Background - Years ago I got obsessed with running a 100 mile race.  At that time I could barely complete a marathon, so it was a lofty goal.  Zion 100 was going to be my first.  It was in a beautiful location and close to home about 1.5 hours away.  I lurked on the Facebook page and found that they were doing training runs on the course.  I arrived on a cold, rainy December morning for the group run and I was the only one to show.  I met the RD of Ultra Adventures, Matt Gunn, and he asked if I still wanted to go.  I felt intimidated because he is a very good runner.  He said it would be slow, he was scouting the trails for possible course changes.  Ended up having a great time in terrible conditions and completed my first outing longer than a marathon.  Struck up a good friendship.  Fast forward to the next April and I found myself helping at the race (I am cheap and wanted to earn credits for future races).  Spent most of the time at an aid station.  That was a lot of work, but very rewarding.  I was going to pace but the runner had to drop because of knee pain.  Continued to build and ran my first Ultra,the Bryce 100k.  Made some huge errors but finished.  Matt was mad that I paid, but I had to earn that first Ultra.  Continued to become more involved in the race company and they we adding many more races.  Decided not to run Zion because of knee problems that I couldn't solve.  I continued to help with the races and Matt insisted on paying me and offered the Course Marshal job.  I took it but that meant not running in any of the races.  Worked for Ultra Adventures for several years and in that time completed my first 100 at Chimera and the next year Javelina.  I had such a good result at that race I retired from the distance.  Ultra Adventures got sold to Vacation Races and I started my phase out.  Nothing against the new company, but work as a farmer was getting busy.  Still kept a good relationship with the new company and came out to help with a few races.  So last fall I decided to come out of retirement and finally run the Zion 100 in 2018.

Training - I kept a good base through the summer but knew I needed to get more consistent to build for a 100.  I started a run streak in October (still going, but today it is going to be tough to get out).  No set schedule but I had a 3 or four week build up and then recovery.  Had a 50 mile Trans-Zion in October, a marathon in November, a 50k and marathon in December.  Shorter runs but huge vertical in January.  The highlight event in February, Running up for Air, completing 8 summits and descents in 18.5 hours (over 20,000 gain).  A 100 mile week in March with a 35 mile sleep deprivation long run.  April a 34 mile run of 4 hill repeats at night about 8,000 gain.  Only run on the course was a 18 miler two weeks before the race.  Reminded me of how hard the silckrock sections were going to be.

Race goal - Originally 28 hours, then 26, then after the RUFA event and the training in March I bumped it down to 24.  I had two brothers also running this race.  One his first (Randy) and the other his third (Brett).  He is very particular with his charts and planning and made up one for 24 hours.  I thought it looked reasonable and that all of us would be closely matched.  I thought he would go out fast, but I would catch him later on and I would stick with Randy running his first.  Also a couple of running club friends were running but assumed they would be way ahead of us.  Times all depended on the heat.  If looking hot, the daytime pace would be much slower.  Closer to the race the forecast came in rainy, cooler and cloudy.  24 hour goal was on!

Pre race niggles -  Taper went really well mileage wise but I was killing myself at work.  Busy time for a farmer and I had many physical jobs taking a toll.  Many back to back to back 12 hour plus days.  A storm right before the race gave me two days of recovery and packing time.  Struggling with mild PF forever but can run fine on it.  Developed some top of big toe pain on the same foot.  Think I was getting some toe pinch from some new shoes that I wanted to use.  Nope, made some shoe adjustments.  Again, manageable, but frustrating.  Nothing I can do about it, accept and adjust (as Monica would say "suck it up buttercup").  My weight was a little heavy, wanted to be 185 but was not disciplined enough to lose.  Pushing 190.  A lot of muscle but definitely some spare tire going on.

The course - briefly.  Beautiful trails and roads just outside of Zion NP centralized around the small town of Virgin.  Climbs on tops of mesas with miles on the mesas before dropping down to desert sections.  Lots of variety but very exposed.  Winding single track some buff sections, but lots of rocks.  Slickrock on the tops of the mesas.  Sections between the mesas are dirt roads or double track.  Anything that runs along the bottom of the mesas have many ups and downs though washes.  Vertical gain is around 10,000, but many thousands of little ups and downs are not counted.  This is a knee destroying course.  Cutoff is 34 hours.  Course record (but the course changes every year) is around 16?  The new changes have made the course slightly faster in my opinion.  First climb is now pavement and a 1000 ft decent and 1000 ft climb was eliminated.

The race (finally) - Got to the start and it was cold and drizzling.  Added a jacket, buff, and hand warmers to my start outfit. Stayed in the car as long as I dared and headed to the start.  Randy found me but we didn't see Brett.  About 400 runners because the 100k started too.  Decided to position at the first third of the runners.  A major course adjustment changing the first climb because of bottlenecking.  Disappointed at the change because it took out one of my favorite trails, but found it very necessary.  It was even bottlenecking on the double track.  Ran very easy but still passed quite a few runners in the first 2 miles.

Smith Mesa - The climb started opening up on a steep paved road.  As we climbed it started to rain harder.  Saw my other brother on this section.  Stayed together for a brief moment.  Made the decision at this point that would make or break the race and if looking back while struggling this would be the red flag.  I pushed.  Run/hike the climb.  No one around me was doing that.  My reasons, the mud was coming up and I didn't want the crowd at the first aid station (previous problems in the past with a first crowded aid station).  The mud was a mess but knew it would be worse further back.  Felt a little bad leaving my brothers, but knew I would see them later.  Ran whenever possible, the mud would stick less.  Passed many runners trying to scrape, waste of time.  Made a good shoe choice (NB MT1010's) but still had bricks on the bottoms.  At the aid, dropped the flashlight (which I later forgot to pick up, good thing it was a cheap one) grabbed some water.  No food, I had my own bacon. Saw the RD Matt and course marker Tony.  They warned me to slow down.  Maybe 30 runners ahead of me at this point.  The six mile loop was tough, but get it over with.  At the high point a few snow flakes.  Mostly foggy but you could see parts of Zion, beautiful.  Hit the Aid again, a quick check of food.  The bowls of candy turned into soup because of the rain.  I think I grabbed some chunks of avocado.  Not eating much, again risky.  Hands were getting cold, handwarmers spent.  Now the nasty decent.  Rocky, but not too muddy.  One rock scramble with a rope.  I was going to be a hero and not use the rope but slipped and grabbed it at the last minute scuffing my hand.  Hands were getting dangerously cold in my wet gloves.  As soon as the decent mellowed, I pushed hard again to warm up.  The runners had really thinned out at this time.  At the low point I took my only fall right onto my back and covered myself in mud.  One more brief climb and descent to the next aid.  I had friends running this one and they were blown away to see me so soon.  I got spoiled as my friend crewed me.  Got rid of the muddy jacket and soaked gloves.  Changed shoes to road shoes (Altra Instinct) and picked up my waist pack with water bottles (Ultra Spire Speedgoat).  Seemed like it was clearing (wrong).  Again, did not eat much.

Guacamole Mesa - Gravel and dirt road, not too muddy about a 1000 ft gain.  Saw the RD again, said I was killing it.  Running club friend Eric caught up to me and we stayed together for a bit.  The last pitch was a slippery mess and then topped out to another aid station.  They had broth.  Maybe I grabbed a tortilla.  More rain and lot of water pockets on the slickrock.  At least no mud.  I slowed down in the roller coaster slickrock but it was hard to stay warm.  Mistake leaving the jacket and gloves.  This part was a lolly pop, so got to see the leaders, not too far ahead, and on the way back seeing more people.  Did not see my brothers, so they were on the loop section not too far back.  Hit the aid station and was happy to see a good friend, Fast Cory.  His last message to me was that he might not run.  The descent on the slip and slide road was tricky.  No traction on my road shoes but it didn't last long.  Hammered the long downhill road, boy I was taking some risks.  Saw my friends plus some more at the aid and got out of there after inhaling some ramen down the wrong pipe.  Considered changing the shoes but didn't.  It was finally clearing.  This was the 50k point and a wasn't running with a watch so I didn't note the time, but it had to be a PR.

To Gooseberry Mesa - 3 mile rolling uphill double track to the big ascent, 1500 gain in a mile.  Completely dry here, like a different world, the worst was over, but hoped it didn't get hot.  I figured the low would happen here, It didn't.  I popped on some tunes and cruised.  Hit the climb and slowed.  Normally I would show off my hiking skills and try to catch some people, but smarty held back.  Slow and steady.

Gooseberry Mesa -  Aid station.  Found Eric here again, thought he would be long gone.  A longer stop, shoe change to more cushioned shoes (Brooks Caldera) ate a turkey sandwich and had some ginger ale (nobody had beer).  More slickrock, this is a tough loop, and had hints of cramping.  At a stretch of smooth I opened up a sprint and blew those cramps away.  Another aid and a short out and back to one of the most scenic spots on the course called Gooseberry Point.  Found Eric again and stayed with him briefly for a stretch along with a few other runners that had grouped up.  Didn't last long.  Eric pulled ahead and then I pulled ahead of the other runners doing my fartleks on anything smooth.  Heating up and I was down to my shirt with cut off sleeves.  Started to get too much sun, but it was getting later in the day so I risk the exposure.  I had been fueling on my own supply of bacon and munching on sunflower seeds.  Hydration was Gnarly (pretty good, first time trying it) and water.  Hit the aid station and this time I couldn't help looking at my time.  Halfway split of just over 10 hours and the tough stuff was done!  The 100k runners drop off of the mesa at this point so it got real quiet.  Eric was around, so that was really helpful mentally.

Grafton Mesa - Smooth dirt road, rolling terrain.  About halfway they had crew access because the road conditions wouldn't let them get to the aid stations.  It was good to get the extra cheers.  Hottest part of the day and I was shirtless.  Risking sunburn but had to stay cool.  Once again pushing the downhills.  My original goal was to see this part in the daylight.  The views of Zion right in front are incredible.  Started seeing the leaders on their way back.  Running club friend Mike is running 3rd and looking good.  Aid station and then a 6 mile loop.  I was leapfrogging with Eric.  He is a faster runner but spends more time at the aid stations.  I take off, he catches me, I hang as long as possible, he pulls ahead, repeat.  I think we were helping each other because the runners were so spread out at this point.  This loop was tough with techy single track and seemed to take a while.  Back at the aid I see my brothers.  This is great and they are hanging together.  One says he is doing great the other is slowing a bit.  I head out expecting to be caught by Eric again, but don't see him.  Passing more runners going the other way.  They are impressed with my faster running pace.  I was running hard, then walking.  I had been doing this in training and it has been working well.  Avoiding the Ultra shuffle.  See more friends out on the course.  Get back to the Goosebump aid and the workers remember happy runners.  All of this positive is so good mentally plus starting the rugged decent just before dark gave me another boost.  I had my longest stop here putting on calf sleeves and changing socks getting my night gear ready.  Also changed to a hydration vest that holds bottles.  Plus a little chit chat with a cute 100k runner and the aid workers.  Tried to eat a bit,  quesadillas I think.

To Virgin Desert aid - I crush the steep downhill.  Feeling like a show off to the 100k runners picking their way down.  There is some selfishness to Ultras, part of the game.  This is a long stretch of double track but very runable in between the washes.  Still keeping a good pace speed hiking the hills and running the downs.  This was a good time to do this section because of the 100k runners.  Not so lonely, but again feeling bad by blowing by them.

Virgin Desert - This is a series of 3 different loops out of the aid station (red, white, blue, yes I will take credit for coming up with that course marking idea).  The first is the shortest so I decide to not get into my drop bag and make the stop quick.  I see my friend from earlier (Turd'l, don't even ask, long story) and he wants to do the loop with me.  I just need to be smart at this point.  The 24 hour is in the bag barring injury.  We run/walk the uphill part of the loop, mostly walk the upper section with all of the washes, and cruise the downhill.  My bladder bounce is getting annoying and I am stopping to pee more often, but at the same time I am swelling a bit.  Not too concerned because it is cooler.  Those conditions in the heat would have been a red flag.

I make the next stop a little longer having a beer break and eating bacon (hind sight maybe too much salt).  Turd'l tells me he is holding me back and to go ahead.  Feel good at the start of this loop (the beer really works for me).  See a few of the faster runners finishing their Blue loop on the overlap section.  The top of the White loop goes through many washes so again very slow.  Hit the downhill section and cruise back to the aid, meeting red loop runners starting their loop.  At the aid you turn in the wrist band of your loop and get the next color.  This is such a great idea (Turd'l's, he also work for the race company).  It gives you the sense of accomplishment and makes the mileage manageable.  I see my sister in law waiting to pace Randy.  She tells me he pulled ahead of Brett who was having problems.  No concern, he is more stubborn than me.  Starting to get cold and I put tights on.  Good call, the extra warmth on the legs muscles helped (learned this after reading some of the struggles at Boston).  Change shoes to my NB MT110's.  I light shoe, but maybe not a good choice with the rocks.

Blue Loop - this one was hard.  The longest loop and most technical.  Nice and slow, don't want to trip on a rock.  There is nobody out there, no headlamps.  Good thing I am a loner.  After a never ending climb out of a wash the trail overlaps with the white loop and I see other runners.  Stop briefly when I see Eric.  I am surprised he fell back that much.  No problems, just slowed, his first go at a 100 and the night just slows people.  Start feeling some knee pain.  Finish the blue and see my brother at the aid.  He was ready to start the white loop, Brett still on red.

To the Finish - Switched out the shoes to some Altra road shoes.  The final stretch is smooth. Turd'l is up from napping and freezing cold.  He wants to run with me again.  He starts playing with math and I told him finish time did not matter.  It's cold and he really picked up the pace.  We passed a few 100k runners still gutting it out.  I got concerned when I saw 2 light approaching fast.  Turd'l asked if we should race them and I said no, reminding myself that I am not competitive.  Got passed by a runner (the other was pacing) smoking fast.  Getting close now and Turd'l gets on his gadget and asks if I can do a 10 minute last mile.  I give it a go and do an 8:30 finishing sub 22 at 21:58.  Fourteenth place and 1st age group.  Yeah, I know AG in Ultras don't matter but I am going to list it anyway.

Conclusion - A dream race.  Everything went so well.  Training, course familiarity, pressure to perform well in my local environment, cooler weather, luck?  I broke so many of the Ultra advice rules but got away with it some how.  Start out slow, proper fueling, don't try anything new, etc.  Some problems that I can always count on (tired in the afternoon, cramping) didn't happen.  I had so much support at this race seeing friends, knowing my brothers were out on the course.  I had 0 low points!  Only thing I would have done different was better gloves.

Congrats to my brothers.  Randy, first 100 at just over 24 hours.  Brett just under 26 even with struggles.  And friends Mike, 4th place.  Eric, 23 hours.  Plus others that I am sure finished, need to check results.

The race organization is fantastic, course could not have been marked better.  Highly recommend any of the Vacation Races events.

Thanks for the support RW ultra forum and those now in the RunningAhead forum.

Future - retiring again.  Will continue to do my own adventures.  Got a Grand Canyon run coming up and I am signing up for the Carlsbad marathon (now that is scary).  Continue to try to be more consistent in training.  Lose some damn spare tire, figure out my PF.

Sorry no pictures or stats like an elevation chart.  If anyone is bored, the website is pretty good.

Great report!  I like that area but the slick rock scares me.

Great job berylrunner. Sounds like you hit the sweet spot and did great.  I had a few friends running it too. They both ran sub 24 hours.

Enjoyed the report.  Great job. Your training was solid.  Way to go.

Nice report Beryl and congrats on the AG win.  Funny how you say AG doesn't matter in ultras.  I have a friend who is 55 and does OK in his AG.  He likes to say before a race "I could be on the podium" which has always struck me as an odd word choice.

Thanks Paul.  I just didn't want to seem like I was looking for extra accolades.  Also don't want to take away from the other masters.  A 41 year old came in 7th and a 50 year old came in 10th.  Congrats to them.  I am 46, so it just depends on how you do age categories.  I am kind of in the opinion if the race doesn't have any of these AG awards why list it?  Also field size matters, for example this one had 200 runners so maybe legit placement, but a 50k I ran last year had less than 20.  I came in 9th place, first master, first age group, but those placements seem silly to mention.

Enjoyed the RR!  Nice that everything came together so well.  I noticed that you changed your shoes several times.  Was there a method to your shoe choices?  Do you do that on your training runs too?

Thanks Gatsby.  I just based the shoes on the trail conditions with a few last minute changes because of the weather.  Also that toe pinch that I developed changed things.  I could have stayed in the Calderas longer but was developing some discomfort (and you don't want that to get worse in a 100).  Also, I am still getting used to the higher stack height shoes and did turn an ankle in them on one of my last training runs so I was being pretty cautious with a rocky section coming up and switched out to a lower shoe.  The cloverleaf pattern out of the aid station made shoe changes easier.  I wouldn't have done that on a point to point.  There was time consideration balance, benefit of the shoe change vs. the time loss.  In this case it worked out because I was multi tasking.  Eating and drinking while changing the shoes.  The benefits included reduced chance of blisters (I had 0), physical change because of the weight, and mental because of variety.  Anything you can do in a 100 to break up the monotony helps with the mental part of it.  Ideally I would want to get to a point of fewer shoe changes in future long races.

Shorter training runs no.  A couple of times in those longer ones just to experiment.  I will also rotate through the shoes during the week.  Rare to run two runs back to back in the same shoes.  Seems to help with my foot problems.

Wow, that sounded like a near perfectly executed race!  Crazy how the weather changed so drastically so many times too, but I guess that can be expected in that neck of the woods.  I found your strategy to avoid the "Ultra shuffle" interesting.  About what ratio did you run faster vs walk?  Great stuff!

Thanks Berto. Hard to come up with a ratio.  I mostly just let the terrain decide how I ran.  Somehow I always had good energy to run the downs.  On the flats, I would drop to a walk about every 1/3 of a mile but always had a speedy walking gear and kept the walk breaks brief.  Even on the gentle hills I would break into a run.  No serious climbs on the second part of the course but was slowed with some rocky single track.

One of these days when I try a loop, timed event I would do a .9 mile run to .1 mile walk ratio for as long as I could.  Bhearn has a really good race report on the last 48 hour event he did.