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Utah Triple Crown

August 1, 2008

For my 50th birthday on August 1st, I contemplated what I could do to celebrate this ancient milestone.   I figured since I was officially “over the hill,” why not go over some huge hills?   I decided to accomplish something probably never accomplished before.  I wanted to summit the three highest peaks in Utah and return to the trailhead, all in one day without using a base camp. 

The three peaks, located in the Uinta Mountains are:

1- Kings Peak – 13,528
2- South Kings Peak – 13,512
3- Gilbert Peak – 13,442

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Tahoe Rim Trail 100 – NV

July 19-20, 2008

I made a return trip to run the Tahoe Rim Trail 100.   Back in 2006, this was my 4th 100-mile finish.  This year I had my sights set higher, hoping for my 18th 100-mile finish and to do it in less than 25 hours.

This beautiful course is laid out on state park and state forest land, climbing ridges overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe and various reservoirs.  The surface is mostly very runnable, soft single track.  There is about 19,500 feet of climbs, aided by many switchbacks.  Most of the course runs between 7,000-9,000 feet elevation.   The race website says, “This event is run in some of the high elevation alpine and sub-alpine regions of the magnificent Sierra Nevada Mountains. It begins and ends at the Spooner Lake State Park, which is at 7,000 feet. The highest point on both courses is just below the 9,214 foot Snow Valley Peak (which also provides one of the best views on the course). The low point on both courses is at the bottom of the now “infamous” Red House Loop (A Taste of Hell) at approximately 6800 feet.”

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Mount Timpanogos Update

I’m getting phone calls and emails from local runners wondering about the conditions up on Mount Timpanogos in Utah, my favorite altitude training area.  Mount Timpanogos (11,749 feet), is the most popular hiking destination in Utah.  During the summer months, thousands of hikers make the strenuous trek up the mountain, usually taking all day, a 10-12 hour adventure.  Ultrarunners make the round trip in 3.5-5 hours.  My PR is 3:43.  The round trip is about 14.5 miles and about 4,500 elevation climb/descent.  I almost always go up the TimpoonekeTrail from American Fork Canyon because it is closer to my house and more runnable compared to the trail that starts at Aspen Grove.

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Logan Peak Trail Run – UT

June 28, 2008

I ran in the Logan Peak Trail Run.  This was a tough 28-mile run on single-track and dirt roads up and around beautiful Logan Peak above Cache Valley in Northern Utah.   I would compare this run to a tough 50K event.   The elevation gain is over 7,000 feet and we had plenty of snow to run through.

It was probably silly for me to enter this run because I had not yet fully recovered from running the Bighorn 100 just one week ago, but I felt up to the challenge.   My main reason for running this course was to preview the first tough 11 miles of the new Bear 100 course that will go end-to-end from Logan to Bear Lake.

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Bighorn Mountain 100-mile Trail Run – WY

June 20-21, 2008

I ran in the Bighorn Mountain 100 Trail Run for the third consecutive year.   This is one of my favorite 100-mile venues.  I really enjoy it for several reasons:  1. The stunning mountain scenery in an area of the country few have seen before.  2. The Friday start, allowing me to return home and be ready for work on Monday.  3. The late-morning start, allowing me to get a great nights’ rest the night before.  4.  The creative way the other races (50-mile, 50k, 30K) merge in with the 100-mile course.  By 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, there are over 500 runners on the trails at the same time.  During the late afternoon, at the finish, friends and families cheer finishers from all the races.  5. A very professionally run race with superb aid stations and experienced volunteers.

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Riverwoods 10-Mile Run – UT

June 14, 2008

My recovery after the Squaw Peak 50 went very well.   On Monday I ran 4 slow miles but each day after that felt better.  On both Thursday and Friday morning I ran 16 miles.  It felt like I had recovered about 90%.  With Bighorn 100 in only six days, I didn’t want to do a really long run on Saturday, so instead I decided to enter a 10-mile road race to use as a long tempo training run.

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Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run – UT

June 7, 2008

The Squaw Peak 50 is held in the mountains above Provo, Utah, and is only about 30 minutes from my home.   It runs in the Wasatch Mountains, in the next county south of the Wasatch 100 course.  The course is tough, and it is billed as being the third toughest 50-miler in North America.  Among the features that make it tough is:  over 10,000 of elevation climb, a strong likelihood of snow to run through, and a very tough steep climb at the 40-mile point.  The course starts in beautiful Provo canyon at a popular family park and does a complete giant 50-mile loop. The course climbs up onto high ridges with great views of the cities below.   It then has a very long descent down into another valley.  The climb starts again in a very remote area.  The highlight of the course that you always keep in the back of your mind, is a very steep, tough climb up above Windy Pass at about mile 40. The highest point is about 9,400 feet.   The last leg of the course is a long 4,200-foot descent over nine miles, to the finish.

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Homestead Resort Half Marathon

May has been a training month for me, a rare month when I haven’t run in any ultra races.  I’ve been trying to maintain a 10 mile per day average, even when only running 5 days per week.  To do this, I have resorted to doing 3-hour runs before work.  My wife thinks I’m nuts getting up at 2:30 a.m. several times per week in order to hit the trail before 3:00 a.m.   I’ve enjoyed the mornings and pass the time listening to sports radio, catching up on the events from the day before. This morning, at a whim, I decided to go run a half-marathon to get in some speed work and to test my left calf to see if it can take faster paces now.  

I went and signed up for the Homestead Resort half-marathon.   This race starts at the finish-point of the Wasatch Front 100.  The course heads to Soldier Hollow, the location of the cross-country skiing venue for the 2002 Olympics.   From there it heads west above the Deer Creek Reservoir, on a dirt road above the railroad used by the Heber Creeper.  It then returns back to the start on the same route.  About half of the course is on soft dirt/gravel road, making it enjoyable for me.

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Zane Grey 50-Mile Endurance Run – AZ

April 26, 2008

A few months ago, at a time when I wasn’t using very good judgment, I again signed up to run the Zane Grey 50-miler.  How soon my memory faded of the pain and torture I have felt on that course in past years.   If successful, this would be my fourth straight finish on the course that claims to be America’s toughest 50-miler.   I looked at the entrants list and there were only a few others who had finished this course more than three times.  Obviously there are a lot of very smart people who don’t come back and do this course over and over again.

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Utah Valley Marathon – Provo, UT

April 12, 2008

I decided to give another road marathon a try.   When I started running, I went straight to ultras, skipping the marathon stuff because I hate running roads.   In 2006 I gave the Deseret News Marathon  a try for fun to see what I could do.  I didn’t do any special training for it and ended up with a 3:44.   I suspected I could do better but I have low motivation training to shave off minutes.  I would rather train to push distance.

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Moab 100 – Moab, UT

March 29-30, 2008

I ran in the Moab 100.  I chose this race because it is only a few hours drive from my home and I knew I couldn’t go wrong with a race near scenic Moab, Utah.   The race is put on by Gemini Adventures, the same group that does the Laramie and Boulder events, both 24-hour races, and 100-mile races.  

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Rocky Raccoon 100 – Huntsville, TX

 February 2-3, 2008

As the new year started, I decided to jump right in and enter another 100-mile race, the Rocky Raccoon 100, held in Huntsville, Texas.   The 2005 Rocky Raccoon 100 was the first 100-mile race that I ever successfully finished.  (My first 100-mile attempt was a DNF at 2004 Bear 100.  I ran 87 miles).   I had a great experience at Rocky in 2005.   It greatly boosted my confidence that I could actually become a real ultrarunner.

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