I was lazy this week, just didn't feel like running so I decided to
do something crazy. I went and ran the Squaw Peak 50 course unsupported
because I missed it last week since it was on the same weekend as Bryce
100 this year. I started at Vivian Park, the normal start of the
race at about 6:30 p.m. I was bothered by some bloating issues which
slowed me down and almost made me turn back, but I got through it.
Since I was hauling all my food and extra water, the initial big climb
was about 15 minutes slower than if I was racing it. I ran into a moose
about mile 3 and the silly beast just kept running ahead of me on the
trail for a half mile. It finally went downhill. Above Rock Canyon, a
guy on a motorcycle came up to me and told me just down the road was
recent Bear sign and they had just set a Bear trap. He seemed concerned
about me.
Dark came around mile 10 above Rock Canyon. A
car was coming down and it saw me green light and waited as I came up.
"Are you OK? asked the guy." "Yep, I'm doing fine." He just couldn't
understand why I was heading up in this remote area in the dark. I
just ran on. It really was a different perspective running the
course in the dark. Most of the course flagging was still up which
helped me a bunch, but you have to wonder why they don't take it down.
There were section where it was down and I just had to trust my memory
of all the turns. I've run the course 6-7 times. I never took a wrong
turn. I did backtrack once, thinking I was going the wrong way through
the bushwack section above Rock Canyon, but I was indeed doing it
right. I hit the Hobble Creek road about midnight and I'm sure the
couple cars that went by thought I was nuts. I really took the road
run easy and reached the top of the road about 60-90 minutes slower than
normal, but I was having a good time. I got my water from the
streams and for some of them treated in with iodine. Hopefully I won't
get any nasties. At mile 30 I stopped to eat a buritto and other stuff.
After that I had amazing strength and speed. I ran fast into Little
Valley and felt better than I ever have running into that section. I
ran most of the trail up to Bald Knoll, feeling great. Dawn
arrived as I finished going around Bald Knoll, making my approach to
Bozung Hill. I had traveled about 28 miles during the very short
night. The climb up the steep hill wasn't a big deal. I didn't feel
the altitude at all. I looked to the east and thought about the Utah
Valley Marathon starting just over the mountain in Wallsburg.
The
morning at the top was spectacular as the sun started to peak over the
mountains. It was so cool to be up there. I ran down to Windy Pass.
The trail for the entire course was in better shape than I have ever
seen. The major factor is that last week 200+ runners pounded it down
for me. It was nice and smooth in many sections. I normally didn't see
footprints left from last week, but the wear on the trail was very
evident, and easy indicator that I was on the right route. It
started to get warm as I made the huge descent into South Fork. But the
sun was still low so there was plenty of cool shade spots. I never saw
a single person on the trail and I had to do all the spider web
breaking for the day and night. I finally hit the South Fork Road
and enjoyed the morning run down the road. It is so much more pleasant
finishing in the morning instead of the hot afternoon. I finished in
about 14:30 to zero fan fair....quite satisfied. It was a great
experience, glad I did it. When I reached home my wife commented that I
didn't look tired. I really wasn't. Funny how a 50-mile run is no big
deal now.
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