Running on Twinkies

I stayed the night at my grandparents house and talked my brother into giving me a ride to the start at 5 a.m. At the park I saw several familiar faces and chatted a bit. While waiting for the start the mosquitoes came out. Next time I need to remember bug spray. After a short race meeting, we were on our way. The course was changed slightly this year so that there was less running through the neighborhood and we got onto the trail faster. The first trail is along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail with some rolling hills. The second trail is the ascent up dry creek. This trail goes up and up and up. After 4.5 miles we came to the first aid station. I love aid stations during ultras. I grabbed a slice of honeydew melon and continued on up. The next trail is called the Syncline Trail. There were more fallen down tress on this trail then there was last year. Which made the course even funner. About mile 6 we got our first good views. The sun was out and it was a very clear day. It was beautiful up there. It was at this point we got our first downhill. The downhill was refreshing, but we still had to get to the peak, which meant more uphill. At mile 11 was the second aid station. I drank some heed and ate some dried fruit and nuts. The next section of the course is an out an back up to the peak. Three miles up and three miles down. This is one of my favorite section of the course because I get to see the other runners and cheer then on. When we got above 8500 ft, we hit snow. It was a soft wet snow, but was still runnable. Just before reaching the peak I saw Bryce coming down. He was the next person in front of me but he had a good lead. At the peak is a radio tower. We had to touch the tower, but I ran around it just for fun. I was excited to have reached the top. The views were great up there. I waved to all my friends down in cache valley, then heading down. Running down in the snow was really fun. As I descended I tried to encourage every runner who was heading up. I was making good time and felt great at this point in the race. Aid station 3 is the same as aid station 2. I ate and drank as much as I could before heading on. I tried to keep my stop short and got back on the trail quickly. Last year at this point in the race I was really struggling. The rest of the race was purely survival. This year I was feeling better and was still able to maintain a good pace. The course goes on a dirt road for a few miles, then turns onto a single track trail. The single track is a really nice trail. It had rolling hills, switchbacks, and great views. There was one section that is a long uphill. I was struggling going up that hill. It seemed steeper then the year before, but probably wasn't. The trail finally crested into Dry Canyon. Which meant the the rest of the course was downhill. Coming down into the canyon, there is a natural spring. I drank the fresh water and it tasted great. The fourth aid station, which was the same and first aid station was at about mile 23. From there I just had to run the same course we had come up in the first five miles of the race. As I descended the canyon, there was a new challenge. There was a group of cows being herded up the trail. I was asked to step off of the trail while they went by. First time that's happened during a race. At the bottom of Dry Canyon we had to run the rolling hills on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail again. These little hills were monsters after running 27 miles. Finally the park was in sight, and I poured it on into the finish line. I finished in 5:44:03, about 28 minutes faster than last year. I finished in 21st place overall. My wife and kids were there at the finish to cheer me in. we left before the awards to go to a family reunion. We got there at lunch time and I ate sloppy joes, potatoe chips, and some chocolate cake. It was a good post race meal.