Zion 50K Race Report
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Phil Oreste
Apr 7, 2014, 8:14:05 PM4/7/14
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Hi All,
I just returned from Zion National Park in Utah after completing the 50K on Saturday. I had run the 50 miler in its inaugural year back in 2012 which really kicked my ass both in distance and 95 degree heat so I had always wanted to take another crack at this race again. This year, they added a 50K (along with the 100K and 100 miler) and it was on entirely new trails from the 50 miler I had run 2 years ago so I was excited to explore more of the area. The course is run just outside the national park with most of the great park vistas as the backdrop. Over the past 10 years, I have been here 5-6 times now and I think it's my favorite national park along with Yosemite and Yellowstone.
Anyway, the race started at 6AM in the dark and the temperature was an awesome 45 degrees. The first 7 miles are a not gentle 1000 foot climb to the first aid station and the top of Guacamole Mesa. I took it really easy as I knew that 1 of the 2 biggest challenges of this race was coming next. From mile 7 to mile 16 was the dreaded slick rock portion of the course. It's hard to explain it, but you are basically running up, down and around the massive boulders. Besides constantly questioning which way the course went, the constant up and down is very jarring on the joints. The positive thing is you are two busy trying to make the right turn that you forget about the pain! I picked up two youngsters, Chris from Sat Lake City and Cari from Flagstaff, and we stuck together for this entire section to make sure we didn't get lost. I think they call this Guacamole mesa because that's what your joints turn into after running this trail.
I brought the GoPro along to film some of the varied terrain. The first gives you a decent idea of the slick rock challenge and the constant questioning of which turn was next. The second one is on the same mesa, but on the edge of the mesa through a fire damaged forest with Zion in the background.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD5P9TBoEwo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbzDHl2f0iU
After refueling at the aid station, it was a nice 6 miles of downhill and across a river (only knee high and the cool water was awesome) to the last aid station at mile 23. The temperature never got above the mid-60's which was perfect. I knew that I had 8-9 miles left without an aid station so I ate my salted potatoes, PB&J sandwiches and energy drink like a good boy. I spotted one of those chocolate Hostess donnette six packs unopened on the table and snatched those for the next miles of running. Those little suckers were like a sugar drip every quarter mile!
Mile 26 was the mile I knew that would be the biggest challenge. The Flying Monkey trail to the top of Smith Mesa was a 1500 foot climb in one mile! The amazing thing was as I approached the base of the mesa, I couldn't see any trail in front of me. Cari had gone ahead of me by about 2 minutes and Chris had dropped back so I just keeping trudging along staring up at the cliff. The next video is a quick clip of my starting up Smith Mesa and gives you a pretty good view of the monster in front of me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpDtofPV1TU
Once I got on the trail, it was so technical and steep that I would have been walking this if it was mile 1 so I just power walked and enjoyed the views. It took me 25 minutes to complete that one mile! After reaching the summit, I belched out a load roar of satisfaction (mostly to hear the echo) and headed forward for the next miles to the finish. The race organizers told us that the course had to be re-routed for some washout in the trail so the 50K or 31 miles became 32 miles. I was prepared for this and enjoyed the last 4 miles of downhill with at least some of my quads remaining. The only thing that got to me a little during the race was the altitude which topped out at 5500 feet on the top of the two mesas, but the views were a great trade-off!
I passed some wild burros in the last miles as well as some wild dogs who motivated me to kick it up a notch to finish in 5:46 which was 20th out of 80 people. Not bad for a sea level runner against all these Colorado and Utah mountain goats! I trained well, ate and drank a lot during the race and clearly learned from my 50 miler 2 years ago. Most of us could finish one of these races, but it really is all about the food and fluids when it comes to keeping up the energy to push to the finish. They were making homemade pizzas and had plenty of beer for the runners so I just sat in the sun with Cari and Chris after the race swapping stories and soaking in the sun and endorphins.
And yes, I drove back to Las Vegas after the race and enjoyed the pool and the drinks as the sun set over the desert. Good luck to all you runners this weekend in Woodside. Awesome trails and I'm sure you will rock it!
Phil
I just returned from Zion National Park in Utah after completing the 50K on Saturday. I had run the 50 miler in its inaugural year back in 2012 which really kicked my ass both in distance and 95 degree heat so I had always wanted to take another crack at this race again. This year, they added a 50K (along with the 100K and 100 miler) and it was on entirely new trails from the 50 miler I had run 2 years ago so I was excited to explore more of the area. The course is run just outside the national park with most of the great park vistas as the backdrop. Over the past 10 years, I have been here 5-6 times now and I think it's my favorite national park along with Yosemite and Yellowstone.
Anyway, the race started at 6AM in the dark and the temperature was an awesome 45 degrees. The first 7 miles are a not gentle 1000 foot climb to the first aid station and the top of Guacamole Mesa. I took it really easy as I knew that 1 of the 2 biggest challenges of this race was coming next. From mile 7 to mile 16 was the dreaded slick rock portion of the course. It's hard to explain it, but you are basically running up, down and around the massive boulders. Besides constantly questioning which way the course went, the constant up and down is very jarring on the joints. The positive thing is you are two busy trying to make the right turn that you forget about the pain! I picked up two youngsters, Chris from Sat Lake City and Cari from Flagstaff, and we stuck together for this entire section to make sure we didn't get lost. I think they call this Guacamole mesa because that's what your joints turn into after running this trail.
I brought the GoPro along to film some of the varied terrain. The first gives you a decent idea of the slick rock challenge and the constant questioning of which turn was next. The second one is on the same mesa, but on the edge of the mesa through a fire damaged forest with Zion in the background.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD5P9TBoEwo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbzDHl2f0iU
After refueling at the aid station, it was a nice 6 miles of downhill and across a river (only knee high and the cool water was awesome) to the last aid station at mile 23. The temperature never got above the mid-60's which was perfect. I knew that I had 8-9 miles left without an aid station so I ate my salted potatoes, PB&J sandwiches and energy drink like a good boy. I spotted one of those chocolate Hostess donnette six packs unopened on the table and snatched those for the next miles of running. Those little suckers were like a sugar drip every quarter mile!
Mile 26 was the mile I knew that would be the biggest challenge. The Flying Monkey trail to the top of Smith Mesa was a 1500 foot climb in one mile! The amazing thing was as I approached the base of the mesa, I couldn't see any trail in front of me. Cari had gone ahead of me by about 2 minutes and Chris had dropped back so I just keeping trudging along staring up at the cliff. The next video is a quick clip of my starting up Smith Mesa and gives you a pretty good view of the monster in front of me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpDtofPV1TU
Once I got on the trail, it was so technical and steep that I would have been walking this if it was mile 1 so I just power walked and enjoyed the views. It took me 25 minutes to complete that one mile! After reaching the summit, I belched out a load roar of satisfaction (mostly to hear the echo) and headed forward for the next miles to the finish. The race organizers told us that the course had to be re-routed for some washout in the trail so the 50K or 31 miles became 32 miles. I was prepared for this and enjoyed the last 4 miles of downhill with at least some of my quads remaining. The only thing that got to me a little during the race was the altitude which topped out at 5500 feet on the top of the two mesas, but the views were a great trade-off!
I passed some wild burros in the last miles as well as some wild dogs who motivated me to kick it up a notch to finish in 5:46 which was 20th out of 80 people. Not bad for a sea level runner against all these Colorado and Utah mountain goats! I trained well, ate and drank a lot during the race and clearly learned from my 50 miler 2 years ago. Most of us could finish one of these races, but it really is all about the food and fluids when it comes to keeping up the energy to push to the finish. They were making homemade pizzas and had plenty of beer for the runners so I just sat in the sun with Cari and Chris after the race swapping stories and soaking in the sun and endorphins.
And yes, I drove back to Las Vegas after the race and enjoyed the pool and the drinks as the sun set over the desert. Good luck to all you runners this weekend in Woodside. Awesome trails and I'm sure you will rock it!
Phil
Barbara Lutes
Apr 8, 2014, 10:12:53 AM4/8/14
to por...@yahoo.com, GoldenGate...@googlegroups.com
Amazing race report and videos! Very inspiring. 20th is an amazing finish. I'll put that on my bucket list if they have a generous time cut off for those of us who could never run those incredibly challenging sections. I'll consider my Pinnacles hiking in 100 degree heat this summer training for an eventual Zion trail run.
Thanks so much for sharing Phil!
Barbara
From: Phil Oreste <por...@yahoo.com>
To: GoldenGate...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, April 7, 2014 5:14 PM
Subject: [GGRC] Zion 50K Race Report
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David Li
Apr 8, 2014, 10:37:39 AM4/8/14
to Barbara Lutes, por...@yahoo.com, GoldenGate...@googlegroups.com
Love it! Congrats! (and we need more reports that include eating donuts on the run...)
Meredith Johnson
Apr 8, 2014, 4:05:50 PM4/8/14
to David Li, Barbara Lutes, por...@yahoo.com, GoldenGate...@googlegroups.com
Congratulations, Phil! I loved the videos, and the scenery. Thanks for sharing!
Mauricio Cuervo
Apr 9, 2014, 2:48:35 PM4/9/14
to Meredith Johnson, David Li, Barbara Lutes, por...@yahoo.com, GoldenGate...@googlegroups.com
Ditto, great report and awesome views. What a beautiful place.
It almost makes me want to be an ultra runner :-)
Congrats Phil. What a fantastic experience.
Mauricio
Michael Howland
Apr 12, 2014, 12:36:32 PM4/12/14
to GoldenGate...@googlegroups.com
Amazing race (and report)! Congrats. Really love the videos.
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Robin O
Apr 13, 2014, 4:27:33 PM4/13/14
to Michael Howland, Golden Gate Running Club
Thanks for the videos Phil! That does look tough on the joints.
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