Grandeur Mud Run 2013

At 2 am I woke up to the sound of rain. Not the gentle putter patter of a spring sprinkle, but the steady drumming of fat drops. A true spring soaker. At 3 am I woke to wind, and more rain. At 4, it was the same and I started wondering if anyone would show up. At 5:30, it was light enough to see, and my thoughts turned to Greg and Peter valiantly marking the course. I swear I could feel the curses I knew were spewing from their mouths as they struggled up the muddy slopes of Bambi Hill and down the slippery Camel's Toe. 
 At 6:30, a few brave souls were waiting at the West Grandeur trail head. By 6:45, a handful had gathered, and over the next 15 minutes as the rain tapered off, the trailhead filled up and the 7th annual Grandeur Fun Run as off and running. By all accounts, Jason Dorais took the lead from the start and never looked back. There was much pre-race discussion about the conditions being unfavorable for a new course record, but Jason squashed these doubts by crushing the course with a 1 hour 37 minute run, besting last years CR by 7 minutes. Drew Erickson tied the previous course record in 1 hour 44 minutes and Derek Gustafson took third in a stout 1 hour 48 minutes.
In the Women's race, Meghan Woolley repeated last year's win in 2:01 and Emily Sullivan and Bethany Lewis tied for 2nd/3rd in 2:07.

After listing the top three men and women's times, and posting a list of overall results (if you notice any incorrect times or if you're missing from the results please let me know), the thing to remember is that this is not an official race, so these numbers and lists are purely happenstance.  There just happened to be someone that started a stopwatch just as the trail enthusiasts started off en masse and then someone happened to be cooking breakfast as these folks came traipsing back to where they began with tales of beautiful vistas, dense fog, the occasional sleet,snow and hail, slick mud and assassin tree limbs.(see below)

Special recognition should go to Greg and Peter for marking the course in the early morning deluge, Suzanne Lewis for sweeping the course, and Tony DeArcos for manning the Church Fork Aid station, Also, thanks go to Kathy Newton, Whitney and Madison Dunn and Jennilyn Eaton for helping with breakfast and recording times.  Above and beyond, thanks to everyone who made a donation to the Granite Education Foundation.  Over $700 was collected which will be used to purchase material for blankets to be included in needy children's Christmas bags.

All in all, it was a perfect day to enjoy spring in the Wasatch and let's do it again next year!!

Carbo loading after a hard run.

Barry trying to impress everyone.

The perfect day for a Mud Run