A Day on the White Rim Trail

2 years ago I stood at the Grand View Point Overlook scanning the incomprehensible landscape that stretched out in front of me.  I noticed a dirt road down on the lower rim of the canyon and another visitor told me it was a 100 mile loop.  Well, that was convenient.  I had recently finished the Leadville 100 and although I wasn't ready for another 100 the seed was planted.

David, Walter, Brandt

I love Canyonlands National Park.  It is massive and the 3 districts are distinctly different.  There is an eerie aura about the area.  It feels ancient, desolate and forbidden.  There are oasis's, rock art and secrets from the past.  The place reminds me of the old Western movies and Louis L'Amour novels that I loved.  The park is dry and hot and after a few days in the Canyon you feel exhausted.  Spending time here clears your mind and lifts your soul.  By the time you leave you are ready to go but it always pulls you back.  When you are there nothing else maters.  In the canyon and desert you live in the moment.

I was excited about this run.  It was going to do something I love in a place I love.  Canyonlands proved to be unforgiving and offered me humility like many others who have come before me.  I learned lessons about myself and shared an adventure I won't soon forget with two friends.

Shaffer trail

David bought into this idea early on.  I was happy to have him along.  We have raced together several times and spent many miles on the trail training.  He is a stronger runner than me but we are pretty compatible running partners.  Brandt, a friend of David's from Chicago, had recently moved out to Denver and he volunteered to drive around in a jeep and crew us.  He is a really solid guy.  It was great to get to know him and he was an awesome crew and driver.

We rolled into Canyonlands and set-up camp near the park entrance before heading down into town for some last minute supplies and a rental jeep.  We woke up at 5 am, ate breakfast, packed up the car and headed down to the base of the Shaffer trail.  At 6:15 we started.

We headed up Shaffer trail in the dark.  This is a windy, dirt road that climbs over 1,500 feet to the top of the canyon wall.  As we reached the top the sun was rising and we felt good.  The plan was to take the paved road about 8 miles to mile 14.  At that point we would swing 13 miles down a long dirt road to Mineral Bottom.  We made quick time as we finished the first 26 miles in 4 1/2 hours.  That is a little fast for a 100 mile distance but the weather was cool and we didn't feel we were exerting too much effort.

Drop down into Mineral Bottom

We dropped about 1,000 feet to the bottom of the canyon at Mineral Bottom.  This point along the Green River is where we hooked up with the White Rim Trail.  It is also the lowest point of the course.  We got to the jeep and I changed my shoes.  I still felt good.  I had some tightness in my quads but nothing out of the ordinary.  Our next stop would be 8 miles down the road.

We got through mile 33 in 6 hours.  That is when the heat started taking it's toll.  It was probably in the low 80's down at the bottom of the canyon but there was no relief.  There was no shade.  Until you have been in the desert sun you can't really appreciate the way it feels on your skin.  The air was so dry and staying hydrated is a challenge.  There is always a thin veil of dust in the air.  Ultimately, I think it was the heat and dryness that was my downfall.  It hit me like a truck.  By the time we hit the jeep again I was experiencing leg cramps.  They weren't just tight, they were cramping.  That is very rare for me during a run.  It was concerning and I was walking.

Rolling Aid

David, was running a lot stronger than me.  He still had a good bounce to his step and was pulling me along.  We made it another 5 miles before our next stop at the jeep.  I was just starting to come around a bit at that point.  I changed shirts, pumped a lot of fluids and ate.  I had a pretty good 3 miles and I was super excited to have bounced back but it was short lived.  The mile before we came to the next aid stop I was slowed to a walk again.  My legs were cramping severely, my kidneys hurt and I was dehydrated.  I couldn't keep ahead of the hydration.  I made it another 5 miles before I dropped at mile 52.

I didn't have much of a choice.  I sat down.  I felt terrible.  David had held up for me and I probably put him about 5+ miles behind where he would have been without me.  It was so early in the run.  I never thought it would have ended here.  I really thought I had a honest shot at sub-24 hours.  I had underestimated the Canyon.

Views like this everywhere

David made it another 10 miles and dropped at 62.  I think he would have finished if I had kept up my end of the bargain.  We drove a mile down Murphy's Hogback and found a rock to put up camp for the night.  We sat there in the heart of Canyonlands.  There was not a light or person in sight.  We were alone with the stars and canyon walls.  The silence of the Canyon was amazing.  I can honestly say I have never experienced silence like that in my life.  This is one of the special moments that Canyonlands can offer.  We had a couple beers and called it a night.

It took us 6 hours to drive 38 miles out of the canyon the next day.  It took a couple of days for my kidney pain to go away.  I still feel depleted but other than that I am no worse off.

I learned a couple of things about myself this past weekend.

- After dropping  you go back and you think of all the things you could have done differently.  You play the "what if" game.  I'm sure I could have done a few things better but it boils down to the fact that I am not a 100 mile runner.  I finished Leadville but it was brutal.  I don't mind pain and suffering but I don't need it anymore.  At least, I don't need it for 24-30 hours.  I really love the 50k - 50 mile distance.  My body doesn't react well after that.

- 100 miles is amazing.  I get why people do it.  I think about it often.  I would be lying if I haven't thought about going back to the White Rim in past couple days.  I don't like to fail.  I think about moving along slowly at night and battling my body and mind.  Unfortunately, I shut down.  I'm ok with this.  I experienced finishing and failing at 100 miles.  I won't die wondering.  I can accomplish most adventures I want to do in 50 miles or less.

- Heat kills me.  I can handle heat for a couple of hours but I can look back on some of my most epic suffer fests and heat played a major roll in most of them.

- I'll be back to Canyonlands.  There are several runs that are still on my dream list.  I love it there.

- It's good to have friends that are crazy enough to join me on something like this.  Thanks David and Brandt!

"Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit"

Edward Abbey

Muscleman Arch

The Battle Within

View from the beginning/end of each loop

13 hours and 44 minutes in the desert outside of Moab.  That is how long it took me to finish the Gemini 100k.  The course was a 5.5 mile loop  consisting of roughly 500 feet of climb.  The trail mazed through stream beds and climbed over unforgiving slick rock.

Moab is a special place for me.  I have been going there every year since I moved out to Colorado 8 years ago.  The canyon walls, sun scorched rock, hidden oasis's and towering buttes have stood stoically for 1000's of years.  It is a place where the ancient history of our world comes into focus.  My imagination get's swept away as I try to imagine it's secrets.

The race area was beautiful, if not frustrating and challenging.  I ran as the sun rose and I finished as the  sun painted an amazing sunset before the stars showed me their glory and grace without the pollution from man's greatness.  I knew I loved the desert but I forgot how much I love racing 50+ miles.

Running that distance you fight with the best and worst parts of your self.  Doubt, disappointment and quit fight with dedication, guts and stubborn pride.  When you cross that finish line the best parts win.  If you drop you live with the weakness.  Where else in life is that battle so clearly defined and the winner so clearly crowned?  In this race I had resigned to quitting with about 17 miles to go.  When I told David I was done I hated the way it sounded coming out of my mouth.  I buried my excuses and finished.  The best parts won and I learned to endure again…….

It sounds so fantastic and sensational but that is the way it feels.  That is a feeling I only find a few times a year if I'm lucky.

Seen on our family hike in Needles District, Canyonlands UT

2014 is coming together nicely.  I'm over 500 miles into the new year so I'm ahead of my goal of 2,000 miles for the year.  The first 3 months of the year have historically been light mileage for me.  I smashed my March record by over 50 miles and I'm shooting for over 300,000k of climb this year.  I gained a lot of confidence running the 100k for my goal of breaking 24 hours on the WRT.  I can't wait for the mountain snow to melt.  Life is good!

Ready to say goodbye to weather that freezes the whiskah's

San Juan Solstice

The San Juan Solstice 50 was meant to be my last race of the year.  I say "meant" because I felt I needed a break but this race totally reenergized me.  The course is a loop course around Lake San Cristobal that starts and ends in Lake City with 3 distinct climbs.  2 of the climbs are sustained climbs of over 4,300 feet of gain.  After the second climb the course tracks above 11,500 feet for 11 miles before dipping down for the final climb.  After the final climb the course dumps back into town.

The race is very well run.  From the pre-race dinner, to the course markings and aid stations, to the post race breakfast and award ceremony it is one of the best run races I've run in.  I hope to be back.

I managed through the first climb without any issue.  I had a little trouble pushing pace down from that climb but felt pretty good.  The second climb was pretty brutal.  I kept good pace but it took a lot out of me.  This climb tops out above 13,300 feet and it was a long time coming.  Once on top I had looked forward to making some good time for the 11 high altitude miles.  The affects of 2 major climbs and altitude slowed me down considerably.  I didn't have a chance to get much high altitude training prior to the race and I think it hurt me in this section.

By mile 30 I was feeling spent.  I stopped at the aid station fueled up.  They had some instant potatoes that I took down.  It reenergized much like they did at Leadville.  It is my power food.  I need to put this stuff in a flask!  I rolled the next 10 miles at a really good clip.  I felt great as I descended down to the final climb.

As I dropped down from 13,300 feet to 9,550 the temperature increased significantly.  I would guess it increased by over 25 degrees.  My stomach turned a bit and I lost all energy.  The final climb up Vickers Ranch was disastrous.  It took me 1 hour and 22 minutes to climb the final climb of over 1,700 feet over 3 miles.  At that point I reconnected with David for a few tough miles.  It was nice to have company.  I took it easy dropping into town and finished in 13:39:44.  The last 10 miles took me 3 hours.  I'd like to have those back but overall I was very happy with completing a very difficult race.  About 200 runners started the race.  169 runners finished.  My time was good enough for 107th.

Dakota Jones crushed the course record set by Matt Carpenter by over 24 minutes with a time of 7:35:09.  He ran an unbelievable race.

Here is a short clip of photos from the race.