Speedgoat 50K

Here it is the day after the Speedgoat 50K. My first "Ultra Marathon" is now complete. It was a good experience but today question my sanity that I entered to run this event. Seriously though, with "11,420' of vertical pain" this is the most physically challenging thing I have ever done and although extremely difficult, both physically and mentally, it was also very fulfilling and satisfying when I completed it.

Josh picked me up at 5:10 am, he was a volunteer at one of the aid stations and had to be to the event at the same time as the runners. We arrived at Snowbird at 5:45. I picked up my number and some handouts and was ready at the start line by 6:15 which is when we received the final verbal instructions for the event. Once the instructions were given we moved to the starting line awaiting the 6:30 start.

I lined up at the back of the pack knowing I would be one of the slower runners. I definitely lined up to far back in the pack. As we got going it became obvious that I was going to be behind some very slow climbers when we hit the single track area going uphill. I ended up having to wait for a wider area before I could pass any of them, this definitely cost me some time. Within a few miles the crowd was spread out and I was falling in with people going generally my same pace.

The race progressed well through the climb up to Hidden Peak (where the tram let's people off) I felt very good but when I went to fill up my water bladder I realized that I had not drank enough water for the first 6+ miles of the race. I knew this would probably cost me later, which it did. I generally start out all of my runs chewing gum for the first mile or so, it seems to keep my mouth fresh, but for this race I kept it in my mouth for about 5 miles and as a result I didn't feel at all thirsty and didn't drink very much. From that point on I drank a lot of water but I don't think I ever caught up on my hydration for the rest of the day. From Hidden Peak it is a short down and then another climb to Mt. Baldy then just a couple of miles down to "Larry's Hole" which is the aid station that Josh was working at. I felt great at that point and it was great to see Josh and talk to him maybe 30 or 45 seconds before moving forward.

After Larry's Hole is a crazy descent. It is not that it is extremely steep but there is about 3 miles where you are running on a jeep road that is 100% rocks, no dirt at all. The rocks range from the size of marbles to cantaloupes. It is steep enough that you have to put the brakes on the entire way and with the rocks you cannot take your attention off of the road for even a split second. In this section I went for more than an hour without seeing another runner. I was not passing anyone, and no one was passing me. It was definitely strange not seeing anyone for that long of a period of time. About 2/3 of the way down this stretch my knees started to hurt. They would get worse as the day wore on but luckily I only felt it on the steep downhills. Although there are a lot of steep downhills in this race I was able to keep going and deal with the pain.

At about the half way point you hit an aid station at the bottom of the course in American Fork Canyon. After the aid station is a very long fairly steep uphill. This is when my lack of hydration hit me like a brick. Both of my thighs got knots in them. At first I dealt with it but they were continually getting worse. For the first time I had thoughts that I may not be able to complete the race, they were that bad. I also passed 2 guys in this section that had come to a full stop and were vomiting. Seeing this definitely does not help the mental psyche. I took 8 baby aspirin and continued to push on. I think that between the aspirin, my focusing on water intake for the last couple of hours, and the course not being quite as steep as earlier in the several mile long uphill, my thighs started to feel a little better.

At this point I felt confident that I would be able to finish but was very concerned about making the cutoff. You have to be to "The Tunnels" aid station by 3:00 or you are not allowed to continue. I knew I had the steepest part of the course just before that aid station, and just after the station Josh was working at.With my thighs as they were, hitting that aid station by 3:00 became my immediate goal. At this point I was following another runner and we missed a turn. This cost us about 6 or 7 minutes before we realized it and got back to the cutoff. The trail was well marked I was just so focused on the task that I just followed him and didn't notice the ribbons indicating the turnoff. When I got back to where Josh was working I let him know that I was definitely hurting and asked if he had cell service there, he did. I asked him to call Brenda, my wife, and let her know I was about an hour behind. Brenda and some of my kids were planning on meeting me at the finish line and I didn't want them to have to spend hours there waiting for me.

During long races you have highs and lows, and after the low I had been having over the last couple of hours I was now finally getting into a bit of a high, whether this was due to my pain being a bit less, seeing Josh again for a minute, or just the way things work I don't know. When we hit the steepest part of the course I was feeling pretty good. I didn't push it crazy hard but just kept consistently at it knowing I had to hit the cut off aid station by 3:00. About half way up the steep climb I knew I was going to make the cutoff with plenty of time to spare. I got to the top of the climb and then ran over to "The Tunnels" aid station right at 2:30. 30 minutes before cutoff.

After you go through the tunnel you then have a long descent, again my knees were just killing me on this downhill but I made fairly good time. I knew at the bottom of this descent was a very, very long uphill to Hidden Peak for the final aid station. At the bottom I took my last 8 baby aspirin. I knew that between my thighs on the crazy long uphill and my knees on the 5+ mile downhill to the finish I would definitely need them.

I felt quite good on the final uphill to Hidden Peak and was able to deal with the knots in my thighs, I passed several people in this section but was sure they would probably pass me on the long downhill with my knees being in the condition they were in, which they did.

Hitting the aid station at Hidden Peak and knowing that I was now at 26+ miles and the rest was downhill, I now knew I would finish, it was now just a question of how long it would take.me. I started the trek down, shortly after Hidden Peak was a long section that had a very large amount of snow still there. They had ropes attached if you wanted them at this point but the idea was to butt slide for about 300 yards. When I got there people were hanging onto the ropes and going down very slow. I went over to the side of the ropes and did my butt slide without the rope assist, I passed several more people here.

From here on it was about 4 miles all down hill, my knees were killing me. I had a couple of people pass me over that 4 mile period but did pass one other runner about 100 yards before the finish line.

I finished at 11 hours, a full hour longer than I had hoped for. Waiting at the finish line were my 2 daughters and their husbands, my son Josh who talked me into this crazy thing, and my wife Brenda. I want to thank all of them for supporting me with this endeavor, especially Brenda as there has been a very large time commitment to this on my part and has taken away a lot of time that I would normally spend at home or with her.

Important things I learned during this race:
Don't start to far back in the pack.
Don't chew gum.
Drink more water than you think you need.
Watch the markers so you don't take a wrong turn.
Wear gaiters ( I had to stop 3 times to get rocks out of my shoes).
Take my Ipod, I think it would have helped during a couple of my low points.
Lose more weight before my next run.
Truly appreciate my health that allows me to do these types of things.
Be thankful for my terrific family.