pack was.  We were in snow from the time we left Hope Campground to the top.  I'm confident most of it will melt off but come race day we will still have 3-4 miles total, both above Rock Canyon and Windy Pass.  I intend to run nearly all of the course before race day and I'll post updates and maybe a few pics.

Huge congrats to Chris Solinksy for setting a new American Record in the 10K.  As much as an ultra trail runner as I've become I still got the chills when I watched this.  It's amazing, check it out.

Grand Canyon R2R2R 2010

Finally completed the mecca of ultra running. Having run R2R twice, I've never turned around and headed back across the abyss. This past weekend changed that! I went down with Tara Tulley and Jim Skaggs to do a double crossing. It was another epic adventure.

We started at 5am. Dark and cold we headed down into the canyon. It warmed up quickly though and within a few miles was getting light. Looking back on the experience we dilly-dallied around way too much in the cool morning. We should have speed it up and taken advantage of the downhill and moderate temperatures.

In and out of Phantom Ranch we pressed forward. The Box was as spectacular as ever as we headed up the North Kaibab Trail. It was much warmer than I had suspected. As we neared Cottonwood Tara realized that her control valve had fallen off her Camelback. She had taken the last of her water a ways back and it somehow went missing. I volunteered to go back and look for it. Without the valve, it would be nearly impossible to finish, so I told her to keep heading up to Cottonwood while I ran back and looked for it. It was nearly a mile back. So add 2 miles to my crossing

From Cottonwood, things started to heat up. This also meant the snow was melting faster which meant water crossings and eventually run-off waterfalls! It just added to the excitement. Tara started struggling and told us to keep moving forward which Jim and I did. That climb up the North Rim was a beast! The last mile+ was nearly all snow as we post holed to the top! At this point I was ready to cruise back. My plan had been to run across with the group and then see how fast I could get back. With us taking a little longer then I had expected to get to the North Rim I was also running out of food. I also forgot my watch. Note that the Phantom Ranch Shop closed at 4 pm.

It was 1:35 pm when we left the North Rim and I was dead set on getting some more food. It caused a serious crash which is still healing plus all the determination I had. Without a watch I just kept pushing. Flying down those last 6 miles was awesome! The terrain is perfect for such running. As I arrived at Phantom Ranch I let out a hoot! 3:47 pm I had run those 14 snow covered, stream crossing, rocky dusty miles in 2 hrs and 12 minutes. I had also forgotten to drink much of anything and taken almost no salt all day. Needless to say I got all the food I wanted including two glasses of lemonade with ice!...but I was spent. Dehydrated and electrolyte deficit I then ate too much making me even more sick. After an hour I decided I wasn't going anywhere fast, so I hung out for another hour until Jim Skaggs strolled in looking all fresh and perky. He laughed when I told him what happened.

We then hiked it on out. It was great having good conversation those last 9 miles heading up the Bright Angel Trail. We made pretty good time power hiking on up. That morning I thought we would finish before it got dark but not today. As we got to Indian Gardens, it was time to turn the headlamps back on. Those last few miles of switchbacks were painful but just after 10 pm we finished! What an awesome yet tough day. Tara toughed it out to finish just after 2 pm.

With my extra mileage I will call this an even 50 miles. I'm not sure why but it was super tough. I got seriously humbled due to my lack of proper nutrition. Good lesson to learn early in the season and I still managed to have a great time. I was surprised how many runners were out there doing a double. There must have been 25+ runners making the pilgrimage. Now my mecca has been achieved but I am already planning my next journey to The Grandest of Canyons!

UVU Backpacking Class Spring 2010

I just finished teaching another course for Utah Valley University. It was the basic backpacking course which I never tire of teaching. This class was fantastic and it showed while on the mandatory trip.

I chose an aggressive and rugged loop in the San Rafael Swell. We wanted to see how difficult the pass between upper Virgin Springs Canyon and Upper Canes Wash was. I nearly had a dozen heart attacks while going up and down the pass due to the gnarly conditions. Considering that half the class had never been backpacking before and there we were lowering packs down cliffs with a 1000 foot precipice awaiting a misstep was a wee bit scary. The class seemed unfazed and we finished the 18 mile trip with nothing but smiles.

The exact route lead us from the San Rafael River campground along the south side of the San Rafael River to the mouth of Canes Wash, over the Wedge to a most beautiful pictograph panel, through what is known as the Little Grand Canyon to the mouth of Virgin Springs Canyons, up the left fork of Virgin Springs Canyon, up and over an unnamed pass (very rough you will probably want a 40 ft rope and lots of slickrock backpacking experience), then finally up Upper Cane Wash. We took two cars and did an 8 mile shuttle. Another epic backpacking trip with a great group of students!

This weekend......R2R2R of the real Grand Canyon. 48 miles...one day. Should be a great time.

Barefoot Run

Went 6 miles today...barefoot. Farthest to date. Felt amazing. My feet are a little sore this evening but all-in-all I feel great about the run. Feet and legs are feeling super strong and I'm ready to start cranking out the mileage.

Part of my ability to start cranking out the mileage is that I quit my job this week! I am no longer employed at Canyon Sports. It ended amiably and I will miss the shop but I am working on starting my own company here in the next few months. In the meantime, I am teaching adjunct at Utah Valley University.

March was crazy trying to balance everything but I got through it and I'm feeling great about the future. I did manage to run 220 solid miles of almost entirely trail and barefoot running at an increased intensity during the month. I will be moving back to Utah County here at the end of April and am very excited about this next phase of life!

Antelope Island 2010 Recap

2010 was truly an epic year for Antelope Island. Nearly every course record was broken during the day with a record 600+ participants. Although I didn't race myself, I volunteered then paced in the 50 mile race and had an awesome day.

My runner Health Thurston ran his first ultra with great success. Running smart and strong from start to finish in a time of 7 hrs and 57 min. I paced him for the last 25 miles and had a fantastic time doing so.

Congrats to 50 mile winners Ryan Burch/Scott Jaime. Scott took a wrong turn with 800 meters to go in the race allowing Ryan to pull ahead for the win. They were within a minute of each other almost the entire race taking over 10 minutes off the course record in a time of 6:33! Elizabeth Vitalis ran a great race and a new course record of 8 hrs flat. She helped push Health the last 15 miles. Tough chick running an awesome race.

Not to be outperformed, Nick Clark ran an incredible 50k race in a time of 3:48! Amazing! Legends Nikki Kimball and Monica Ochs fought for the womens title with Nikki winning for the 2nd year in a row in a time of 4:42.

Also a congrats to Davy Crockett for running the 50 mile loop twice. Always up for an adventure, read about his race here.

It was a perfect day and mad props to Jim Skaggs for putting on such a large and successful series. Don't miss out next year! It was great to be part of the Utah ultra community and seeing such quality people and runners all in one spot. It's always a pleasure. Now go run...