I used to keep a blog. I
used to write about my training and races and life as a triathlete. But then I got bored with the blog. Facebook, Instagram, and Strava became the
social media outlet of choice. Plus, I
was only writing for myself. I had this
lame idea that I would be a better writer if I just wrote MORE.
Well, back on topic. Even though I have done a number of races
since my last Ironman, this past weekend deserves a write up. I ran in the first Antelope Canyon 50 mile
trail race. I hope that I can do justice
to the amazing race that Matt and Tim put together.
Now I realize that these guys want to put on a race "without
the parade and circus-like atmosphere" but when I showed up at check in
and Tim handed me a number and said "Good luck" I was thinking
"Really? That's it". Well, they only ordered 2 XL shirts for the 3
people that needed that size. Oh well. I wasn't here to pick up a shirt. I have PLENTY of those. The only shirt I ever ordered that I really
wanted and never got was the cool Altra Boston Marathon memorial shirt.
So I showed up the next morning along with 50 or so other
folks. Tim gave a brief overview of the
course including some encouragement that when we got to the first slot canyon
to not be nervous and and climb down into the canyon. Sweet!
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| DJ and I just before the start |
I was excited to use my new Nao headlamp in a race. We had a good hour or so before the sun would
come up. Off we went and within minutes
left the city limits of Page and headed out to Antelope Canyon country. We ran for several miles in the dark,
occasionally taking a wrong turn but as it got light we approached the first
slot canyon.
To get down into the canyon there was a steep scramble with a
ladder at the bottom for the last 10 feet or so. Nothing really difficult and not nearly as
scary as Tim made it out to be. The
first slot wasn't much at all and and at the end I found myself saying
"that was it? that's what I came to
run through? Lame." I had been through a number of cool slot
canyons in Southern Utah and this one really wasn't that special Carry on carry on carry on.
Coming out of the slot and running across the wash to the next
canyon was pleasant. A nice snow storm
blew in and it was coming down pretty good.
Thanks to the discovery of Cat Crap at the OR show a couple of weeks ago
my glasses stayed fairly fog-free.
The second slot canyon was simply amazing. Just like you see in the pictures of Antelope
Canyon. Sand on the bottom floor, a few
tumbleweeds but running around through this maze was just a simple treat. You almost wanted to do it over and over
again it was that much fun.
On the way to the next slot canyon we were passed by a few tour
trucks taking people on guided tours of the canyons. I'm sure the foreigners were baffled by these
crazy people out in the middle of nowhere running around in the snow
storm. I mean who does that???
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| Running in the sand in a snowstorm |
The slot canyons continued to get better and better as the
morning went on. I took pictures and
video and was just amazed at the beauty.
This particular slot canyon had a number of ladders to help you get
through the canyon. My canyoneering
family called that "cheating".
There is no way most of us could have made it through the slots without
the ladders.
We were soon heading out the slot canyons and sandy washes to
find more sand. It's interesting some of
the thoughts and reasoning that goes through your head as you are trying to
pick your next step that is LESS sandy.
IT'S ALL SAND! I knew that the
Colorado River was our next destination but it seemed like we were miles away
from there. And we were. I remember coming to the top of this long,
straight sandy road. As I looked west,
clear out in the distance I could see the cars and the next aid station. This was 1 of 2 aid stations where your crew
could meet up with you. And by crew I
mean my wonderful wife. She would be
waiting with all sorts of treats at the end of the long, sandy road.
Running down the hill was really aggravating my IT band on my
left leg. I tried to ignore it, tried to run through it, tried to pretend but
all I could think about was that I would have to at some point come back up
this same hill. The aid station couldn't
come soon enough. My wife had all sorts
of yummy treats (Ensure, chocolate milk, and more). What a sweetheart.
It wasn't long and I was heading out of the aid station and
ducking under a barbed-wire fence. I was
back on Navajo land headed to Horseshoe Bend.
This part of the run was incredible.
You are at the edge of a 1000+ cliff overlooking the Colorado
River. This is below the dam and the
location gets its name for an obvious reason.
So then we continued along the edge for several miles. It was fun.
A bit scary at times and not for the faint of heart. Do you ever go for a run somewhere and you
are just smiling and laughing out loud because you are having so much fun? Even though I had already been running 25+
miles and for several hours I was having the time of my life.
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| Ducking under the fence |
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| Overlooking the Colorado River |
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| Running on the slickrock |
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| Don't fall down THAT crack |
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| Beautiful day |
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| My favorite picture |
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| What a great looking runner - all smiles |
The next stretch was the do or die for many of the runners. There were a few places earlier in the run
where it wasn't clear where the trail was.
The markers were too far apart or difficult to spot. Well here at this point there were NO MORE
flags. Huh? How does that work? I had heard that the race organizers had run
out of flags but I'm not sure if that could have been the case. So you had about 5 of us wandering around
looking for nothing and guessing where we were supposed to go. For some people this was just unacceptable. Some got frustrated. Some got angry. Some gave up.
Although I can understand the frustration how could you get upset
running in such a beautiful place? It
really didn't matter how long I would wander this was a great experience.
Soon we saw off in the distance people coming toward us with bags
of flour (or chalk). They were showing
us the way out of the desert. I was
beginning to feel like Moses and the children of Israel wandering for 40
years.
I soon reached the Water Holes aid station and that was a big
relief and after a short refuelingI soon entered the 4th and final slot canyon
on the run. Water Holes canyon. I think this was my favorite. A number of ladders helped us get through the
canyon. Lots of scrambling and I was
loving it. There was a lady from Taos
that I was able to help up a few of the places. Without the ladders you really
would have had a tough time making it through the canyon without some
canyoneering skills. Running through
this area was just exciting.
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| Waterhole Canyon |
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| Cheating? I don't think so. |
I was soon headed back to the Horseshoe Bend aid station. A fairly long steady climb up another sandy
trail. Of course my wife was pretty
worried that I had gotten lost again and I told her about my experience running
along Horseshoe Bend. She watched as
runner after runner come back and exclaimed "I've had enough". Tim later told us that much of the land that
we had run on that day hadn't seen a single white person for 60+ years. How cool is that?
After a quick change of socks, a pickle, some Coke, some pain
relievers, and a hug I was ready to will myself back up the long sandy
hill. Did I mention it was long? What about the sandy part? The next aid
station couldn't come soon enough. This
is the part in a race where you have to be mentally tough. You not really at the "last little
bit" and you would rather just sit down and rest. I was pretty much running by myself at this
point. Sometimes I could see someone WAY
up ahead of me and occasionally I could see a few people WAY behind me.
I just want to give a big thanks to those that operated the 5
different aid stations. Very nice and helpful
people. I really like the idea of using
the UA reusable cups. I picked one up at
the first aid station and used it at every stop. Now, I'll just keep it in my running vest to
use it in the future. No waste of
plastic cups everywhere. I really liked
having the pickles at every stop. But at
Slick Rock they had run out by the time I got there so I just drank all of the
juice. Yum! I'm convinced that this really does reduce
the likelihood of getting cramps.
The 3rd and final feature of the Antelope Canyon 50 was a loop
around a portion of Lake Powell followed by the Page rim trail circling the
city. By now it was in mid afternoon and
the sun was out, blue skies in the backdrop made for another wonderful setting
to run. You got close enough to tell
that the lake level is REALLY low. The
area is currently seeing the worst 14
year drought period in the last 100 years.
And for the first time since the dam was built water flows from the lake
were reduced last summer.
So this loop just wouldn't be right if I didn't happen to get
lost. Pretty soon I stopped seeing trail
flags and I had to figure out where I was supposed to go. I knew I had to circle the airport so I ended
up running right along the security fence for a mile or two. Luckily I ran into a Native American lady and
she let me know that I was "way off the course". Following her directions I took another path
and soon connected up with the right trail.
The adventure continued.
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| Lake Powell |
I soon came up to the last aid station and stopped and talked to
my wife for a few minutes before making the final 5 miles back to the starting
point. I put my headlamp back on because
I knew I didn't have much daylight left and would need help seeing the trail
for the last few miles. The Page rim
trail was probably the nicest trail we ran on all day long. There were a few icy spots but for the most
part it was hardpacked and easy to run.
I was running all by myself at this point and only saw one person. He was running toward me trying to pick up
the trail again. It was now completely
dark. It was getting chilly again but
the lights of the city were pretty.
The eventful day was just about over. I finished the rim trail and ran about a mile or so on the street back to the Start/Finish line. There my wife was waiting for me at the finish line. What finish line? There was no finish line. No one there. Just my wife. I was happy to be done. I was really hungry. My feet were tired. My IT band was beyond done. I think it was the first race I had finished that I did not roll across the finish line. Mostly because there wasn't a finish line.
The eventful day was just about over. I finished the rim trail and ran about a mile or so on the street back to the Start/Finish line. There my wife was waiting for me at the finish line. What finish line? There was no finish line. No one there. Just my wife. I was happy to be done. I was really hungry. My feet were tired. My IT band was beyond done. I think it was the first race I had finished that I did not roll across the finish line. Mostly because there wasn't a finish line.
So what was the best part of finishing this race? Well, believe it or not it was NOT finishing
the race. As I approached my wife she
said over and over "You got in! You
got in!" I had just spent the last
13 hours running all over the Arizona desert to find out that I got in this
year's Wasatch 100 race. I was SO
excited!!!!
So how do you officially finish this race? You go inside and tell Tim "Hi, I'm
#8". Congratulations, you just
finished the inaugural Antelope Canyon 50.
The prize? A very cool handmade
Indian necklace made by a nearby tribal village. Out back I was treated to a yummy
dinner of chili, corn bread and apple cobbler.
I realize that this report was long and maybe boring to some/most
of you. But it captures my memories and
the experience I had here in Page. Hats off to the Tim and Matt, the race
directors and all of the volunteers. They were great. There were lots of angry and frustrated runners and quite a few people quit. But how can you be angry/upset with this
amazing experience. It's not like there
was a big money purse that you were trying to win. I came here to have a great experience. So what if you ran more than 50 miles – you got
to spend a day in heaven doing what you love best.
I also wanted to mention another great part of these events is the wonderful people that you get to meet. I met folks from St. Louis, Chicago, Taos, Scottsdale, Albuquerque, San Francisco, New York, and Toquerville.
I also wanted to mention another great part of these events is the wonderful people that you get to meet. I met folks from St. Louis, Chicago, Taos, Scottsdale, Albuquerque, San Francisco, New York, and Toquerville.
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| Finisher's necklace |
For me, this race was NOT an experience of a lifetime. I’m planning on doing this one
again. (and again probably).
