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

7 Days and Counting

The much anticipated Grandeur Fun Fun is just a week away, Sat May 14 at 7:00 am, and looks to be as fun as ever. For snow conditions, check out the picture at the top of the blog, and the two below. They were taken this morning. Just after the top photo was taken a shoe was lost and the trail was marked with shin blood thanks to some great post holing. Fun!!!

The run is pretty much the same as always. Check out the link to the right or click here for all the details. The only change this year is the opportunity to use the run for a little fundraising. Nothing too drastic or demanding. Just a great opportunity to help brighten a young child's Christmas.

Come on out for a great group run and a little breakfast to replenish those depleted glycogen stores.

Fun Run Results-2010

The weeks leading up to the 3rd edition of the Grandeur Fun run had me feeling a little apprehensive. Storm after storm kept dumping snow in the Wasatch, and a mere two weeks before the race I found myself postholing through 16 inches of fresh and wading through waist deep drifts at the top. Where did spring go?

Luckily, as is Spring in Wasatch, a series of warmer weekends followed, and with each fresh layer of snow, the warming temps would melt more than was laid down and by Fun Run day, the snow at the summit was enough to add a little fun, but not slow anyone down.

A five man group of me, Peter, Greg, Dave and Scott set off for an early first lap to mark the course and get some miles in. We soon caught up to Angela, Gina, Lisa and Jackie who are making it a habit of getting an early loop in. (Ladies- I apologize I wasn't at the finish when you finished your second loop, I had to get to a soccer game. Let me know your times so I can get them recorded.) The trail was perfect and we had a great early morning run. We were on the lookout for Wayne and Brian who had reportedly started early, and as we were descending from Bambi Hill, Brian came into sight, and Wayne was just a few minutes behind us.

At 7:02, with much shivering-that Parley's Canyon wind is BRISK- and little fanfare the runner's took off. I waited around for a few stragglers and then started my second ascent. What a beautiful sight to see a line of 60+ runners strung out along the ridge of the first ascent. I had to stop and soak it in for a minute or two.

Jared Campbell, Aaron Brown and Jay Aldous led the charge and stayed in that order for the entire race with Jared getting first dibs on pancakes with a new fastest finish time of 1:44:50. ( I can't say course record since this isn't an official race :) Aaron was 2nd in 1:48:50 and Jay-nursing a sore glute- was third in 1:51 10. Jared was so fast that as I tried to finish marking the course from the rock quarry to the finish, he caught me and I sprinted after him doing my best imitation of Leland by throwing strips of flagging in the middle of the trail.

On the women's side, Emily Sullivan was first, in a new fastest time of 2:06:45, Suzanne Lewis was hot on her heels in 2:07:58 and Nancy Fagan was third in 2:21:40.

Overall it was a perfect day to have a group of friends get out and run together. Thanks to everyone who ran and ate pancakes, bacon, elk sausage and everything else. Thanks to my brother Steve for manning the griddle, Christian for helping take times at the finish, Jesse for being at the top of Grandeur, Jill for cleaning the flagging on her second loop and everyone else that ran, hung out, helped out and had a good time. Let's do it again next year!

Final Note

If I somehow missed anyone's times or anything like that, please let me know and I'll make any corrections. Full results are on the Grandeur Fun Run link to the right.

Fun Run Update

For all of you anxiously awaiting the Grandeur Fun Run, here is a quick update.

Conditions: There is still a bunch of snow at the top-here's what it looked like yesterday morning- and even with the weather warming up, there will be a fair amount left next Saturday. The rest of the trail is perfect. For those of you who remember the dead deer just off the trail going up Bambi Hill, another one decided to die in the same spot, so keep your eyes open and nose closed.

Aid: There won't be an aid station this year at Church Fork. Plan on carrying all your stuff.

Markings: I may put a few ribbons up early Sat morning. If you don't know the course, study/print the map provided in case I sleep in and don't get it marked.

Questions: Check out the link to the right.

It should be good weather and will definitely be a lot of fun!!!

Fun Run Update

Who's excited for Grandeur tomorrow?!

A couple quick notes- 99.9 % of the snow is gone from the summit. There are a couple small patches on the ascent and a couple more on the ridge coming into Millcreek, but it's basically all gone.

The trail (as of this morning) is marked. The flagging is minimal. A couple of flags at the summit, nothing for the last 2 1/2 miles of the descent into Church Fork, and nothing until you leave the pipeline trail and start climbing to get over to the west face of the mountain. Then there is flagging at the major intersections. I'm hoping that it all stays put, and we may have some early starters re flag any areas that are questionable. But the bottom line is look at the maps and stick with someone who's run it before if you are concerned about a wrong turn.

Other than that, it should be a beautiful day and I look forward to seeing everyone.

Erik