Cherry on Top
When Jim Scaggs anounced a new, short, uphill race on Antelope Island several months ago, I was one of the first to sign up. Running uphill is "my thing" and I knew I had a shot at being competetive and even winning. After winning the Pony Express 100 a few weeks ago I backed off mileage significantly, running enough to cover maintenance. So I prepared for the Frary Peak race less seriously, training-wise, than other races I have prepared for. Actually, I didn't really need any more training. I was ready for it by virture of what I had done over the past several months. Therefore, I was confident Saturday morning. Nearly forty runners gathered at the Frary Peak trailhead for the race. It was a perfect fall morning. The trail up to the peak is single track the entire way, so Jim wisely sent runners off in pairs every minute. At nine o'clock the first pair ran, then at 9:01 the second pair. Seconds before I went out Jim reminded me that the course record is 59 minutes. I didn't say aloud that I planned to break it. At 9:02 I ran with a man named Topher White. I stayed relaxed and applied the skills I had learned over the past year. I didn't explode from the line but instead just jogged comfortably. The trail begins climbing immediately and I found a comfortable but challenging pace up. Within a few minutes I had dropped the runner thatstarted with me, and had passed the 4 runners that started before me.
Frary Peak trail is quite nice. Actually, it is one of the best trails in the area. The trail climbs up to the ancient shoreline on the island and sways in and out of countours of the mountain. Then at one point the trail leads straight through a pile of masive boulders, through a quasi-cave, and emerges on the other side. I got off course briefly (it was my first time on the trail) and then continued up. I was able to run everything, with a few very brief strides of hands-on-knees power hiking. I felt terrific, but I knew I couldn't get complacent because even if I was the lead runner on the trail, it was the time to the top and back that counted. Other runners had started 15 minutes after I did so of course they weren't anywhere near me, and I wouldn't know how our times stacked up until they got down.
I arrived at the radio tower turn-around at about 35 minutes. Not bad But I was hoping for a 30 minute ascent. Jim does not send the runners to the actual peak because he fears it would be too hazardous. Andrea Martinez was at the top recording runners' names and numbers. I gave her a high-five and immediately spun around for the descent. I had a smal flask of water mixed with gel and I used it all as I began the downward run. I ran fast. I knew I needed every possible second. I was going for the course record and the win. Running down I got to see everyone coming up. It was an illusion, however. I did not know how far or close behind me some of those runners were. I pushed hard, but stayed in control. About a half mile from the finish I kicked an embedded rock and flung forward. I somehow managed to right myself before I crashed down, and avoided the fall. I crossed the line at 56 minutes and 14 seconds. I had beaten the course record but I was hoping to put at least 5 minutes on it. Jim indicated that I had won, but I wasn't so sure, since nobody else had come in yet. Later, when all the faster guys had come in, I looked at the timing board and we had determined that I had indeed won, but only by 9 seconds! A guy named Toli had started running 15 minutes after me, and he tripped and took a fall on the descent. Without his fall I'm certain he would have come in seconds before me. But that is all part of the race. Five guys came in under the previous course record. I had a blast. The trail is excellent, the setting (on a desert island!) is inspiring, and I appreciate the low-key gathering of local runners. It would be fun to see some seriously fast guys show up, and to see what times they could pull down for this race.
This win, coming off of my big win at Pony Express 100, is the sweet red cherry on top of my year of running and racing.
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