Capitol Reef 100 - Adventure Run

Aquarius Plateau, Boulder Mountain, West of Capitol Reef

by Sam

To the west of Capitol Reef National Park you'll find the Aquarius Plateau, some 6,000' higher. It's the highest plateau in North America. How high? you might ask. Well, it stays right around 11,000' most of the time. Living under the Wasatch Mountain Range puts this in perspective. Just picture yourself looking up to your favorite peak, like Timpanogos or Lone Peak. That's 11,000' and that's the elevation of about half the Capitol Reef 100 course. Needless to say, it's high, for a long long time.

Elevation Profile stolen from the Capitol Reef 100 site.

This was the inaugural year for the race. Whether that had to do with the small number of participants or not, I don't know, but only 29 people started the 100. I finished as number 14 out of 16 total finishers, which means 13 people DNF'd (did not finish). Everyone I talked to seemed to use the word "brutal" to describe the course, even the 50 milers. It was definitely difficult but it did not seem extreme to me. However, I do a fair amount of adventure runs and peak bagging where there are no trails or where boulder fields must be traversed. Phil Lowry best described the trail, "Trail??...  Cairn!...Flag!...Cairn!...Trail??... F@!#" This plateau is one of the most remote areas around and seldom used so the trail isn't really obvious and the markings weren't always easy to follow.

Burnt forest mist. (sounds like an ice cream flavor)

Sunrise

Morning Mist

As the race started we enjoyed cool temps and foggy skies, which lasted most of the morning. At the first hill we walked a bit and Steve recited, "I feel good, I feel great, I feel wonderful." from the movie What About Bob? A fellow runner laughed and when he saw us again at mile 56 he recited it back to us. The first 4 miles were on 4x4 roads through beautiful red rock. Then the scenery changed to pines, aspens and some burnt forest on single track. The last OTM adventure was Peakfest, which also had a lot of mist, so everyone got to enjoy our singing of Paloma.

Lady Friends

The first Aid Station (mile 6) seemed to come too soon and Steve and I both felt good so we blew through it without really stopping. A mistake we regretted about four miles later when we ran out of food and bonked with about 3 more miles before the next aid station. The burnt forest was eerie with the dense mist. The trail was overgrown with new growth making it hard to go fast. I rolled my ankle on an unseen rock which normally wouldn't be a problem but unfortunately I sprained my ankle about three weeks ago and it's still tender. I taped it tight and wore a compression sock but this roll had me walking for a few minutes. The people at the next aid station (mile 13) were making pancakes so we refueled and after another mile felt much better. During this time we passed lake after lake after lake. We enjoyed sharing the trail with some lady friends who were also doing their first 100 (they didn't finish). During this time we also graced the air with Barbara Ann and Sam, You Made the Pants Too Long. Arriving at an aid station we are always asked "what can I get you?" Another runner once replied, "a million dollars", Steve and I immediately broke into If I had a Million Dollars.

Sam stacking a cairn, don't want anyone to get lost.

Steve climbing the plateau

The climb up to the plateau was steep, rocky and windy. Usually on climbs everyone settles into a groove and gets quiet as they push through the pain. Instead, I sang Let's Go Fly a Kite. After we crested I don't remember much of the trail over the course of the next two aid stations (ending around mile 32). I remember enjoying the view along the ridges and the company, which consisted of Steve, and Dan from Minnesota, who we passed back and forth now and then. He was in the pain cave struggling with the altitude. It seemed that our easygoing attitude helped him a bit. He was at the finish line when I crossed it and was good company but honestly I didn't recognize him dressed differently and cleaned up. I sat and talked with him for 20 mins before realizing who he was. Steve did for more than an hour, so I guess I win there. 

Sam & Steve on the ridge, Capitol Reef far behind.

Dan & Steve in one of the meadows.

Steve and I felt really good leaving the aid station at mile 32. We had made good time on the plateau, not really suffering from the effects of the high elevation. Unfortunately, this was not the case for many people. We began to pass more people one at a time and continued to maintain our lead ahead of our lady friends. We descended the stock trail fairly quickly despite it being a nasty steep trail that the cattle go up and down. Peter van Horn called it "the waterfall of rocks." My mind suddenly turned toward the not soon enough future when I'd have to climb back up this nasty trail. I didn't look forward to that. When we arrived at the last aid station before the 50 mile turn around we came upon a handful of people who didn't seem to be doing well. We refueled with the regular 3 glasses of coke, ensure, potatoes and candy, grabbed our headlamps and jackets and took off.

Steve showing a face of "what the heck?" to the stock trail

The remaining 8 miles to the turn around were practically all down hill through one continuous large aspen grove. The miles flew by over glorious single track as we started to cross paths with the people ahead of us already making the return trip. I wondered at the ease of these downhill miles that would not be so easy when we had to come back up them. We ran into Davy Crockett, practically the only person we knew before the race, about 2 miles from the turn around. We shared a moment of encouragement and went on our way. We were pleased to come in to the half way mark under 15 hours with a time of 14:49:54.

The Aspen Groves.

The trip back up through the aspens was not as difficult as I expected. We left the turnaround with a dude named Bryan but after about a mile he decided to push on faster than us. I was feeling good but wanted to reserve my strength for the climb up the stock trail. Bryan didn't get terribly ahead of us because we could see his headlamp every so often. We passed Dan and the lady friends, they looked cheery but all decided not to go on at the 50 mark. When we got to the aid station I was sleepy and told Steve I needed 10 mins to sleep. He said to take 20. We both lied down on some cots for about 7 mins. and didn't sleep so we decided to push on.  It was about midnight. Jeff from Arizona said he'd be right behind us and caught up about half way up the waterfall of rocks. I went painfully slow up the steep nasty climb. There were two switchbacks too many. But finally we got back up on the plateau and started the game of find the next flag marker.

Sunset.

After leaving the 50 mile mark, Steve had two main goals. Make it back up the stock trail and then make it to dawn. One down. The trail was much more windy than I remembered. It seemed to snake through trees and around boulders endlessly. Horseshoe after horseshoe. It seemed to double back on itself needlessly. We did pretty well with the route finding but got lost a few times nonetheless. In the wee hours of dark and dreariness we banded together to forge through the night. It was cold, below freezing, in fact. Much colder than Steve and I planned for. Steve had on his short sleeve, a base layer long sleeve and my short sleeve, which made him look fat. I had a long sleeve and a light rain jacket. I was ok, Steve was cold. Suddenly we came upon a runner sitting on a rock. Here's how our conversation went:

Us: "How's it going?"

Him: "I'm trying to get to the Long Lake aid station."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I left Pleasant Lake around 6:00 p.m. and have been walking around in circles getting lost."

"6:00? Dude, that was like 9 hours ago. (It was now around 2:30 a.m.)"

"The last few runners told me how to get there but I just keep coming back to this spot."

"Are you hungry? Do you need anything?"

"I'm ok, I've been carrying my drop bag from the last aid station because I didn't want to wait for it when I dropped. Can you tell me how to get to the next aid station?"

"No, you're coming with us."

If the dude had been wandering around alone for some nine hours I wasn't about to leave him or let him go on. He didn't seem to need further convincing and gladly joined us. The next hour and a half I began to doze while I walked, stumbling a few times. The aid station at mile 66 must have been moved because it seemed like it took an hour longer than it should have to get there. When we arrived, sometime after 4:00 a.m., we were all wasted in one way or another and collapsed onto the cots and chairs to rest. I tried to sleep under a thin sleeping bag and couldn't get warm. Steve sat in a chair in front of the propane heater. Jeff took another cot and our lost friend the other chair. After about 45 mins. of restlessness I asked how everyone was. All I got were some moans and groans. I rolled over and continued to attempt sleep. After about half and hour more I said firmly "we gotta get out of here."

Not sure what to think about this...

About this time two other people caught up to us at the aid station. Jester skirt lady who we'd seen the previous day and an older looking fellow. Steve said he was done and asked what I was doing. I just looked at him. My stomach was a tiny bit uneasy but my spirits were high. He said, "you're going to drop aren't you." I replied, "don't say that" and got off the cot and readied myself to leave with the new arrivals. Jeff did too. It was cold bu dawn was upon us, goal number two met. But Steve,'s phlegm cough was flaring up in full force and he didn't feel that he could carry on. So, Jeff and I along with skirt lady and the other guy left.

It was around 6:20 a.m. We'd wasted too much time there and were now looking at the possibility of running too close to the cut off times. What's more, we missed a turn and came to a familiar looking meadow. Despite the fact that there were no flags we took the path we thought should be there. Luckily, Jeff talked us into going back and finding the trail because it did one of those horseshoe bends and we would have gotten way off trail. Route finding continued to be an issue but with the rising of the sun our spirits lifted considerably and we pushed to the next aid station.

I felt really good, tired of course, but not sore or sleepy or hungry. We were ok on time cutoffs so things were looking good. This was the last aid station on the high plateau. I snuck ahead of the group on some downhill portions and maintained a steady lead until I started getting texts from everyone at the same time. The wife, and fellow OTM's Jeff and Chris Krash wanted to know how I was doing. Due to the texting the others caught up to me. Jeff and skirt lady maintained a slow but steady pace. Tony, the older fellow (by older, I mean not young like me. He's probably like 50 or something), maintained pace with me. We had a good time talking peaks and trails in the Wasatch. Finally, we hit the steeper descent off the plateau and I let gravity carry me down. I didn't see Tony again until I was leaving the next aid station. Unfortunately, there was a miscommunication with the cutoff times and the leader of the aid station asked us for our bib numbers. I willfully surrendered my bib and informed the young kid that he could return it to me at the finish line because I wasn't stopping and I'd make it there before the overall cutoff, if not before. It was 11:27 a.m. and we had 19 more miles. The race had been going for 29 1/2 hours.

Speaking of aid stations, for each of the last three I started to see them around every corner for about a mile before they actually showed up. Call it a mirage, a hallucination or what have you but it always ended up being huge boulders or fallen trees. The weirdest on by far was when I saw a fellow OTM, Matt Ricks, sitting on a fallen tree waiting for me. When I got to him however he had gone. The mind does some interesting things when you're past all limits of fatigue and sanity. I guess you could call it hallucinating but to me it just seemed like my mind was trying to find reason to everything.

Feeling pumped to live up to my word and beat the clock I pushed through the ups and downs around the next few lakes. The time flew by and suddenly I was at the next aid station (13 miles left). Once again, Tony came in right as I was leaving. We exchanged encouraging words and I think I didn't see him again until the finish. It was getting hot and I was entering the exposed burnt forest section. That part was awful. Up and down, in and out, around, repeat. 50K and 50 mile runners started to pass me. Phil Lowry passed me. I'd been doing the math for a while and I knew that if I maintained 20 min. miles I'd make it. I felt pretty good but didn't push any limits.

Sprinting across the finish line. Photo by Ben Light.

When I had about 7 miles left I heard another 50 mile runner coming up behind me. I didn't recognize him at first but it was my buddy Matt van Horn. Later at the finish he said I had a glazed over look, I was stumbling, and I had slurred speech. I was coming up on 34 hours. I was happy to be with someone I knew. He mentioned what almost everyone had, that the course was brutal and he didn't know how I'd done it twice. We chit chatted for a moment then he offered to pace me to the finish. It was a gracious offer but I didn't want him to slow down for me so I told him I'd keep up as long as I could. We blew threw the last aid station and started the last 6 miles of downhill over 4x4 trails.


I don't know how I did it but I was able to keep up with him. We hovered around 11 min. miles until the last one where, according to Matt, I was running at 5:00 min. mile pace. I've done countless runs with significantly less mileage and haven't been able to sprint to the end. I was amazed. It almost didn't seem real, as if I were watching myself from the sidelines. As with all ultras I was greeted with applause and happy people despite being one of the last to finish the 100 miler. I was winded and stumbled around as I got high fives and pats on the back. I couldn't find my voice and Steve said I sounded like a girl, but I was done. My finish time was 34:58:58, just under 35 hours. I know that if MVH hadn't caught me I'd have finished much closer to 36 hours. I wouldn't have pushed it that much. I owe him a debt of gratitude for just being at the right place at the right time.

One of many to come.

I enjoyed resting with friends at the finish line and being off my feet, which apparently had a few blisters. I was glad to have the tape off my ankle and that I didn't further injure it. Before this race I had my doubts of ever accomplishing this dream. It was a dream and passed by like one. But it's a dream that calls to me. One that I'm sure I'll find myself in again soon enough.

Hangout after the race with the WMW. Photo by Greg McIff

Some Thoughts on Capital Reef 100

By Steve

While we wait for Sam's official report on the Capital Reef 100, I wanted to drop my thoughts on it  as something of both a preview as well as an afterthought.  I won't rehash the details of the "brutal" course, as you can get enough details from Sam's coming post as well as a good report from Davy Crockett,

I dropped at mile 66 (actually 64).  Of the 29 people that started the race, only 20 turned around and kept going past the 50.  Of those, only 16 finished.  Of the other 4, I was the only person who dropped out post-50, as the other three didn't make the cuttoff times.

So, why did I drop?  Here are the hurdles I faced and what I feel I need to do go get past them.

1.  Asthma:  This was the biggest issue.  With the cold, dry air, combined with altitude (The Aquarius plateau is the highest in North America and we covered 42 miles up there).  My lungs tightened up and by the time I reached the Pleasant Lake aid station, there was some good wheezing going on.
 
FIX:  I'm making an appointment to see a pulmonary specialist to see if he can help me treat this properly.  A more proactive approach with Doterra Breathe, cough drops, and an inhaler would also have helped me get farther.  A facemask during those cold slow miles at night would have helped keep the cold dry air out as well, which brings me to my next issue:

2.  Temperature:  I tend to have a harder time staying warm than most runners.  I was cold for most of the day, and once night hit, even with my base layer, I couldn't stay warm.  Combined with the difficulty keeping a steady pace due to the rough trail, my body temperature was too low.

FIX:  For all 100 mile races from now on, I need to expect my pace will at many points reach a slow walk.  I need to prepare for cold as if I am planning to stand still, and not as if I'll be running the whole time.  In this case,  during the day, I should have had my baselayer on all day, and at night I should have added my outer lightweight hoodie and facemask.

3.  Aid Station Resting:  While taking a short breather or even a nap at aid stations works wonders for Sam, it actually has a detrimental affect on me.  My body temp drops and my lungs tighten up.  Which does not bode well for problems 1 and 2.

FIX:  Avoid the chair!  Keep my body warm.  What I did was go hungry for the last few miles going into the Pleasant Lake aid station, walk in, crash into the chair, and then waited for the space heater to take me away.  Instead of that, I should have eaten a few more calories coming in, not sit, but eat some good calories and caffeine, and then slowly start marching out of there towards the next aid station at ChokeCherry.  Even at a slow walk, I could have recovered my body and been there prior to Sam reaching it after a 90 minute stop at Pleasant Lake.

So, those are my take-a-ways.  We'll see if I can put this knowledge to good use in 3 months when we run the OTM 100.

First Annual OTM Peakfest

By Steve

When mother nature finally opened up and dropped moisture in Utah this year, it happened to litterally rain on our parade to run the OTM 100.  With too much snow in Willard Basin, we had to change our plans.  Since we all had already planned to take the day off, we tossed around some ideas we could do.  White Rim Trail?  Go see what Fast Cory could show us in southern Utah?  Double Zion's traverse?  All good options, but as Sam listed some peaks we could hit, I threw out the word "PeakFest."  Immediately we all had a light bulb moment and the forth OTM event was born.  This annual event will now be in the company of the Beard Camp (every February), The Skyline Drive 50k (July), and the OTM 100 (October).

PeakFest... how many peaks can we hit in one weekend?  We turned back to Sam to find some peaks he had wanted to hit for a while, and then spent the next 10 days pouring over topo maps, Google Earth, Strava, and SummitPost.  The two main peaks he came up with were Swasey Peak and Notch Peak to the west of Delta Utah.  Planning for one peak that you've never been to can take some time.  Planning for up to 10 peaks in two mountain ranges can really keep you from getting much else done.  While the main peaks were documented on Strava and Summit post, most of the less known peaks have no trails, no published routes, and would thus require a lot of route finding.



Chris and I met at Sam's house at 5:00am Friday morning, and after a quick stop to meet Jeff, we began the long drive out to Swasey Peak.  After passing a couple herds of wild horses and the apparently significant Trilobite "U-DIG" quarry, we were geared up and heading up the mountain by 9:00am.  Immediately it was clear that not many people have climbed Swasey.  It was mile and half climb through shrubs to the ridgeline.    For the most part, the trees are spaced enough without very much ground cover, so you can mostly avoid getting torn to shreds by the trees by weaving in and out of the them.  However, if you get too far to the west, it gets much worse; a mistake we made on the descent.  Well, I should say, a mistake that Sam and Chris made on the descent.  I wanted to swing wide to the east, but these bozos think going straight down through the rock slide and man eating bushes is faster than taking the well thought out route that I had planned.

Reaching the ridge, the running was fantastic as we approached the summit.  After a short Dew celebration on Swasey Peak, we stood looking 6 miles to the north to our next destination, Tatow Knob.  How difficult would the traverse be?  Is the Knob even climbable?  Only one way to find out.

Sam and Chris stoping to play on the steep descent.
The scenery looked exactly like this for a mile and a half.

We headed straight down the mountain through the Bristlecone Pine forest on the north face of Swasey, decending 2,000' in under a mile and a half.  It was very steep, and even though we had a blast laughing it up as Chris tried to make some rocks tumble down the slope, we all lamented on the thought of having to climb back up it.  While the forest was beautiful and the route finding was easy, the steep, wet ground under the blanket of sticks and pine needles made it rather slippery at times, and taking that route back up would be difficult to say the least.  As we stood in the basin below the face, we decided on our way back up, that it would be easier to weave our way around to the east and go back up over East Swasey, which meshed pretty good with our goal to hit as many peaks as possible. 

Descent from Swasey on the right. Later ascent back up to East Swasey on the left.

At this point, we were at about 28 minute miles, and realized our 5 hour trek was going to take much longer.  We questioned if we should turn back in order to hit other peaks, but decided to get out to the first overlook along the cliffs.  Once we got up to the south of Swasey's basin, we were greeted with some of the best ridge/rim running we have ever experienced.  Sam posted a photo on Facebook of the view and ridge with a caption of "Screw the Wedge!"  For four miles we ran along the absolutely gorgeous cliff, slightly ascending and descending between each of the waves the mountain had created.  Running where very few people have set foot.

We were all so awed by these ridge miles that we were not too let down when we reached the Tatow Knob and were not able to make the final 30' climb to the summit.  We scrambled around on the east end of it to see if there was a safe route, but ultimately, used our better judgement to stay on sure footing.  We stopped for a bit and caught up on some calories, and then made the return journey.  We tried to cut off some time by cutting across the mountain away from the cliff, but soon discovered that the cliffs were on both sides, and we were in fact on a mesa.  We had to back track around to our awesome ridge before we could again decend back to Swasey's basin.  After a brutal, thirsty climb  we finally reached our third peak, and claimed East Swasey with our last Mountain Dew.  After pushing back up over the ridge, we made the ugly descent down through the evil bushwack where I said lots of bad words under my breath.  We reached the car after almost 9 hours. 

At this point, we were all feeling the tiredness of 18 miles of route finding, and started our drive towards Notch Peak.  We were questioning if we should attempt to hit it now, reaching the summit in the dark, or if we should get to sleep early and head out early in the morning.  A nasty wind and rainstorm made the final decision for us, and we looked for a place to set up our tent and cook our steaks.  In what I would seriously call the middle of nowhere, a nice pavilion and bathroom had been built right between the junction of some dirt roads.  This was so far off the beaten path that here, on Memorial Day weekend, we saw only one car come up this way.  With the wind blowing the rain sideways, we set up our tent under the pavilion, ate a fantastic meal of steaks, chicken, and chili, and hit the sack after watching a movie as Jeff said his goodbye and drove home.

Chris, Sam, and I awoke around 6:30, ate, packed up our stuff, and drove the last few miles to the Notch Peak trailhead.  One of the most overused words in trail running is 'Awesome.'  I think that word should be reserved for places like Sawtooth Canyon.  The canyon is full of ancient trees, slot canyon like narrow passages, rolling areas where flash floods have tamed the ground, and of course, the crown jewel, 'The Notch.'  The Notch is a cutout of the mountain containing a 2,200' sheer drop, making it the second highest sheer face in the nation behind El Capitan in Yosemite.  A slight rain fell on us the whole morning, and as we approached the actual Notch, we were shrouded in clouds and the rain turned to snow... in May... in central Utah.  We arrived at the saddle, but due to the fog, we were unsure which way to go to get to the summit.  We went briefly north to a sub peak, drank a dew, and then went back down to then climb Notch Peak.  Arriving with very little bearing on direction, we drank another Dew and took some photos and videos of the abyss below us.

Chris trusting Sam way too much.

 


With Sam holding on to his pack, Chris reaches over the Notch and
points his camera straight down into the abyss.

Notch Peak on the edge of a 2,200' sheer cliff.

Notch Peak on the edge of a 2,200' sheer cliff.

The run down from Notch was spectacular, and very fast. Before we knew it we were back to the car, and just as we arrived, the sky opened up and started dumping rain again.  Feeling satisfied that we had now at least achieved the main peaks we had set out to do, we hopped in the car and made the 70 minute drive to the far east edge of the Delta valley to see if we could hit one more peak.  After driving up the canyon, we climbed out of the car for our third excursion, which was to hit the high point of the Canyon Range, Fool Creek Peak.  The sky almost looked blue, so we decided we could round trip this 7 mile peak in less than three hours.



Starting Fool Creek Peak.  Does Sam look tired to you?

The trail was fairly overgrown, but having studied the route ahead of time, it wasn't too hard to follow. Tired legs carried us up the wet canyon, and as we reached the saddle, we again had to summit a mountain in the thickness of clouds.  The trail was much easier to follow now, and the switchbacks took us about 700' higher into the clouds to reach the summit.  The clouds broke enough here and there to allow us to catch glimpses of what should have been a fantastic view to the east.  Again, after some video and photo ops, we descended to the saddle and went to hit our last summit.  We had hoped to make it over to Buck Peak, but we mistook a small subpeak for Buck Peak, and then descended without having summited that one.  It was getting late in the afternoon, and Chris and Sam were ready to start heading home, so it was probably a good thing.  At the pace we were now going, it would have added another 75 minutes to summit the actual Buck Peak.



Fool Creek Peak



Fool Creek Peak

We enjoyed some fast miles again on the final descent, and as we sat in the car driving home, we got word that the long lost OTM, Jake, had made sure he wasn't entirely missing the fun.  He represented the OTM PeakFest loud and proud by attempting to make a solo trip up Broadsfork Twin Peaks.  The storms and snow made it so he was not able to make the final push, but we were proud of his attempt nonetheless on this epic weekend.

In the end, we ended up with 4 named peaks, one near summit of a named peak, several sub-peaks, 14,000' vertical ascent, 34 miles, and a fair amount of rain.  Had the weather been better, I'm sure we could have accomplished a little more, but we'll just have to wait till PeakFest 2016 to find out for sure how much we can do.

Video by Sam

Video by Jeff

Grand Canyon- R2R2R

 The Grand Canyon...

My beginning began more than 17 million years ago when the Colorado River established its course through the canyon. The most powerful force to have an impact was erosion, primarily by water (and ice) and second by wind.

When my soil is baked by the sun it tends to become very hard and cannot absorb water when the rains come. When it does rain the water tends to come down in torrents which only adds to the problem. The plants that grow in the Canyon have very shallow root systems so that they can grab as much water as possible on those rare occasions when it does rain. Unfortunately these root systems do nothing to deter erosion by holding the soil in place. The result is frequently a flash flood roaring down a side canyon that can move boulders the size of automobiles, buses and even small houses. If automobiles, buses and small houses are in the way then it will take them too. This mass that moves down a side canyon during a flash flood is more like a fast flowing concrete than water and it can be very dangerous.

South rim

For a long time I have watched many hikers, runners, park rangers, and under prepared tourists travel across the land.  Many of them come clueless to what challenges lay a head of them. They come full of curiosity and excitement  then leave beaten, weak, dazed, and regretting the journey.  They also leave with a greater respect and AWE for the beauty of my canyon.  Every now and then there are those that are fully prepared for the journey out of my walls.  In the middle of April, in the year 2015 there came a group of 6 runners to conquer and embrace the beauty of my canyon. They started on the south rim and headed down the Bright Angle trail full of energy.  It was one of the runners' birthday and I could hear joyful wishes to him echoing off the canyon walls.  He may think he is old but he will never be as old as me. 
As travelers move through the valley I enjoy listening to their conversations about life, love, pain, running, religion, and even sometimes politics. This day I heard some of the oddest things. One man said to the other runner:

"My room mate installed a Bidet in our apartment. I don't understand why Americans don't use a bidet, they are really cool. Have you ever tried a Bidet?"
"NO!" Reply on of the runners.
"You really have to try one some time. They are awesome. Why clean up with dry paper, when you could be squeaky clean?"
"How do you dry off? Air dry?"
"When I was in Argentina they had a hand towel hanging next to the Bidet. I never used it, that's gross."

He also had some of the Best rock Jokes I have ever heard. He called them Rock Rock jokes.

"What did the boy volcano say to the girl volcano?
I lava you!'"
"Did you hear about the geologist reading the book about helium?

Colorado River

He just couldn't put it down!"

"May the Quartz be with you."

Later while climbing the north rim one asked:

"So, How was the grand canyon formed?"

And before I could whisper a word out this same man piped up.

"Well, over time water and glaciers eroded the dirt away. The gravitational pull of the earth pushed all the dirt out in to the ocean."

What?  Has this man gone mad from too much exposure of the sun or is he just a fool.  In the Grand Canyon National park handbook calls those that run from one rim to the other and back in one day the "Parade of Fools". Many of them come thinking they could do this and are surprised that their training was not sufficient for this great task.

Phantom Ranch

As all adventurers do they have their ups and downs. When the downs came this group of runners bound together and helped each other get through them.  There is a bond in this group that is rare and a hard trait to learn.  Selfless love and Charity.  The stronger runners held back and aided the ones having problems with the journey. They could have pushed forward to get done sooner, easing the strain and time on their body, but they willingly chose to help a friend or someone they just met get through their trials. They shared their sustenance with those in the group that needed it most. Their kind hearts are much like the park rangers in the canyon. They not only help protect my walls and valley but rescued the weak and unprepared. 

On this groups way out of the canyon Chris and Michael ran in to a young beautiful ranger (Michael called her HOT) in the dark. She was off duty and about to cook her rice dinner outside, because she enjoyed cooking out doors. She stopped to talk to them and gave them some snacks for the hard 4 mile climb out.  They told her of their plan to hit the south rim to come back with more food and aid their friends that weren't doing as well.  She later aided their friends when they passed by. She said something that I found funny but the two men didn't get.

"It's like Bilbo Baggens said from the Hobbit, 'There's too much bread and not enough butter'.  The Grand Canyon park is so big but there's not enough rangers to cover the whole park and to help everyone." 

At long last they all made it out of the canyon. They finished beaten, exhausted, and excited to be done.  They had completed a journey that not many have done, let alone attempted. It was a pleasure to listen and watch them interacted with each other. I hope and pray they come away from this experience stronger and better humans. You can learn a lot by listening to the birds, trees and rocks.

"Every rock has a story, you just gotta know how to ask the right questions."

-Grand Canyon

Epiloge

What a grand weekend.  I have never been to the Grand Canyon before this weekend.  I am still amazed of its beauty and views.  I feel blessed to be able to run that far and long to see so much of the national park.  I had so much fun running with friends and making new ones. There were so many fun moments this weekend it was hard to remember them all.  Here are a few of the great times.

The drive down and the return trip was memorable. We laughed so hard my abs hurt. Never has such a long drive gone by so fast.  Oh yeah, I wasn't driving that helped a ton. I ate when I needed too, I didn't cramp and was well hydrated.  I started taking Metasalt after my last 50 miler. It was recommended to me by the owner of Endurance Athletics Tyler Shepherd. They helped me through this run as well as others.  I made sure I brought plenty to share.  It was cool to see how fast they work. One of my fellow trail runners was feeling a bit sluggish.  I gave her one and with in an hour or so she was doing tons better.  Many of the runners brought only gels and powerbars.  Later in the day when they didn't feel like eating what they brought, they didn't eat.  I am a strong believer in eating real food for ultra running.  Eat what you think tastes good and bring a variety they enjoyed the oreos and cookies I shared (Now that's real food). 

Highlights:

Before we had even started Micheal wanted to change the run to a 5k.  "Who wants to run the Grand Canyon 5k?" he asked. "We can run 1.5 miles down and then turn around. Who's with me? That's all I really want to run."

Some how on the way home we got talking about hot Disney Princesses. Rick likes Anna from Frozen but not so much Elsa.  He said "I think Elsa would have some serious social issues." Other princesses that came up were Belle, Cinderella, and Merida from Brave. I am a big fan of Tinker Bell. I tell my 11 year old daughter all the time that I think she's hot and she's my girlfriend. It's okay my wife openly drools over Captain America, and Thor, used to be Matthew McConaughey but she says he's not so hot anymore.

We found out that Rick's girlfriend is serving a mission in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He has a picture of her on the back of his phone. He plans to reel her in when she gets home and then proceeded to joke about how he would put her in her place. "Get in the kitchen and bring me some supper." Wife says, "Good luck with that!"

One of Bethany's favorite parts of the trip was at Phantom Ranch. "We had all made it to Phantom Ranch except for Rick and Melissa for the second time. We only had 10 miles to go. The restaurant at Phantom Ranch was closed and no matter how desperate Walter pleaded with them, they wouldn't help us.  So we ate what we had despite the fact that none of it sounded appetizing to us. Then along came Rick and Melissa walking in. Rick sat down at the picnic table and immediately started to cramp. He kept cramping and yelling the "f" word (naughty boy-his missionary wouldn't like that). Totally out of character for him. He was in rough shape right then. Good thing he recovered some and made it out of the canyon."  This wasn't the only time that he cramped and dropped the F bomb. On the climb out he was done and said, "This bench is so comfy, I think I'll sleep here." When we all got back to the hotel he sat on the floor and proceeded to cramp again.  It was bad.  I unfortunately know how he feels.  

"We ran a half.... of a 100 miler"

How many liters of water do you need to carry with you to run R2R2R? According to Rick 3 liters. I think you should carry one to two liters, in addition to the Mountain Dew of course, and lots of food to share with your friends. Gels and powerbars do not power you through a physical and mental challenge like this.  Moral of the story is: Be prepared! (With Oreos and Dew for all)

40th Birthday 40K

You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.
                                       C.S. Lewis


Lamar in back, Jake and Willy in front.
This Is The Place Race 5K, about 1984.

I won the first distance race I entered.  Or at least I won my age group in the "This Is The Place Race 5K" in about 1984.  I was around 9 years old and entered it with my Dad and my younger brother, and there are only a few things that I remember about the race:  I remember we threw on our short shorts and striped tube socks.  I remember my Dad running with my younger brother and telling me to run ahead, as fast as I wanted.  I remember hitting "THE WALL" (or what I thought was the wall, which for me as a 9 year old in a 5K is about mile 2.2) and crying... thinking I might be lost on a dirt section of the course in which I couldn't see any other runners ahead or behind me.  I remember pushing through that wall until I could see the finish line, when another kid my age caught me in the last 100 yards, but I outkicked him to win my age division by .5 seconds.

Terrace Days 5K, short shorts were definitely in.

I do remember how cool that medal was, how good the cookies we had after the race tasted, and how much fun I had with my Dad and brother.  It was the one and only photo finish of my racing career (I think I won a few distance races later, but nothing like that first 5K.)



On your marks...get set....

I turned 40 this year.  Turns out I'm growing old, whether I like it or not.  You are, too.  But running certainly makes me feel not-so-old, or at least it makes me feel somewhat capable athletically.  For my 40th Birthday, my wife arranged the perfect birthday party with friends and family, party favors, karaoke, a photo booth, etc. It was perfect.  But in order to somehow make myself feel not as old...I decided to hold my own race, with the finish line at my Birthday Party.  A 40th Birthday 40K! My wife was none too happy about that, telling me I'd be stinky and in too much pain and too tired to be any fun at the party.  But I figured it would be a good way to prove to myself in some insignificant way that I hadn't yet lost it, that my age was just a number, young at heart, blah blah blah, and it would be a fun novelty with which I could mark this milestone.

 



I asked my fellow Orange Trail Monkey Sam to come along... he's a good sport when it comes to this kind of thing:  Up for a silly challenge, keeps you entertained on the road/trail, runs faster than I do but is good about slowing down to my pace, self deprecating and blunt and obligatorily pokes fun when things get challenging or silly (which they always do).  His greatest talent is that he is incredibly adept at overemphasizing the word "DUDE" in 99% of all conversations.  Perfect running buddy!

Sunset Sam

More importantly, he's a good dude, who, okay, let's just say it, would let me win the race.  I could recapture some long forgotten glory from my younger years with a race victory!  Never mind the fact that it would be a 2-man race in which the faster runner would yield to me!  A win is a win!  Right?  Sure.

When it came down to it, Sam let me out-kick him to the finish line, just like my 9 year old self did back in the day. I broke through the finish line tape to cheers and claps and an incredible party in my honor with friends and family (And if anyone is in need of a good pick-me up or confidence builder, I highly recommend rigging a race with a party at the finish line for yourself!  You will smile about it forever!)

I don't think anyone at the party cared that I won! In fact, other than that first 9 year old race, I really don't think I've cared what place I've taken in most races. It doesn't really matter. It may be different if I was competing for real, or if I had the discipline to train and compete in that way. What it comes down to is pretty simple. I love to run.  I love the mountains and trails and roads I get to run on.  I love to challenge myself, the little accomplishments that happen when you just show up.  I adore the people I get to meet and run with, and seeing the amazing things they do only inspires me to work towards different goals and milestones, to climb the mountains in my path (both figuratively and literally).

Do I hope to win another race someday?  Sure.  But in the end, I'm really just racing myself.



40th Birthday 40K.  See you at 50.