The Remarkable Ambassador Gerda Verburg

One of the pleasures of ultra-running is the diversity of the community – people from all backgrounds, geographies, professions - each with their own special gifts. Yet, there is a thread that binds this diversity together – remarkableness. Does the sport foster and develop remarkable people? Or, is being remarkable the qualifier to engage in a sport that requites a high investment of time, commitment and perseverance. Regardless of the reason, I get great pleasure from the many amazing people that running brings into my life. One of the remarkable people I have met in Rome is Gerda Verburg, the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), three UN agencies based in Rome with expertise in agriculture, food assistance and rural development.

In her role as Ambassador, Gerda participates in the governance of these organizations and represents the interests of the Dutch government. Indirectly – she is my boss! 



Prior to this appointment, she was Minister of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality in the Netherlands. Previous, she was a member of parliament for the Christian Democrats. Before entering politics, Gerda was both an entrepreneur and a trade union representative. Gerda’s athletic interests are as diverse as her professional accomplishments. She is an equestrian, cyclist, skater and runner. Prior to my first meeting with the Ambassador I was “briefed” that she was an avid cyclist and rode her bike to work (how cool and how Dutch). In an effort to impress her during our first meeting I decided to ride my bike to her office. The morning of the meeting I had a flat and was late to the meeting due to the time it took to for me to repair the flat (how lame and how American). It was after that first meeting that I learned that her real athletic talent is running and that she is consistently a top finisher in her age group (55+). In fact, Gerda won her age division in this year’s Rome Marathon in a time of 3:26:11. Definitely a “bad ass” performance given there were more than 14,000 runners! 

She has completed 15 marathons with her fastest time being 3:16:52 at “Dwars door Drenthe Marathon” in the Netherlands in 2006. Meet the remarkable Ambassador Verburg: 



Q – When did you first start running? And, what prompted you to start running competively? 
I started around 1985 because a friend of mine, who is an equestrian as well, started running and became very enthusiastic. We ran twice a week, 1,5 km out and 1,5 km back. In between we did some stretching and while running we talked about life, politics, sports and love. After each run we ate a banana – that was the beginning.

Soon after my friend told me about his positive experience running a marathon and I thought, “well, why not, let me give it a try.” So, my first marathon was in Amsterdam, 1990. My time - 4.04.36. One week later I knew, “I will do this again and…next time faster.”

Q – What is your most memorable race? The Two Oceans Marathon in South Africa. It’s an extraordinary marathon: 56 km - start and finish at Cape Town. The race begins at 6:00 am in the dark and follows the Indian Ocean to the south. Everywhere people singing, partying and yelling – at half past 6 in the morning! Then you cross Chapman’s Peak, a mountain, to reach the other Ocean, the Transatlantic Ocean. I was challenged to run this marathon by a South African colleague, Ruben Denge. Ruben was working with youngsters that left youth prison in Johannesburg offering them education and skills to find a job. At the same time the youngsters got guidance to find or develop their own way in life without falling back into crime. My trade union CNV supported this work and gave me the opportunity to travel to South Africa. Ruben told me about The Two Oceans Marathon and said, “I run this marathon every year and I challenge you to do the next as well.” For me it seemed impossible, to run a marathon, 42 km (26 miles) and then another 14 km. however, the idea settled itself somewhere in my brain and after a few months I invited my spouse to join me on a holiday trip to South Africa to run the Two Oceans Marathon. It is a well-organized race with an exciting course. Yet, the support of people is what is most memorable for me.

Q – What is a typical training week like for you? Number of kilometers run? Types of runs? Cross-training? 
My Internet coach sends me schemes. I inform him about my next objectives and he anticipates on the new goal. I like sports; so almost every day I do something. Not always for competition, but my favorite way to go to office or return to my house is on the bicycle or running. As an Ambassador I have a driver, but several times I send him to our Residence to bring my documents and stuff for the next morning so that I can run home after my work is done.

For a marathon a typical training week is: Sunday:  3-3,5 hours duration run. Monday: early morning to the bakery on the bicycle and back through the hills (10 km). Tuesday: 1.15 hours steady run. Wednesday: to the bakery…. Thursday: 1.15 interval training. Friday: on the bicycle to a party. Back home the bike in the trunk (because my spouse comes by car) Saturday: to the bakery…and 1.30 hours; fartlek. In general I prefer to run off road and I love hilly areas (both for running and cycling). My legs are built for uphill moving.       


Q – How do you manage to fulfill all of your duties as Ambassador and find time to train? Any secrets as to how you have been able to excel at both? I usually run in the morning before breakfast. I love the smell, the colour, and the view of early morning nature in each season of the year. During the first part of my run, my brain solves problems, the second part I think of new ideas, sometimes very original, funny or just practical. Back home from running I take a shower and prepare a good breakfast. I take 30 minutes for breakfast, with news on the radio and/or papers. Then I’m ready for the day, no matter how long or challenging the day might be.

I have 3 secrets to share;

• I am used to run my marathons on pancakes with cinnamon and brown sugar, both for dinner the evening before as well as for breakfast early morning marathon day.
• Running is just fun, not a must or a way to lose weight or something. I love parties with a good glass of wine or beer etc.
• I love sleeping, but 5-6 hours per night is enough for me.

Q – How has your training changed as you have aged? What advice to you have for “older” runners who want to race competitively? 
Probably the biggest change is that I tend to stick more to my training schedule. When I was younger I had an eye on my scheme, but usually did more training than my scheme advised. I had good energy, I was almost never exhausted. Now I follow my scheme much more closely.  Some relaxing or reading a good book is also part of (mentally) preparing for a marathon.  


Q – What is next for you? What are you preparing for and what are your goals/aspirations? 
I don’t have a “next” yet. I just finished holidays on the bicycle. We went from the Netherlands through Belgium and Luxembourg (the Ardennes) to Provence, in South France, a distance of 1350 km in 9 days. Then we climbed the Mt. Ventoux by bicycle. First from the most difficult starting point: Bedoin. A few days later we did it as well from Sault, which is much easier. In between I climbed the Mt. Ventoux walking up and back (34 km) and this was really the most challenging part.

Back in Rome, while I survive the August and September heat I intend to start thinking about a new adventure. Running or biking or may be both. 


Q – Most readers are as passionate about their shoes as they are running? What are your current favorite racing shoes and why? 
I buy two pairs of shoes at the same time. Different brands. I ran the Maratona di Roma 2013 in Mizuno Wave Inspire and my other favorite shoes are Brooks Adrenaline ASR 10 

Uinta Highline Trail

A couple weeks ago, Ben Lewis, Jason Berry, Peter Lindgren and I set off on what proved to be a most excellent adventure. Dropped of by my dad at the Leidy Peak trailhead at the eastern end of the High Uintas, we hoped to travel west for 80ish miles of the Uinta Highline Trail in one push, arriving sometime the following morning at the Hayden Pass trailhead on the Mirror Lake Highway.

We felt we were well prepared with plenty of food, abundant water supplies along the way(Steri Pens to purify said water), emergency supplies to bivy in case the forecasted storms pinned us down. we carried maps, compasses, SPOT tracker, a Garmin GPS, and a satellite phone to lead the way and get us out of trouble if needed.
What we weren't prepared with was actual knowledge of the route as the only experience any of us had was some limited traveling of the 9 miles from Rocky Sea Pass to the Finish. We all knew that the trail was very faint in the first 15 miles to Chepeta Lake, with accounts of runners/hikers getting off trail within the first few hundred yards. This wasn't going to happen to us with our wide array of route finding gadgetry!! Right......

A lazy 7:45 am start and we were on our way.  As soon as we stepped out of the car, the clouds descended, a light rain started, and our feet were wet for the next 28 hours.  Leidy Peak was obscured and we began making our way from cairn to cairn confident in our route finding abilities. An encounter with an elk herd, dense fog and an hour later something didn't feel quite right and we pulled out the maps for a closer look than the cursory glances we had thus far taken.   We found that we were indeed on trail 025 (the Highline Trail), but instead of heading west, we were going east. An hour into our adventure and we had just circumnavigated Leidy Peak and were within .5 miles of our starting point!!  Well...  Luckily all other route finding errors (of which there were a few) weren't as bad as that one and we managed to generally stay on course the rest of the way.  

Rather than a long narrative of the rest of the trip, I'll let this excellent video compiled by Ben Lewis tell the story.  The only other tidbits I'll add are that we all under-estimated this route. It was HARD!! After 8 of the toughest finishing miles I can remember, we finished in 27:52 to break the FKT held by Chad Bracklesberg by 22 minutes. And after an earlier attempt foiled by severe lightning and thunderstorms, Stephen Jones lowered our new FKT by 11 minutes, finishing the Highline Trail in 27:41. Congrats Stephen, and more so on doing it solo!!

http://youtu.be/52BkszgQbAY

Special thanks to my dad and brother for providing drop off and pick up transportation. Gregory packs for their Tempo packs which were awesome, and personally, to Altra footwear and the Lone Peak 1.5 which kept my feet happy through 28 hours of sogginess.

News Items

While I had a break in the Hardrock 100 coverage I decided to post up a few news items.

• As I'm sure everyone has heard the Wasatch 100 race committee has decided to add Irv's Torture Chamber back in for 2013! It is truly astounding to me that a race committee would listen to the runners and make a change like this. This is just another reason why this race is so special. Read about it here.
• Brighton marathon results and report have been posted over on the Wasalpstriders blog. Even though we couldn't be there to organize things this year there was a very healthy group of runners that did it themselves. Right on guys, thanks for keeping the tradition going.
• This Saturday morning (7/13/2013) Erik, Peter, Jason and Ben will be making a run at the Highline Trail in the Uinta's. Follow along here on Spot.

Now back to Hardrock...

Thoughts on the Wasatch 100 New Finish

With some friends, I ran from Brighton to the New Finish of the Wasatch 100 on Saturday.  We have all run Wasatch before, some more than others, and some on different courses than the most recent version that finished at the Homestead.  We all came to the same conclusion after the run:  We didn't like it.

The reasons: 

1) Safety-As I ran the miles of pavement and dirt roads replacing the beautiful singletrack from Rock Springs to Pot Bottom, I couldn't help but think of how dangerous this section could be during the day.  Imagine a nice fall day, with hundreds of people driving the Cascade Springs road, and hundreds of runners and their pacers trying to share that road. Imagine a hot fall day, 85 miles into the experience of a lifetime, plodding along in the heat with NO shade or cover of any kind.  
2) Simplicity-The Wasatch 100 website states: "Due to issues related to crossing private land the Wasatch 100 will no longer be able to finish at the Homestead in Midway." I understand that the private land issues are in Lime Canyon, which is located after the Pot Bottom Aid Station, during the last 4-5 miles of the course. So why did the course change all the way up at Rock Springs?  Why not keep it the same to Pot Bottom, then go right (down canyon) on the Wasatch State Park road, and join the new finish to Soldier Hollow?  I have limited map reading abilities, but it only took me a few minutes to see what seemed to be a much simpler solution.  Are there other issues at stake? The two I can think of off the top of my head deal with the Rock Springs Aid Station and the Dive and the Plunge.  If there ARE other issues, it would be nice to gain clarification on what they are.
3)Reputation- Wasatch has the reputation as being one of the toughest 100 mile races out there.   A good part of it stems from the brutal toughness of the last 25 and last 15 miles of the race.  While the race will still be one of the toughest out there, the new route definitely tames it, and I feel diminishes some of the aura surrounding the Wasatch 100.

Now, this is my own opinion.  I know there are a lot of other opinions out there, and there are plenty of people who may think I am being nit-picky, ungrateful to the efforts of the race-committee, a "snob", and so-on and so-forth.  Others will say "Who cares, what's the big deal? There are other hard races with lots of dirt roads, pavement etc,."  Many of you will never have run Wasatch.  Others will have run multiple versions of it. There are many opinions out there, and I welcome hearing them all.

I am grateful to the Race Committee and John Grobben for their tireless work in creating and maintaining one of the coolest yearly events that I know of.  I feel extremely fortunate for the opportunity to participate in something like this that has completely changed and helped define my life since my first running in 2005. Regardless of the finish, I look forward to Chinscraper, Alexander Ridge, Bare Ass Pass, Red Lovers Ridge, Catherine Pass and everything in between.  I am just confused and a little concerned as to why this incredible section from Rock Springs to Pot Bottom has to change.

I would love to hear any and all opinions.  This has the potential to ruffle some feathers, so please keep the dialogue civil, and don't make anonymous comments, if anyone cares to respond. 

Here's a map with the new route, and the route keeping things the same until Pot Bottom.
DOWNLOAD THE KML
Old route-Yellow. 
New Route- Red. 
Possible connector from Pot Bottom to to New Route- Blue and/or Orange

Happy Fourth of July

Written by Scott Dickey on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I'm taking the liberty to re-post this excellent reminder of the brave men and women who allow us to celebrate the 4th of July every year.  Whatever your views may be of  politics, religion, nationalism or whatever......, please remember that your ability to have differing opinions and beliefs is made possible by living in this great country.  Please take the time to thank one of the brave men and women who have defended our freedoms, and risked being in a situation like the one described below.  Happy 4th of July!! 

When I enlisted for the Army back in 2000 I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. I had just graduated college and the desire to enlist grew too strong for me to ignore. Before I knew it I was being flown to Fort Benning, Georgia for basic training and in for the ride of my life.

During my 4 years of service I would learn how to jump out of airplanes (with a parachute of course) repel out of helicopters, operate more than 10 different weapons with expertise precision, make shoes reflect like a mirror (floors too) and jimmy rig just about everything imaginable. I discovered how much weight one could really carry on their back and learned hundreds of military acronyms. I can find any location in pitch dark with only a compass. I frequently operated with little or no sleep for days on end, and experienced the true definition of “hurray up and wait”. I also learned how to react instead of think and realized how awesome running water and real food is… plus many, many other things. So when 9/11 comes around I always think about my time of service since it pretty much revolved around this date (2000-2004). It brings back a lot of memories, most are good but not all of them. Some of my fellow soldiers were lost and made the ultimate sacrifice. RIP my friends.

Very easily I could’ve been one of those fallen soldiers. On my second tour to Afghanistan, my vehicle hit an improved explosive device (IED) or landmine. Fortunately for me the IED was upside down and the blast was directed towards the ground. If it had been installed correctly, I probably wouldn’t be here today. I was injured, but not severely. Guess it just wasn’t my time.



Of all the ways this has affected me, one way was truly unexpected. It has made me love running more than I ever have. Just the simple process of stepping out the front door is a miracle for me. When I am too tired to run or don’t have any motivation, all I have to do is think about a fallen or injured soldier and out the door I go, just because I can.

Wasatch 100 Course Change Analysis

In case you haven't heard or you were in denial, it's true, the last 14 miles of the Wasatch 100 course has been changed for 2013. I didn't want to believe it at first because dealing with change seems to get harder the older I get. So I stayed in denial up until this week when I decided I better get to know the new course a little better.

The Wasatch 100 website states that the main reason behind changing the route is because the existing course crosses private land. My gut tells me there are multiple factors, but since I can't confirm them I will leave them out of this public forum.

Disclaimer: 

• I have not run the new route yet so this analysis is based strictly on elevation data and perception of running surfaces.
• I am only covering the changes from where the Rock Springs aid station used to be (approx. mile 87) to the new finish. There is also a change leaving Upper Big Water where the new course will take a more direct and slightly steeper route to Dog Lake. This is to make up for some of the length added by the new finish stretch.
• No one asked me to perform this analysis, I did it simply to gain an understanding of the new route.

For those of you in a hurry I present the Infographic:

Surface type shown for previous course on top, new course surface type shown on the bottom.

The shift in profiles is due to the shortened route from Upper Big Water to Dog Lake. Instead of Rock Springs being at mile ~87.5 it will be at mile ~87. By my measurement the new course is still long, even with the shortened section. The total I come up with is 100.8 miles.

The aerial perspective:

New course shown in RED, previous course in YELLOW. Download the KML

As you can see the new finish is at Soldier Hollow instead of the Homestead. The new course adds 3.5 miles of pavement and more dirt road. There is also less elevation gain and loss. Runners finishing after the sun comes up will likely experience higher traffic on the paved sections and some of the dirt roads. The long climb shown in the profile to the Station Cut-Off aid station is on a dirt road that looks similar to the dirt road leaving the old Pot Bottom aid station.

Even with the course being a little longer, which isn't that big of a deal, I think the new route will be 30 to 45 minutes faster than the previous course. Of course that is all relative to the condition you are in when you reach this point in the race. I'll go run the new route in the next couple of weeks and report back with my impression of it.

I for one will miss the torture chamber and even the Dive and the Plunge. But if one thing is constant in this world it is change. You can either embrace it or let the world move on without you.

Any thoughts on the changes? Have you run this new section? Let us know below.

Wahsatch Steeplechase 2013

I have taken photos of the Wahsatch Steeplechase twice before focusing on the spiny rocky ridge up on Black Mountain. This year to mix things up I decided to stay lower pull out the telephoto lens and take a step back from my usual wide angle close shots. It was allot harder to get the shots I wanted without the natural dramatic affect of the ridge but hopefully I captured some of the beauty of the lower section of the course. Next year Ill focus on the decent from Smugglers Notch and lower City Creek Canyon. 
I  have a soft spot in my heart for the W.S., it was my first trail race I ever did and I give it credit for sparking my interest in ultra marathons and  I hope the race continues for many more years to come. Congratulations to race director Butch Adams,  the volunteers and all the runners of this years race.

Hardmoors 110 Race Report

A Blustery Start to the Hardmoors 110 

You know the feeling. It’s happened to all of us at least once. You’re toeing the starting line of a race and you just know you shouldn’t be there. Perhaps you’re undertrained. Perhaps you’re ill prepared in terms of the difficulty and challenges of the course. Or perhaps, your head for any number of reasons just isn’t in the right place. As I toed the start of the Hardmoors 110 this past weekend I knew I shouldn’t be there, I was a man out of my country, both figuratively and literally.

The Hardmoors 110 ultramarathon follows the dramatic Cleveland Way National Trail encircling the North York Moors National Park and the Cleveland Heritage Coastline. The course begins in Helmsley and passes through the North York Moors before following the stunning Cleveland Heritage Coastline visiting the coastal towns of Saltburn, Runswick Bay, Whitby, Robin Hoods Bay, Ravenscar and the seaside resort of Scarborough before finishing in Filey. And in case this means nothing to you (which until recently it did for me), it’s in Northern England.

More Stuff than I'm Used to Carrying

Running the Hardmoors 110 was a bit of a whim for me. I was going to be in London for work, I was looking for a race to hopefully redeem myself for a poor run at the Salt Flats 100 several weeks prior, and I just had the itch to race. It was a dandy plan until the day of the race when I realized the errors of my compulsiveness.  I didn’t know the course, I had brought the wrong race kit, I hate running in the rain, a 5:00 pm start is not too many hours distant from my bedtime, and 113 miles with 26K vertical is a long way!

After resisting thoughts to bag the race and enjoy a weekend lounging in a hotel on the Northern Coast of England the race was on. Immediately Shelli Gordon was off the front running a blistering pace. It would be later in the race that I would learn that Shelli is one of Britain’s most talented female trail runners. I fell into the lead group behind her with Simon Deakin and Neil Ridsdale, arguably the UK’s fastest and most badass 50+-year-old runner. Both Simon and Neil knew the course well and freely shared beta about what to expect over the next 100+ miles. What they shared confirmed my sense that I was a man out of my country.

While I knew the course was not flagged, RD Jon Steele had given me some confidence that it would intuitively make sense. Wrong! Immediately I realized that it would require considerable time and effort to navigate using both the map and course description that was included in the mandatory race kit. Quickly and unequivocally I knew what my race strategy would be – DO NOT GET DROPPED!

I found the course to be surprising, interesting and stimulating in that the terrain was all new to me – the fells, the rollers punctuated by steep descents and ascents through drainages, and technical rock that looked like fungi magnified by a factor of 100. Yet while the terrain was new and interesting – it was also foreign and unnerving, making it difficult to go into the zone and just run.

At one point Neil alerted me that soon we would be running on “magic grass,” sod that literally hundreds of thousands of people over the years had walked across yet had left no trails or tracks. I reached the “magic grass” and immediately slipped, becoming covered in magic mud. Why was I here?

As the sun set I finally found my rhythm. I found that other place. We climbed in the fog over four peaks and it gave me a chance to assess the strengths of Neil and Simon. I was stronger on the climbs. Both were much better descenders. At about 35 miles we reeled in Shelli and became a group of four. We ran together through the night arriving at the coast (Saltburn AS – mile 58) just before dawn.

Dawn on the Cleveland Heritage Coastline

At the aid station I suddenly realized Neal was gone. I panicked. I yelled at myself, “DO NOT GET DROPPED.” I was out the door in pursuit of Neil. As the first light was hitting the coast I could not see Neil. I was impressed at how he had put the hammer down and put so much distance on me in such a short period of time. My only hope was that he would pay later for pushing this hard so early in race. I plodded on worried that I would loose considerable time having to refer to my map to navigate. After about 30 minutes I reached an intersection in the trail and had to stop to determine which was the correct way. As I looked behind me I could see Neil and Simon off in the distance. Somehow I had left the aid station ahead of them and had been pursuing the ghost of Neil. I hopped back on the Simon & Neil train.

As we ran along the cliffs over the sea, dropping every few kilometers into a drainage before climbing back up on the cliffs, I could tell Neil was struggling. Slowly Simon and I pulled away. As we pulled away I could tell we were complementing each other – Simon knew the course, and I was feeling good and was able to push him just a bit harder than he would be running on his own. Soon we could no longer see Neil.

Dropping into Runswick Bay AS

Running along the coast was just stunning. The green fields up on the cliffs. The ancient fishing villages with stone houses and cobbled roads below. The smell of salt and the noise of birds. Simon gave me a history lesson and pointed out notable sights along the trail including the birthplace of James Cook (AKA Captain James Cook), the abbey that inspired Dram Stoker to write Dracula, and remnant bunkers built into the cliffside from WWII. He even schooled me on the art of efficiently using stiles to cross over fences and the intricacies of different kinds of English gate locks. As to the usefulness of the information – I’m uncertain. But as to its value in passing the miles – priceless!

Pushing it through Scarsborough

By the time we reached Ravenscar AS (mile 91) we were told we were approximately 45 minutes ahead of Neil, but that Shelli was about to catch him. Both Simon and I acknowledged that a race between Shelli and Neil meant that we had to move fast in order to not give up our lead. We pressed hard to Scarborough (101 miles) where after clocking sub 8-minute miles on the concrete promenade we both seemed to run out of gas and slowed down considerably as we climbed back onto the cliffs for the final 12 miles. We did mental math and convinced ourselves that we would be hard to catch. Then we saw Neil. From plodding along thinking we had nothing left in us, we realized the power of the mind when we both started clocking fast miles again in an effort to maintain our lead over the final 4 miles.  While we both had felt we had nothing left, we clearly did. We worked our way through Filey Village – down along the beach, up the hill into town then to the far side of the village were the race finished at a school. In the final kilometer we had the silent conversation that we had both been having for the last 12 hours or so – would we finish together  - or would it be a sprint for the finish. In that final kilometer we acknowledged that we had worked as a team, that each of us as an individual would not have been able to complete the course as quickly, and that we should finish together. We entered the school gymnasium at 21:13. As we watched for Neil, we were told that he was at least an hour out and that Shelli was now in front of him. I had yet again experienced the ghost of Neil.

Simon Deakin

A big thanks to RD Jon Steele and his partner Shirley Colquhoun and all the volunteers and race marshals for making me feel like I was a man in my own country. The hospitality, encouragement, and kindness made the adventure meaningful and memorable.

Can a Sword be Carried Onboard?

So here’s the best part. The first place winner gets a sword with the names of all the past winners engraved on it. Quite fitting for a run through Yorkshire. Good thing Simon lives within driving distance and didn’t have to explain to airport security why he wanted to take a meter long sword onto the plane!

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

Grandeur Fun Run 2013

If you haven't heard, there will be a gathering of trail enthusiasts for some vertical and pancakes this Saturday, May 18 at 7 am.  Details can be seen on the cover photo above and read about on the link to the right.