GRANDEUR FUN RUN

     This last weekend was another informal race dubbed the Grandeur Fun Run.  By informal, it is similar to the Bosho event I ran last month.  Just a bunch of people getting together to test themselves against one hell of a climb and for some friendly competition.  The run climbs up the west spine of Grandeur, down Church Fork in Millcreek Canyon, two miles on the Pipeline Trail, one last small climb and a steep decent back to the start.  A killer pancake breakfast was waiting at the finish.

     

Grandeur is one of the four major peaks in the Salt Lake Valley along the Wasatch Front.  Starting on the north end next to Parley canyon is Grandeur, then Mt. Olympus, Twin Peaks and finally Lone Peak in the south end of the valley.

     The race began at 7am with approximately 100 runners.  The canyon winds made for a chilly start.  The climb to the summit is 2.2 miles but covers 3,400 vertical feet.  It is relentless.  There are two short 50 yard flat sections where you can get a little recovery and then right back to having the hill right in your face.  Passing on the climb is difficult because it is a narrow single track so I just buried my head and set in for a long grind.  I made the summit in 1 hour flat.  My best time by about 4 minutes.  My buddy Peter Bland went up early in the morning for a climb and waited for me at the top (quick side note.......Peter saw a black bear as he was coming back down the trail about 1/2 mile from the start!!!)  I ditched my jacket with him as he gave me a few encouraging words to push it on the decent.  I have become a fairly strong downhill runner lately and I knew I could pick off a few people here.

     My legs were feeling surprisingly fresh and strong.  I was able to pass 6 people down Church Fork and 6 more on the Pipeline Trail to the finish.  I caught up to a kid early on the Pipeline.  We ran the rest of the way together and finished about 15 seconds apart.  Chatting with him at the finish, I explained that I was doing my best to pull away from him and he was pushing hard to try and catch me.  We pushed and pulled each other to a pace much quicker than we thought we could hold.  Pretty cool when the competitive juices kick in.

     

Final steep decent

     There is one last 1/3 mile climb up a hill named Bambi.  Not sure why it got this name.....not quite so gentle and cuddly as the name implies.  For a relatively short climb, it is a killer.  Then a bomber downhill to the finish.  I finished the day with a time of 2 hours 8 minutes.  My best time on that loop by nearly 13 minutes.  I ended up in 27th place.  Not a bad day considering a strong pool of local runners.

     Knowing I need to start getting more quality back to back long runs in, I banged out a 20 mile run Sunday morning on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  My legs were dead from the start but managed to pull it off in 4 hours.  All in all a great weekend.