The highlight of this year’s event was the inclusion of several friends and their families. There were at least 10 of us either running in the race, or cheering each other on from the sidelines. It was 6 months of planning and a mounting excitement for not only the race, but for an excuse to mingle in a town over 300 miles from home for an extended weekend.
The packet pickup and expo was a fun start, as we checked out the vendors, gathered our schwag bags, and had group photos taken. Afterwards, most of our group headed over to some time share condos for a potluck pasta dinner. There was much conversation about strategies and expectations of the event to come. I enjoyed sharing experiences of my 7 prior times running in the race.
Morning came quickly to catch the bus for the race start. Amid the madness of runners, I found my friend Carl and his son, Jared, but the others were impossible to find. None of us were carrying our cell phones, and it was just a matter of trying to spot each other in the crowds. After a few minutes of looking around, the three of us decided to get aboard a bus.
We went our separate ways at the start, and I passed the time chatting with other runners while sitting next to a fire barrel. The conditions appeared decent for the race, other than a little bit of wind. Runners lined up and waited for the race to begin, but we were delayed for 15 minutes as there were issues with busses bringing runners to the start. It was definitely uncharacteristic of other years I’ve participated.
My fitness has been a little off this year, so I didn’t expect a pr, and felt I would just run and see how the race would unfold. Jared found me within the first mile, so we hung together and conversed on how we felt and our expectations. I had to ‘take care of business’ at the 7 mile aid station in Veyo, so Jared continued on, and said I’d probably catch up to him in the climb out of town. He was correct, and as I caught him, he said “You’re killing me” as I passed him by. I wouldn’t see him again until the finish.
I felt fairly decent the remainder of the race, but didn’t try to push beyond what I perceived my capabilities were. I had envisioned a finish of somewhere between 3:05-3:10. Any faster would have been great, while any slower would have been a slight disappointment. So, with a finish of 3:06:27, I was in range.
I stayed at the finish with Melissa, and after spending a little while recovering, we headed over to watch friends finish. With all the craziness, and massive crowds, I was only able to see Stefan just after he crossed the line. As few of us met up and laid down by the drop bag retrieval area for a while to recover and share our experiences. As a general consensus, we all had fun and enjoyed the event.
After taking some time to shower and relax for a few hours, Melissa, her father and I went to Cracker Barrel and met up with some of the friends for dinner. It was a great way to unwind and spend some time together before we went our separate ways back to Salt Lake the next day.
My Garmin splits were:
1. 6:56 14. 7:13
2. 6:50 15. 6:52
3. 6:41 16. 7:05
4. 6:39 17. 6:56
5. 6:44 18. 7:09
6. 6:29 19. 7:43
7. 6:41 20. 7:13
8. 8:03 21. 7:00
9. 7:16 22. 7:03
10. 7:18 23. 7:19
11. 7:32 24. 7:05
12. 7:23 25. 7:07
13. 6:55 26. 7:06
Last .32, 2:11, 6:52/mi.
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