My biggest concern going into this race was the altitude. The race started at 10,000+ feet elevation and climbed to 11,125 ft and I have never run at that altitude (or anything close to it). The closest was a 5k I ran in Denver last summer along with a few hikes, but those were definitely not like this!
We flew into Salt Lake City and drove down that afternoon to the area near the race. I picked up my packet at the ski lodge where the race would start the next morning before we got to the campground where we stayed overnight in a train car converted to a tiny house.
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| Start line and the peak (halfway turn-around point) in the distance |
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| Inside the train car |
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| outside of our train car accommodations |
On race morning, I had about a 45 minute drive to get to the start. Most of the drive was quiet and dark - this area is nearby to some certified Dark Sky areas, and it made the stars seem extra bright before the sun started rising!
I got to the start and parked with plenty of time, and the temps were close to 50F so I stayed in the warm car until about 10 mins to go. Made my way to the start with a port-a-potty stop on the way, and then it was time!
The group of half marathon runners was fairly small... this event also had 100k, 70k, and full marathon distances that started at earlier times. Our 7:30am start was the final event to begin.
The first 1/3 of a mile was straight down a ski slope, then at the bottom peeled off onto a singletrack trail that took us up the first climb. I knew the course was out-and-back, with one big ~11,000 ft peak before reaching the turn-around (the 11,125 ft peak) at the halfway point, which meant a third climb of the first peak again. I had the elevation profile on my watch and was eagerly tracking my progress up and down the hills as I ran. I say "ran" in a generous way, it was really more like 70% hiking and 30% very slow jogging.
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| Down the ski slope |
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| Views of Delano Peak (the 12,000ft peak we did not climb, but were originally supposed to) |
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| Thru the woods |
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| This was a view of the first (and third) peak to climb. |
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| Trail through open field |
The first several miles were spent figuring out running order along the trail since passing was difficult when we were in the woods. Thankfully people were pretty self-aware and didn't mind jumping out of the way to let others pass, and nobody was moving very quickly up and down these hills!
I was really thrilled to be done with the first big climb, but then it was omg steep switchbacks for quite some time (and the knowledge that I'd have to go back up those later in the day). At least this allowed a bit of sustained running for the first time in the race!
Eventually came to the small spur where we'd visit the aid station (same one in both directions, miles ~4ish and ~11ish). Grabbed a few Oreos and headed back up (yes UP) the trail towards the big climb. It was a lot of climbing just to get to the base of the ~half mile off-trail scramble to the top of City Creek Peak. There were some fantastic views along the way though!
Finally, got to a point on the trail where a volunteer stood and pointed up an insanely steep grassy/rocky hill and said "go that way". There were little orange flags in the ground leading the way up the side of this climb, no trail, and a false crest where you thought you got to the top, then looked up and went "Oh.... THAT peak??" 😳
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| Nope, not that one... |
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| ....THAT one. |
It was everything I could do to just put one foot in front of the other. Looking at the Garmin stats, it was over 700ft climbing in about 1/3 of a mile, at times 30+% grade. Ridiculous! But finally made it to the top, sat and enjoyed the view for a bit, had a snack, then made my way back down. It was crazy windy at the top, but man the views!!
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| The top! |
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| Going back down |
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| SO steep! |
I was doing ~16-20 minutes per mile for most of the course.... this one was a solid 40 minutes for the mile that included the up and down on that peak.
After that, there were sections of slow running (legs were TOAST after that ascent & descent) and more hiking. Hitting the final aid station knowing I still had to climb back up to the second highest peak again was tough, but at least I could see the total elevation count on my watch and know how much climbing I had left in the entire race.
I felt good enough to run a good portion of the trail after the last big peak, especially once I realized I had a sub-5-hour finish time within my reach - that gave me some motivation to go faster than I probably would have otherwise!
The last 1/3 of a mile was the steep climb back up the ski slope, and that was a bit of a gut-punch, but I knew it was coming and just trudged up most of it. Made sure to run the last part into the finish line!
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| The final climb |
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| Finished! |
Completed the race in about 4h 45m and felt exhausted but happy! It was a little strange doing a race where I didn't know anybody... so I finished, grabbed some water, and then headed to my car to go home. Nobody to stay around and cheer for or hang out with. A weird feeling but I was tired enough and had a drive ahead, so I didn't mind so much!
14.85 mi / 3,930 ft elevation
Overall an amazing experience, and honestly can't say whether the difficulty was due to the altitude or just the big mountains - probably a combination of the two! Definitely enjoyed the break from humidity though, despite the temperatures getting up to the 80s by the end of the race.
Excited to check this one off the experience list, and check Utah of the states to race!
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