Moab Red Hot 50K+ (Long)

[gonzo]

Mods: I don't know if this actually qualifies as a hiking trip report, so if you want to pull it down, that's fine by me.

On the Saturday over President's Day Weekend I ran in the Moab Red Hot 50K+. The "+" is because it was actually longer than 50K - it was more like 54.7K (34 miles).

The race started at 8:00 AM at the Gemini Bridges trailhead, ran along Little Canyon Rim Road and Metalmasher, before heading back onto Gemini Bridges to the Gold Bar Rim Trail, Gold Spike, and the Poison Spider Trail. About 14 of the miles were run on the uneven slickrock, and the rest was a combination of loose sand and packed jeep trails.

As usual, I started out too fast, running the first couple of miles just behind the front of the pack. I saw all of the usual ultrarunning suspects: Dave Hunt, Brian Beckstead, Phil Lowry, and met a few others from the Boulder, CO area. Knowing that I was aiming for a 5.5 or 6 hour finish I figured I should slow down my pace. Just after aid station 1 I met up with Dave Hunt and he was nice enough to let me run with him for a few miles while we climbed up to the Canyon Rim Overlook (mile 10). Dave talked to me about ultrarunning, gave me a few training tips, and chatted with me until we finished the uphill climb. When we got to the top of the climb I fell back a bit to conserve energy and look out at Arches National Park from our viewpoint on top of the Metalmasher trail.

Since David had left me behind at aid station 2, I was on my own and running on a combination of slick rock and sand. My left knee, which I injured skiing about a month ago, was starting to ache, so I slowed down my pace until I got to the third aid station. I filled my water bottle, grabbed a couple of PB&J sandwiches and took off.

With my knee aching I decided to start a combination of running and walking, especially on the downhill sections. After about a mile and a half of downhill (and dodging ATVs) I turned off the Gemini Bridges trail, and onto the Gold Bar Rim Trail. The Gold Bar Rim Trail is primarily known for jeeping and mountain biking, not running. That became very apparent as I scrambled up uneven slickrock faces and navigated the course.

Let me tell you about running on slickrock. It's hard. Really hard. And not just "hard" like difficult to do, but "hard" like running on a very hard surface, like a sidewalk. There's absolutely no give, and it just pounds your body with every step. You have to watch every footfall, and keep an eye out for what's coming up, because the terrain is very uneven, and the next step could be down a small hole, or up and over a rock band. Tripping and rolling your ankles wasn't uncommon.

The constant pounding was really starting to take it's toll on my body. My left knee and lower back were killing me, I kept looking for places to sit down and stretch, but I knew if I stopped I would have a hard time getting back up. It was only four miles between aid stations 3 and 4, but it was taking a very long time to get there, I wasn't running at all, just walking. I was in pain, and thought I might have to drop out.

Finally, I got to Aid Station 4, and just in time because my water bottle was nearly empty. I shuffled up the rock face to refill my bottle, and sat down to watch other runners come in. As I sat there, I contemplated dropping, but hated the idea of hitching a ride to the finish, so I sucked it up, and continued on. The cold water from the Aid Station helped a bit, and I started running again, but the downhill slickrock was still pounding my lower back, and I was feeling pain in my knee for nearly every step. Other runners would pass me and give me encouragement, but I was wasted.

The trail map made it look like the leg between Aid Stations 3 and 4 would be a flat, or mostly downhill run, but it turned out to be series of short, steep uphill climbs. It was until I I got to Bootlegger Canyon, that it started to head downhill, and it transitioned onto dirt. The soft dirt gave me a little extra spring in my step (quite literally), and I started running again. I was starting to feel pretty good until I got out of the canyon, and hit another stretch of slickrock. I decided to sit down and stretch a little bit before carrying on.

The stretching didn't really help, but I could see that there was shade and dirt ahead, so I started off again. At this point I was running on the Gold Spike trail, and it was flatter and more even than the Gold Bar Rim Trail, but it was still slickrock. Thoughts again turned to dropping out at Aid Station 5, but then I came up on a rim and could see all the way out past the Behind The Rocks Wilderness area and to the La Sal Mountains, and it gave me strength to continue. I kept up my walk/run pace for the last couple of miles of the leg until I finally saw the last aid station. I ran up a small crest to the aid station, and downed nearly half a water bottle before sitting down for a few minutes.

As I sat at the aid station I asked a volunteer for the time, "Exactly 2:00" she said. I couldn't believe it - I was hoping to be done in about six hours, but I still had six miles to go. By now I was determined to finish, so I took off again with another runner, and we climbed up a few slickrock faces until we got the Poison Spider Trail.

Dirt! The trail was dirt! I was in love, and I took off, the pain in my back and knee was gone as I ran on the soft, forgiving dirt. It felt good, so I kept what felt like a fast pace, and started heading down the trail. I was starting to pass other runners that had passed me on the slickrock section; we would shout encouragement to each other as we pressed on. Soon I was starting to pass hikers who were coming up from the finish line - I knew I was almost there. Running down the switchbacks the Colorado River came into view, and I started to have thoughts about jumping into it's blue water and cooling my body down. I kept running, and I came out onto a flat section of trail. "Just a mile to go I told myself" and I started around a bend, but then I heard someone shout my name "It's Lander!". It was Lissa, and she was waiting for me at the finish line! I was there!

I didn't get my 6:00 hour finishing time, but I wasn't too far off considering how difficult the course was. I think I finished around 7:15, and I completed the last leg (about six miles) in just about an hour - very fast considering how slow my previous 14 miles were. I made it, and I was happy.

[accadacca]

This definitely qualifies in this section. Very nice write up.

[TreeHugger]

Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I've done a marathon before, I cant imagine going 8 more miles on trail! Very impressive!! What was the temperature? You're looking strong in the picture, well done! Have you dont races like this before? I'm not convince I want to do another marathon,, but it was just a positive experience I cant help but think about it.....

Speaking of which.... there's an off road marathon in Durango in October, I'm thinking about - have you heard of it or done it before?

)

[gonzo]

Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I've done a marathon before, I cant imagine going 8 more miles on trail! Very impressive!! What was the temperature? You're looking strong in the picture, well done! Have you dont races like this before? I'm not convince I want to do another marathon,, but it was just a positive experience I cant help but think about it.....

Speaking of which.... there's an off road marathon in Durango in October, I'm thinking about - have you heard of it or done it before?

)

I've done a few long trail races before this one (the Mid Mountain Marathon and the Goblin Valley Ultra) but this was definitely the longest, and the hardest. I'm planning on at least two more trail ultras this year (two 50 milers), and gearing up for a 100 mile ultra next year. (yikes)

The temperatures weren't too bad, maybe in the low-to-mid 50s at the finish line. But since it was a clear sky, the sun was beating down on the rocks, and I managed to get a slight sunburn. (And a tan line from a band-aid I had on my hand!) The best part really was the views across the valley to the La Sals - it was such a beautiful clear day you could see forever. I'm still kicking myself for not taking a camera.

Is the Durango, CO marathon the Durango Double? I've heard of it, but have never run it before. It sounds like a lot of fun - and I've never been to that part of Colorado before. My October is already booked, but maybe in 2008.

[americanhero]

Wow!!!!


I run several Marathons a few years ago and I know how long such a distance can be. And running 8 more miles, that is really fantastic.
Congratulations!! You did a good job.
Thanks for that wonderful report, I think I didn't made it to the finish line.

[tanya]

Impressive!

[Iceaxe]

Dang.... I'm out of breath just reading that TR.

[gonzo]

Dang.... I'm out of breath just reading that TR.

Imagine typing it! (Looks around for my wrist brace)

[DiscGo]

Wow Kris, that is awesome!! I did a 5k last year and I felt good about that. From when you first joined the site, I thought you were hard core, and this confirms it to me.