Sedona 50k Endurance Run

Should have been 31 miles, but we ended up with 32.83 miles. I'll get to that shortly.

Love my camo drop bag!

Dallas and I drove up for the 1st Annual 50k Endurance Run in the beautiful red rock town of Sedona. We got up there Friday night to get things ready and get some good sleep before the run the next day.

Dallas planned on running the whole race with me. :)

 

BFF!!!!

A lot of TTR's went up there, too, which was awesome!

Chris, Tom, David and Dallas. I'll have to ask Tom what that look on his face means.



Tom, Alli, Tonja, Pete, Tom and Dallas

The race started on the town high school track at 7am as the sun was rising above the rock formations. As we took off on the track, Chris said, "I have to go to the bathroom!" We all laughed as we weren't more than 1 minute into the race! He was telling us about a co-worker that asked if there were restrooms on the course. Chris laughed and replied, "The course is a restroom!"

Right away, we realized that the views were going to be spectacular.



Dallas running towards Cathedral Rock-love the outdoor church!

It all went well for a while, and then we all started getting lost. It looked like the course was marked poorly at first, but then it became clear that the course ribbons had been vandalized. Coming up to trail intersections with multiple trail options was really frustrating without ribbons. We had a map, but it was so small, it was practically illegible. We got lost about 3 times in the first 12 miles. We were running a lot of this first part with Tonja and she wasn't feeling too well or moving too fast, so we stayed with her until the 2nd aid station (around mile 13.5 for us, since we already had added almost 2 extra miles onto the race from being lost).

Our new friend on the right doesn't look very happy about this.

We finally had to ask the local Jeep tour people for directions! Needless to say, the combination of slower traveling during this part and getting lost really put us way behind where we wanted to be. But, I was happy with our decision to hang with one of our fellow trail runner friends and make sure she was okay. Integrity and love wins every time.

A pink Jeep - how cool is that?!?

The good thing is this - after the 2nd aid station (around mile 13.5) we never got lost again. And between the views and running with Dallas, I didn't care if we got lost again!!

This course had it all. Great water crossings:

Yes, Dallas' method resulted in falling in. :)

Yes, it was fruuueeezing!!! My legs were numb for quite a while. I used the 'plow right through' method.

Cool bridge views:

And some of the most spectacular landscape scenery I have ever seen:

I was in complete awe.

Dallas and I run really well together. He is very kind to me on the trail, always concerned with how I am doing, and always encouraging me to do more. He'll stop and look back at me and say, "Come on, girl!" Here we are at the last aid station:

We came into the finish hearing Bob Bachani yelling, "That's what I'm talking 'bout! Get 'er done!" That was a welcome thing to hear as we rounded around the track. Thank you Bob for that.

Another 50k finished together!!!

Total time: 8:13
Cumulative elevation gain/(loss): 6,495/(6,389) feet

I wasn't thrilled with my finish time, but with the slowdown earlier in the race to make sure that Tonja was okay and then getting lost multiple times, it was what it was. We took a ton of pictures, which also added to our time, too (but, I wouldn't have it any other way - the pictures were fabulous!)

We passed a bunch of people late in the race - that is my 'modus operandi'. I always finish my races and I usually run a smart race, even if I am slow at times. I rarely 'walk in' or 'limp in' to the finish line. I have come to the conclusion that my strength is in the endurance, not the speed.

Jane Larkindale from TTR, at 5 months pregnant, was the 1st woman to finish! Most of the TTR's did awesome and had fast finishes.

We got a shiny belt buckle for finishing:

(The red is just a reflection, but boy, it was pretty!!!

Another successful day in my life as an ultrarunner. I always have to remember my first rule about long distance races and runs - the goal is to have fun!!!