This was my 3rd ultra marathon, 28 miles with 7261 feet of elevation gain/loss. The weather was perfect for running. I saw and greeted a few friends before the start, then we were off and running. The run up Dry Canyon was uneventful, everything felt good. The pack had spread out considerably by the first aid station and soon I was running alone, occasionally seeing others ahead of me. I came upon some snowy, and muddy, spots in the trail and at one point slipped and fell on my rear. After the initial jolt, I thought it felt quite nice to sit in the snow, so I lingered for a moment. I got to aid station #2, which is the starting point for the out and back to the summit of Mt. Logan. Jim Skaggs had just returned from the summit at that point. I started towards the summit and saw Ryan Lauck and later his wife, Lindsay. Near the summit a volunteer was checking runners in and he told me I was in 91st place (of 100 starters). After leaving him, I had 'snow encounter' #2. At the top of a snow covered slope, I slipped again. This time I landed and slid about 50 feet down the hillside. It was quite fun. The view from the summit was amazing, all of Cache Valley and the surrounding mountains were beautiful. I returned to the aid station still feeling great. Every hour I took an s-cap which kept the cramps away. I carried a hand-held 22 oz. bottle and another 22 oz. in my waist pack. This was plenty to get me from one aid station to the next. The next portion went around the north side of the mountain on a long, and a bit boring dirt road, but soon the course took a turn onto single track. It was quite technical and I had a blast running through the woods. Cool breezes offset the sunny day. I finally arrived at the last aid station, refilled my bottle and left for the finish. This was tough. All downhill and technical. My quads were screaming. With about 3 miles left, the cool breeze of the higher elevation was gone. It was hot and I was tired. Finally, the end was in sight and I ran to the finish line. 90th place with a really slow time, but I was happy with the completion of another ultra. | 