Squaw Peak 50 was a much lower snow course this year with a bumch of miles on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail above Provo and Springville. There was about 700 feet more climbing along the way and it was much hotter. Most runners believe thes course was tougher this year. I think it was a little faster but the heat made it tougher with temperatures into the low 80s.
I started off running in the top 10, but at about mile 3 or so, still in the dark, about 50 or more of us missed a turn that was very poorly marked. I was about the third runner in this group. I became convinced that we were going the wrong way since this is the 7th time I've run that part of the course. We finally turned back and it was funny to herd all these runners back. It really was amusing. I was able to run a little while with friends who were far behind me. I believe it was a 15-minute 1.5 mile blunder for me.
Now the problem was there was about 30 runners ahead of me going much slower than I usually go on the climb to Hope Campground. I was with the woman who had been the leading woman and together we called out to runners to let us pass.
I arrived at Hope Campground about 15-20 minutes behind schedule caused by the blunder. I made up some good time running very fast with another runner who blundered as we ran down Rock Canyon. At one point we were running 6:50 pace. It was great fun. I regained about 5 minutes by the time I reached the bottom of Rock Canyon.
To make a long story short, all day I was about 15 minutes behind my goal pace, so I stayed on pace but just couldn't get the lost time back. At the turnaround it was a little discouraging to see buddies who I should have been running with who were 20-30 minutes ahead of me. I did run most of the road back up to the top of Spring Canyon. But down the other side I decided to take the time to greet and encourage runners. Every time I saw a runner, I would yell out whoops and hoots and cheer them on with stuff like, "Its a great day for up!" I saw Ed Green sitting by the side of the trail and I teased him. He was taking a break in the shade. It looked like he was waiting for the mule train to arrive to give him a ride. So many were greeting me by name that I wanted to make sure I somehow gave them a boost. I wished I knew their names.
For the last 25 miles, I ran well. My split from Spring Creek to Buckly Draw was the same it was in the morning, so I was doing well. But I didn't run with urgency and wasn't really pushing it too hard. Only one person, a woman, passed my on the BoSho going back. I believe I passed a couple people in the aid stations. Thankfully when I was on the low exposed BoSho, a cloud cover came in and made it feel cooler.
When I climbed back up Rock Canyon, no one was pushing me from behind so I just enjoyed the afternoon and the roaring creek beside the trail. Once the road became less steep I ran again. I could easily run fast uphill if I wanted, but I was being lazy and probably not eating enough to sustain a fast pace. There weren't gels in the aid stations and I didn't bring enough, so I know I was low in calories. I did catch up to a couple other runners near the top.
With about three miles to go, I slowed and about five runners caught up and passed me. On the paved Provo River trail, the last 2.3 miles, my legs really enjoyed running fast so I did and gained back one spot.
I finished in a pretty typical SP50 time for me, 11:25, in 38th place. 3rd in my age group which is very good for a large race like this. I cleaned up, changed clothes and for the next four house really enjoyed talking with many runners and watching so many friends finihs.
The snow course was OK, but I'd rather not do it again. | 