Onwards and Upwards

Ok, so I still haven’t had time to describe my pending Rocky Mountain trip very well. Here’s the low down […]

By on August 27, 2007 | Comments

Ok, so I still haven’t had time to describe my pending Rocky Mountain trip very well. Here’s the low down that I’ll hopefully expand or reiterate over the next few days. On Thursday evening I fly out to Salt Lake City. From there my buddy and stud Inov8 runner, Steve Burton, will travel up to Park City for a night on the town. After I get in a brief run on Friday morning (Steve will be resting for Saturday), we’ll drive up to Alta, Wyoming on the western side of the Teton Mountains, where we’ll join the pre-race dinner for the Grand Teton ultras. Saturday, Steve will get up and run the 50 miler while I get ready to pace Andy Jones-Wilkins. Following a night of fun (and maybe another loop Sunday morning after Andy finishes), Steve and I will head off to Jackson where we’ll kick our heels up while hopefully avoiding any and all drunken line dancing incidents… or at least ones caught on film. Monday, there will likely be short on running and long on relaxing – with a Los Lonely Boys concert on tap in the afternoon/evening as part of the Jackson Music Festival. Tuesday is another day to explore Jackson and the Tetons. Wednesday is likely a travel day with milk shakes by Bear Lake and some high country meadow running in Grand Targhee Nat’l Forest. (We’ll be sure to watch out for the mountain locust, a.k.a. sheep). Wednesday is technically a “flex day” in our schedule when we’re up for anything, but at this point I’m leaning towards heading to Park City. If we don’t hit Park City on Wednesday, we’ll be there for sure on Thursday. Oh, how I can’t wait for lunch at El Chubasco (Best. Salsa. Ever.) and a breakfast at the Morning Ray!!! I’ll run with an former Arlington-training partner, Gen, on Thursday before a light running day on Friday. Friday evening I’ll attend the “welcome dinner” associated with Gen’s Saturday wedding, which I’ll be skipping to pace Mike Wedemeyer to the finish of the Wasatch Front 100.

Very soon, I’ll be near cool air, cooler terrain, chill people, and ice…. for my soon to be very punished body.

PS. I plan to post almost daily while I’m out west. Lots of pictures, too.

Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell is the Founding Editor of iRunFar. He’s been writing about trail running, ultrarunning, and running gear for more than 15 years. Aside from iRunFar, he’s authored the books Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running, been a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, written for publications including Outside, Sierra, and Running Times, and coached ultrarunners of all abilities. Based in Silverton, Colorado, Bryon is an avid trail runner and ultrarunner who competes in events from the Hardrock 100 Mile just out his front door to races long and short around the world, that is, when he’s not fly fishing or tending to his garden.