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| | | Zion 100 Mile Ultramarathon, UT | | | |
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Zion 100 Mile Ultramarathon, UT
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| Run/Jog | 100.00 Miles |
10,700 AEG |
| | Run/Jog | 100.00 Miles | 1 Day 8 Hrs 51 Mns | | |
| 10,700 ft AEG | 4 Hrs 45 Mns Break | 7 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | I completed a life goal this weekend and ran a 100-mile ultramarathon!
Started off about 5:15 am to a 30-degree start in the pitch dark. Ran the road out to Gooseberry Mesa, which i did at sunrise and was one of the highlights of the course. One of the prettiest trails I have ever done. Felt good.
Hit aid and got my poles for enormous steep descent down to desert floor. Another stunning segment. Hot rolling run out to mile 26 aid where I saw Michelle and Sierra. I finally acknowledged at this point I was not really having a great day and my stomach was off. The girls made me eat, listened to me whine and then cheered me up and sent me on my way.
More desert running, followed by beautiful segment along the Hurricane rim overlooking Virgin River. Getting hot this time of day and there was some heat related carnage at the aid stations. Next up was a big big climb up Smith Mesa. I did not even try to run this and just hiked up it feeling good about it. More heat related beat up folks at the aid station up there. The loop atop Smith Mesa was cool. Steep up/downs through little valleys then hitting a more gradual dirt road before the drop. The drop off Smith Mesa is one of the steepest descents I have ever done. Very technical. I did this at sunset and it was so stunning I often had to stop and just marvel at where I was and what I was doing. After that it was a fast run to meet the girls at mile 52 Virgin BMX aid.
I donned my night gear here, ate and had some hot spots tended to. Took off for the 18 mile Guacamole loop as it got dark and cold. Had never gone much beyond 50 miles at a shot before and was curious what kind of pain was heading my way. Another big dirt road climb up to Guacamole Mesa. I made decent time and ran what I could. Atop the mesa I anticipated one of the toughest parts of the course - navigating the slickrock mesa loop in the dark. I quickly partnered up with an extremely nice guy named Aaron and we made this loop together and did well. Made decent work of the trip back down to mile 70 aid and the girls.
My watch died at this point. After getting worked back into semi-functioning status by Michelle and Sierra I took off again for the crux of the route - roughly 1500 foot climb up very rugged and rocky trail back up to Gooseberry Mesa at mile 73. I certainly was slow going up this but I made constant progress and kind of had a grand old time (while dying). At the top it was absolutely freezing and I had 5 more miles to meet the girls at mile 80. I slowly decompensated during this part and by the time I got to mile 80 crew site I was in pretty rough shape both mentally and physically.
The girls really took care of me here. I would not eat but they got my head back in the game. i got my watch back which helped too - being able to track my progress is a big mental aid for me. It was super cold but the sun was coming up at this point and I knew that would perk me up as much as possible
Took off for the final 20 miles at a snails pace. At the second to last loop (Wire Mesa) I found Aaron again and we decided to bang the rest of this sucker out together and man was he a life saver for me (and presumably I was for him too). Slow but constant progress around the beautiful Wire Mesa Loop. From here we headed back up to the last loop at Grafton Mesa. This was shorter but more technical and harder. I was wasted at this point and all we could do was whine and laugh and that helped pass the miles. We got to the last aid station and, incredibly, we only had 1.5 miles back uphill to the end.
The girls were there waiting at this finish. Aaron and I fittingly finished together after doing about 25 miles of the whole race together.
Man what an incredible experience. Can't believe I did it. I was certainly slow and towards the back but I could not care less. I ran 100 miles!!
I could not have done this without the incredible support of my wife and daughter. They met me 4 times on the course in addition to the end. They met me at 2am and 6am absolutely in the middle of nowhere, pitch dark and freezing cold. Always calm, positive and incredibly efficient. I am so lucky to have them.
That's my story folks  |
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