Race Report: Logan Peak Trail Run 2012

Distance:  28 miles
Time:  4:09:53
Place:  2

Well, this is probably some kind of record for me getting a race report up.  At least recently.  I'm far too busy running to blog!  (well, not really...).  Anyway, here are the gory details of the 2012 edition of the amazing Logan Peak Trail Run.  I knew that this race was going to be epic.  Bruce Copeland made it known that he was inviting any and all past winners and top finishers to this year's race, so the level of competition was going to take a huge leap.  Usually, there are at least a couple of local elites and one or two others to mix it up at the top, but this year promised to have a stacked field of good runners--any one of whom was capable on a good day of running away with the race.  My (former) running buddy, ex-Loganite, and two-time LPTR winner Jon Allen even decided to fly in from South Carolina as part of his big vacation for the year.  More on that later.  Cody Draper, the current CR holder was also present and accounted for, as was Seth Wold, a former USU Cross Country runner, and a rising star in the Utah ultrarunning scene.  Ty Draney was unfortunately tied up with the Black Hills 100 the week before, so he was the only notable absence as far as past winners/top finishers.  The race promised to be fast and furious, and it was almost certain that Cody's CR would be going down.

The Logan Peak Trail Run basically makes a heart shaped lollipop loop around the 9700' Logan Peak near Logan, UT.  The total vertical for the race is over 7200', and includes an out-and-back trip to the summit, as well as spectacular views from the North and South Syncline trails, and Logan Dry Canyon.  It is one of my favorite races, and is one of the most beautiful I have run.  The course is advertised at 28 miles, but it is probably a little short.  The Garmin clocks it at 26.5, but this terrain is notorious for having a heyday with GPS accuracy, so it's probably between 27 and 27.5 miles, although it runs like a 50k.

Looking North over the route

Elevation Profile

Well, on with the story.  We started a few minutes late, but temperatures were still fairly cool.  Jon was shivering like we were at the North Pole, being acclimated to the hot, humid SC summers.  He almost did not make it to the race, because when he went to catch his flight, he found to his dismay that it had been cancelled and rebooked for Saturday afternoon--much too late for the race.  Thankfully, Dale, another trail runner from Seattle, saw Jon's woeful post on the Fast Running Blog, and was able to donate his frequent flyer miles to the cause, saving the day.  Apparently, Jon didn't even know him personally.  It's nice to see runners taking care of each other like that.  One of the big draws of this sport, in my opinion.  At any rate, we were all there at the start, looking forward to a great race.

Once we got going, Jon, Cody, Seth, Drew Michener, Neal Legler, and myself formed the lead pack.  As expected, Seth took off hard once we got to Dry Canyon.  Neal soon followed, but remembering last year's race, I had already decided I would be better served to let them go and take the chance that they would come back in the later stages of the race.  Many people make the mistake of going out too hard, thinking that all the climbing is over once you get to the peak, but then crash and burn over North Syncline, which looks easy on paper, but presents a real challenge late in the race.  I was counting on catching Seth at some point there or on the return trip down Dry, knowing I had a better downhill gear and would be more fresh if I didn't kill myself at first.  Unfortunately, this was not to be, but it was the only way to go.  Drew, Cody, and Jon followed suit, and we took it pretty easy going up Dry Canyon.  Presently, Cody got impatient with my easy pace, and took over pace-setting duties.  We still didn't go too hard, but we did pick up the pace significantly.  Before we knew it, we were at the first aid station.  Cody, myself, and Drew went through without stopping, as it was still early and cool and we had plenty of supplies to get to the next aid.  I'm not sure if Jon stopped or not, because he had fallen a few steps back, presumably feeling the effects of late-night travel and not much sleep.  South Syncline went by like a breeze.  We were moving well, and making good time.  Near the end of South Syncline, Jon finally caught back up to us and then he and I moved ahead a few paces.  It was really nice at this point to get a few minutes to catch up with Jon, whom I hadn't seen in two years or talked to other than through comments on the FRB and this blog.  We went through the second aid together, and I topped off my water and grabbed some pretzels and potato chips--my favorite aid station foods.  It tasted good to have something salty and not sweet in my mouth, as I'd pretty much been sticking to Shot Bloks and Powerade/water/Nuun mix.

Jon and I soon caught and passed Neal, and shortly after saw Seth come by on his way down from the peak.  He had already amassed what looked to me like a 10 minute lead.  He was either in great shape to run away with this thing, or he was going to have one of the most spectacular blowups in the history of this race.  Out of my control.  I was just going to run my race, and let the chips fall where they may, though I did hope to win.  We were a couple of minutes under CR pace ourselves, so I was hoping to have a good PR for this course.    We reached the peak at the same time, smiled for the Herald Journal photogs there, and started back down.  I soon put a little distance on Jon, but not more than 10 seconds or so.  Shortly after the summit, we passed Cody, who had dropped Drew and was still moving pretty well.  I also passed my old Cross Country coach, John Womack, who has since moved up to Cache Valley and was running in his first ever ultra.  He was in probably 10th to 15th place and looking strong, so I gave him a hi-five as I passed by.

I arrived at the aid station feeling great and ready for North Syncline.  I topped off my bottle again, snagged a few more chips and pretzels to munch on, and took off for what I think is the hardest leg of this race, mentally at least.  I was moving very well, and was soon able to put a few more seconds on Jon.  By the time I turned off the Jeep road onto the singletrack, I could no longer see him out of the corner of my eye or hear him.  Most of North Syncline went pretty uneventfully.  I didn't push too hard on the downhill portion, knowing what was ahead, but just cruised along enjoying the moment.  Soon the course turned uphill, and I finally began to feel the fatigue.  Hiking breaks became more frequent, and by the time I got to the mule ear pass (I don't know if it actually has a name, but if you know what mule ear is, and you run this race, you'll know what I mean), I was hurting pretty bad, though I was still in a decent state of mind.  I looked back and saw that Jon had finally caught me, and he continued to gain ground as we climbed to the summit of North Syncline.  At the top, he was right on me, and I expected that any minute now he would pass me.  I even offered to let him go by, but he declined.  I found later that he was planning to, but every time he would go to pass me, I would start running again.

Glorious downhill!  As we dropped back into Dry Canyon, I began to get my legs back, and by the time I hit the aid I had managed to build a 10 second gap on Jon.  He stopped for a few seconds at the aid, but I ran through, knowing I'd need every second.  I flipped the switch to kamikaze mode for the descent, and hoped I would't take a spill.  Soon, I was alone again, and racing against myself and the clock, and the phantom Jon footsteps I kept hearing behind me.  I finally made it to the last short section over the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, and found to my surprise that I had good legs under me still.  I was able to run every step of the remainder of the race, despite some climbs that no runner wants to see when he can literally see the finish line below.  I cruised into the finish for a record-breaking time of 4:09:53.  I hadn't made up much ground on Seth, who finished 9 minutes ahead, who had just missed breaking the 4:00 mark.  But it was ok.  I was happy to finish second in a tough race with some great competition, even though I was hoping that this year I would be able to break the second place curse.

After the awards ceremony, I went to Bear Lake with some friends for a traditional (and well deserved) LaBeau's burger and shake, and a nice cool swim in the cold water.  Heaven. 

This was a great race.  I'm very happy with my results and the huge, 14 minute PR.  The old CR was indeed shattered, by all of the top 4 finishers.  Cody finished a solid 3 minutes ahead of his old mark.  It was really good to see Jon again, and make plans for pacing Hardrock in a couple of weeks.  Looking forward to that for sure!  Once again, the aid station staff, post race spread, trail marking, etc were all five star.  Bruce does a wonderful job with this race, so a big thanks goes out to him and the other personnel involved!  Looking forward to next year.  Maybe I'll break the curse!

Here is the Herald Journal writeup on the race, as well as a photo gallery.  Kudos to them for covering it.