Last year I ran the Bryce 50k as my first ultramarathon, finishing in 7:17. I returned this year hoping to post a better time and prove that I have, in fact, improved as a runner. Sometimes things don’t go as planned and it took me over an hour longer this round. I placed 70th out of 150 runners. Last time I was 30th out of 90. According to ultrasignup, I performed better overall this time – at 66% compared to the winning time. Last year I was at 61%. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who struggled in the heat! In all, it was a great adventure and *most* of my well-laid plans worked out ok. (See full gear list and music playlist I jammed to at the bottom). At 31.8 miles (51 km), its the longest run I have ever done. As always, Ultra Adventures put on a great event. This is my 4 race I have done with them and each one seems to run smoother and smoother.

The day started cool but pleasant. I wore short sleeves and was glad I did – many runners were peeling off layers within a few minutes of the start.

The course first climbs through King Creek Campground, then up and over some single track to connect with FS road 109. Again, I got caught behind a conga line of people which was fine on the climb – I wanted to go out easy – but a bit annoying on the descent. I would have liked to open up a bit.

FS Road 109 is probably the only “flat” part of the course. By flat, I mean climbing a few hundred feet over a  mile and a half to where it connects with FS Rd 110.

There, we climbed up to the Blue Fly Creek area. These roads climbed a total of about 1,150 ft over 4 mile to where our course topped out at 9,150 in elevation. Not the more rewarding route, but there were some good views as it crested out.

I made it to the Blue Fly AS at about the same time I did last year. I tried to quickly mix some new Tailwind in my pack, grab a coke, and hit the trail. Immediately, we dropped down some steep and sandy technical single track on the Blue Fly Proctor Trail to reconnect with FS Rd. 109, which after climbs about 750 feet over 3 miles to connect with the Grand View Trail. Along this section, my old friend Matt Van Horn had left me a few notes of encouragement (he marked the course the day previous). It really brightened my spirits.

Once on the Grand View Trail (now at mile 11.5 of the course) we were running together with the 50 and 100 mile racers. I was feeling good. It was warm, but I was hydrated and happy. There is some beautiful singletrack, green meadows, pine forests, views of the Sunset Cliffs. The Paunsaugunt Plateau is just beautiful.

I arrived at Proctor Aid Station a little behind my time from the year previous, but not by much. Again, I wasted a bit of time there scrambling to refill my stuff, chug some electrolytes, eat a bit, reapply sunscreen, etc. Having a crew here would have been nice. I spent almost 15 minutes before hitting the trail again.

Almost immediately I felt “off.” I could tell that the heat was sapping my strength, but I haven’t ever had heat-induced stomach troubles before. Within about a 1/2 mile I had to stop and sit for a moment. I did this again a few times in the next couple miles, trying to allow my stomach to settle. It felt sour, threatening vomit. As I tried to press on, the trail drops through some canyons, and then traverses up and over the ridges between a number of canyons – Riggs, Johnson, Hillsdale, Wilson. These were rough miles. I tried to continue taking in fluids (with calories and electrolytes mixed in) but couldn’t consume as much as I needed to. With every sip or gulp my stomach roiled. Also, I could tell my core body temperature was too high. By this time it was in the high 80s – low 90s. At about mile 20.5, crossing Hillsdale Canyon there was a stream of water in a wash. I took off my pack and laid down in it. Soaking myself completely over and trying to cool myself down. It felt amazing.

I reached the Thunder Mountain Aid Station at mile 22.5 feeling very low. I sat down in a chair in the tent and tried to cool down. Unfortunately, they were out of ice. After about 20 minutes, I got up and prepped to leave. Then, my stomach objected and I used the composting toilet to alleviate some GI distress. I was glad to have gotten that taken care of there rather than a mile up the trail. In all, I was at that aid station for almost 30 minutes!

Climbing out I felt great…for about a 1/4 mile…then the nausea returned.

At mile 24 or so, we turned onto the Thunder Mountain Trail and commenced our 2.5 mile, 1,000 ft. climb up Red Rock Canyon. Its funny. Here amongst my Wasatch Mtn. trails, that isn’t too bad of a climb. It seems brutal, however, when placed at miles 24-27 of a race. I was dreading the climb, though looking forward to the scenery. It really it stunning.

While the red rock ridges are dotted with trees, I knew they provided even less shade than the spotty shade we had “enjoyed” over the previous miles on the Grand View Trail. The day’s heat was now peaking. I was taking in water and electrolytes (biting salt tabs and dissolving them sublingually to absorb straight into my blood stream), but no calories. My pack bladder had been full of Tailwind as my main source of calories. Coming into the Thunder Mountain Aid Station, however, I had been unable to keep drinking it. The flavor was putting my nausea over the edge. So, I had refilled with water, but had not mixed in any more Tailwind. This seemed to curb the urge to vomit, allowing me to keep hydrated, but leaving me sorely calorie deficient. I had eaten a bit of food at Proctor and Thunder Mtn. I had some gels or shotbloks in my pack, but eating them sounded horrible. Combined with the heat, I felt sluggish to say the least. I said a silent prayer for strength, and perhaps some cloud cover and breeze. The strength didn’t come as I would have liked but some wispy clouds actually DID blow in and an AMAZING breeze picked up for the entirety of the climb up Red Rock Canyon. There is a God! That partial cloud cover and breeze saved me. As I would crest up little ridge and have full exposure to the breeze I would stop for 10-15 seconds, squirt some water over my chest, back, and hair, and let the breeze cool me for a moment. Heaven-sent – figuratively and literally!

After the climb, the trail “descends,” traversing across a seemingly endless string of finger canyons – over a ridge, down and back into a little canyon, then back up and out, over a ridge, then down into the next one. My stomach settled somewhat and I was careful not to push it with too much water. Whenever I did take a few big guzzles, it would sour for a minute but subside. By this point, a few hot spots on my feet were beginning to blister – but not too bad. Some joints were causing more pain. My right hip ached a bit (like it has for months), but not bad. Worse was my left hip. It wasn’t on the hip bone like the right one, but farther down – perhaps attached to my left IT band. Who knows. But it was sharp and really bit.

I had the route navigation running on my Suunto Ambit3 Peak watch and finally saw the end waypoint. I crested the last ridge and dove down to the finish line. But wait! No finish line! Where it had been last year there was a table with some water and a sign saying the finish was another mile down the road. NO!!!!!

That was a real blow to the psyche. I tried to push down the road, walking, jogging, but too exchasted to try and fend off a couple other 50k runners were were hobbling past me.

Finally, with crowds in sight I start to hear chants of my name. “Hey professor!” “Yeah Brenden!!! Go man, Go!” A number of my Wasatch Mountain Wrangler friends (the Williams, Macdonalds and others?…sorry, it was all a blur) cheered me on, with Aaron running alongside me for a hundred yards. Its amazing what a physical boost that provided. I picked up my pace and actually “ran” a bit. Thanks guys!

I finished in 8:45:53. I reached the previous year’s finish at 8:31 – so about 1 hour and 14 minutes slower than last year. Wow. That heat!

At the end, it was hands down the hardest run I have ever done. Course-wise, its the toughest race I’ve done, and with the heat it was clearly harder than last year. Despite the slower time, I’m a stronger runner than last year. What an adventure.

Gear used:

• prAna Benson pearly-snap western shirt (worked SO WELL!)
• Altra Olympus 2.0 shoes
• Injinji Trail Midweight Mini-Crew Socks
• Nathan VaporWrap vest
• Tailwind
• SaltStick Capsules
• Sport Legs Lactic Acid capsules
• Ultimate Direction Fastdraw Bottles
• Suunto Ambit3 Peak watch
• Sony waterproof mp3 Walkman

Playlist during run:

• The World is a Beautiful Place and I Am No Longer Afraid to Die – Harmlessness
• Sorority Noise – Joy, Departed
• Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly
• Radiohead – A Moon Shaped Pool
• Braid – No Coast
• Talk Talk – Spirit of Eden
• Blackalicious – Blazing Arrow
• Shearwater – Jet Plane and Oxbow
• Band of Horses – Why Are You Ok?