Last Saturday I had the opportunity to run the Dam to Dam 10 Miler at Sand Hollow Reservoir in southern Utah. This was a flat out and back course that was half asphalt and half dirt road. I had a great time with some very close friends. I am a little bit of a bi-polar runner as I love being a social runner (running with groups of friends) and I also love the solitude of the trail.
They had great swag (Asics arm warmers and socks) and it seemed very well organized. It was my first 10 miler. This race is part of the St. George Marathon runners series and I would reccomend it to anyone that uses the series for auto entry into the marathon. I probably would not make the drive to run this race independent of the series. My friend and a huge supporter of my pursuit of the Wasatch, Craig Hall, won his age division. Congrats to him!
SLC Marathon
Although I am not in love with road running as much anymore, I think that this may be a good forum for me to discuss the SLC Marathon.
Earlier tonight I had the opportunity to go to the Salt Lake Running Co. to a Q&A with the new owners of the SLCM, U.S. Road Sports. In the past this race has been poorly ran and been in legal and ethical hot water. U.S. Road sports said all of the right things and that they are confident that the race will happen as planned on April 21st 2012. I asked them what stumbling blocks they are facing. They said permits and volunteers. They are very confident that they can overcome both. I asked them about potential course changes and they suggested that we email them a mapmyrun.com proposal of a new course and they would look at it. They seemed very open to feedback and willing to do what it takes to make this a good quality race.
I believe that they are sincere and willing to do what is right which is more than the Devine group can say. This race could be very cool but will take the support of the local running community to flourish. If you are not running, volunteer! It is always good to give back.
New Sponsor
We have our first official sponsor! Double Realty. Val Winward is the owner/agent and does a great job. If you ever have any home buying needs, visit him at http://www.doublerealty.com/
Val can do it all but he specializes in first time home buyers and short sales. Plus he is a huge Braves fan!
In the mean time, Luke and I are building our base mileage as we await mid-March when the training plan will officially kick off. We have been visiting with past Wasatch participants, reading, studying, watching on-line videos, listening to podcasts and doing everything else we can to wrap our brains around this feat. The common advice is hills, hills and more hills.
We both have signed up for the SpeedGoat 50K (31 Miles) in July. This race has been taughted as the toughest 50K on the planet and more difficult than many 50 and even 100 milers. It takes place at Snowbird ski resort and serves up over 11,000 feet of vertical climb. Should be ROUGH!!!
Mark
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed at this course. Bucket list material for sure. What kind of training regimen are you using? I'm doing a couple of trail runs a week and then 3 easy recovery runs. Trails are a different animal for me. I come from a road background and 60+ mile weeks are the norm. Great blog. Hang tough/jim
Jim,
DeleteI will be doing 50-75 miles a week with a HUGE emphasis on hiils. I am referring to the plan as hills, hills and more hills. I will have long back to backs on the weekend. Should be fun!