I ran in the Sapper Joe 50K held at Camp Williams, Utah in Bluffdale, about six miles from my home. Well, actually I ran 23 miles on the course during the race. I never entered the race, but I’ll get to this. This is a new race run entirely on a military base on dirt roads normally closed to the public. But thanks to Lt. Colonel Milada Copeland, a talented ultrarunner, this new race became possible.
My childhood friend, Jim Kern drove down and spent the night at my home. He would be running in his second 50K. As we arrived at the base, we were immediately impressed with the number of “volunteers” involved, guardsmen doing parking and helping all the runners get ready. They were all dressed in fatigues. They had their huge military vehicles warmed up and ready to go out on the course. There are a whole series of hills and valleys within running distance of my home that I have never been able to explore. This race would open up these roads and trails to be experienced by the public.
But, I didn’t enter the race. My foot injury prevented it. I hoped to help out with the race and at least go out on the course. I told people that I wouldn’t even bring my running gear. However, at the last minute, I threw it in the car.
Before the start, I jumped in Phil Lowry’s car. He was going out to the first aid station to take pictures. I was thrilled to see these new valleys, hills, and ridges that were within sight of my home and my training territory. We watched the sun start rising over the ridges and set up a location to shoot pictures. I decided to go down to the aid station and help the military personel get ready for the onslaught of runners. Runners would be arriving for both the 30K and 50K. It was fun to hear them call each other “sir” and “mam”. Milada as ranking officer was clearly respected and in charge.
I was surprised how long it took for the first two runners to complete the 5.7 mile leg. But I would learn how difficult that first leg was. It included a steep descent down a ball-bearing-like hill. As they were running along the foothills, we could see two deer running ahead of them, as if they were pacing them. It was quite the sight. Phil was nearby and shot some nice pictures. Karl Jarvis and Christian Johnson were the first two to arrive. It was great fun to see so many of my friends arrive. I kept explaining why I wasn’t running. The foot was feeling pretty good, but I knew it was the right decision to skip this race. The aid station got very busy and I did my best to help, especially for runners I knew. I wanted to give them special treatment. I was very impressed how fast Craig Lloyd (jun) arrived. Looking at the runners who arrived before and after him, I think I would have had a tough time keeping up with him. Jim was among the final 50k runners to arrive. It looked like he was doing well.
After everyone left, I was impressed to watch the military efficiency as the immediately torn down the aid station and cleared out the area. I drove back to the start/finish with Phil and we watched the first 30K runner finish with an amazing time of 2:42.
I then could not resist. I went to my car, put on my running gear and headed out to run the course backwards. This would be great fun to greet every runner on the course. This was the first time I had attempted any serious running on a trail in a month. I soon ran into Craig and reversed direction to run 100 yards or so with him. He had an impressive race for a rookie. Not far after him was neighbor Will Nielson. I also ran a bit with him. It was fun to talk with him for a few minutes and hear about the course. I continued this pattern over and over again for any runner who I knew well.
After the long climb, I arrived at aid station #4 in just over an hour. The servicemen there were surprised to see me and thought I was crazy. I helped out at the station until the front-running 50K runners arrived. Karl Jarvis was in first, followed by Christian about a half mile behind. Christian mentioned that he blundered in only running with one water bottle. It was starting to get a little warm. After Christian left, I continued my run, heading toward aid station #3 about six miles away.
When I arrived at a steep hill, I started seeing many of my running friends. I had fun doing “hill repeats.” I would run down the steep hill until I found a friend and then reverse direction to run with them back up the hill. It was a tough climb. I probably did that about five times. I was glad to get the hill training in. The views were amazing. I saw views of my home valley that I had never seen before from these military base ridges.
How was the foot doing? So-so. I did feel some pain with every step but it wasn’t bad. I learned that if I put more weight on the outside of the foot, the pain would decrease. I also learned that I just couldn’t run at top speed. When I tried, the pain would go up, so I took it generally easy.
After fooling around, socializing with everyone, I noticed my one water bottle was almost empty. I needed to get down to business and try to reach aid station #3 before Jim came through. If they tore down the aid station before I arrived, I would be in a bad position without fluid. Well, I almost made it. With less than a mile to go, I found Jim. I had no choice but continue on. As I ran hard down to the aid station, I could see that they had already packed everything up. They were kind and let me fill up and grab some food. I then asked if I could hitch a ride back to catch up with Jim. Even if I ran very hard, I probably couldn’t catch him for over an hour. So, a kind volunteer gave me a ride for a couple miles until we found Jim who was the last of the 50K runners. I guess I would play the role of being the course sweep.
Jim was having some serious ITB problems and just couldn’t push the speed. I eventually ran ahead to the aid station and reported that there were just two runners behind me. (I had passed another runner struggling). I almost stepped on a snake croassing the road, but it didn't look like a rattler. I scarfed down a bunch of food, felt much better, and waited for the two to arrive. They were both thinking of dropping even though they made the cutoff by three minutes. I encouraged them both to continue and they did.
Well, I had had enough of the slow running, so I kicked it into gear and ran the last downhill 5.5 miles as fast as my foot would allow, descending a beautiful desert canyon back toward Camp Williams headquarters. I passed another runner and finished that leg in only 50 minutes. Cheers were heard as I arrived, but I sheepishly explained that I wasn’t in the race. Milada asked, “Davy, what are you doing?” She knew I was injured. I explained that I ran 23 miles. She wanted to give me a finisher medal but I refused.
For the next half hour or so, I enjoyed talking to all the guardsmen about running and the fine day. A few of the “volunteers” wished that they didn’t have to be there, but most seemed to really get into the experience. Jim finally arrived after a tough 9:25 finish and received his finisher award. I was amazed to watch that within five minutes, with military organization, the finish area was taken down. Everyone drove away before us. It was a wonderful day and and great success for a first-time race. I really hope that it will continue.
How is the foot? I know, I shouldn’t have done this. Don’t yell at me too bad. Both feet were sore by the end of my run because I ran in road shoes and the course was rougher than expected. The tendon is sore but I’m not limping, yet. Tomorrow will tell me how bad and whether this will set back my recovery. It still was a good test. This will help me figure out how to approach running Squaw Peak 50 in two weeks.
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