^rots of R's  This was a race I both looked forward to and loathed- looked forward to due to the beautiful high country, loathed because I knew it would be my toughest run to date.  The race was designed and run by Mike Wolfe and Mike Foote, that should have been enough warning.  Boasting close to 9000' of elevation gain (2400' of it summiting Lone Peak) and the entire course above 7000'.

I had only one goal going into this race-beat the cutoff times and finish.  Race day morning the temps were hovering at 40 degrees- good, but it was raining-bad.  Fortunately the rain petered out in a couple of hours, equally fortunate the cool weather remained all day.

This was a really tough run, lots of very steep sections (and equally steep descents)-fortunately it was occasionally broken up with some runnable sections.  The highlight (or lowlight depending on your perspective) was the summiting of Lone Peak ~ 18 miles into the race.  This was extremely difficult, much of it legit Class III scrambling.  The closer to the summit, the steeper it got- it got so tough that I could only cover short distances at a time and then bend over at the waist and inhale deeply to catch my breath, repeat many (many) times and then finally summit.

After a short break at the aid station and ahead of the cutoff, I now tackled the almost equally tough descent.  No trail, very steep and lots and lots of rock.  While not as grueling as the ascent, it was difficult and slow going (and even then I fell a couple of times).

There were several more steep ascents before finishing the race, none as grueling as Lone Peak, but as the hours passed and fatigue set in-still difficult.  The last aid station, Andesite Peak, was 5 miles out from the finish and I knew then that I was going to finish.  The last five miles were mostly runnable, which was a great way to finish such a difficult race.

10 hours and 21 minutes after the start, I made it across the finish line.  Certainly tired and sore, but not nearly as fatigued as I have been on some less difficult races.  No nausea this go round either.  If nausea would have struck, I'm quite sure I would have been one of the many DNF's of the day.  I can't remember who advised me, but it was from this forum, to cut my Perpetuem in half.  I followed that advice and never felt nauseous the entire race.

The race was well organized, the aid station folks were absolutely fabulous and the scenery as good as it gets.  I'd recommend this race for anyone looking for a challenge and rewards of some stunning scenery.

My DW ran the 12k and was equally impressed with how it was run.

a few pics

Nice rack!

Did your wife get to keep it?

good job on the race. It looks like a brutal course.

congratulations on meeting your goal!   Nice RR and great photos-- thanks for sharing.   (and congrats to  DW, too!).  both of you are smiling in your photos, so it must have been fun.  Well managed races can do that to you. 

Nice run out there. You and your wife both look very happy. That's what it's all about!

Nice job!  Sounds like you had a great race!  I'm so bummed to have missed this race this year.  Next year when our son is 1, I will see you there!

Well done MTW.  Looks like it was a lot tougher than the promo video let on.  Gonna put any of that fitness to work in Orange this Fall?

Nice job! With that time on the feet you're getting ready for a 50-miler next year...

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad it went well, especially the nausea issues. I think I'd rather have wore out legs and a functioning GI tract then the other way around.  The scenery is awesome.