Speedgoat Triple Crown

Speedgoat Triple Crown Race Report:

Thursday, July 23:

I drove over to the Salt Lake Valley from Colorado. I had 3 days of racing in a row planned. It was extensive but should be fun.

The plan was simple: Friday would be the uphill Vertical Mile, with over 5,500 feet gained in just 6.5 miles. Saturday would be the Speedgoat 50K with about 11,000 vertical feet and Sunday would be the Quadbanger. It would lose 10,500 feet over the course of about 11-12 miles.  Goals were simple: Win the Vertical mile, top 10 in the 50k, and top 3 in the Quadbanger.

I found a great place to camp out and tried sleeping in.

Friday, July 24: In the morning I drove over to Snowbird. Nestled at about 8,000 feet Snowbird sits almost 4,000 feet above the valley. It was time for a great race. I got there a little early and with little else to do I napped, rested, and read prior to the race. Finally it was time, we started at 3:00 pm. 

Speedgoat Vertical Mile: The race runs uphill on a ski road for 2,600 feet, then you ride a chair lift down (yes, you read that right: halfway into the race you ride a chairlift back down to the base area) where you then proceed to run up 2,900 feet on mostly single track trail. I started with an up-tempo pace, one I could handle but I would have to stay focused. I thought the pace would be sufficient to gain the lead but to my surprise it was not. Local Salt Lake native Nathan Peters was beside me stride for stride exchanging the lead. Sometimes he would gain it by a few yards only to succumb to the uphill battle and then I would take the lead only to relinquish it again. 15 minutes in I marginally backed off on the pace… just ever so slightly but enough. Nathan took the lead and continued his pace. I decided that the second lap would be the lap to push harder… for now I needed to run consistent. Our lead over 3^rd place was at least 1 minute and ever growing.  

Finally we topped off and Nathan jumped on the chairlift about 8-10 seconds in front of me. I followed and jumped on the next lift. We rode down stretching our legs and doing bicycles, with me (on the lift) ever chasing Nathan and of course never gaining or losing ground. At the bottom I jumped off the chair lift and started round 2.

I quickly caught up to Nathan on the single track and took the lead. I kept my up-tempo pace going and quickly built up a lead. The higher we went the better I felt. I fed off of the single track and quickly extended my lead. The last 400 vertical feet of the race is on a ridge that finally tops off at 11,000 feet. The ridge was steep… crazy steep... but I kept my legs moving knowing that this race would be over in a manner of minutes. And it was.

I crossed the finish line winning by about 4 minutes. Results are here:  http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=30858#id15032

Socializing, a tram ride to the base, and an hour later I found myself back at the start talking with Salt Lake resident Marge, one of the many volunteer workers for the race. As it turned out, she had an extra couch for me to sleep on that night… perfect…. Thank you Marge!

Saturday, July 25: Speedgoat 50K: After a good night's rest, I was ready for round 2. I knew I had to take it easy, at least for the first few hours of the race. The race started and I was surround and soon swallowed up by the mass of humanity. Slowly, consistently I ran forward and emerged about 15^th place. Today, I needed to eat and hydrate and run consistently. I focused on these basic life needs and soon topped out at 11,000 feet on Hidden Peak. From here I ran down into Mineral Basin and up a short but steep climb where I passed several people. They had been near me for most of the race so I did not think too much of it, although I had started moving up. Then the long downhill began. I was at mile 12 or so and I was feeling… blah, with little speed. I kept drinking and was sure to take lots of salt tabs as it was getting hotter.  

All I could do was run consistently. I then started the second major climb of the day at mile 16. I felt sluggish as I alternated between running and walking. The pace was sluggish but, unbeknownst to me, I was gaining on my competition. By mile 23 I had caught 3 more people and had moved into 8^th place. At least I thought it was 8^th place. At one section the course runs through a 500 foot tunnel from one basin to another… very cool! Then came the last major ascent of the day back up Hidden Peak. At the base I caught one more runner and kept rolling. The last 4+ miles downhill I felt sluggish but pushed on feeling that I was losing more ground.

At last I finished in 6:20. I soon found out I did better than I had thought and finished in 5^th place. http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=30857#id15032 The course was amazing, simply beautiful. If you ever run Speedgoat be prepared to power hike.

Sunday, July 26^th:  Quadbanger: I felt at ease and relaxed the morning of the race. Sure it would be my 3^rd race in as many days but it was going to be fun! The Quadbanger had 10,500 feet of descent over 11 miles. The course starts on top of Hidden Peak at 11,000 feet and descends about 2600 feet. Then the runners jump on a chair lift, ride it up, and run down again. This is repeated so the runner must descend a total of 4 times down the peak to the base area.

The race was small with 3 dozen participants, all ready for some fun. We started casual with one exception. A runner quickly took the lead and started hammering. Within 500 feet of starting he decided to mimic Superman. His toe caught a rock and he went flying. He jumped up looking chipper, said he was fine, and started sprinting again in the lead. 400 yards later his toe found another rock. He scampered up, this time not looking as spry. I, along with two other runners, passed him and took over the lead. I later found out he had dropped out. I tried to run controlled, upbeat, without letting the downhill control my pace. I made it down to the base with a  minor lead over 2^nd and 3^rd. Round 2 would have to be the same… maybe with just one or two surges thrown in for good measure. The 3 of us rode the lift up together chitchatting. Then once at the top the games began again. We slowly took off, getting used to running again after sitting on the chairlift for 16 minutes. I pushed the pace with a few short surges and slowly built up a 15 second lead by the base.

I rode the lift up again for round 3. Once again I tried to run consistently and throw in the few downhill surges. They effectively worked as I had an estimated 60 second lead at the base. I rode the lift up for the last time. I just had to run consistently and I would win. I got to the top and did just that: consistent running. I finished in 1^st in 1:10 about 3 minutes ahead of 2^nd place. Results are here: http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=30859#id15032

The weekend went as good as I could have hoped for. I won 2 races and was 5^th in the other. Special thanks to Karl Meltzer for an awesome race series weekend. Thank you to all the volunteers: your presence, cheering, and aid where amazing. Thank you Marge for a place to crash on your couch and regroup. Thank you to Hoka One One for your amazing shoes! I raced in the Huakas for both the Vertical Mile and the Speedgoat 50k, and the Mafate for the Quadbanger. Thanks to amazing shoes, hot showers, and a couch to sleep on I was able to race, feeling great every day!

Thanks for reading!

Kendall Mountain Run & Aspen Power of Four 50K

2 races, 2 days, over 15,000 feet gained and lost in about 44 miles. It was time for some serious racing: Kendall Mountain Run & Aspen Power of Four 50K

Kendall Mountain Run.

I’ve wanted to run this race for a long time. After running it, I’m not sure why I’ve never run it. An amazing course running from the town of Silverton at 9300 feet up 6 miles to Kendall Mountain at 13,000 feet. The run starts in town and quickly gets on a jeep road that takes you up to 12,700 feet. Then the last 300 feet of Kendall must be scrambled up.

My main competition was fellow Hoka teammate Sage Canaday and Flagstaff’s Andrew Benford.

Right away Sage used his road speed and led from the gun. I redlined it trying to balance the fast speed and not overdo it. Four minutes in we hit the unrelenting uphill. At last my type of terrain. Sage had the lead by about 40 yards, while a handful of us followed. Andrew and I sat in 3^rd and 4^th. We kept the tempo high but controlled. The jeep road got steeper and all slowed.  This was my chance to keep pushing it. I was in my element: steep uphill’s at altitude. By mile 2 I had moved into 2^nd and could see Sage was no longer gaining; instead, I knew I could catch him.

Incrementally I slowly moved up trying to catch him. We gained altitude and by the time we were at 12,000 feet, Sage was just 25 yards in front of me. But Andrew had not given up; he was only 15 yards behind me. Finally we hit the last 300 foot capstone of Kendall Mountain. We left the jeep road and started our scramble. Now I felt at home. We scampered up and Sage tagged the summit. I was now only a few yards behind. I tagged the summit and started the retreat back to Silverton.

As we bombed down Sage showed his off his marathon speed and I could not catch him. We ran back into town setting a blistering pace. Sage finished in 1:38:53, while I finished in second in 1:41:23. A fantastic race, well worth running.

Aspen Power of Four 50K

By early afternoon I found myself on the road… again. I was driving over to Aspen for the Power of Four 50k. The race gains over 12,000 feet as it ascends all four Aspen Ski Mountains.

I camped near the start in the National Forest and was ready for round 2. The race starts straight up Aspen Mountain gaining over 3,500 feet in the first 3 miles. Oh boy! The race was underway. Although there was not a huge field the race was highly competitive. We ran and power hiked straight up the steep ski runs. About a ¼ mile from the top the rest of the field slowed down (due to the altitude?) I kept the pace consistent and soon found myself leading at the summit.

I descended down the backside and soon had moved to 5^th place as the others bombed down. Then the 2^nd climb began. Once again I ran up and had moved into 2^nd place by the summit. And once again was passed going downhill. The race was 60% over, we had 2 more climbs neither quite as hard as the first 2. I had been eating well but could tell the race the day before was slowing me up. I was now in 3^rd and Josh Arthur was closing in behind me. I power hiked up the 3^rd climb and once again started my decent. Josh soon passed me. He had a great race going on to finish in 2^nd. I still felt strong, just depleted from the long 2 days of racing.

I then ended up following an arrow and accidentally took a wrong turn. I quickly realized my mistake and backtracked losing about 4-5 minutes in the process. I started the 4^th and last climb of the day. I was now in 7^th place and was cramping from the steep terrain. It was only 6 miles to the finish; I had to stay consistent. I kept going what seemed to be a terribly slow jaunt, getting passed by 2 more individuals. I finished in 9^th place in 5:49:30.

A solid 2 day effort.

Leadville Silver Rush 50 Mile Run

Well a crazy last month has kept me away so I’ve posted several expositions on my travels. I’ve been all over. I raced in the Canary Islands in early May. A week later running the Sageburner and winning. Then a week later Lynnette, Katrina, and I went to the Black Hills and South Dakota for a vacation. Following was a week at home then 2 weeks in France, Turkey, and Alaska. I’m back and enjoying the Colorado days. Read below for any one of the adventures:

Back home at last. It felt easy and wonderful to be training at 10,000 feet again. I prefer this than stifling sea level any day. Today was the Silver Rush 50 mile run. My main competition was Mike Aish. http://michaelaish.blogspot.com/ I decided to stay conservative for the first half and see how well I could run the second half. I went through the half in 3:20, 2^nd place about 12 minutes back from Mike. I had a decent lead of 3^rd and knew I was feeling good. My goal was to run almost everything back. The trail gets steep at times but I kept a solid pace up. I kept hearing that I was gaining on Mike. Indeed I was but only by a few minutes. I kept a consistent pace going on pace for a sub 7 hour run. I headed up Iowa Gultch at mile 38. The incline is not horrible but at that point in the race I did not want to run. I told myself to be consistent and ran the whole way up to 12,000 feet. I then turned and stated my decent towards the finish.

All day I had run and felt fantastic until this downhill. I started cramping and new I needed additional salt. I slowed the pace and held it together to the last aid station with 7 miles to the finish. I gulped down 12 ounces of salted Coke along with 8 electrolyte pills and left. I soon felt much better but still knew I was hanging on. My appetite had officially diminished. I had to push the pace but without falling off. I slowly felt better and increase the pace. I finished in second in the 3^rd fastest time ever in 6:56:41. Mike meanwhile went on to break his own course record. (Note: the course was altered and lengthen in 2010 therefore pre 2010 times need an extra 15 to 25 minutes added for equivalent time).

Crazy awesome day and I even surprised myself. I ran in the Stinson ATR. A fantastic shoe… check them out: http://www.hokaoneone.com/

Aisa, Europe, Mont Blanc, and Mount Marathon

My Europe trip was interesting and I will sum it up quickly:

I was in Turkey for a day and ran across the Bosphorus Bridge into Aisa. The bridge is huge with 8 lanes of traffic and huge sidewalks on either side. I arrived at early evening and ran into Aisa. Upon arrival into Aisa I was informed by some cops that pedestrians are not allowed on the bridge anymore. The cops gave me a ride back into Europe to a subway station. I then went to the Hagia Sophia. Amazing building.

 

 

Upon Arrival in Chamoix I rested for a day and was ready to race the Mont Blan 80K. However, I ate a panini which gave me food poisoning. I started the race hoping I’d feel better, instead I felt worse. Soon I was puking and barely able to walk downhill. I had to drop.

Over the next 5 days I got better, did some mountain climbing up Mont Blanc, and ran many trails.

 

Then I flew out: Geneva to Istanbul, Istanbul to Chicago, Chicago to Anchorage.

From Anchorage I hitched down to Seward for the Mount Marathon Run. I stayed at a host cabin and was well rested and ready to race. For this race the run goes straight up Mount Marathon gaining 3,000 feet in 1.75 miles. Then in tortures response the runners must descend the peak and lose their vantage and high point. The race started brutally fast at an all-out sprint. I maintained my position in 15^th place but was unable to sprint uphill. By the summit I was in 50^th place and not ready to die or break a leg so I controlled my decent and finished in 58:12 and 65^th place. Others ran with reckless abandon. Indeed, the race is known for having people break their legs every year.

 

Leadville Trail Marathon

Leadville Trail Marathon

I was ready… as ready as I could be. I had been nursing a cough and cold for the previous week and was almost over it. I did not know what to expect health wise going into the race. I figured I’d just try and run my best… and be sure to podium. The race was finally underway. I started controlled but still felt feeble, unable to push any harder. Mike Aish soon had the lead with me in hot pursuit. I’d run as well as I could.

For the first 90 minutes I ran controlled and in a comfortable 2^nd place. At the base of Mosquito Pass I maintained my speed, trying to gain a little on Mike. At the top of the pass I glanced at my watch. It read 2:01:??. Solid. I raced down with a good lead on 3^rd place. At this point the race was over. Mike did not slow down and I was unable to make up any more time. He finished breaking the course record, meanwhile I finished with a  PR of 3:39:36, 6 minutes faster than last year… a pleasant surprise.  

Sage Burner 25K

Back home and another race! A week after Transvulcania was the Sage Burner 25k. Low key and fun I was ready to race. I went out with Brian Smith who quickly took the lead and pushed the pace. I was not going to stay with him with his blistering pace, it was too fast. I let him go and hoped he was indeed going too fast. I followed but slowly lost time to him. By 50 minutes into the race I was about 1 minute back. But I was no longer losing ground. It was my turn to run the second half of the race faster than Brian. I felt great and started pushing the pace. By 1 hour in I could see I was making up ground as we started up a steep hill. I drove up the hill unrelenting. Sure enough I caught Brian at the top of the hill and 1:10 into the race. At this point I knew I would win the race. Mentally I knew I would. But there is the saying, "don't count your chickens until they are hatched".

It was now my turn to push the pace. I picked it up doing several long surges until I had a 2 minute lead on Brian. As the course was slightly different and longer I wanted to run as fast as I could to get the new course record. I knew I would be close to breaking 2 hours on this nearly mile longer course. I pushed and sprinted and finished winning in 2:00:22. Results can be found here: http://sageburnertrailrun.com/2015-sage-burner-trail-run-results/

Great fun run that I have to run every year. Check it out, well worth it with the miles of awesome winding single track, great people, and awesome after party.

Transvulcania

Canary Birds a chirping. I was flying into La Palma in the Canary Islands... not to be confused with Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. To complicated matters I was flying into Santa Cruz de La Palma, and not Las Palmas de la Santa Cruz. The steep volcanic island poked its head out of the water shrouded in mist and mystery. I was here to run the Transvulcania  a 47ish mile run. I landed and was unsure what I would do next. I had to somehow find my hotel, get my race bib on the other side of the island and get back to my hotel, eat dinner and go to bed. Luckily i found a race official who gave me a ride to the hotel and explained the bus system. I got on the right bus and headed to the other side of the island. The bus raced up the volcanic cliffs and through the misty humid air. Visibility was poor as we went from one dense cloud to another. Finally once we were over 3000 feet up the bus dove into a tunnel and went straight through the mountain to the western side of the island.  A mile away the west was entirely different. We emerged in a bright forest with the sun beating down, no mist or clouds were here to block the intense heat. It turns out this weather phenomenon allows much to grow on La Palma, the mist is collected from the east side of the island, piped throughout the island to different communities and then doled out in turn to the farmers and residents. I quickly collected my packet and hopped on the bus for the return trip to the east side of the island again. Once there I ate dinner and went to bed. The race would be early the next day.

This photo shows the clouds on the eastern side of the island.

A note on the race: it is incredible. Incredibly steep, incredibly long, incredible views, incredible course, incredible ecosystem. The runners start at sea level run up a 5,000 foot volcanic peak on the island, drop a thousand feet then run up to the high point of the island: Rocque de los Muchachos at 7,943 feet. The total elevation gained is at least 13,000+ feet. Upon reaching the high point the runners circumnavigate the volcano, which happens to be one of the largest calderas in the world. Then the runners drop to sea level and gain 1,000 feet over the last 3 miles to the finish.

I sat shivering waiting for the start. It was still over an hour until the start of the race and I had nothing better to do than wait and shiver in the cold black breezy morning air. At last the race started and it started fast. With a thousand people all pushing and pulling to get the best place. 400 feet into the run the route narrows down to a 3 foot wide trail. I to sprinted, mostly controlled to get a decent spot. I was about 50th place, perfect. Now it was time to run.

Josh Arthur was there and we ran together content to see who would fall apart in front of us. Then we could move up. This was the plan. The miles ticked by and at last we found ourselves summiting the first of the 2 volcanic peaks. From our vantage we could see the whole island. I took in the view for a smattering 1.2 seconds and then off I went. By mile 20 I could tell I was sluggish. The time change and lack of sleep were taking a toll; still I intended to run solid and make up ground. I went through the approximate mile 25 aid station and grabbed a little food and water and left in less than 30 seconds. Great transition.

The next aid would be in 3-4 miles I would need to spend a little more time there. I grabbed a fruit to go, some sort of interesting melon, it tasted good but also somehow off. I ate it and within 5 minutes my stomach fought back. I had to stop and puked up the mess along with much needed water. I drank my last few sips of water and sat then walked for a few minutes to regroup. I was out of water. I asked a few bystanders how close the next aid station would be. It was 2 miles at first, then a mile late it was 3, then 4. The more I asked the further the distance grew. The aid station was expected by all but was cancelled for some reason. As the sun's intensity grew more and more people dropped from dehydration. They even ended up bringing water up in a helicopter to aid the dehydrated runners. A bystander gave me an apple piece and another gave me 2 ounces of coke. I ran on dehydrated but determined. Finally after 2 hours with limited liquid and over 10 miles and 3,000 vertical feet, I finally made the aid station. I stopped determined to rehydrate and drink as much as possible. I left after downing over 75 ounces in 6 minutes. I felt a little heavy in the stomach and off balance only able to lightly jog, but so much better. After 10 minutes I had digested the liquid and was back to running. I soon topped out at the high point on La Palma at 7943 feet, and of course drank another 30 ounces,
It was time to race downhill. I was feeling hydrated and ready to race as I started my decent. It was one of the longest downhills I’ve ever run: 8,000 feet straight down. I finally hit sea level and stated the 1000 foot ascent and over 3 miles to the finish, I felt good but still no way to make up for the time lost earlier in the race. I finally finished in 96^th place in 10:23:36. You can look up results here: http://transvulcania.azurewebsites.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/clasificacion-ultramaraton-2015.pdf and the main website is here: http://transvulcania.com/events-item/ultramarathon/ .

The race was over, but I still had to find a way to the other side of the island: to my hotel and eventually the airport. I could wait 5 hours for the free bus or hitchhike. The choice was obvious. I walked about 5 minutes to a better hitching point and waited. 10 minutes later I was picked up. My driver was probably a secret agent as he flew along the road taking short cuts and nearly going airborne with great precipices next to us. I thank the secret agent and all of La Palma, what a great race!