2013 Moab Red Hot 55K by Ryan Martin

Blue sky, perfect temps, and amazing views sums up the Red Hot 55K in one sentence.  2013 was the 3rd time we have made the 370 mile cross-Colorado journey to Moab for this great race and it marks the 1st race of the year.  

Leading up to the race, my winter training has been limited to 30-50 miles a week with only a few long runs (longest being 18 since December's 50k in California).  My goal was to run modestly hard and see how my body would respond as the miles added up. The best part we had perfect weather so there would be no excuses.

The morning of the race we packed up from our hotel, got our coffee, and picked up my teammate Jeanne Cooper who would later finish 4th in the race.  We got to the parking area that was off the highway about 1/2 mile from the start and stayed warm until just before the 7:00 am start.

At the starting area, it was clear the most of the runners were hardcore including many well known elite men and women.  I believe many of them come to this remote location in February to keep their game going in the winter months.  

I made my way to the mid-pack for the start yet everyone wasted no time rocketing up the Gemini Bridges Road.  The first climb was mostly snow-packed and eventually turned into a canyon that would later split the two races.  After the climb, it became a fast moving downhill on powdery dirt until the split. The 33K would cut to the left and the 55K would turn right up a steep road.

(The next 4 pictures show the first 3.5 miles and later the race would run along the cliffs above)

After the split and the steep climb we reached the first aid-station but since I was running with a large water bladder, I ran through it to pad my time.  At mile 7-ish, the first round of slick-rock running began.  Most of this section was uphill yet still very runnable.  We zig-zagged the way following painted road markings but more importantly the pink and black race flags.

Throughout the race, I had to remain alert to follow the flags.  So I would always be scanning ahead for the flags and or the runners ahead.  Even though I could see a runner ahead I could still make a mistake going in the wrong direction and hit a dead-end which has happened to me before.  

(The next 4 pictures are of the slick-rock named the Metal Masher Trail for the 4x4s that use this route. Note the white make on the next picture which is used by the drivers to follow)

At mile 10.3, I made it to the top of the 2nd climb.  The top has an amazing with view of starting area  below and Arches National Park in the distance.  The race then bounced up-and-down along the ridges until it cut back to the west to begin the descent.  I reached the 13.1 mile mark just after 2 hours of running at a good pace yet I could already feel some fatigue.  Once I hit the smooth runnable section, my speed dropped to a sub-nine minute mile.  My only mistake of the race occurred in this section.  I missed a turn to the left but I quickly noticed the lack of tracks in the dirt and turned back.

(one of the mini-climbs on the way down)

(approaching the junction to rejoin the course with the 33K)

After the 8 mile descent the race flattened out for a mile as it rejoined with the 33K.   Quickly the race started climbing again into the most scenic part of the race.  At mile 19 I had a delay because of a pack of 4x4 off-road rock crawlers. They started up a tight steep section where I made the choice and wait verses the potential of being crushed by one of the 4x4s.

When they finally made their climb to a safe section, I was able to get by and resume my run.  The next four miles was a rolling climb through various canyons with difficult trail finding.  There were many more technical sections where runners were sliding and jumping off different rock ledges.  

In some ways I felt that I was a doing a road race because much of the next 8 miles was almost all on the hard slick-rock thus feeling like pavement.  

(some runners sliding off some of the ledges)

The next two pictures are of my favorite part of the race.  It winds through some canyon like sections.  It was nice to get a runners to grab my iPhone to take a picture of me running up.  Can you imagine anyone in a road race volunteering to take your picture.

(looking west towards the Colorado River)

(4:39 Marathon - 8 more miles)

The part of the course which is shared with the 33K is significantly harder then the first 18 miles.  The terrain is always changing up-and-down on the slick rock from miles 19-28.  Personally, my limited winter training began to be apparent. I was not bonking yet I lack the speed of the earlier miles and was forced to hike the steeper sections.

After leaving the 22 mile aid-station, I thought the race had only one more climb but I was very wrong which was my fault for not reading the map and depending on memory from 4 years ago.  What I learned is that I had 4 extra miles of up-and-down instead of the one mile that I guessed.  Mentally, it did not bother me yet I hate being wrong.

As seen below, there were a few snow and ice covered sections.  On one spot we had to go up a steep rocky hill covered in ice.  It was clear many runners ended up sliding down including my girlfriend Kelly who scraped up her knee.

At mile 28, I got a break from the slick rock with a 2.5 mile runnable road where I was able to speed up and even pass a few runners.

The last 3 miles was a steep descent down a gnarly jeep road called Poison Spider.  It had huge shelf-rock formations that zig-zagged through a tight canyon.  One of the bad shaded sections was covered in enough ice the race organizers had volunteers out to warn runners of the conditions.  

As it opened up to the larger Colorado River canyon there was one more quick climb and I was able see the all the runners in front and behind me.  I was feeling pretty good with gas in the tank so I decided to kick it in to catch a few slower runners as I descended to the finish.  

In conclusion, I finished in 6:06:08 which was my second best time in this event.  I also enjoyed seeing a good showing of the Runners Roost Race team and making a few new friends along the way. This is a very well organized race in remarkable location.  I would highly recommend this race to anyone who wants to run a spectacular desert ultra. 

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/274730214

2012 Coyote Ridge 50K Race Report

If in the future you decide to race the North Face Endurance Challenge San Francisco and you find the registration is full - there is an alternative - The Coyote Ridge 50K. The race was on December 8, one week after the NF in the same general area.  They offer a 7, 10, 20, 26.2 mile distances in addition to the 50K.  

The race shares many of the same trails as the NF but with a small crowd.  It covers 7,400+ ft of climbing with great views of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the city.  It starts and finishes at Muir Beach with 30% single track, 55% fire roads, and 15% gravel on three loops.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/250873043

The race began on bridge by the beach parking area and quickly took off up a steep fire road (see 1st picture).  

After the first climb, the race joined the coastal trail (see below) for a few miles.  This section has incredible views of the Pacific Ocean on tight single-track with lots of up-and-downs.  After 3.5 miles it  dropped back down to Tennessee Valley to the 1st aid-station.  The first few miles I kept a strong pace with some of the top runners but unfortunately I fell back since I had to make a restroom stop at mile 3. 

The next section was long steady climb up the Marincello trail which allowed me a chance to pass a few runners. Near the top and close to the Bobcat trail I got to enjoy the only tree covered section of the race (see below).  After leaving the trees, I got to enjoy some new trails that are different then the NF course.  

The new section ran above the road tunnel on the Alta/SCA trails offering more views of Sausalito. The race then rejoined the Coastal trail for a few miles along the southern ridge of the park.  This was a great single-track section with incredible views of the city and the Pacific (see next two pictures).  

(below are some gun batteries that were built to protect the bay in 1905)

At mile 11.5, the race hit far point at the Bonita aid-station.  Leaving the station, I had to run on a road for a few miles yet it was cool seeing all the gun batteries and a cold war missile site before crossing the lagoon.  After crossing the lagoon, I continued running on the road for another mile but it was worth it to see all the old gun batteries.

(one of the large gun barrels on display)

After crossing the lagoon, there is a 1.5 mile 800ft climb on the Coastal/Wolf Ridge trail.  This also has sections of loose shale then on the top it becomes very runnable. with views of Tennessee Valley below.  

At mile 17.5 the race hit the Tennessee Valley aid-station for the 2nd of 4 times.  I refilled my bottle again then turned back for another climb back up before rejoining the road back to Muir Beach.  

I turned back around for the steep climb back on the same route back to Tennessee Valley but then takes a short loop along the Miwok trail and back to Tennessee Valley for the final leg back to Muir Beach for the finish.  I was still able to keep running on the climbs yet I felt slow on the downhills.  There was two guys that passed on the 2nd to last climb and then they blew past me on the descent. 

I made it to the finish in 5:49:22 in 11th place.  For me it was a good race and I managed to run all the hills and keep a steady pace.  Altogether it was a fun day of racing in perfect weather.  The race is well organized and at a good price.

Following the race we ended up staying at the Pelican Inn which is by the Start/Finish.  It was a cool English Style inn with a great pub and food. I would highly recommend at least stopping for a beer and enjoy the atmosphere.

Loop - O - Mania 2012

As part of our ultra-running training the best place to train is in the mountains with elevation and altitude.  The nice part of the Rockies are the many well established hiking trails that can be connected to make loop workouts.  I already have two posts including the 4 passes loop.  This post is a combination of 3 loops:  Red River NM East/West Fork 15 mile loop, National Park Tonalhutu / North Inlet 26.62 mile loop, and the Indian Peaks Kings Lake / High Lonesome / Devils Thumb loop 16 mile.

Loop 1:

East/West Fork loop was the first.  6 miles up the road in the Red River upper valley the pavement ends and there is two dirt roads to go 1 mile to the east or west to the trail heads.  We went up to the parking area of the East Fork.  The trail is a very runnable trail that goes on an easy constant climb to Horseshoe and Lost Lake.

This is more of a personal trail since it is an area I have been hiking with my family since I was 4.  My parents now live half the year in the upper valley of Red River and we always try to make it up once or twice a year.  Most of our hikes start up the west fork but on this occasion we started on the east fork.

Horseshoe lake will be on the other side of the peak ahead.  The trail loops around the contours of this area.  We saw a few hiker on the way up but generally the trail to Horseshoe of Lost Lake are seldom used.

Below the next 3 pictures are of Horseshoe lake.  It is the highest lake in NM sitting slightly under 12,000 ft.  The trail going up on the other end goes to Wheeler Peak, the highest point in NM (great addition to the workout).

At this section, I ran ahead of Kelly since she did not want to due the 2 mile out-and-back to Horseshoe.  I was able to push a solid uphill run to the top.  This felt really good since just a week before we ran the Vermont 100 mile (me) and 100K (Kelly).

Two miles later the trail leads to Lost Lake.  In both cases these lakes were man-made in the 1880 to feed a ditch that ran water 40 miles away to the now ghost town of Elizabeth Town near Eagle Nest, NM.  The section between the lakes is mostly runnable and we both took advantage of the flat rolling single-track.

 

Following Lost Lake the trail descends down the to join up with the Middle Fork Lake trail and then back to the West Fork parking are.  In our case, we were running late and I had my father waiting for us so we could have a real cooked breakfast and make our way back to Denver.  Attached is the link to my Garmin report.  We covered 12.25 miles and with 2,650 ft of climbing yet if we would have finished the loop we would got close to 15 miles.

 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/2045769

Loop 2:

The next loop is the the Rocky Mountain National Park Tonalhutu / North Inlet 26.62 mile loop.  Just above Grand Lake, Co is the trailhead for the hike.  There is two parking lots with plenty of spaces. Below the parking areas the trail begins next to a utility building.

 Old wooden irrigation pipe

The trail gradually climbs through the trees along the Tonahutu creek until about mile 4.5 where it hit Big Meadow.  It then move on the east-side of the meadow for about a few miles.

Below are pictures of the cabin and barn built by Sam Stone a rancher in 1900

Once reaching the north end of Big Meadow the trail turned east with first amount of climbing.  At mile 8.8 we reached Granite Falls

Soon after passing the falls and more climbing we hit this great alpine meadow with view of the Bighorn Flats.  We had our fist wave of rain so we pulled out our rain jackets to wear for next few hours.

Three hours into the journey we hit 10 miles at 10,700 ft  more storms on the way.  About 1/2 mile later we made our way to tree line.  At that point a big wave of storms was sweeping across the valley so we decided to wait it out back in the trees (smart move because some hikers we ran into later said they were miserable on the exposed ridges).

Below is where we waited out the storm

View of the saddle we climbed over below

All the following pictures are from the 5 mile section crossing over Flattop Mountain.

At mile 13.25 we hit the highpoint of the hike at 12,276 ft

View of Bear Lake on the east side of RNP

This is the junction on the trail. Also 3.5 miles below is the Bear Lake parking area near Estes Park

Blow this picture up to see all the cairns marking the trail

Below and the next found of pictures are of the descent into the North Inlet Canyon

Blow this picture up you can see the switchbacks coming up North Inlet 

I always need a marmot picture

Hallet Creek

Look at the quality of the trail

At mile 29 we had lunch - a few slices of left over pizza from Grand Lake Brewing

These pictures are of Cascade Falls 3.5 miles from the parking area. It is a very popular family hike

For a marathon distance mountain workout this is a very runnable route with great view and altitude.  It can also be reached with an additional 7 miles from the Estes Park side of RNP for 50K+ workout.

Garmin reading: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209571454

Loop3:

Indian Peaks Kings Lake / High Lonesome / Devils Thumb loop is a 16 mile run located just a few miles from Nederland Co.  The trailhead is 1 mile past Eldora and there is 2x2 parking on the road and 4x4 parking by the start.  This would be our last workout before leaving to run the CCC and TDS in Chamonix the following week.

The trail goes 1 mile before deciding which direction to go; we decided to go west up the Kings Lake trail which for several miles use to be a road.  Below are signs and first few sights at the beginning.

The next few pictures are of an old abandoned narrow gage railroad track and trestle near Rollins Pass.

 (Mile 6 we reached Kings Lake and then preceded another 1/2 mile to the pass above)

Devils Thumb

Garmin reading: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220092540