Takes ‘bout as much strategy to finish 50 states in 3 years, as it does actual running. States like Delaware, Rhode Island & Connecticut have only one or two marathon options a year. ALSO – Spring (April) & Fall (October) are PRIME TIME…change of seasons sport multiple competing events.
Never expected #49 would happen in Illinois but this state provides a whole lotta running options. With Chicago off my radar, registered for the Illinois Marathon in Champaign-Urbana. [not a fan of crowds, already ran one major: NYC] Located only an hour-half east of Springfield, allowed me to visit the Land of Lincoln – place where our infamous 16th President started his family & political career.
Friday morning flight – met up with Stephen, who landed 15 minutes earlier from New Hampshire. Rental car pick-up, lunch at a highway-exit Subway, 2pm in Springfield (Illinois’ capital city).
Arrived just in time (4 minutes prior) for the ranger-guided Lincoln Home tour, watched 10 minutes of two National Park films, then drove to the Lincoln Presidential Museum another 10 minutes away. This museum is a MUST – time-challenged, chose to visit ‘Lincoln-White House Years’ & caught both recommended movie events.
Stepped out of ‘Pre-Presidential Lincoln’ 15 minutes early to auto-breeze thru the artifacts gallery. Lincoln’s stovepipe hat. Check, done.
Visited Lincoln’s burial site at Oak Ridge Cemetery. Arrived 15 minutes after close so settled for a self-guided tomb drive-by. Hard to fit a full day-vacation into 4 hours.
Autobahn’d to Champaign-Urbana. Another just-n-time arrival (8 minutes to spare) – University of Illinois, home of the Fighting Illini – for tomorrow’s marathon bib pick-up. Yikes, that as close.
Early to bed, early to rise. 100% chance of rain…it is what it is, my last 50 State weekend. Tomorrow Illinois, Sunday Colorado 🙂
-
- Lincoln’s home for 17 years
-
- Lincoln Home: Formal Parlor
-
- Lincoln Home: Family Room
-
- a room in a room (Abe & Mary’s sleeping quarters)
-
- Lincoln Home: Kitchen
-
- Illinois State Capitol
-
- Old State Capitol (1839-1876)
-
- Presidential Museum & Library
-
- the ‘White House Years’ (lurking background: John Wilkes Booth)
-
- Battle of Fort Sumter
-
- Civil War in pictures
-
- the Gettysburg Address
-
- Lincoln’s famous stovepipe hat
-
- Lincoln Tomb: marks the graves of Lincoln, his wife Mary & 3 of their children
The Red Hot is located northwest of Moab, Utah just west of Arches National Park. Red Hot runners will have majestic views of the La Sal Mountains to the southeast and breathtaking views of Canyonlands National Park to the west. The course is beautiful but challenging this is why..it attracts elite runners like Ian Torrence, Karl Meltzer, Rob Krar, Anton Krupicka, Dakota Jones and many more!
We are a week away from race day an I would like to update on a couple of important issues for day of race. Moab has been experiencing a cold winter with a substantial amount of snow. Be prepared for possible ice and snow on the course especially in northfacing sections, but most of the course is exposed to the sun. With this said there can be a slight possibility the last aid station before the finish line could be 3 miles further from its intended location. I say slight chance because our jeep club has added wenching spikes at the infamous “waterfall” to pull their vehicles up this section. Our last aid station will radio their position to the Gold Bar aid station (55k a/s 4, 33k a/s 2). But it is the runners responsibility to be self-supportive between all aid stations and prepared for any changes during event. This is trail running not a road marathon!
Cutoff Time 55k: 12:00pm at aid station 3 (mile 17). Any runners who do not make this cutoff will be considered a DNF. You may not proceed beyond this time due to rules and safety of the runner. A course sweep will be pulling markings from Gold Bar/Golden Spike. You do not want to be on the SPIKE with no markings and eventually no light!
First trail race, my first ultra. Quick kiss goodbye [pup Ro], Friday half-day work-day, 6 hours of highway…destination: Moab UT. Bib pick-up, carbo-load dinner at Pasta Jay’s – 55K tomorrow a.m.
10 miles north of town, located Gemini Bridges trailhead right off State Hwy 191. Watched the sun rise over the red rock desert landscape. Quiet, so much colour. Cold morning, surroundings still covered in snow from an unexpected mid-week storm. ½ mile walk to the trailhead on frozen red mud – mental note: gonna get sloppy as morning sunshine wakes the ground.
7:30 instructions, 8am start. Shorts, double-shirted, SJ Ultra Vest 2.0 (first time racing with a hydration pack). Different crowd queue vs. my weekend Marathon Maniac posse. Trail ultras attract lotta Ironman athletes, participant age skews younger.
Quarter-mile of frozen mud, then UP – today’s run included 4500ft+ of vertical gain. Deep snowpack, ice, groomed snow, frozen mud, swampy slog, trail sand – before the first of 2 big sandstone climbs.
Conditions migrated from run to hike/climb – literally. Looked down on Canyonlands Nat’l Park, like peering into the Grand Canyon. WOW!
FOCUS – Aid Station 3 (mile 17) by Noon. Coming down from the 1st bluff summit, steady, increased pace for 4 miles – conflicted inside, would my first ‘DNF’ be so bad?
Despite 50+ marathon finishes, today I was a poser – not a trail athlete. This race was way beyond my current skill level. HUGE difference from road marathoning – add the longer 55K distance (34+ miles) and yeah, today felt near impossible.
SUCCESS – Aid Station 3, 10 minutes to spare. Refilled my hydration pack, nabbed a PB&J sandwich. Another mile down, dodged off-road 4x4s making their initial climb of the day (roads were closed to vehicles ‘til noon cut-off).
18 miles of run, hike, climb – mount 2 loomed ahead. Reached the supply dump at Aid Station 4 & our loose team of 6 emerged. Me, guy from Fort Collins, 2 young women (both sported Ironman tats) & a Japanese couple, Tokichi & Kaho.
I drifted off trail 5x – 4 of those times it was Tokichi who called out. Absolutely no good at locating pink-n-black ribbons tied to snow-drenched trees in a state forest. Felt more like geocaching than marathoning.
Ran short of food, then water – I’m telling ya: COMPLETELY UNPREPARED. Again, Tokichi & Kaho came through. Mysterious powder (labeled ‘68’) to help with nausea; these two were a walking supply tent.
Last wall climb – my fingers cracked, bloodied from ice & barehand holds. Downhill trotted final 3 miles, stopped to dry heave every 4-5 minutes. Not an inspiring cinematic day. Wrapped the last canyon corner, FINISH ahead – teared up…couldn’t believe I was done.
9 hours, 2 mountains, ran/hiked/climbed in snow, ice, wind, sand & mud. Nothing left. Back-propped against a rock, nestled with a bowl of chili & waited for Tokichi & Kaho to cross – amazing couple, my Red Hot ultra trail heroes.
Whatta life experience – adventure I won’t soon forget.
Moab’s Red Hot 55K
Moab, UT Feb 13, 2016
K R Haga 8:49:31 (278 of 289)
-
- kiss goodbye, 6-hour road trip to Utah
-
- pre-race sunrise in Moab
-
- 8am start on frozen red clay
-
- snow & ice climb
-
- last stretch of red dirt before trail hike UP
-
- 10 miles of sandstone
-
- first summit, 2800ft climb — Canyonlands Nat’l Park overlook
-
- start of 2nd climb, mile 18 — reached Aid Station 3 cutoff, 10 minutes to spare
-
- 2nd sandstone summit
-
- first ultra FINISH: 34+ miles of snow, ice, red clay, mud & sandstone — tough mental, physical day
-
- Tokichi & Kaho — kept me on trail, nourished & hydrated for 15+ miles
-
- post-race stash: shirt, cap & pint glass — but no medal?
-
- while Dad trail ran Utah, Ro hiked local with bro Marty
Moab Red Hot 55K
Last day — no surprise, hard to say goodbye.
Up early, showered, packed, keys on the counter, door locked behind me — aloha. Aloha, hello & goodbye. Goodbye Wailea, hello volcano hike 🙂
Ya’ll know I’m a fan of our National Parks — and hiking, that’s my first love. Hit the highway & spent my last Hawaiian day in Haleakalā Nat’l Park. We Americans are so blessed. Whether it’s Glacier, Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Rockies, Crater Lake, Pikes Peak, Mammoth Cave, Assateague Island, Grand Teton or Haleakalā — our nation’s strength, its core, its inner beauty comes from the land…Atlantic to Pacific, we Americans are blessed. National Parks are our country’s greatest gift to its citizens. HUGE fan!
Renewed my annual pass at Park Headquarters, then started the climb to Haleakalā Visitor Center & Pu’u ula’ula Summit 10,023ft — high even by Colorado standards.
This dormant volcano last erupted 400 years ago. Lava poured from Haleakalā & flowed south to the Pacific, just east of Makena. I remember my hilly Day One run — landscape formed from this same massive explosion.
Aside from stunning views at each of the Park’s three overlooks, I appreciated the dramatic temperature drop. After 4 days of island humidity, mountain breeze & low 50’s were a welcome relief 🙂
Summited Maui’s high point, an easy .2 mile hike on Pā ka’oao Trail. Whatta view! Haleakalā Crater was formed from wind erosion — not dome collapse like Crater Lake in Oregon. Arid, desolate, wind swept sands. The volcanic panorama was more reminiscent of Iceland than tropical Hawaii.
Spent so much time landscape gazing, left myself only an hour to hike from Keonehe’ehe’e (Sliding Sands) Trailhead. Orange, reds, browns, taupe, auburn, pink, maize — not ONE colour of sand, but an intricate patchwork of WOW!
Clouds gathered (first rain all holiday). Drove north shore, back to Pāʻia for one last mind imprint — dinner at Mama’s Fish House. [Excellent recommend, thanks Tina.] Menu varies based on the day’s fresh fish catch. Yeah, FAAANN-FRICKIN’-TASTIC!
Mahalo, Hawaii — thanks for 5 unforgettable days; Wailea to Lahaina, Pāʻia to Hāna Bay, Molokini Crater to Haleakalā.
Mahalo, Hawaii. No regrets, nothing left undone.
-
- sunrise
-
- LOVE our National Parks!
-
- Hawaiian Goose, the Nene
-
- climb up to Haleakalā Visitor Center
-
- life always finds a way
-
- volcanic panorama, reminiscent of Iceland
-
- first Pu’u ula’ula, then Keonehe’ehe’e
-
- Pu’u ula’ula Summit 10,023ft — high even by Colorado standards
-
- formed from wind erosion, not volcanic dome collapse
-
- colourful patchwork of WOW!
-
- barren, desolate & beautiful — last eruption 400 years ago
-
- arid, wind swept, volcanic landscape
-
- memorable, last dinner in Maui
