Race Report: Logan Peak Trail Run (28 miles...uh...make that 11 miles)

Distance:  11 miles (3500' vertical)
Time:  1:46:57
Place: 2

Finish photo of the photo finish (you can see Seth's hand), courtesy of my friend Ryn.

This race is hands down one of my favorite races of the year, and is easily the one that is the most fun.  On a normal year, the course begins at Gibbons Park in Logan, runs up Dry Canyon, then takes the South Syncline trail and Providence Canyon jeep trails to the backside of Logan Peak, making a run to the top of the peak (9710 feet), and then follows the North Syncline trail back around the peak and reconnects with Dry Canyon and back to the start for 28 miles and 7200 vertical feet of some of the most beautiful mountain country in the Bear River Range.  This was not a normal year.  With 200% (+/-) of the normal snowpack in the mountains, everything above about 8000 feet was under a minimum of 3 solid feet of icy snow--even at the end of June.  Due to safety concerns, the course was first reduced to 22 miles, and then after the RDs sent a runner up to recon, it was further reduced to an 11 mile out-and-back up Dry Canyon and a short portion of the North Syncline Trail.  This was an unfortunate development, and I was really bummed out about it, but it wasn't anyone's fault, and I completely understand the concerns of the RDs.  There was nothing but to run it and enjoy the race for what it was.

Going into the race, I knew that my main competition would be Ty Draney and Seth Wold.  Ty is an accomplished ultrarunner, and Seth has made his mark as a USU cross country star, so the competition was very respectable.  I knew it was going to be a tough race regardless of the distance.  I figured at the shorter distance Seth would probably have a slight advantage over Ty and I.  I would have to run a smart race, as both of them would be difficult to beat, and for opposite reasons.  After a brief pre-race meeting, the race started.  Ty, Seth, Chris Cawley (4th place last year), one other guy I didn't know, and myself made up the initial lead pack.  The pace was certainly much faster than it would have been if we were running the full course, but I felt good.  Coming into the mouth of Dry Canyon from the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, Seth took off.  Knowing the nature of the canyon, I chose to hang back with Ty and the others, thinking that Seth would be coming back.  I just put it in mountain climbing gear and led the charge for the pace pack.  After a few minutes I noticed that the guy I didn't know had dropped off after a bout of very heavy breathing, and it was just Ty, Chris and I.  I felt good, so I increased the pace a bit, and built a little bit of a gap.  Nearing the aid station I figured I had a 45 second plus lead on Ty.  With the aid station came the snow.  Easily 3 feet of it.  And it was icy.  I stopped and filled up with water before taking on the last mile before the turnaround.  It was pretty beastly.  The snow was quite slick, and made for very slow going.  Only a minute or so out of the aid I could hear Ty coming behind me.  He was making good ground on me, and so I increased the pace of my scramble and managed to keep something of a gap going.  Seth passed me going the other way with about 1/4 mile to go, so I figured he had a 4-5 minute lead.  He was looking strong.  I still stopped for a few seconds at the top to admire the view and catch my breath before heading back down.  Ty caught me with about half a mile to go before the aid station, and I went with him half skiing down the snow and trying not to fall down the mountain or run into any of the other runners coming up.  It was great fun!  We flew through the aid and finally got back on the dirt.  I was hanging right on Ty's tail and Chris was just a couple of seconds behind.  Near the bottom of the switchbacks Cody was there on his bike telling us that Seth had a 4-minute lead.  I figured he was going as fast as we were and that he was out of reach at this point, so I just concentrated on sticking to Ty like glue and hoped to pull something out in the last mile or so once the trail opened up.  Unfortunately, about halfway down the canyon I began to have some stomach issues.  My drink mix that I use for long runs apparently doesn't take kindly to my stomach at 6:00 pace and quickly dropping elevation, and I let Ty get a few seconds gap on me.  What I didn't know is that the whole time we had been gaining significant ground on Seth.  Cody passed me on his bike, but then stopped a minute or two later and yelled at me that Ty and Seth were only 15 seconds ahead!  I was grateful that he was there to pull me out of a funk and light a fire under me.  I put it in another gear despite my queasy stomach, and set out to chase them down.  Soon I could see Seth's bright yellow jersey and Ty's blue shirt mere seconds ahead.  I was about 50 meters behind when we came out of the mouth of the canyon.  Seth had put a small gap on Ty.  I made up my gap and passed Ty coming onto the Bonneville Shoreline.  Seeing them ahead of me had put some fire back in my legs, and I focused on running down Seth.  I expected that he would have a significant advantage over me in raw speed, so I was surprised to find that I was reeling him in very quickly.  He had about 75 meters on me when I passed Ty, but by the time we entered the Gibbons Park I had cut it down to just a few meters.  I put on a burst with everything I had, but was not quite able to catch him.  Second place again.  I really wanted to win this race, but I was unprepared mentally for the different dynamics of the shorter race.  Live and learn.  Another 30 feet of course would have given me the victory, but I should have won it in the previous 11 miles.  But I am still happy with the race.  Next year...third time's the charm, right?  I finished in 1:46:57, just 3 seconds behind Seth and a few more seconds ahead of Ty.

The best part of the race!

Enjoying a bacon burger, fries, and a blueberry shake at LaBeau's near Bear Lake after the race. Bliss!

I will be looking forward to running the full course again next time...and hopefully winning it!  Cody's course record is safe...for another year.  Also, many thanks to the race directors, Bruce Copeland and Scott Datwyler for all their hard work.  They really put on a great and very well-organized event, complete with a great spread of food at the end.  Kudos to them.