The Wedge 50K

Davy Crockett, Craig Lloyd, Aaron Williams, Matt Williams, Rob Bladen, and Me. Scott Wesserman took the photo.

Pictured above are a handful of The Wasatch Wranglers, a Facebook group made up of avid trail runners. I was lucky enough to spend this last Saturday with them running in The San Rafael Swell, South-Central Utah. The picture was taken near The Wedge Overlook of The Little Grand Canyon. We hauled ourselves out of bed at some ridiculous hour, left our homes and families in the Wasatch Front, and drove about three hours in the dark. We arrived just when the sun was peaking over the horizon and started running around 7:30 a.m.

Map of The Wedge on The Good Water Rim Trail near The Little Grand Canyon in The San Rafael Swell.

Rim Running.

The original plan was to run the Good Water Rim Trail, a trail that weaves along a side drainage to the Little Grand Canyon, out and back, finishing with 30ish miles. Some of the group had done it the year before and were confident that the trail would not be covered in snow. On the drive down we saw snow covered land and were skeptical, however, they continued to reassure us that we would be running on dirt. Let's face it, it's been a long cold winter and we were all excited with the prospect of running on dirt along a sweeping landscape of spectacular views in nice 40 degree weather.

Me, Rob, Matt, Craig, and Scott stop for lunch.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. After about 4 miles of trudging along the rim we abandoned it for the dirt road that circles the entire drainage. That's actually one of the advantages of running this particular trail during this season. So we took the road about another 5 miles to the other side of The Wedge and were able to run a bit more of the rims, which were mostly uncovered. Rim running presents a different challenge than most mountain trails. The most obvious challenge has to do with not falling to your doom ever other step. Also, there is a lot more side-stepping as you avoid shrubs and trees. More than once my arms or legs brushed against a tree breaking dead branches, but a few scratches are a lot better than falling off the cliff.

Me, Rob, Davy and Matt at one of the many overlooks.

Scott, Rob, and Me at mile 28.

After running out and back, mostly on the road sprinkled with some rims here and there, we hit about 21 miles. So we turned around and convinced ourselves of going another 10 miles to get a full 50K for the day, which was the original plan. I felt pretty good. After all, I was basically keeping up with people who have run multiple 100 milers. So I pushed through the fatigue and pain maintaining a 9 min. mile average pace for the next 8 miles. Most of it was down hill which helped me maintain my ego. After all, this wasn't a fast 5K or anything serious like that. Just about when we had 2 miles left Scott had this great idea to turn around at the crossroads and run back so that the car didn't have to drive as far to pick us up. Thanks for that great idea Scott! Basically, that meant the last 2 miles were up hill. Tons. Of. Fun!

This is my second 50K ever. Almost a year ago the OTM's did one along the Jordan River/Legacy Parkway. I remember feeling wasted after that and could barely move. This was not the case after finishing this race. I was sore and tired, but overall I felt much better than the previous year. At least I did, until Matt drove super fast on the windy dirt road and made me feel like puking my guts out. Believe me, I tried. Apparently I lacked just a little bit of salt. Ok, maybe a lot of salt. So, while everyone else ate a bite at the BK in Price I was moaning on a bench trying to suck on the salt that I could peel off my face from the sweat deposits. Finally, Aaron gave me a salt pill and some water. About 30 mins. later everyone was loading the van while I sat on the curb dry heaving. After about 4 or 5 attempts I finally puked out the water that I drank (that's all I had in my stomach apparently), felt much better and still got to ride shotgun the rest of the way home. Thanks Davy. I hope to do The Good Water Rim trail again very soon, puke and all.

Below is a video made by Craig.