Logan Peak Trail Run - First Ultra

Next step after a marathon?  Go bigger and try an ultra marathon.  Well I only went a little bigger by signing up and completing the Logan Peak Trail Run ultra marathon.  By definition an ultra-marathon is anything more than 26.2 miles, this 28 mile race barely qualifies and for an nice challenge it includes a more than +/- 7000 elevation gain/loss.

With Sandy & Lee at the start.

These two ladies were my peer pressure to sign up.  Both are so inspiring in all that they accomplish.  This was a first for all of us and it was so great to have the motivation and support of friends.

  The race begins about a mile from the head of Dry Canyon trail head.  It then heads up Dry Canyon then south around on South Syncline Trail.  From there the course heads up to Logan Peak.
Just starting up Dry Canyon.

We started at 6 a.m. and it was a beautiful morning.  Through the canyon I was actually a little cold, but after getting up into the sun, that soon went away.  I didn't turn my music on until reaching the south syncline and the first song that came on the playlist was the Beatles "Here comes the Sun" and that was just when the sunrise had reached high enough to shine down on us.

 During training I only went as far as the top of this canyon during my training runs.  After passing the 1st aid station I was treated to trail I had never run before and AMAZING views of the valley.  After climbing some of the most difficult portion of the course the incredible view along with the soft, slightly wet trail I felt like I was in heaven!  I was so glad I hadn't trained on the entire course because having all of the new scenery made the hours on my feet less of a burden.

another climb along South Syncline

The second aid station was before the big climb to Logan Peak.  This was also the place where spectators on 4 wheelers/ motorbikes could come cheer the participants on.  Kelly wasn't able to make it up due to not enough room on the his bike for the kids, but it was fun to see some of Lee's family. 

almost to the top

Below the tower at the top of Logan Peak.  This section was quite steep and very rocky. 

I'm pretty sure I spent more time than necessary taking pictures but at this point I was feeling the 7,000 feet gain and quite sure that I would never be running up here again, so I needed pics while I could get them.

View from the top of Logan Peak

Runners were instructed that when we reach the top we were to touch the tower.  There were even volunteers there to be sure we did, so I asked them to take a picture (evidence) ---again, because I was NOT doing this again.

After the climb to the peak it was down hill from there, well not quite. . . . . . 

The course headed back down from the peak to the aid station and then headed around to the north on North Syncline trail.  The downhill was a nice breather with the exception of a couple more climbs.

During this section we ran through a huge field of wild flowers, it was such a beautiful sight (none of the pictures I took quite capture the actual beauty and serenity of the moment).

As I made my way back to Dry Canyon and closer to the finish I decided to stop the photo shoot and just finish.  I was excited to reach Dry Canyon where I knew the course well and could pick up the pace only to have my IT band start acting up and ended up having to stop every few minutes to stretch and rub it.  Go figure it happens 3-4 miles for the finish, but luckily it didn't go all the way out on me.  

As is finishing any race, it was so good to be DONE!  I finished in 6 hours and 3 minutes, but this was one race where I really didn't care too much about my time (until later after reflecting) and was just set to finish.  Later I did reflect back on the time I spent stopping to take pictures as well as my IT issue and realized I could have been under 6 hours if, but "what if's" are those little things that can drive a person mad.  

My dear friend and running partner Lee, rocked the course and came in 2nd place overall for the females with an amazing time of just over 5 hours.  Both of us just had the goal to finish an ultra and kept saying time doesn't matter.  As I was heading up the Logan Peak climb and she was coming down she told me, "you're in the top 10 women".  So despite just wanting to finish, it was icing on the cake to finish 9th overall female.

Before the race, during the race, and for awhile after I was set on NEVER doing this again, but after more than two weeks I find myself thinking it wouldn't be too bad, plus this time I wouldn't take so many pictures, plus it was just so beautiful.  In comparison to running a road marathon, I would say it's not as taxing on the body.  When I finished this race I didn't have the "I'm going to fall over and die" feeling I usually have at the end of a marathon.  All in all it was a great experience and accomplishment to check off the list.