Logan Peak Trail Race - The Local Favorite

Usually the three weeks between SMUT and Logan Peak Race would be spent with the feet up and the legs resting.  Not this year....
I managed to run 105 miles this year.  Here are some highlights -

Mike and I ran up to High Creek Lake (shown below) and Cherry Peak (shown above)

(all photos courtesy of Cody, not Beth.  She was stuck with the kids...sorry Beth)

Nice View from the Top!

We (Mike, Joe and I) also took a trip to the top of the Wellsvilles

I guess there was some running around but since the pictures don't lie we mostly just stood around posing.

I did manage to spend a few days at scout camp with our troop and freeze to death with them.  It was raining and even snowing most of the time I was there.  10 minutes in the freezing cold lake for a swim check gave me a nasty cold.  By the end of those adventures I was hardly ready for a race.  I figured a few days off could cure me of the 24 hour flu thing I even got.  I was hopeful for the best but all race week I was really weak and lightheaded.  Far from healthy, I toed the line anyways hoping for the best.  

Will I ever learn?  Moderation is not my strength!  

Logan Peak Race is my Favorite Local Race!  OK that and The Bear...

Alright, to be fair.  At the present, those are the only local trail races in Cache Valley.  But they are still my favorite.  Plus after having won last year's edition I couldn't miss the opportunity to try and repeat.

Required picture of the course profile 

Exactly 1 mile into the race I realized I was in for a world of hurt (and disappointment).  I knew I was not healthy enough to run the race I wanted.  I found myself in 10th place and falling back quickly.  I was pushing the redline (heart rate was in the 170's) and I was going way too slow to keep up.  I had no choice but to slow down and just survive this thing the best I could.

I won't lie.  I ran as hard as I possibly could.  The whole time.  Really.  I never gave up.  I knew I wasn't going to win but I tried to finish with the best possible time I could.  I was grunting, wheezing, pushing, praying, stumbling along the best I could.  I even managed to catch up to my local nemesis' Joe and Mike and leave them behind.  They didn't have a great day either sadly.

I am proud of my hard earned 9th place!  I am proud of my 31 min slower than last year time!  Even if I got beat by a girl.  Yep, still ok with it.

I promise to take the next 5 days off to rest and get healthy before heading back into the Mountains... (my mistress..shh don't tell Beth).

Link to my Strava results
Logan Peak Race 2014

Photos of SMUT

That title might earn me a few more hits, and resulting disappointment, than other titles I could have come up with. So I went with it.  I know, really going overboard with the creativity here.

SMUT. Scout Mountain Ultra Trail.

In a quiet little mountain range, just past some nestled little cabins looms this awesome and beautiful course. I failed to fully appreciate it last year, so, I tried harder this go 'round. Despite being; down one kid (the helpful one), hefting a 25lb toddler along with my gear, stopping nearly every 10 minutes for potty breaks and to check our progress, and inhaling our own dust all day,  it was a spectacular day to be outside, to be crew and to witness this feat of a race. I throughly enjoyed myself.

We started off our weekend with a little reconnaissance. 

First, I wanted to get closer to Scout Moutain- the epic climb near the end of the race. We found this one mile trail that goes through the Scout Mountain Aid station- just before the runners climb to the top.

 Cody and our peanut. This trail offers some shade, a nice view of Scout Mountain (below) and a chance to get our own exercise during race day.

The runners scale this pretty piece of rock then proceed to run the ridge and speed on down the gravel-like face before another smaller climb and then the finish. I am most the way up the mountain here.

 My token flower shot for this year. Just a nod to my attempts last year.  (see previous post on the Pocatello 50).

This is an option for lodgings at SMUT.  I think it is brilliant to camp directly on the starting line. Especially with the limited parking and 5 am start time for the 100k. This was taken at about 10pm the night before the race.

Morning of the race at City Creek. Trail marking at SMUT was amazing. No flimsy plastic markers here. They run a legit operation. Everything is recyclable, reusable and very eco friendly.

Cody coming in to City Creek.

 Again, at City Creek. This is one of the easiest spots to spectate this race.

 This is up the trail at the West Fork Aid Station. About 40 miles into Cody's race. Beautiful walk for crew and awesome spot to cheer on the runners. We may have spooked a few, sitting just around a corner as we were. Not to mention my darling girls throwing dandelions at their feet. At this point, the unexpected seemed a whole lot harder for the runners to take. I apologize to any who were traumatized.

This is the Scout Mountain Aid Station. The volunteers were all so darn nice. Especially the one who smuggled us some cookies. Sadly, the girls and I pulled in about 30 minutes AFTER Cody ran through. 

A shot from the road headed back down the mountain to the Big Fir Aid Station.

 This shot is looking north west, towards where the runners have come over the course of the day. Only several ridges is all....Taken from part way up Scout Mountain.

 Cody at the finish. He is impressed with how put together he still looks, considering how he was feeling.

And, the shot of the aftermath. He's had worse.

S.M.U.T. 100K

Scout Mountain Ultra Trail 100K Race Report - 

A.K.A -  (S.M.U.T.) 

Someone's Muscles are Utterly Tired?

Stupid Man Under There!

Sorry Men Under Trained!

SuperMan's Underwear is Tight?

Kind of a weird name for a really hard race.  See elevation profile below.

This race has evolved from the Pocatello 50 mile course that it has been for the past 5 years.  I have run it 3 times previously and with the significant course changes this year the name and distance was changed to reflect the new race that it is.  I was excited to check out the new trails and introduce my friends Joe and Mike to the beauty that this course offers.

My family was nice enough to tag along and crew me (provide assistance at certain aid stations).  Also present were my trusty training buddies Joe and Mike.  They weren't there to crew or pace me on this one, they were there to experience the glory and pain of this awesome race.  As long as they do that behind me....

After camping in the parking lot (we opted for the convenience of the pop-up trailer in the group site rather than at an isolated actual campsite) we arose for an early 5am start.  The family got a bit more sleep once the cowbells at the starting line died down.  

A brisk mile up the paved road led us to some sweet trails.  I found myself setting the pace for Joe and Mike as they opted to tuck in and let me dictate our pace.  We were in the chase group of about 6 folks while the lead pack yo-yo'ed ahead of us by a bit.  We would close the gap at times and then they would shoot ahead again.  I counted roughly 6 guys ahead of us.  

In our chase group was Darcy Africa.  She is the 2012 Grand Slam Champion, 2 time winner of Wasatch 100, 2 time winner of Hardrock 100, among other top finishes.  A real runner she is.  I figured a finish within a half hour of her would be a great result for this race.  She would end up running the first 15 miles with us before slowing down a bit.

My strategy for this race was to run harder and faster than everybody.  It didn't quite work as planned.  I had better rethink that strategy for next time as there are serious flaws with it.

The first 15 miles were spent leap-frogging each other as one would stop for food or a pit stop or just slow down a bit and others would take the lead (in our chase group).  The lead pack was out of sight by now and there wasn't a group in sight behind us.  In-fact by mile 15 my place in the race had been determined.  I neither passed nor was passed the entire remaining 47 miles.  That makes for a pretty boring race report.  Sorry.  Mike would go on to run his own pace and finish in a respectable 12:45 for lucky 13th place.  Joe would pull the plug at mile 46 due to heat exhaustion.  

Quick run-down...

Miles 1-25 - Relatively easy miles.  All runnable terrain.  Body feels great.  Temperature is perfect.  Loving the race.

Miles 26-40 - Much harder miles.  A large hill forced a hike rather than a run.  There was even a 23 minute mile in there. Getting hot.  My body was feeling like it was falling apart slowly.  

Miles 41-62 - Ouch.  The toughest part of the course.  Temperature in the low 80's.  Little shade on the course.  Mostly focused on keeping cool and wet.  I resorted to dunking my head and hat and buff into multiple streams.  The climb over Scout Mountain went well this year.  It was nice knowing what to expect.  The descent was so much fun!  2500 feet in 4 miles.  Sections of it were very rocky.  My specialty.  The race finished with a tough 500 foot climb where everyone questioned their motives as to why they ran the race.  All that was forgotten during the final 3 mile descent to the finish.  

Highlight of the day was mile 8 watching the bright orange sunrise shining through the thin clouds as we ran through buttery singletrack.  I would have given my trusty visor for a camera at that point.  

Lowlight of the day was realizing Beth and the kids had hiked a mile (each way) on a remote trail to see me and missed me because I had passed through only mins earlier.  

I finished out the race in 7th place overall in a time of 11 hours and 23 mins.  I have enjoyed this race (and its former versions) but doubt I will return due to the plethora of options out there.  Chapter on Pocatello 50/SMUT is closed...

Food/Drink 10oz EFS liquid shot, 6 turkey avacodo sliders, 3 packages of fruit snacks, watermelon slices, orange slices, handful of grapes, handful of chips, 3 s-caps, 100oz of ginger ale, 20oz of sprite, 140oz of water

Gear Headsweats visor, buff, St George Running Center shirt, PI shorts, Drymax Lite Socks, Altra Olympus Shoes (no black toenails this year!), Ultimate Direction AK 2.0 Race Vest

Pics by Bethany will surely follow (I know you were all hoping this post had her pictures in it)....She has been busy doing Engagements and Family Portraits and such...