Logan Peak Run - 1st Place 4:08:20 Herald Journal had a nice re-cap HERE 
(Photo courtesy of HJNEWS) Looking around during the pre-race briefing I took stock of the crowd. No Seth, no Joe, no Jon. We did have last year's 6th & 7th place finishers Kyle Wright & Neal Legler. Plus a friendly and speedy looking guy Nick Sourlos. We also had one of my new training partners Mike McKnight quite nervous about his first run over 20 miles. What a race to break him in on! With no fanfare the race started and within a quarter mile it was already down to a group of 5-6. Neal and I set the pace and chatted away as we headed up Dry Canyon. My plan this year was to be right around the same splits as last year and even a bit slower and hope I would have the legs to actually run the downhills this year. Last year things fell apart at the Tower so I knew there was room for improvement. As we neared Aid 1 at mile 4.4 I looked around and could only see our group of 3. Neal, Kyle, and I. Quick bottle fill, some chips and off I went. First out the aid but I could hear them not far behind. Neal caught up and we continued chatting but soon he said something about his bottles and stopped. I opted to keep plugging along and figured he would catch up soon. Kyle and Neal ended up hanging about 50 meters behind me as we made our way over to the Welches Jeep Trail. So far, things were going great. My split at Aid 1 was only 30 seconds slower than last year, but the effort was easier it seemed. From when Neal dropped back a bit all the way to Aid 2, the two guys stayed around 30 seconds to a minute or so behind me. I noticed I would gap them on the downhills and they would almost catch me on the climbs. So far, the heat wasn't an issue. There was some cloud cover and tree cover so the sun wasn't on us at all. I stopped at a spring at mile 9 and dunked my shirt in the water. Glorious. I hit Aid 2 all alone (still only 30 seconds behind my splits from last year) and drank some fluids as they filled my bottle. As I was leaving, Neal and Kyle arrived. At that point, I decided to push it up the climb and create a gap that might stick. It was time to go. That bit of the course climbs 900' over 2.5 miles. It is runnable. Except for the 9000' elevation causing lack of oxygen. Still, you have to run it. The sun was out and getting strong during this stretch but my shirt was still damp. That saved me. I tagged the Peak's Towers at 2:35:40 making up my 30 second deficit and putting myself a minute ahead of last year's pace. I stopped to take in the 360 degree view before hammering the downhill. I was mentally prepared to make it hurt this year and go hard the second half of the race. I was only 30 seconds from the top when I crossed paths with Neal/Kyle. So, roughly 90 seconds ahead. I put my head down and let it rip. I love this section 'cause you can see your gaps and you get to receive/give near constant encouragement. My buddy Mike was looking great in 6th-7th place but I was not surprised to see Nick Sourlos in 4th only a few mins back from Neal/Kyle. He was still in the mix. I stopped briefly at the Aid to top off the bottle and headed off to hammer my favorite section and the crux of the course, the North Syncline Trail. This trail was nearly the death of me for my first running of this race and still is a TOUGH section. Lots of rollers. Most people expect a downhill path all the way back to the Finish, so this section is a slap in the face. The heat was starting to get to me here as my shirt was dry and I filled my bottle with HEED not water. I didn't really was to douse myself with HEED so I started to roast. I did know of a spring right before aid 4 where I could dunk my shirt again and that was all I could think about. It finally arrived and yes, it was glorious. A quick stop at the final aid station to fill the bottle (with water this time) and down the canyon I flew. Only slowing when necessary and when the side ache hit, I pushed all the way to Deer Fence Trail. That was like a furnace through there. Short steep climbs with full exposure. Brutal, but I was almost done. Convinced no one matched my downhill run today, I cruised it in to the finish where my family was waiting. I really enjoyed the second half of the race this year. It's so much nicer to have the legs and fitness to take advantage of the downhill and post a good time. Kyle came in next about 12 mins back. Neal struggled the second half and even hurt his ankle coming down dry canyon. He was passed by Nick for third place. Mike came in 5th well under his 5 hour goal time in great spirits. Not quite as confident about moving up in distance as he was in the past, but ready for the next challenge...El Vaquero Loco (50K). While the competition wasn't as good as in year's past, the top 10 still all went under 5 hours. Still, no course record for me (Seth's 4 flat is impressive), but I am pretty happy to run 11 mins faster than last year for the second fastest time ever. And a win to boot! Elevation - 6500' per sporttracks, 7261' per website, 7100' per Garmin Connect 2013 Splits (compared to 2012) Aid 1 - 58:00 (+.5) Aid 2 - 2:09:30 (+.5) Tower - 2:35:40 (-1) Aid 3 - 2:52 (-3) Aid 4 - 3:39 (-8) Finish - 4:08:20(-11) First Half - 2:35:40 Second Half - 1:32:40 In the afternoon, evening we drove to Pleasant Grove for Joe's wedding reception. A worthy reason to miss the famous Logan Peak Trail Run. A few pics -  
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