Grandeur Peak fun run:
The GP fun run is a race, well sort of. It is a fun run where several Wasatch Front trail runners gather each May to run/hike to the summit of Grandeur Peak followed by a run down Church Fork to the Pipeline trail, up and over Bambi Hill and then run back the West Ridge trailhead in the east side foothills above Salt Lake city. The course is one of my favorites and one I do several times per year with friends, but I have only done the 'race' one other time back in 2010. The last two years family commitments kept me from participating, but this year worked out and I was able to do the run with most of my trail running friends.
The forecast called for rain and as I drove to the start it rained pretty hard at times and I was thinking it was going to be a messy slog on the mountain. I met Craig, MattW, MVH, MarkK and Andrea at the elementary school parking lot and we walked the half mile to the start where the usual ultra suspects were getting ready, mostly looking lean, strong, tan and fit. I chatted with some friends, signed in and gave my $10.00 donation and within a few minutes the race organizer, Eric gave us a GO and we were off running toward the mountain.
I stayed with Dorsimus and Mark for about the first half mile, but I wanted to move and my legs felt relatively good, so I pushed it past a few other guys and made my way up the mountain. I wanted to push as hard as I could without ever maxing my heart rate and I did a pretty good job of it. I really had only one goal going into the race and that was to go sub one hour to the summit, something that I have never done before. My PR was 1:06 set the last time I ran this race back in 2010. About two thirds of the way up the mountain we came into a thick cloud that provided mist, rain and some slight snow. The typical grand views were nowhere to be found. As I made my way up the final summit ridge I knew sub-one-hour was totally doable, so I pushed it hard passing another guy just before the top and hit the summit in 59:40. There was another dude up there standing and I just kept running back down the other side.
I ran faster than I normally would down Church Fork, but took my time going over the slippery rock sections because I didn't want to fall. The run down to the Pipeline was pretty magical and I enjoyed every step. Just before the Pipeline I stopped to pee (I had been holding it since the start) and some fast dude blazed right by me. I didn't stop at the small aid station, just yelled thanks and kept on moving. On the Pipeline I had planned to run a sub 8 pace the entire way, but my legs were tired and it was tough trying to go fast. I dipped into the 7's, but mostly ran it around 8:10 pace.
Just after Rattlesnake Gulch the course breaks off the Pipeline to climb a few hundred feet straight up on Bambi Hill. The mud was atrocious and it wasn't possible to make it up without using tree limbs to pull yourself up. At some point I got off the route and ended up going up a game trail. I started to question myself because I wasn't seeing any footprints and then after a few minutes I could hear other runners in the distance and I knew I was off route. #$&!!!! I now had to quickly decide if I wanted to go back and try and retrace my steps or bushwhack straight over to where I could hear the voices. I just started plowing through the thick bushes and trees and after a few minutes of gnarly whacking I came back out onto the trail and met up with Andrea and MarkK. At least 10 people passed me here and it was really demoralizing because I felt like I was running really well up to that point. I slogged it up to the top of Bambi Hill and then on the other side the trail descends a few hundred feet back to the Grandeur Peak trailhead over the next few miles. At times it was steep and very muddy. I went down pretty hard once, but landed in mud, so it didn't hurt much. My shoes were caked with mud and I had a few rocks in them, but I didn't want to stop, so I just kept running. With about a mile left I came across a friend, JeremyS and we ran in the final mile together chatting about upcoming races.
My body was feeling great when I finished, but I was still pretty mad that I had gone off course and when I finished I forgot to stop my watch until Craig told me to go tell someone my time. I think I came in around 2:21:50 which was about 27 minutes faster than what I had run back in 2010. I'm pretty sure that going off route cost me a minimum of 5 minutes, but who knows? All of the runners were soaked and our legs were covered in mud, but there were a lot of smiles and laughs as we enjoyed pancakes, eggs, donuts and drinks provided by Erik Storheim who puts on the run. It was a total blast and I will definitely be back next year if I can. | 