April 13-15, 2007
Early in the running season, I was faced with one of my toughest ultra challenges of the year, a 150-mile race near Pekin,
March 30, 2007
This run turned out to be a 50-mile training run on a 100-mile course I designed. I am enjoying the 100-mile distance more and more. In 2004-2005 I started my 100-mile run career with 3-out-of-4 DNFs (did not finish). I seriously questioned whether my body could handle that distance and each time proclaimed that I would never try again. But since that time I have successfully completed a consecutive string of nine 100-mile finishes.
March 24, 2007
The Great Salt Lake in Utah is a wonder of the world. It is about 75 miles long and 28 miles wide. This massive salt-water lake has more salinity than the ocean (3-5 times), to the point that you can float in it. The only creatures that live in the lake are small insect-like brine shrimp. The lake has no outlets and its level can fluctuate greatly from year to year depending on the runoff. In the early 1980s, heavy runoff caused the lake to overflow its usual boundaries to cover roads, ranches, and cause much destruction of developed land and structures. Other years, like this year, the lake is much lower.
March 2-3, 2007
Back on December 29-30, 2006, I hosted the first running of the Pony Express Trail 100. Three of us completed a 100-mile run on the historic trail in western Utah, competing against frigid winter temperatures. I completed that initial run in 25:29 and was anxious to give it another try. Running buddy, Brent Rutledge suggested that we get out and run it again soon. We looked at the calendar and decided on March 2-3, hoping for warmer weather conditions. Yes, the Pony Express would “run” again!
February 3, 2007
My goal for an early morning training run was to run the entire length of Utah Lake north to south, about 30 miles. I would start at the
January 20, 2007
As an encore to my 23-mile run across frozen Utah Lake (largest fresh-water lake in Utah) last Monday, I again ventured out onto the ice on Saturday. My training buddy, Brent Rutledge of Lehi, proposed that we run 50 miles on the frozen lake. Who was I to argue against a fun challenge? All week the temperatures stayed below freezing although the afternoon temperatures were starting to creep into the upper 20s. With my success Monday in staying safe and not falling through the ice, I felt pretty confident that we could again have a safe adventure.
January 15, 2007
In my quest to continue to seek out creative and interesting winter training runs, I embarked on a new unique adventure run on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I live on the west shore of the largest freshwater lake in
December 29-30, 2007
In December 2004, I started running the historic Pony Express Trail in sections across western Utah. I desired to go further out on the trail, but couldn’t find anyone willing to drive my all the way out to my continuation point. So I thought, why not just do the whole stretch in one section and make it a 100-miler? I was pleasantly surprised that some friends wanted to join in so I decided to publicize the run and invite some others.
November 24-25, 2006
The Grand Canyon again beckoned me to run in its depths. With the road to the North Rim still open and a long Thanksgiving weekend, I took the opportunity to travel one more time this season to experience this wonder of the world. I hoped to accomplish my 10th double crossing. But this time, I wanted to do a more extreme variation. Instead of doing the typical double crossing along the corridor trails (Bright Angel or South Kaibab), I planned to accomplish probably the first double crossing from North Kaibab to Hermits Rest and back.
November 3-4, 2006
“By the light of the silvery moon”
Three weeks after accomplishing a double-double (4 trips) crossing of the Grand Canyon, I returned again to do an all-night-full-moon double crossing. I arrived at the North Rim shortly after dusk. After making my preparations for the run, I finally hit the trail at about 7:30 p.m. I was pleased to see that the overcast sky cleared and that the bright moon would be my companion during the entire night. As I began my run down the trail, I was further delighted to notice that my legs felt good and strong. Usually in the early stages of the steep descent it takes a few miles to get the kinks out, but not tonight.
October 12-13, 2006
The Grand Canyon is truly a wonder of the world. To run through it is a cherished experience. I have run six previous double crossings (rim-to-rim-to-rim) and believed I was ready to attempt a quad crossing or double double (rim-to-rim-to-rim-to-rim-to-rim). Several people (probably fewer than ten) have accomplished this feat before. Jim Nelson broke the speed record on November 6, 1999, with a time of 22:48. Previous to this, Wally Shiel established the quad record on October 4, 1987 with a time of 24:45. A typical quad using the South Kaibab trail is about 88 miles. I didn’t want to do just a typical quad, nor go after any speed records. Instead I wanted to add some variation to the route, cover some trails I hadn’t seen yet, and make sure I covered at least 100 miles. I would probably be the first person to cover 100 miles in a 4-crossing run.
September 30, 2006
With a week’s rest from the epic “Polar” Bear 100, I felt recovered and ready for another run. I decided to join in a local informal race, a tough trail Marathon going from Brighton to Millcreek Canyon.