On Saturday, hundreds of runners headed to the red rock desert of southern Utah to test themselves at the Red Hot Moab 33k and 55k trail races. The 55k has long been a key early race for Intermountain West ultrarunners, while the 33k received a fresh infusion of talent this year upon being named the 2012 La Sportiva Mountain Cup’s second race of this year’s series.
I can offer a personal perspective on this year’s races as I made the trek south from Park City to Moab, Utah for the second year in a row. To begin, the weather for this year’s Red Hot Moab races was simply spectacular. Near freezing temps quickly rose into the low fifties in windless conditions under bluebird skies.

Jared Scott (right, finished second), Ryan Woods (hidden behind Scott, third), and Rob Krar (left, winner) taking it out hard at the 2012 Red Hot Moab 33k. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Short-sleeve shirts easily outnumbered puffy jackets at the finish, which is important as folks typically hang out at the finish for hours. A minor injury caused me to (wisely) scratch from the 33k on race morning resulting in my hanging out at the finish for 7 hours. I was never without a circle of entertaining trail runners with whom to enjoy the great weather and festive atmosphere.
Speaking of the atmosphere, race director Chris Martinez, a long-time river guide, ensures that everyone who’s capable of having fun will have fun at his races. There’s a DJ spinning tunes, bread bowls overflowing with vegetarian soup, plenty of drink options (including a variety of adult options brought by friends of the race), a strong presence from sponsors La Sportiva and UltrAspire, and both shade and seating options. Of course, most folks are seen walking around catching up with friends post-race or exploring the red rock of the finishing area, including a sweet set of dinosaur tracks only a 100 yards away. Once the races are all wrapped up the event quickly shifts to Moab’s cornerstone, Eddie McStiff’s, for a well-attended post-race party.
In summary, if the solid weather and ridiculously beautiful course through and on southern Utah’s red rock isn’t enough to get you to the event and you can’t be lured by some hot early season competition, you should still come down to the Red Hot Moab for one heck of a good time.
Our custom this season will be to begin our LSMC race coverage by filling you in on how the race played out. Next, we’ll give you an update on the Mountain Cup standings. We’ll then move on to our weekly giveaway contest(s) before calling for your comments and finishing up with the full La Sportiva Mountain Cup schedule.
The three top men’s finishers loved southern Utah’s slickrock enough to take an eight-minute diversion midrace to see some “bonus” slickrock. That diversion came after they threw down 5:20 miles on the doubletrack in the race’s early going. Even a quarter mile into the race, Jared Scott had himself, Ryan Woods, and Rob Krar breathing hard as they climbed a small rise.
In the end, the fastest guys re-passed anyone who’d gained an advantage during their off-course exploration. Rob Krar of Flagstaff, Arizona won a tight contest in a course record 2:17:45. Last year’s Mountain Cup champ Jared Scott captured a bunch of early-season points by finishing second just a minute behind Krar. Scott’s fellow Inov-8 teammate and Mountain Cup regular Ryan Woods paid for not running his own race early by falling off the pace into third by the finish. In fourth and fifth place were 49-year-old Bernie Boettcher and 55-year-old Kevin Tuck, who were only a minute and two minutes, respectively, behind Woods, who was third overall in last year’s Mountain Cup final standings.
- Rob Krar – 2:17:45 – Course Record
- Jared Scott (Inov-8) – 2:18:51
- Ryan Woods (Inov-8) – 2:22:07
- Bernie Boettcher (La Sportiva) – 2:23:14
- Kevin Tuck – 2:24:23
Women’s Race
The women’s race featured a wealth of new faces to the Mountain Cup. Moab-local Heidi Rentz won the women’s race (and was eighth overall) in 2:46:17. Christina Bauer and Shari Marshall finished second and third, two and a half and five and a half minutes behind Rentz respectively, while fourth place woman Jennifer McCarthy finished just a minute and change behind Marshall. Mountain running specialist Gina Lucrezi jumped up to her longest race to date and learned some important lessons in pacing en route to finishing fifth.
- Heidi Rentz – 2:46:17
- Christina Bauer – 2:48:48
- Shari Marshall – 2:51:58
- Jennifer McCarthy – 2:53:20
- Gina Lucrezi (Inov-8) – 2:57:08
Full Results
Full 33k results.
Bonus: Full 55k results.
La Sportiva Mountain Cup Standings
Men
Ryan Woods may have only finished third at Red Hot Moab, but he jumps out into an early Mountain Cup lead having been the only competitor to run both series races this year. Last year’s series champ Jared Scott moved onto the rankings by placing second and earning two bonus points for beating Woods, who sat in the series top ten prior (leader, in fact) to the race. Winner Rob Krar moves into second overall in the Mountain Cup on the strength of his win and two bonus points; however, his work schedule won’t allow him to make a play for the series this year. Perennial series competitor Bernie Boettcher picked up his first series points of the year with his fourth place finish on Saturday.
- Ryan Woods – 35 points in two races (15 pts at Red Hot for 3rd)
- Rob Krar – 22 pts in one race (22 pts at Red Hot – 20 pts for the win and 2 bonus pts for beating Woods)
- Jared Scott – 19 pts in one race (19 pts at Red Hot – 17 pts for 2nd and 2 bonus pts for beating Woods)
- Patrick Reaves – 19 pts in one race (Did not race Red Hot)
- Jason Bryant – 15 pts in one race (Did not race Red Hot)

Bernie Boettcher about to pick up his first La Sportiva Mountain Cup points of the season. Photo: iRunFar/Bryon Powell
Women
No woman has yet run two series races, so the series standings are a simple combining the placings from the first two races. Of the top six women in the series standings at the moment, we only know of one – Alison Bryant – who’ll be going for the series this year.
Women, there are $12,500 to be doled out to the top five women in the series… so get racing!
- T-1 – Alison Bryant & Heidi Rentz – 20 points
- T-3 – Jessica Durrant & Christina Bauer – 17 pts
- T-5 – Mila Harris & Shari Marshall – 15 pts
iRunFar.com La Sportiva Mountain Cup Contest
Tracy K of Los Alamos, New Mexico, you won yourself a pair of La Sportiva Crosslite 2.0s from our Uwharrie La Sportiva giveaway. Contact us to claim your prize.
Before bowing out, I’d planned to wear La Sportiva’s brand new Vertical K’s (review) on the desert slickrock. Having taken the Vertical K out for a short session on the rock playground at the finish, I can confirm that the ultralight, rock-gripping, cushioned package would have been killer out there.
Want to try a pair of the Vertical K? Well, to win a pair, just leave your name and town (in the US or Canada) in a comment before we write about the next Mountain Cup race to be run at Reading’s Ugly Mud next weekend on February 26. As a reminder, if you enter to win the Vertical K, you’ll also automatically be eligible to win the grand prize – any three pairs of La Sportiva trail shoes and some sweet Sportiva schwag at the end of August.
Call for Comments
If you ran either of the Red Hot Moab races this weekend, please leave a comment letting everyone know how you did and what you think about the race. Past racers are invited to comment, too.
Given that all I saw of the course on a gorgeous day was the start and finish, I’d love for some of the racers to link to some of their photos from the event.
Bonus Pic
From the photo it looks like Karl Meltzer is wear the Bondi B's. I just got a pair of the Evo B trail and prefer the fit to the Bondi's. The Bondi's (2011 version) are 45 grams lighter (size 12); however, the extra weight likely comes from the reinforced outsole tread – a tradeoff I'll take considering my forefoot outsole wore out on my Bondi's after about 100 miles of road use.
Either way, love the photo of Meltzer bombing a downhill in his Hoka's!
Justin B.
St. Albans, VT
CJ LaFond
Madison, WI
That picture of Karl looks like he broke his ankle right there..Those Hokas are flexible!
Jeff Faulkner
Beaver Dams, NY
Trevor Woods
Austin, TX
Justin Contois
Holden, MA
Mike Bigelow
Golden, CO
I've been looking forward to the Vertical Ks since your review.
Nate Jackson
Eau Claire, WI
Justin Holdgrafer
Latimer, Ia
David Tandberg
Tallahassee, FL
Jake Lopez
Ventura, CA
Mario Villemure
St-Mathieu-du-Parc, QC Canada
Cody Draper
Logan UT
Mike Kirk
Signal Mountain, TN
David Pattie, Ashburn, VA
Johan Anestad
Quakertown, PA
Testing the legs Sunday at the Mudder!
James Koon
Pearland, TX
See you at Hells Hills!
Mike Miller
Austin, TX
Jacob
Santa Fe, NM
Megan Tannahill
San Antonio, TX
David "Bull" Fleming
FPO, AE
Phil
Carmel, IN
kristen campbell
boulder, co
ricky loftis
boulder, co
Brent Broome
Albuquerque, NM
Great intial report, looking forward to see what the cup plays out this year.
Jeff Hainlen
Bloomington, MN
Blair Williams
Albany, NY
Those Vert K's look sweet.
Jon Clinthorne
East Lansing, MI
Aaron Reyes
Auburn, NH
Ethan Linck
Portland, OR
Meltzer is the man!
Eddy Compagno Zoan, Los Angeles, Ca
Bob Pollmann
Boise, ID
Jon Burbey
Eagan, MN
Jeff Pelky
Seattle, WA
Jay Porter
Huntington, WV
Reed Braden
Ferndale, WA
Giles Widener
Avondale, Az
Greg Willden
San Antonio, TX
Ian Scott
Englewood, CO
Glenn Stauffer
Bozeman, MT
Matthew Searfus
Seattle, WA
Nice report! I look forward to hearing about the rest of the series and (hopefully) winning a pair of new shoes!
Stewart Caldwell
Fayetteville, WV
Sean Salmon
Jersey City, NJ
From personal experience, having run the race 3 times, it is easy to get off course, I have done it each race. It is not that the course it pourly marked it's just that everything looks the same out there. And inevitably, other racers will follow you, which made me feel bad each time. The Red Hot is a great challenging race that makes you train early and stay in shape during the winter. A real motivator. And also my first ever Ultra. I hope to see you there next year, coming back from knee surgury at the moment.
Glenn Steckler
Telluride, CO
Jared Scott, who was leading the pack when they went off course, was quick to point out at the finish how well the course was marked. Chris flags the heck out of the course. However, if you lose focus for event a minute – which is easy to do while trying to navigate the slickrock – it's easy to start veering in the wrong direction.
Heal up quick, Glenn.
Absolutely. Put my name in the hat for the Vertical K.
Kim Neill
Boise, ID
Kate Caldwell
Fayetteville, WV
Jason Carpenter
San Diego, CA
Dave Durbin
Portland, OR
Hilario Alvarado
San Antonio, TX
Love the red Moab moonscape — it's been years since I've been but the images stay etched forever. Great coverage. And a pair of Vertical Ks would be great too …
Andy Meisler
West Hartford, CT
Harold Shaw
Sidney, Maine
Kevin S.
Newark, DE
It would always be nice to get a pair for free!
Guy Love
Blacksburg, VA
Kate K.
Pittsburgh, PA
Clyde Kesterson
Yreka, CA
Andrew C
Seattle, WA
Sounds like good run for bucket list,wonder if those dinosaurs wore Hokas on those rocky areas.
Randy I.
Tijeras,N.M.
Peter Pare
Vancouver, BC Canada
John Fegyveresi
State College, PA (USA)
Bradley Shackleford
Redding, CA
John Roper
Asheville, NC
John Maytum
Seattle, WA
Aaron Harrell
Baker City, Oregon
Shane Benish
Mississauga, Ontario
Jonathan French
Katy, Texas
Errin Miller
Blairsville, PA
Fernando Najera Baeza
San Antonio, TX
Rob Barnard – Mill Valley, CA
Thanks Bryon
Andy G.
Boulder, CO
Doug Hopwood
Goleta,CA
Elizabeth L.
Somerville, MA
Cynthia V
Laurel, MD
Love LaSportiva!
It was indeed a spectacular day down there. I had a blast.
Jim Skaggs
Ogden, UT
Ran it twice. Once in 08 in perfect weather and once during the 2010, which basically should have been a snowshoe race/mud race. Guess which time was faster? Great race. Tim in Denver
Pat Cawley
Camp Hill, PA
Chad Bjugan
Chaska, MN
I'm in!
Mark Compton
Nashville, TN
Joe Constantino
Missouri City, TX
Scott B.
Anchorage, AK
Carter S
Virginia Beach, VA
Chad D
Newark, DE
Mike Heath
Edmonton, AB
Even if crawling becomes necessary, the views alone worth the effort!
Ryan Malec
Johns Creek, GA
Matt Buschman
San Diego, CA
CJ Hitz
Bellefontaine, OH
Would love to try those shoes in wet Seattle surroundings!
Eli
Been a long time since I"ve run the Red Rock. Realized how much I miss it. As always. Thanks Bryon.
Jim Killingbeck
Alturas, CA
Jason gruss
hollywood, fl
Tom Coleman
Battle Creek, MI
Discovered LaSportiva's last year and love em.
Intrigued about the K.
Jeremy
McCall, ID
Ben Hill
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Give New Mexico another pair! We got the Jemez 50 coming up!
Marcus
Oakdale, NY
Matt S.
Atlanta, GA
Looks beautiful,great pictures as well
Padraig
Boston,Ma via Ireland
Peter L.
Stamford CT
Tim C.
Rocklin, CA
Chris Lee
Boulder, Co
Mike Grady
Lyons, CO
Red rock beauty.
Jon, Greenville SC
Nate Kartchner
Salt Lake City Utah
Harrison Friedman
Durham, NC
Salt Lake City, UT
James Wedekind
Henderson, NV
Caldwell Idaho
Matt Bucklin
Missoula MT
Tyler Bucklin
Conrad, MT
Jacob Twomey in the melting-pot of Sacramento, CA.
I'm in!
John D.
Helena, MT
Kris Quandt
Jackson, Wy
Peter Hill
Alameda, CA
Terry Miller
Aurora, CO
Nicholas Wied
Wauwatosa, WI
Looks like a blast running out there! I'd love to try some desert running one of these days
Mike
Charlotte, NC
Richard Berk
Denver, CO
Micah Libin
Calgary, Alberta
Ran my first 50K yesterday. Gord's Frozen Ass 50. First half was fun, second half was hard.
Way to go, Micah.! Fun is good, but enjoying the hard is rewarding. Hope you enjoyed it!
Matt Smith
Chatham, NY
Andrew Rosenberg
Richmond, Va
Seamus Foy
Quincy, MA
I hope the Red Hot is the same weekend next year. I'm a teacher, and February Vacation is a perfect opportunity to get out there! Utah is beautiful!
It's every President's Day weekend
Chris,RD Moab's Red Hot
Jim Holmes
Tucson, AZ
Jeremy Donahue
Harrogate, TN
Joey
New York, NY
Danny N
Stanford, CA
Darren Young
Reno, NV
Sterling, VA
Would love to try a pair of the La Sportivas.
Jason D.
Chico, CA
Alex J
Pocatello, ID
I'm on my 4th pair of Sportivas. Great trail shoes.
Ed R.
Boulder, CO
Jason Neville
Casper, WY
Perry Ligon
Harrisburg, PA
Anthony Bunt
Nampa, ID
Pete Bronski
Poughkeepsie, NY
Mike Hinterberg
Fort Collins, CO
Ben Thacker
Loomis, CA
Jeremy Dougherty
Phoenix, Arizona
Great picture of Karl's right ankle turning on the rocky landing. Mine would've caved. And thanks for the write-up of the run.
Little Rock, AR
Wish I had areas like this to run in :/. Here in Lincoln, NE we don't have quite the same terrain.
Chuck Swanson
Greg Friedman
Lafayette, CO
Amy Friedman
Lafayette, CO
Chris Talley
Morgan Hill, CA
Thomas McKeen
Florence, CO
Great race review/report as usual!
Matt Newell
Medford, Oregon
looking forward to having the Cup in my backyard on Sunday. Ron Horn and the Ugly Mudder should prove fine hosts.
Leon Lutz
Manheim, PA
http://thisbeesknees.blogspot.com
I like La Sportivas! I used La Sportiva products for the last 15+ years – hiking boots, climbing shoes, and more recently trail running shoes.
Looking forward trying Vertical K.
Stanislav C.
Redmond, WA
Looks like it was a great time and event!
Bev Ackerman
Toronto
Ontario, Canada
Jeff Halsey
Fresno, CA
Throwing my name in for the give-a-way. Good Coverage-
Thanks, Tony
Americus, KS
Woot!
Bountiful, UT
Mark Ludl
Chappaqua NY
Looks like a sweet shoe!
Steve Bohrer
Idaho Falls, ID
I'd love to run this race some time
Garrett Blattner
Kansas City, KS
I ran the 55K on Saturday and let me say, I just love this race. The combo of the flag hunting on the slick rock with the fast jeep road sections make for such a rewarding course. Aid station #4 is the bomb and you can't believe a jeep can make it ALL THE WAY UP THERE! The views, when you have the wherewithal to look at them are super rad!
It was a great day, beautiful day. Thanks for the coverage of the shorter race, it was fun to read about how that one went down since I was in the longer race.
:) Sonja
In colder climes, just want to say congrats to Dave Johnston for his running victory in the Susitna 100 in AK & to Dustin Madden for his first place finish in the Little Su 50K!
A. Pace
Denali Park, AK
Erno Lindner
Memphis, TN
Matt Fecteau
Durham, NC
Despite being less than two hours from reading, pa……I won't (but should) be running the ugly mudder. maybe if i had a sweet pair of new shoes.
Dan Kane
Mechanicsburg Pa
Wish my leg would let me do the Ugly Mudder :(
Erik
Fleetwood, PA
it only looks like it's turning, that's the beauty of Hokas.
Jeff Russell
Fresno, CA
Ben Bucklin
Spokane, WA
Mike McMonagle
Bel Air, MD
Mike DIesburg
Casper, WY
Tony Mollica
Athens, Ohio
sportiva's, YEAAAAH!
Jeremy.
Anchorage,AK