Red Mountain 30k, March 1, 2025

 

This race is on home trails near our house in Ivins, Utah.  Usually it's nice to have a local race because you can sleep in.  Not this one....we had to catch a bus to the start at 5:30 in the morning.   I found a fire barrel and hugged a cup of hot chocolate while waiting for the time to go by.   It really was a beautiful day once the sun came up, perfect temperature.  

It's an uphill start and then hits singletrack after a couple of miles.  There was a string of runners a mile long, zigzagging up the desert trail.  I was getting warm but didn't want to stop and get behind slower runners, which would be hard to pass them back again for a long ways.  I rolled up my sleeves, enjoyed the cool breeze, and ran the first 1/3rd of the race before I could doff my sweater.  

The race has a lot of loops but only 1 aid station.  I felt good after the first visit, and set off on the second loop.  It's another 6 miles of singletrack bike trails.  I was wearing new shoes, a little bulkier than usual, and was tripping more than I had hoped for.  I can't really blame the shoes rather than my balance, but one of my trips landed me in the sharp bushes next to the trail.  I escaped with a lot of tiny holes in my shin, but luckily no bruises.  

Unfortunately during the fall, my only water bottle flew out of my hands, busted open, and was trickling the last of the water out as I dusted myself off.  I save a mouthful, and knew I had another 6 miles to get back to the aid station.  I saved that last sip for a long time, but it turned out ok in the end.  

At the aid station I picked up a whole coke can and a fresh refill of water.  The toughest 1/3 of the race is the last section.  It's somewhat fast, some road sections,  but the last gentle uphill seems to last forever.  I was hoping to obliterate my previous performance on this distance, but time trickled away, and I can only blame tripping and falling for about an extra minute!  lol.

In the end, I was 4 minutes faster than 2 years ago, so I can't complain.   Conditions were similar, I'm 2 years old, and if I'm still getting faster then that is a win in my book!   I took first in my age group, had a chance to run home and shower before popping back for the podium.