Wasatch Ramblings

Here’s most of an email I sent to a fellow ultrarunner who is running the Wasatch 100 in two weekends. It’s rambling, but sort of conveys a sense of the race. Take note that I spend almost the email discussing the final 25 miles … this is most of the race. Settle in and make it to Brighton, then the fun starts. This email was written for someone with a sub-24 hour run in mind, but the sentiments contained therein are equally applicable to all racers.

The Wasatch Mountains down course (south) of Brighton.

Except for folks way out of our league (not that I should put myself in your league), breaking 24 at the ‘satch takes a smart, consistent, patient effort. I should have done it two years ago and ended up with a 28:15 because I wasn’t patient. Mind you, I don’t think it take a remarkable, flawless race [for you or someone of your caliber] to break 24. Had I suffered through some low spells and been patient with the fact that they happen, I could still have made an attempt at induction into the ROotCC (Royal Order of the Crimson Cheetah). Unfortunately, too much of a smoke ‘em if you got ‘em mentality had me sitting on rocks and leaning against trees for a good 13 hours. Look at it this way, if you run conservatively, and take 16 hours to get to Brighton (9 pm)…. you have 8 full hours to bring it on home in sub-24. That said, while there may be exceptions, I think one needs to be out of Brighton not much after 9:30 to have a reasonable shot at sub-24.

In sum, my Wasatch advice is be smart/patient/conservative for 75 miles and then hold tight because the final 25 miles will be damn tough.

Related articles:

1. Geoff Roes and Betsy Nye Set Course Records at Wasatch 100 Montrail runner Geoff Roes smashed the Wasatch Front 100 in 18:30:55. Kyle Skaggs set the previous record of 19:35 in 2007. That’s over an hour improvement on well-established, always competitive...
2. iRunFar 2009 Wasatch 100 Updates [Updated Friday at 2 pm MDT] I’ll be out the Wasatch 100 on Friday and Saturday. I’m not sure when I’ll catch up with the race, but there will likely updates from Lamb’s Canyon (mid race)...
3. Way To Go – 2007 Wasatch 100 and VHTRC's Women's Half Marathon Wow, another Wasatch 100 in the books. Hearty congratulations to my two favorite runners in the race, The Mikes. Mike Wedemeyer, who I paced, ran an awesome 22:39 to earn...

Filed under Bryon, Races · Tagged with Wasatch 100

Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
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