The Bear 100-2013 by Erik

"No, he can't have a ride!!  If he gets a ride or receives any help, he's disqualified!!"

I had just rolled my ankle and was lying face down in the dirt cursing the rocks, the rutted dirt road, the cold, my weak ankle, and the 30+ miles I still needed to run to finish the Bear 100. When I heard Greg yell these words at the hunters on 4-wheelers that kindly offered their help after witnessing my fall, I knew that there was no way I was dropping.  I'd have to break an arm or lose a limb to convince Greg that I was done.  The hunters drove off fairly bewildered, and Greg compassionately (but firmly) offered me a hand to get up and then informed me that we would walk the last mile to the Logan River Aid Station for my ankle to "swell up enough to stabilize", and then the break was over.

Typically, by the time I reach the finish line of the Wasatch 100, I'm done with running and training for the year.  I'm wiped out mentally and physically and look forward to some mellow days in the September woods.  This year, as soon as I finished Wasatch, I felt like somehow there was unfinished business to take care of, and started contemplating running the Bear.  When the opportunity came up to run, I took the bait and found myself at the start line just 3 weeks after finishing Wasatch.  My training in between was  pretty minimal.  I think I logged 50-60 miles in the interim, and I was optimistic as to how the day would unfold.

I started pretty slow, with runners streaming by on both sides as we made our way through the subdivision leading to the first of the single track.  I chuckled as the grade increased and commented to someone that if this was trail, we would be hiking instead of running.  With that thought, I slowed to a fast hike, and looked ahead to the next 99 miles.  It was overcast, in the 30's with a forecast of snow and rain showers until late afternoon and then clearing skies and temperatures dropping to the low 20's throughout the night.  It would be a perfect day in the September mountains!!

A great start to the day.

Logan Peak Aid Station

For the first 20 miles or so, I felt relatively good, although I could tell that my legs were lacking the "springiness" typically felt this early in a race.  Somewhere just after the Logan Peak aid station, I came to a 4 way intersection while running with a shirtless Kendrick ? from Colorado.  No shirt, snowing, in the 30's.  Seriously??  Anyway, the intersection wasn't marked at all.  Nothing.  We took what seemed to be the the best option, and after 5 minutes of no markers, found ourselves at the end of the road at the edge of a cliff.  Wrong way.  This could be a long day.  Maybe the infamous Bear course "marking" would be in effect today.  We met up with Robert Mueller, Seth Hales, Chuck Kanopa and a few others back at the intersection, they pointed us in the right direction, and luckily there were no questions whatsoever about the course for the next 85 miles.

Erik and Robert Mueller

Robert (Bob, Robbie) -who I had run quite a bit of Wasatch with 3 weeks ago-and I settled into a mellow pace heading down to Leatham Hollow and soon caught up to the talented Diana Finkel, who we we would play leap-frog with for the next 40 miles until just after Franklin Basin.  Leaving Leathan Hollow I ran a little with Drew Harrington who had made the trip down from Fairbanks, AK.

It was on this section that I realized it was really going to be a long 80 miles, and my day began to unravel a little bit mentally.  My hip flexors hurt, my left ankle was starting to get quite sore and irritated,and I felt some weird sort of neuroma/nerve pain on the bottom of my left big
toe that sent a little shock every time I pushed off of my toes.  Basically, my body wasn't too excited about being out for this long with another 75 miles to go.  I tried to take my mind somewhere else, enjoyed the absolutely spectacular scenery unfolding everywhere around me, and focused on getting to Tony Grove where Greg would be waiting to accompany me the 2nd half of the run.

Joe Campanelli leading the way to Cowley Canyon.

I ran with Justin Faul from Flagstaff, AZ for a bit after leaving Cowley Canyon and looking at our pace charts, realized that we were on a 20 hour pace, which before the race seemed to be a realistic goal, but given how I was feeling, now seemed akin to chasing rainbows and pink unicorns.

Cowley Canyon.  

The photo doesn't do the colors justice.

Leaving Temple Fork.

The long climb to Tony Grove ahead.

Catching up to Robert and Joe Campanelli (another Wasatch 100 finisher) we rolled into Temple Fork, and started up the long, muddy hike to Tony Grove.  Another beautiful section, with the beauty of the Crimson Maples detracting somewhat from the steep, slippery trails.  As soon as we topped out the climb and started the descent to Tony Grove, the temperature dropped, it started to snow and it got cold!!  I met Greg here, tried to get some warm soup and pumpkin chocolate chip bread in me and started the shivering hike towards the Franklin trailhead.  Man it was cold!!  It took a good 30 minutes for my fingers to warm up and for the shivering to stop.  Oddly enough, this would be the coldest I would get for the rest of the race, even though temperatures dropped significantly during the middle of the night.  Greg and I settled into a steady pace, and he did a great job of assessing how I was doing and keeping me moving.  Moving through the next few aid stations, along with Diana, Robert and a few others, we began to leapfrog with Georg Kunzfeld from Germany.  He was running his 3rd Bear and on a quest to get his first Wolverine (sub-24 hour) belt buckle. Georg would come into each aid station announcing that he was done, there was nothing left, and he couldn't eat or keep anything down.  Then after two minutes or so, would charge out like it was the start of the race.  At each aid station for the rest of the run, I would get there first, spend too much time drinking my hot chocolate and broth, Georg would arrive, make the same announcement and blast out of there before I left.  I got a kick out of it and it was a fun game to try and catch back up each time.

Gold and White after Tony Grove

Just enough snow to keep it interesting.

Somewhere between Franklin and Logan River and after the sun went down, we teamed up with Ford Smith, an amazing 17 year old from Texas who I met at the Squaw Peak 50 earlier this year.  Ford was on a quest to finish his first 100 miler and was doing an amazing job of it.  While most kids are staying up all night long on the weekend playing video games and engaging in other "wholesome" activities, Ford was displaying the tenacity and mental toughness of someone well beyond his years.  His stomach was starting to complain a little bit however, and I was hopeful he would be able to hold it together.  Just before Logan, I rolled my ankle (see above) and Greg and I found ourselves alone again.  I deep-sixed my negative thoughts and after the Logan River aid station, focused on maintaining a steady hike on the ups and a careful hobble on the descents.  I was surprised to find Robert, Georg, Ford and Chuck, plus a few others, all at the Beaver Mtn Aid station.  Apparently a steady hike can cover ground quickly.

Beaver Lodge

 I spent a few extra minutes in the warmth of the Aid station, made sure I had everything I needed for the last 25 miles, put on a jacket and took off my tights, and we were out of there.  It was here that I told Greg to go in front or behind me, whatever he felt would work best.  He took a lesson from when Jim Huffman paced me on this section in 2008 and took the lead, never really letting me catch up to him.  It was frustration at times, but effective in keeping me moving. I pulled out an old trick to help pass the time and keep my mind occupied.  There were four long climbs over the last 25 miles.  At the start of each climb I would start counting to 100 with each step of my right foot.  1000 steps was approximately 1 mile, so usually by the time I got to 3000 or 4000, I'd be at the top of the climb.  I didn't talk much to Greg during these climbs so I wouldn't lose count, but he was usually far enough ahead of me that it didn't matter, and it got me to the top of the climbs  relatively quickly. The descents were long and arduous.  I was very distrustful of my weak ankle at this point, and my legs were shot.  With that being said, I still managed to stay ahead of Georg and catch up to and pass someone else and their pacer.  I think it was Chuck Konopa.  More than anything during this section, I remember the long beautiful high mountain meadow we crossed after leaving the Beaver Creek Aid Station.  The sky was clearing with brilliant stars and a crescent moon playing hide and seek in the clouds.  The trail stretched out before us through a field of white snow and tufts of golden grass.  It was cold, with a stiff breeze playing in the tree tops, and it was one of those moments that will stand frozen in my mind.  100 mile races are run for many reasons, but in explaining to a friend tonight why run 100 rather than 25 or 50 miles, I understood that it is for moments like these, where the body and mind are so spent, so utterly depleted, that the moon is brighter, the air crisper, and the experience is seared into one's being. To quote Keith Knipling "In the process of completely exhausting myself, I connect with an inner part of me ordinarily veiled by the everyday distractions of life. During that short time spent on a trail in the mountains, my life is reduced to its simplest terms.....Going for a run always clears my head, but running 100 miles distills my soul."

As Greg and I finally came off the trail and onto the gravel road leading to the finish, Greg looked behind, saying "I'm not shi&;%ing you, but I see lights, and they're close."  I hadn't been concerned about racing for about 50 miles.  I had just been concerned with getting to the finish.  I had a vague concept of the idea of finishing under 24 hours, and that it was going to happen.  But I had no idea that there was a freight train of 6 runners only 10 minutes or less behind me, and that there were 3 runners 10 minutes or less ahead.  But now, with a light closing fast, I tried to switch gears and change my trot to a run. The stride lengthened slowly, the speed increased, I actually started to sweat and breathe hard, and still the light kept closing.  With less than 1/4 mile to go, as we turned off the gravel road and onto the highway, Georg caught up to me.  With a slap on my back, he told me in no uncertain terms that he would not pass me.  We would finish together. So, we trotted the last 1/4 mile, and finished.  Together. 23 hours 10 minutes.  Georg got his Wolverine.  A true competitor who gave it everything he had to the end, and showed true sportsmanship and the spirit of ultrarunning.  A lesson that will stick with me.

Thanks:
-Leland Barker and the Bear 100 organizers.  All the volunteers who braved the cold and bad weather to make sure that we runners, pacers and crew were well taken care of.
-Brooke, Sam, Andrew and Kate for putting up with another weekend of mountain wandering and the week of uselessness that I was, following said weekend.
-Wasatch Running Center and Gregory Packs for awesome gear and goods.
-Mom and Paul, Dad and Denise, Jack and Kathy and all others who have loved, encouraged, cheered on, shook their heads in bewilderment and so forth....
-God- for an incredible world and mountains to run in, and the most miraculous body to experience it with.

Brighton Marathon 2012

There are few better ways to spend a sunny Sunday morning in July than running in the Wasatch Mountains with a good group of friends and trail enthusiasts. An informal group recently gathered to enjoy a circular, marathon distance route beginning and ending in Brighton. While this was not an organized race or run, there was a watch on someone’s arm that captured times for most of the runners completing the full run. Visit the Wasalpstriders blog to view times. If your time was missed or an incorrect time was recorded, please email banditracer@gmail.com

Wahsatch Steeplechase 2012

I haven't run the Wahsatch Steeplechase in many years but it stays close to my heart, it was my first trail run and I remember being blown away by the terrain and exposure up on Black Mountain. I also took some of my best early photos of trail running up on the crags in 2009. Even though I should have been out training or doing trail work I was determined this year to go back up and shoot some more photos on the crags. I'm glad I did, I had a great time cheering on the runners and seeing that look of fear and amazement of the rookie runners as they negotiated the crags for the first time. A big shout out to the great volunteers up on the ridge who spotted the two exposed sections of the route for 3 hours in the blowing wind.

I"ll be posting some of the photos from the race on my flickr site, I'll be posting a few more at Norrander Trails Shots

2012 Grandeur Fun Run Results and Report

The Grandeur Fun Run was created by Erik back in 2008 and every year since then he has carefully coordinated the course marking, timing and most importantly the breakfast. So this year when he told us he was going to be out of town on the day of the run we knew we had some big shoes to fill.

Finish Line Fun - Photo Credit: Greg Norrander

Erik still provided all the breakfast necessities and lined up Jay and Peter as co-RD's. Jay also led the course marking along with Ken Jensen and Greg Norrander. Thanks to Tony DeArcos and George Odell for the water at Church Fork. The breakfast specialists this year were the fabulous duo of Marge Norrander and Betsy Johnson who cooked enough pancakes, bacon and sausage to feed 100 hungry runners. Thanks, you two were awesome!

Tom Diegel climbing Bambi hill on his way to victory. Photo Credit: Greg Norrander

Thanks to Suzanne Lewis, David Hayes, Roch Horton, Matt Hart and Chad Brackelsberg for pulling flags, much appreciated.
It seems the only thing we missed this year was summit times, sorry about that.

SPECIAL THANKS to all you fun runners who donated over $700 to the Granite Education Foundation. That's going to buy a lot of books, art supplies, hats, gloves and fleece blankets for children in need.

RESULTS
Report:
The run went off without a hitch (that I could see anyway) with a fast group up front. Tom Diegel came in first in a time of 1:44! and took down the course record by a handful of seconds held by Jared Campbell. He was closely followed by Derek Gustafson in 1:45, with Chris Gawley and myself battling for 3rd (Chris got it) in 1:49.
For the women, Meghan Woolley continues to impress with a winning time of 1:52 and new course record taking down Emily Sullivan's 2:06 performance from 2010. Bethany Lewis came in 2nd in 1:59 followed by Liz Gleason in 2:05.

I know many of you ran two loops but we only have times for a few of you. If you did a 2nd loop send your time over along with any name or time corrections to: mrcultra@gmail.com

More great photos from Greg Norrander: (stay posted for more photos on his site)

Until next year, happy trails...

BoSho 2012 Marathon Report

Once again the BoSho Marathon proved to be the preferred event of the day with a record number of participants (128) and finishers (103). Special thanks to John, Dan, Brian and Bob for organizing such a flawless fun run for the 13th year in a row. Also thanks to the other volunteers that helped with flagging and filling water bottles. Results can be found over at the new Wasalpstriders blog.

Coming into this year I had some high expectations after going under the 4 hour mark in 2011. The plan was to try and replicate the same race and maybe go just a little faster. When I arrived at the start I couldn't believe how many people were there, it was awesome.

After receiving our instructions for the day we were off. I assumed the lead on the first climb with Mick Jurynec right behind me. As we descended down to Red Butte I glanced back and thought I saw Mr. Krupicka chasing us but it was new runner to the Wasatch, Adrian Shipley. The three of us arrived back at the first aid station together where I picked up my extra water bottle and dropped my shirt off. Heading up Dry Creek we were still pretty close together with Adrian right on my shoulder. I got the sense he would like to go faster so I pulled off and let him go ahead. My legs were feeling a little heavy but I felt I was still holding a good pace. By the time we hit the back Dry Creek he had a handful of seconds on us and ran the full length of the rocky drainage. When we hit the real climb, Unkle F@#*r, he had a few more seconds and then I watched as he ran the first steep part. I continued to glance up from time to time while I was in fast hike mode and Adrian continued to run all the way to the top. I was in disbelief. When I finally reached the top I calculated he had put two minutes on us.

The descent down to Morris reservoir and the next aid station was a bit faster than I remember from the previous year and sure enough, when we hit the aid station we were nearly five minutes ahead of last years splits and Adrian was still two minutes ahead. The warmer than usual morning gave way to the real heat on the climb out of City Creek. Mick and I were still together with Adrian in front, when Kevin shilling came flying by us about halfway up the climb. I was pretty stoked to see Kevin having such a good day after having the bad ankle last year. The gaps stayed pretty constant all the way to the North Salt Lake bench where Mick and I were now in 3rd and 4th with Kevin chasing Adrian.

As Mick and I climbed up and over Meridian we maintained the same gap, but I could tell Kevin was closing on Adrian. By the time we gained the rolling ridge line they were out of sight and I could only assume that Kevin had caught Adrian and they were both pushing the pace up front. The long descent into City Creek is something I usually look forward to but my shoes had blown out the sides (Montrail Bajadas, review coming soon) and my feet had been moving around too much causing blisters to develop on my heels. Mick and I still rolled the City Creek section nicely and ended up back at Morris and the aid station right on last year's split.

The climb out of Morris felt slow and the watch confirmed it as we hit 5 points at the 3:28 mark. Sub 4 was still possible but not with the way my legs felt and the blisters growing by the second on my heels. After about a mile and a half I told Mick that if he wanted to break 4 hours he was going to have to go and that's exactly what he did, reaching the finish with 10 seconds to spare and nearly catching Adrian in the process. I rolled it in for 4th in 4:03 and I was pleased with the effort. Storheim followed in 5th just a few seconds off his time from 2011. The temperature reached the high 70's, which isn't exactly scorching, but the heat was definitely a factor as it was the hottest day we have seen this year.

No doubt about it, the times are coming down and getting more competitive. The fact that 3 guys went under 4 hours is pretty incredible, but the real shocker is the fact that 5 women went under the 5 hour mark with Megan winning and setting a new course record in 4:20! Perhaps it was the mild winter that produced some fast spring legs or maybe there are just more runners getting out and dancing on the trails. Congratulations to all that finished the toughest and best marathon in Salt Lake and good luck on the rest of your season...

El Vacquero Loco 50k 2011 Race Report

The El Vacquero Loco 25/50k (or Ty's race as it's referred to often) was really meant to be a last tuner-upper before Wasatch for me and a tough race to close the summer for Betsy. The race took place on Saturday, August 13th in the spectacular mountains east of Afton Wyoming. The traditional route from Cottonwood Lake to Intermittent Spring and back was re-routed to the opposite direction because of damage from flooding on the access road to Cottonwood Lake. I really didn't think that our high snow year would continue to force changes this late in the year, but of course I was wrong. Then just two days before the race Ty met with the local search and rescue where they told him they would not support the race if the course went all the way to Cottonwood Lake. Ty sent out a message with the news and a new route, a double out and back for the 50k and a single out and back for the 25k. I could sense the frustration in his email but there was nothing he could do, SAR was necessary but it was pretty lame of them to back out at the last minute. They should know that rescuing an ultrarunner would be at least 3x easier than rescuing this guy, which I know they've a time or two in these same mountains.

I ran this race back in 2008 where I met Luke Nelson (who won) and finished 3rd behind Erik Storheim and just in front of the legend: Leland Barker. This time around Luke and Leland were back along with a few other fast guys so I just decided to be conservative and get a good hard training run in. Well I definitely got a good "hard" training run in with a little over 8,000' of ascent/descent covering some sweet singletrack.

Camping the night before was alright, but the older I get the harder it seems to sleep well in a sleeping bag. Morning came quick enough and Betsy and I hustled down to the road to board a school bus to the start. I was pleasantly surprised to find an open seat next Aric and I got to show him the sweet Smith Pivlock glasses I scored the night before in the prize drawing. Definitely the nicest glasses I've owned in a long time! The bus driver was quite funny as she proceeded to telling us to watch out for bears and that we might get eaten by a mountain lion, obviously we weren't from around these parts and the critters would make easy work of us. I thought about saying something, but decided to save my fight for the bears, mountain lions and the course.

Gathered at the start I gave Betsy a quick pep talk before Ty sent us off promptly at 6am. I immediately settled in at the back of the front group consisting of Luke, Micah Rush, Joe Furse, and Ryan Phillips. I was content running in 5th but then I hit the upper trail and my breathing became very labored. It was almost as if I had asthma, which I have no history of, so I backed off to try and figure things out. Turns out there were two guys on horseback right in front of us and I have a terrible allergy to horses. Once I got past them I was just fine and it really had no bearing on the outcome of the race, it just freaked me out a bit to suddenly be short of breath.

The main obstacle of the day presented itself pretty quickly and we were on the climb to the high point of the race just below 10,000'. I was steady in 5th as I crested the high spot, descended to the first lake, skipped the rock hard snow for fear of losing skin and started the steep climb to the second Lake when Luke came bounding toward me. He was already past the turnaround and I had no illusion of catching the Vo2 monster so I wished him well and hit the last descent to the turnaround as I 2nd thru 4th coming back up. I topped off my bottle at the aid station then started back the way I had came. I noticed pretty quickly the 6th place runner, Nathan Morey was quite close but I just kept it steady on the long descent back to the start/finish area and the 2nd turnaround. Along the way I was able to see the rest of the 50k field, including Betsy who was all smiles and gave me an encouraging word. As I neared the turnaround I glanced at my watch. I was was hoping to get there before the 25k started but I wouldn't even be close. Within two miles or so of the turnaround I started hitting the 25k traffic coming toward me. They started at 8:30 and I hit the turnaround at 9:05. I knew right then a sub 6 hour finish was going to be a real stretch.

Ty and Mike James helped me out as Nathan came steaming through the aid station. I took my time, fueled up and left in 6th place. Somewhere in here I saw Micah coming back at us, a bad knee had forced him out. Soon after we reached the singletrack I passed Nathan, then he caught up to me again as I was taking a nature break. After that I settled in and kept hiking and running at a comfortable pace. We chatted on the lower angle stuff, but as soon as it got steep I decided I would try and catch at least a couple guys in front of me. As I approached the 3rd turnaround point I saw Luke coming toward me and this time it was much sooner than I expected. A short while later 2nd place came by me, then I was nearly to the turnaround when 3rd place came back at me. I hit the turnaround, filled bottles and dug in for the steep hike out. Ryan was nearly to the top of the next steep climb when I passed him. One more descent and steep climb before the ~6 mile descent to the finish. I didn't really know what Nathan or Ryan were capable of on the descent so continued to push hard all the way to the finish and held on to 3rd.

Luke ended up cruising to the win in 5:34, followed by Joe Furse in 6:02, while I stopped the clock in 6:20. Nathan and Ryan followed shortly behind in 4th and 5th (Full RESULTS). Betsy came in a little bit later still smiling and happy to finish her 3rd Ultra of the year. The route seemed much harder doing the double out and back this time around even though it has slightly less vertical, 8,200' compared to 8,700'.

Thanks to Ty Draney for pulling the race together despite the obstacles thrown at him and to all the aid station help who took all the supplies in on horseback. I definitely found what I was looking for; a beautiful run in the mountains.

Wasatch 100 2009 - Christian's Report

I stumbled into the Alexander ridge aid station at mile 47 and turned my focus on the camp chairs situated in the shade. My vision had become slightly blurred and I was seeing double. I remember thinking I had to be careful as I sat down, if I missed the chair and fell on the ground people might think there was something wrong with me. I was in bad shape. My stomach had been incapable of holding anything down for hours and I was terribly dehydrated. I slumped down in the chair, facing the ridge that was trying once again to ruin my race. Two years prior, in my first attempt at a 100 miler, I had sat in this exact spot, defeated. Again, I wanted to quit, I just didn't say it out loud.

I closed my eyes and dug deep to find the willpower just to convince myself I could finish this damn thing, but there was nothing there. When I opened my eyes I was holding a cup of sprite. I had no idea how it got there until I saw Clark, my friend and pacer peppering me with questions about what I wanted to eat. I closed my eyes again and this time I started hearing familiar voices and their encouraging, if not demanding words. Phrases such as "Don't let me down", "I'll be disappointed if you don't finish" and "Whatever you do, don't quit". Those words from my family and friends were the only thing keeping me in the race at this point.

Clark chimed in again, "What can I get you?".

"I'll try some of those grapes and cantaloupe", I replied.

I drifted off a few more times, eating and drinking in between, slowly gaining some strength back. Then I watched as a runner and his pacer walked off the ridge in the wrong direction, quitting the race, just like I had done 2 years prior. Something switched inside of me at that moment as I turned all my focus on eating and drinking. I let go of all my time goals and placing, thinking only of eating, drinking and the next aid station almost six miles away. My family was waiting for me there and I knew that seeing them would give me a big lift. For the first time in an hour I stood up.

"179 out", Clark suddenly announced to everyone at the aid station.

I turned so I was facing east, the direction of the race course and with blazing sun at my back I walked out of the aid station, bound for Lambs Canyon. As my strength slowly returned so did my confidence. By the time we reached the top of the next climb I was finally ready to run. The descent down to Lamb's Canyon is pretty easy and it felt good to get my legs turning over again. By the time we made it to the aid station all doubt of finishing had been erased. Even though I had 47 miles left, it felt like a formality to me at this point. I couldn't believe the turnaround. I owe a large part of it to Clark who had kept the fluids and calories flowing for the past several hours, along with the encouragement I received from everyone I saw along the way. Matt Connors deserves a big thanks for taking time out to give me some pickled ginger, it did wonders to calm my turbulent stomach.

Just before the wheels came off, trying to cool off at Big Mtn.

Once we got in to Lamb's it was great to see my incredibly supportive family, who immediately sat me down and presented me with every food and beverage option available. Between my family and Christy (Clark's wife) they had every base covered. I tried to apologize for keeping them waiting and explain what had happened but they were only interested in getting me going, moving me closer to the finish.

Finally feeling better at Lamb's surrounded by my awesome support crew

Clark and I left the aid station heading up the cooler confines of Lamb's Canyon and the long climb up Bear Ass Pass. My legs felt fine on the climb but my energy was still low so we just made slow, but steady progress to the top. Upon reaching the pass we were treated to a beautiful sunset which also meant I was forced to use my headlamp heading down to Elbow Fork. Once again the descent felt great as I got in a nice rhythm passing several folks in front of me. I savored the good feelings because I knew the next section would not be pleasant. The eight mile climb from Elbow Fork up to the Crest is one of the longest in the race, interrupted by the aid station at Big Water. Waiting for me was my family and next pacer, Aric, who would be along for the ride to Brighton. The paved climb to Big Water leaves little to be desired, but since it was dark it seemed to go quicker than I had anticipated.

Once again I got a big lift from seeing my family and friends at the aid station and Brian Beckstead even came over to wish me well. I changed in to a clean shirt, filled some bottles and thanked Clark for pulling me through my dark period, then Aric and I were off. I wasn't exactly moving quickly but I was steady on the climb to the Desolation Lake aid station getting there in about an hour and a half. My stomach was a little off once again, so I took my time at the remote aid and had some broth with noodles that seemed to do the trick.

I left Desolation at around 11:15pm, three and half hours over my pre-race goal of 7:45pm. My mind wandered back to the first 40 miles and how effortless it had felt. I started with Erik, Jay and Peter until midway up the 5000' climb where Peter and I parted ways with Erik and Jay who kept a faster pace on the initial climb. All the way through to Big Mountain the pace had felt conservative, but I realized now that I had only been listening to my legs and not my head. Peter left Big Mountain with Greg, who was pacing him to Brighton, just a minute or so before me. I was sure that I would catch up in mile or so but that's when my stomach backfired and I started my death march to Alexander Ridge. On my way out of Big Mountain I was in 15th place but by the time I had left Alexander I dropped down to 80th. Now I had no idea where I was placed, nor did it matter.

Aric and I reached the crest with a number of headlamps dotting the black space in front of us. I ran quite a lot on the way to Scott's pass where I learned that Geoff Roes had just finished with a new course record in 18:30! I was amazed and a little bit inspired as I decided to pick up the pace to Brighton and get some momentum going. I don't particularly enjoy the pavement leading down from the trail junction to Brighton but I figured as long as I felt good I should get it over with as quickly as possible. Betsy met me at the Brighton lodge with my friend Sandy, who would be joining me for the last 25 miles. Even though it was past 1am Betsy and Sandy were very alert, making sure I was prepared for the last section of the race. I spent 10 mins there and I suppose I kind of got sucked in to the warmth of the lodge that so many runners avoid, but with the toughest 25 miles of the race left I felt that it was time well spent. I glanced at my watch before leaving and told Betsy that I was now aiming for a sub 30 hour finish and to expect me around 10am. She just shook her head as if I was crazy. What I didn't know at the time is that I was completely incapable of performing basic math at this point and I didn't understand the pace I was maintaining. Betsy just told me to keep running and she would see me at the finish. Then I thanked Aric for his help and walked out of the lodge.

The climb from Brighton to Point Supreme (the high point of the race at an altitude of 10,450') has a few runnable sections, but I didn't bother as I shifted into power hike mode. As slow as I felt we were moving I still managed to catch a few people in front of us, partly because of Sandy's enthusiasm. Anytime a light came into view I would feel Sandy wanting to push the pace, a pattern I would get used to the rest of the night. Near the top we passed a group of four or five runners and kept the momentum going on the long descent to the Ant Knolls aid station. Before Sandy and I arrived at the aid station he made sure to get a plan together in order to get me in and out of there a little quicker. Broth and noodles seemed to go down easy but it became apparent on the Grunt (a 400' climb that feels like a wall) that I was still lacking energy to fuel my legs. From the top of the Grunt to the Point of Contention I moved at a fairly decent rate and then looking toward the Rock Springs aid station I saw another group of runners. I definitely picked up the pace a bit because I wanted to avoid a logjam at the tiny aid station on the side of the trail. A few of us all arrived in close proximity but we still got out of there in good time.

I approached the next section known as "Irv's torture chamber" with some caution. Even though I had been running downhill with ease, the Dive and Plunge are never easy. I mostly surfed both of the loose and dusty descents because that was pretty much the only way to get down. I even managed to put some distance between myself and Sandy but it was only because he was forced to drop back and wait for the dust to settle so he could see anything. Once we were back on smoother trail he caught up to me quickly and we cruised into the Pot Bottom aid station (mi. 93) just as the sky was turning pale blue. I downed a Red Bull and some water before heading up last significant climb of the race. Reaching the high point on the ridge I was able to witness my second sunrise since beginning this adventure and it definitely gave me a little boost. Sandy tried to capitalize on my increased pace by mentioning the "sweet" descent coming up but I just laughed because I always seem to curse this section in training. As much I don't like it we still ran pretty quickly passing Corbin Talley and his pacer before reaching the water tank. I caught my breath on the climb up to the water tank and told Sandy about my idea of a "sweet" descent coming up. The tight singletrack that winds down through the maples really is one of my favorite sections of the race, not just because it is so close to the finish but mostly because it is truly fun to me. As soon as I stepped off the ATV trail and on to the singletrack I was flying, or at least that's the way I felt. I think it's funny how a 7 or 8 minute mile feels like a 5 or 6 at this point in an ultra. I suppose it's all about perception. At any rate, I was really getting in a groove when I saw a flash of white in front of me. It was another runner, Matt Galland, and he tried to hold me off but I was rollin and as long I felt like it I was going to keep my pace up. Matt graciously stepped aside shortly after I caught him and for a moment I thought I had left Sandy behind. It turned out that he had stopped to pick up my long sleeve shirt that had fallen out of my waist pack. We were soon dumped out on the paved road with a little less than a mile to go and Sandy decided to keep my downhill pace going on the flat. I had a hard time keeping up and every time I would start to close the gap to him he would just pull away a little more. Once the Homestead and the finish line came into view I didn't have any trouble running with "perceived" speed as I floated on to the lawn and grabbed my kids hands to run across the finish line with me. I gave Betsy and my kids a big hug, shook John Grobben's (Race Director) hand and got a congratulations from Peter and Erik before I finally sat down without having to worry about a clock.

My final time was 27 hours and 11 minutes good for 27th place. Not exactly the race I was hoping for but a finish that I'm definitely proud of. My biggest thanks goes to my family who were so supportive and refused to give up on me. I don't know how I would have done it without them. To all my friends and family that weren't there, but willed me out of that chair and down the trail, thanks. Clark, Aric, and Sandy, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to share some time on the trail with me, your help was invaluable. And finally, thanks to John Grobben and the whole Wasatch family for all their hard work and dedication throughout the year that really makes the Wasatch 100 such a special race.

Kat'cina Mosa 100k and Millcreek 50k update

Here's a quick wrap of Friday-Saturday activities, hopefully with full reports to follow.

Starting at 9pm Friday night Peter, Greg and myself joined another 30 or so runners for the 7th annual Millcreek 50k. The pace was pretty quick from the start with a few lead changes through Bowman Fork before I was out in front, although with a tenuous lead. By the time I made it to Desolation Lake I noticed a headlamp getting closer and I was pleased to see it was Greg. We ran from the crest all the way down the Great Western trail together and finished about 15 minutes ahead of Shane Martin's course record from 2 years ago. Our finishing time was 6:43 and following us, rather closely David Hayes, Drew Erickson (winner of Grandeur Fun Run), Mick Jurynec, and Peter Lindgren to round out the top 5 and all go under the previous course record. Full results to follow soon. Thanks to Ken Jensen for putting this great event together.

Just before we finished our night run another group of runners were beginning theirs down in Utah County at the Kat'cina Mosa 100k. All of the information I have came from Erik in a short conversation I had with him afterwards. Apparently Erik and Jay Aldous ran the entire race together and broke Kevin Shilling's long standing course record by a good margin (15 or 20 mins). Other details he shared with me was the heat factor and that Dave Hunt set a PR (watch out in September) while I think coming in 3rd.

Congratulations all around to a great weekend of running in the mountains.

Squaw Peak 50+ Race Report 2009

I didn't discuss my true goal time with anyone before the race for fear of jinxing it. When we talked about SP on our training runs I would mention that I wanted to go under 9hrs30mins since my previous best was 10:07. It just seemed like the next logical time barrier. My true time goal, and what I was really planning for was a sub 9. My training had gone better than ever this year so I knew my fitness level could handle the pace but I still had to be smart about managing the race.

Peter and I rode down to the race together and met up with the Erik, Greg and Rich before the start. Greg and Peter had made a plan to stick together and gun for PR's below the 10 hour mark. I knew they were both capable of sub 10 but I didn't really thinnk they would be able to stick together for that long, just too many factors to contend with in a 9 to 10 hour span. We all lined up at the gate to paved bike path to get some last second instructions from RD John Bozung before he sent us on our way at 5am. A few minutes down the pavement and a front group of 10 to 12 of us formed led by Scott Jaime . Shortly before the turn on to the trail the group was down to six that included Scott, Kevin Shilling, Dave Holt, Erik Storheim, Ryan Cooper and myself. The front 3 kept a torrid pace while Erik, Ryan and myself settled in behind and eventually lost sight of them on the winding singletrack. I had briefly met Ryan while we were signing in before the race when Peter had introduced us. I remember Peter saying "stick with Christian, he knows the course well". At any rate, I started chatting more with Ryan as we climbed to the 2nd aid station and got to know him a little better. As with most folks I meet in the ultra world, Ryan was super nice and he shared some of his vast racing experience with Erik and I. Shortly after the 2nd aid station the three of us became separated by a minute or so each and leapfrogged each other all the way to Pole Heaven (aid station 5) because of our frequent nature breaks (I think there was something in the water).

Just before aid station 6 I caught up to Ryan and left just before he did. I checked my watch and I was about 2 mins slower than my pace goal to this point, which made me quite happy since I still felt so good. Erik was no more than a minute behind as I started running up the 4wd road to Sheep Creek. The previous three times I've done this race I always walk this section, but today I felt great, so I just kept plugging along, happy with the pace I was running. I hit the Sheep Creek aid station where Karl and Scott Mason set me up with some red bull and potatoes before booting me out of there. Still feeling good at this point I decided to back off the pace just a little on the climbs and keep my stomach in order for the climb up to Windy Pass. About a mile or so before the descent into the Little Valley aid station Erik caught up to me and we ran into Little Valley together. I grabbed some gels from my drop bag, filled my bottles and picked up a third bottle before I left the aid station for the last big climb of the day. Erik was still getting his stuff together and I remember telling him that I was going to walk for a stretch and that I would see him in a few minutes. That never happened.

I walked, then jogged up the 4wd road, anxious to get to the real climbing. A little over a half mile after leaving the aid station I kept following the 4wd road on a slight right hand bend when I was supposed to bear left onto the singletrack next to the creek. I glanced down at my watch knowing that I should I have been approaching the switchbacks leading to the top of Wallsburg Ridge but nothing looked familiar. I started examining the trail for evidence of the runners in front of me and found none. I turned around and looked down the canyon I just climbed up. Feelings of anger and dread washed over me, I had no one to blame but myself. I looked at the altimeter on my watch before starting to backtrack and it read 8000'. I knew the top of Wallsburg ridge was a little of 8000' but I had no idea which direction I would have to go to find it.

Turns out I wasn't that far from where I was supposed to be.

I ran back down the canyon about 1.5 miles and 700' vertical before I found the trail I was supposed to be on. Anger drove my pace as I passed a few runners on the singletrack and washed out creek bottom. I caught up with Brian Beckstead who consoled me then gave me some encouragement to get after it. I had no idea how much time I had lost but I decided to re-focus on my original goal of 9:30.

My anger fueled pace eventually found reality as I pushed up Bozung hill and slowed down a bit. I heard some voices from behind as I made my way across the small snow patches before Windy Pass, but I refused to look behind until one of them called my name. To my surprise it was Greg and Peter, well ahead of their sub 10hr pace. I explained to them that I felt like I needed some extra training for Hardrock so I had done a few bonus miles. They told me they were still aiming for sub 10 to which I replied bulls**t, we're going under 9:30. I now had some renewed energy as we passed through Windy Pass a little after 1:00 pm, still enough time to get under 9:30 but we would have to press the pace. Jim Skaggs and crew had us in and out there in a jiffy, but Jim was curious where I had been, having been informed by Erik that I should be in front of him.

The descent off of Windy Pass was awful, but the MRC express was like a runaway train as we ran every step to aid station 10. I think it's fair to say that I pressed Greg and Peter on the descent but once I hit the road I was hitting a low patch. Now it was their turn to press me all the way to the finish where we crossed together in 9:27, good for 10th place. Going off course sucks, but finishing up a tough day with my friends definitely made up for it. Erik ended up taking 4th in front of Ryan in 8:43 and 8:51 respectively. Shilling pressed the 2nd half of the course to overtake Dave Holt and close to within 2 minutes and change of Scott Jaime. Rich came through in a little over 11 hours to put the icing on the MRC cake.

Thanks to RD John Bozung and all the volunteers that make Squaw Peak such a great event. Full results posted here .

In the end losing 30 minutes was a pretty bitter pill to swallow, but that's part of ultrarunning. In the grand scheme of things my fitness level made me feel a little more confident heading into Hardrock , currently #15 on the wait list...