and altitude did not mix. I didn’t look
at any other races in the west, because most of the ones I wanted to
run were at higher altitudes. But after a trip to Moab in November,
I began looking for a desert race and found the Grand Circle series
directed by Matt Gunn. It's a pretty amazing series, where you run
in places such as Bryce Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Monument Valley,
Grand Canyon and the place that fit my schedule, Zion.
I
really didn’t have any business signing up for a hundred, after
hosting giardia for almost a year and only running one race because
of it in 2014. And I hadn’t run a hundred since Vermont in 2013.
But the draw of ultra-tourism is strong. Where else could I get a 34 hour tour of the desert, complete with snacks and drinks
along the way? So one little click on ultrasignup and I was in.
Training
did not go particularly well, with a hamstring pull eight weeks out
from the race. On the bright side, if you are down with an injury
for three weeks at that point, you don’t have to worry about that
annoying taper when you have nothing to taper from. And I threw that
whole idea of resting before the race out the window, too. We might
only be in the area once and I spent the days before the race
running, hiking and exploring.
So
on race day, I was the least prepared for a race that I have ever
been. But I really wanted that pretty buckle and would keep moving
until they made me quit.
Here are
some highlights:
The course: Is mainly flatish roads and trails that connect mesas. You climb up the mesa, run a loop on the top over slickrock, run back down and head towards the next mesa. The last 24 miles is a series of loops in the desert.
The
ups and downs. Although the race only has 10,000 feet of
elevation gain, a lot of it is concentrated in a few very steep
climbs (and descents). The initial climb and descent of the Flying
Monkey mesa (1200 feet per mile) involved a segment in which a rope
was necessary. The climb up Gooseberry was exceptionally steep,
(1500 feet in a mile) on loose sand and gravel. One segment was
pretty scary, where a misplaced foot would send you tumbling down
into the valley. And the descent back down Gooseberry was a
semi-controlled slide in the dark on tired legs.
Dust.
Lots of long dusty roads and trails. My lungs hurt and two days
later, I am still coughing up the desert.
Slickrock.
Despite it being a hard, clean surface, it is anything but flat and
smooth. Constant speed bumps, humps, hills, holes, ridges, sharp dips
make it very difficult to run with any rhythm. I thought it would
really pound me and annoy me, but I liked it. You stick to almost
vertical surfaces and certainly don't get bored.
Running
on top of mesas. There were long sections run along the very
edge of cliffs which drop down into the valley floor a couple
thousand feet below. If you got distracted and didn't watch where you
were going, you wouldn't have to worry about doing it again.
Beautiful views, though, which leads to…
Lots
of time eaten up with picture taking. If a good chunk of the
race hadn't been in the dark, I might have missed the cutoff. The
desert is pretty fascinating when you live in a rainforest. Of
course, everything was beautiful the first day. The next day, not so
much.
Weather.
In the seventies with a breeze. Sounds nice, but full sun, no
shade, no haze makes it pretty hot. Then the night got very cold
(especially with sunburn) and I was shivering with
four shirts on right before sunrise. Then very hot again, to the
point where I crossed the finish line with heat exhaustion.
Favorite
parts of race. The steep climb up Gooseberry (despite the
difficulty, the view continued to get better and better) and the
running on the slickrock and cliffs of Gooseberry and Guacamole
mesas. Grafton was probably pretty, too, but it was dark when I ran
it.
Least
favorite. The Virgin desert loops. If they hadn't been the last
24 miles of the race, they may have been fine, but three different
loops through the desert when I was ready to be finished were
monotonous. On each loop, I could see the aid station where I was
trying to get to, but the trails kept leading me farther away.
Most
challenging for me. A lot of relatively flat terrain, which I am
not good at. I like climbing and descents, but the majority of the
race was little tiny ups and downs, very runnable, but hard to get a
rhythm on.
My
race. At the beginning, it seemed like I was passed by
everyone, and it has been so long since I have run a hundred, I
forget that I catch back up with a lot of them later. (See squirrel
story below). It was pretty demoralizing, but when we finally got to
Gooseberry and more technical sections, I started passing a lot of
people. I passed even more on the technical downhill on Grafton Mesa.
At the third Gooseberry aid station, there were seventy some people
still out there behind me. I would end up getting passed off and on
during the death march segment on the loops, but by that point, I
knew I would finish and it didn’t bother me. I ended up finishing
107 out of 185ish starters in 31:45. Which proves that stubbornness
and persistence can overcome many physical shortcomings.
Squirrel!
When I was coming down off Guacamole, I was feeling pretty low,
thinking I was I at the very back of the pack (and I well may have been), when a rather large
squirrel started to cross the road in front of me. He changed his
mind when a vehicle came up behind me and he turned around and
waddled back over the edge. The driver stopped next to me and told
me that that was my spirit animal. Great, I said. This means I am
going to be running back and forth across the road all day. No, he
said, it means you will finish because the squirrel saves up
everything for later. At first, I was even more demoralized. I must
be somewhere near DFL and
this was meant to encourage me. But then I took it as he meant it
and carried on with my slow but steady forward progress.
My
crew. Since we didn't know the area, I tried not to rely on Tony
coming to aid stations. We rented a mountain bike for a couple of
days and I hoped he would spend his time riding. He did ride some,
but he also surprised me by coming to see me a few times. Best of
all he did the last long, hot Virgin desert loop with me and it was
very nice to have a distraction at that point.
Swag. A shirt and a hat, a custom-made wood-fired pizza, and a buckle made from items found along the course.
Verdict. This was one of the
better organized races I have been to and I am glad to support
a race director who gives back to the community. The course
was beautiful and well-marked, the time of year perfect, and everyone
I met was cheerful and helpful. Everything seemed to run smoothly
and my only "complaint" was the aid stations ran out of soda by the
time I got there (and I really hoped for a hamburger along the way).
In the end, despite my swearing in the middle of the night I would
never run it again, nor another hundred and in fact 5Ks were starting
to sound good, I would go back and do it again.
