Ok, so maybe running around in circles isn’t your thing, but there was a reason behind it so hang with me for a bit.
Who’s Idea Was This?
One of the running clubs that I am a member of on Strava loves to issue all sorts of crazy challenges, check out The Treadmill Ultra post for a taste of what we get up to. Of note are two different challenges, one is to pick your favorite trail and set a goal to run it 100 or more times in a given year. And another one is to run a Half or Full Marathon in a microloop, which is a loop of less than 1 mile.
For 2019 I had chosen the Highland Loop as one of my goal loops, with a goal to run it 300+ times during the year. The loop is approximately 0.9 miles, so it meets the microloop requirements. So when I found myself running on the loop and saw that there were several tracks crossing the trail from a trackhoe, I had only completed 240 loops for the year. I decided that my available time to complete my 300 loops was growing short. This gave me an Idea, our club had records set for individuals running Half Marathons and Marathons around very small microloops. But no one had performed a run in the Ultra Marathon range. So calculating that to complete my remaining 60 loops on the trail for the year would give me 54 miles (which was also longer than any previous run I had done to date) I decided to give it a whirl.
The next Saturday April, 27th 2019, I showed up at the south end of the loop with a table, chair, cooler, and water cooler for an aid station, and a clipboard/paper to track my progress at about 2AM. After a few minutes setting things up I finally got underway at 2:32AM. It was a clear/cool night and with my headlamp cutting a path of light in the darkness, I got underway and started laying down miles.
Running with a friend is always good
I had a running friend, Dave who had indicated they would show up to run some with me, and after about 10 miles in the cool quiet I ran into him. At about 4:30 it was still cool and dark but in the far off distance I spotted a pair of bobbing lights heading toward me on the trail. He was sporting both a waist belt light, and a handheld light. Dave hung with me for several loops, It was good to have a companion for a few loops. With him joining me for a while we had some great conversations and ran into our first snake of the year, fortunately not a rattler.
After Dave had to depart I continued to bust out loops, and a little after twilight I my first regular user of the highland loop show up. We had a good chat, I found out he was the individual who originally built the trails I was running on. And had been a professional trainer for marathon runners before retiring to the area. Quite an interesting guy, after a brief chat he headed on his own adventure for the day and I continued my loops.
At around sunrise and about 20 miles into the journey I had another unexpected visitor show up. Brett, who heads up our local running club stopped by to have a raspberry jelly filled donut and push through a few more loops with me. I was trying to pace myself, realizing that I had a long way to go, but I have to admit, he is fast and forced me to push hard, while he was up there with me I logged my fastest mile times for the day, clocking in an 8:15/mi for mile 21.
After Brett departed I continued to knock out loops, but now the trail was getting pretty busy with lots of the locals showing up to walk their dogs and enjoy the beautiful weather. It was sometimes an interesting challenge to avoid the dogs and other trail venturers, but it kept things interesting.
Running in the Sun is not my first choice
After the sun came up my pace quickly took a dive averaging between an 11:20-12:30 mile with about mile 24-25 and hung in that area for about the next 30 miles. During which the sun arched ever higher, and the temperatures continued to increase along with the amount of sweat that was leaving my body. To compensate for this loss I consumed more and more electrolytes, water and calories. I feel like I did a pretty good job with the balance of consuming the right number of calories and electrolytes up until mile 52-53 when it all went south for a while.
But before that, with the sun still a bit from its full fury I was surprised at 40 loops in to the adventure to have another unexpected visitor, J or Rusty as he is known by some came by with his wife and kiddos to cheer me on. We had a good chat while he completed one loop and then left to take his kiddos home. It was a brief but excellent break from this dizzying experience.
At 51 loops or about 47 miles I was getting very tired, my legs were feeling a bit like jelly, knees were hurting, and I was really feeling the enormity of the task before me. Then I took a look at my Apple Watch and noticed that it was showing only 20% of the battery left. I was worried that I might not have enough battery left to complete my journey, so I decided to take a break and let the watch charge for a bit. It was about this time that I also solidified a further goal in my mind, rather than just the 60 laps, if I took it to 70 that would also bring me to a full 100k distance so that became my new final goal.
High Temps call for Cool Refreshment
This was now in the hottest part of the day, with temperatures around the 93 degree F mark. So while I waited for my watch to gain a bit of a charge I noticed I was also running low on water, which was also warming up, and I had a craving for a popsicle. So I called my wonderful wife up and asked if she could bring me some ice and a popsicle. A bit later she arrived with a bag of ice and a bottle of water from the service station along with, not a popsicle but, a slurpee! That Slurpee was so much better at that point than a popsicle would have been, it really hit the spot, and the ice cold water that started flowing from my water cooler was a great source of reinvigoration.
After my watch got back up to 50% I started off again and got about another loop down before I had another unexpected visitor, J or Rusty had come back and was ready to help me pound out the rest of my goal. After one time around with him I decided to consume some calories and although I had been eating regular foods all day I pulled out some Clif Blocks, which I normally love, and downed a whole sleeve along with a large drink of Gatorade. This was the wrong move apparently because about a quarter of the way around the next loop my stomach started churning and my pace ground to a halt.
Who needs a Stomach Anyway
The next several laps were pretty agonizing. it was hard to just keep my feet moving one in front of the other. If I hadn’t had J with me to keep me going I am not sure what I would have done. He kept me on the trail and kept me talking. It must have been so bad for him. Here he was fresh and wanted to go, but I could only shuffle along barely keeping things together. He stayed with me until I had achieved my original goal of 60 loops +1. And at that point I was so tired, I probably should have just bagged it at that point and been done with it. At least I would have had some help to take down my table and get everything to my car.
With the initial goal completed, J headed home to wrangle his kids. I was starting to feel a bit better at this point and got another 2 loops in, bringing my total to 63. With 7 more I would hit the 100k mark. But my watch was up to no good again. The battery was almost to single digits again so I took another rest and let it charge. I think that the battery consumption may have increased with the size of the tracking file or something like that, because once I got it up to 22% I took off again and was able to keep about a 10:30ish pace for most of a loop, but by the time I finished that one my battery was already back down to 16%… it was well after 5pm at this point, I had been up all day and in the best case scenario I would be about 1 hour waiting for enough charge to get me through hopefully the remaining 6 loops, but with the increased battery consumption I wasn’t sure that would work, and if I had to charge the watch again… The thought of being out there another 3-4 hours to complete another 6 loops made my decision for me.
Ok, I guess I’m done
Once I finally made the decision to stop, my main goal achieved, and ended my run I immediately felt all the energy in my body leave and if I hadn’t been close to my camp chair I probably would have ended up in the dirt. It was such a dramatic experience, which I think attests to how much of an endurance activity like this is more mental than physical. As soon as my mind stopped telling my body that it still had work to do it just completely shut down.
While sitting there scarfing down jelly beans to get some quick energy going, I had the first dog walkers of the evening stop by. While talking with one of them they brought up the digging around the trail that had prompted this quick finish to my 300 loops, and indicated that they had contacted the developers to ask them about it. And it appears they are in the initial phases of seeing what development is possible, but lack the water pressure to build up there. So it may be a number of years before they have something in place to provide the requisite pressure to develop the land. And as a result the loop may be around for a while yet. So no rush but come take this beautiful Highland Loop for a spin.
Elapsed Time
Moving Time
Distance
Average Speed
Max Speed
Elevation Gain
Calories Burned
15:35:05
hours
11:19:19
hours
58.49
mi.
11:37
min/mile
5:50
min/mile
3,727.03
ft.
9,660
kcal
My Apple Watch started this nonsense, and ended it... Every month it gives you an exercise challenge based on your previous performance. This month it decided that having me complete 3480 minutes of exercise was a good idea.
I had taken it easy the first two weeks of April, only logging a total of 590 minutes on the trail. Last week I stepped it up but only added 569 more minutes. Giving me a grand total of 1159 minutes exercised and 2321 remaining.
Additionally I had set a goal this year to run the Highland Loop 300 times in 2019, and using it frequently during my 150 day 5k+ streak I had banked 230 laps. But over the last two weeks I had observed survey markers being placed in that area, and then a large trackhoe had come through and done some digging at each survey marker, giving me some worry about how long the loop would be accessible to complete my goal. So that is when those two things combined in my crazy brain to give birth to this insane idea. Run a-lot up to about 3 hours per day all week long and then cap it off with a Uber long run to finish off my goal on Highland.
So throughout the week I had a lot of 3:30 mornings getting in 60.8 miles as of Thursday, but feeling myself flagging a little more each day, I decided to take Friday off and recover a bit before my Saturday run. The goal on Saturday being to get my 60 loops in with possibly a side order of 10 more to push me up to a 100k, if possible. But not having run more than a 55k... I wasn't sure wether either were possible...
Ok, now that the backstory is complete, now here is my report on the run:
Woke up at 1:30 on Saturday morning and got my stuff up to the loop in time for a 2:32AM start. I knew that it would be tough to remember how many loops I had completed in my head, so I brought along a clipboard to track them on. (this usually worked...)
The night was quiet and cool with clear skies, excellent running conditions. Sunrise was at about 6:42, and I was hoping to knock out the first half of the run before things started to heat up, with a high of 93 forecast around 2, I was hoping to be done by then if possible. I also figured that since this was my longest run to date, that I should listen a really long book, so I started up War and Peace as my audio stimulation (FYI, the book won, it clocks in at about 60 hours of audio, so even at 2x speed I have a long ways to go after listening to it during this run.)
Dave joined me at about the 10 mile mark and ran with me for about 4 loops in the dark and we ran across our first snake for 2019. It was great to have some company out there in the dark. Thanks Dave
After Dave left I continued my solitary vigil and was rewarded with amazing sunrise. Continually fueling myself up with Franz Raspberry filled donuts, sweet nut clusters, Mandarin oranges, Fig Newtons (100 calories for only 2 cookies), Smoked Almonds, Slim Jim's, Gatorade and Vitamin water electrolyte to which I had added a couple tablespoons of chia seeds in each bottle a day before. (f you haven't tried it before... do it, it adds about 60+ calories per tablespoon, and some of the chia seeds get stuck in your teeth so you get to keep snacking on your run as you discover where they are hiding.)
At about sunrise and almost 20 miles in I had an older runner meet me at my aid station and ask me what I was up to. Turned out he was the guy that built the highland loop about 10 years before, and had run the Wasatch 100 when it was a new race, cool guy. About a lap later I was surprised to see Brett. He joined me for about 6 laps before running the loop one last time and taking the CR from Josh. While he was with me I logged my fastest splits, so he was pushing me. Thanks Brett
As the sun came up and the temperature started to climb (and my mileage increased...) I saw my pace drop from a 9:40-10 minute mile average to an 11-12 minute average, and was about 25 miles in, so not quite half way yet. The desert flowers this time of year are just amazing, and with the wet winter we have had they are unlike any past year I have seen. Especially the Yucca plants, they are all going full force, raising their amazing bunches of flowers into the air. There are hundreds of them up on this trail, and still amaze me, even after seeing them over and over again like I did.
It was also about this time that the Dog walkers started showing up, lots of folks hike/walk up in this area, especially on Saturdays. It was pretty fun to see their reactions after they asked what I was doing (the aid station was a bit of an anomaly on the trail), they ranged from cool, good for you to you are absolutely insane 😉
The dogs did add a new dimension to the running, at times giving it an air of ninja warrior and I wove and dodged the doggies. But as the temperature ratcheted up eventually all the doggies disappeared.
I always try to run in the cool of the mornings, I would run during the day in the winter, but I was not really prepared for how much tougher it is to just keep running and running as things heated up. During my morning runs I typically am able to get through a half marathon with a drink before leaving home and 550ml of water on the run, that was not sufficient here. The warmer air dried out my mouth more quickly and kept me reaching for my water bottle, but I tried to moderate my drinking of electrolyte and water so that I didn't consume more than my body needed, or cause stomach issues.
In the heat of the day I was again surprised with another visitor, Josh having been called out by Brett and getting notice of the loss of his CR he came out along with his whole family and joined me for part of a loop. It was great to meet his family, and some of his kids legitimately looked excited to be there 😉
As Josh departed I was at about 32 miles in, approaching the 55k mark and the furthest that I had ever run. Everything beyond that was undiscovered territory for me. I was feeling strong, but fatigued. I was keeping rhythm, even if it was a slower rhythm than I may have wanted. But I kept busting out loops one at a time until at the hottest part of the day, 93 degrees, I noticed that my watch was running low on battery. I had just completed loop 51, but figured that I should stop and charge my watch to ensure I didn't loose the record of my run. (in hindsight I forgot to turn off the heart-rate monitor, which typically will add a few hours to the watches tracking time, thought about it while charging the watch, but wasn't sure if disabling it mid run would cause any issues so I left it alone)
While the watch was charging I kept walking around the little triangle at the end of the loop, hoping to ensure that my body didn't cramp up or crap out. And I got this crazy craving for a popsicle, I am not a lover of popsicles but man one sounded so good at that moment. About that time my wife txt'd me to ask how I was doing and if I needed anything, I had noticed my water was warming up, I had about a gallon left in my cooler which at the time I thought would probably be enough. So I asked her if she could bring me some ice and a popsicle. She showed up in a few minutes with a couple gallons of water, a bag of ice and half of a chiller from Maverick (I guess they don't have popsicles there...). I have never been a big fan of icee drinks (Chiller, Slurpee, you name it) but man that was the most amazing thing I had had all day, it was just what I needed. Thank you Sweetheart.
So with a more chill outlook and 50% on my watch battery I took off again and started busting out some more miles. Shortly after 3 I got a txt from Josh indicating that he was headed back out to run with me. His presence was a welcome one, in the heat of the day there had basically been no one out there besides me. But while he was out there for some reason even though I had been eating regular food all day I consumed a whole sleeve of 6 Clif Blocks, which I normally love, but something happened when they went in my stomach and my belly didn't like it. It was all I could do to keep walking, if Josh hadn't been there I probably wouldn't have been able to move. But he was patient, and walked along with me, keeping the conversation going to keep me distracted from my stomach issues. That continued for 4-5 loops, and the completion of the 60th!! My initial Goal of 60 loops and 54 miles had been achieved! Thanks Josh
With the initial goal completed, Josh headed home to wrangle his kids. I was starting to feel a bit better at this point and got another 2 loops in, bringing my total to 63. With 7 more I would hit the 100k mark. But my watch was up to no good again. The battery was almost to single digits again so I took another rest and let it charge. I think that the battery consumption may have increased with the size of the tracking file or something like that, because once I got it up to 22% I took off again and was able to keep about a 10:30ish pace for most of a loop, but by the time I finished that one my battery was already back down to 16%... it was well after 5pm at this point, I had been up all day and in the best case scenario I would be about 1 hour waiting for enough charge to get me through hopefully the remaining 6 loops, but with the increased battery consumption I wasn't sure that would work, and if I had to charge the watch again... The thought of being out there another 3-4 hours to complete another 6 loops made my decision for me.
So my Apple watch had started this nonsense with its silly goal that it gave me, and now it was ending it because it was burning through the battery at an unsustainable rate.
Once I finally made the decision to stop, my main goal achieved, and ended my run I immediately felt all the energy in my body leave and if I hadn't been close to my camp chair I probably would have ended up in the dirt. It was such a dramatic experience, which I think attests to how much of an endurance activity like this is more mental than physical. As soon as my mind stopped telling my body that it still had work to do it shut down.
While sitting there scarfing down jelly beans to get some quick energy going, I had the first dog walkers of the evening stop by. While talking with one of them they brought up the digging around the trail that had prompted this quick finish to my 300 loops, and indicated that they had contacted the developers to ask them about it. And it appears they are in the initial phases of seeing what development is possible, but lack the water pressure to build up there. So it may be a number of years before they have something in place to provide the requisite pressure to develop the land. And as a result the loop may be around for a while yet. So no rush but come take this beautiful loop for a spin.
If you have made it this far you are a trooper, or don't have anything better to do, might even be as crazy as I am 😉 A big thanks to all who came to run with and support me, you're the best!
And just a quick post run update, on the morning after other than some sunburn, a blood blister on my right heel, and an overall slightly achy feel I am actually doing pretty good. No knee pain, taking the stairs just fine. So almost 60 miles yesterday and I feel like I could run a half today, albeit a slooow one... 😉
If you have made it this far you are a trooper, or don’t have anything better to do, might even be as crazy as I am 😉 A big thanks to all who came to run with and support me, you’re the best!
And just a quick post run update, on the morning after other than some sunburn, a blood blister on my right heel, and an overall slightly achy feel I am actually doing pretty good. No knee pain, taking the stairs just fine. So almost 60 miles yesterday and I feel like I could run a half today, albeit a slooow one… 😉 But I am definitely in the market to do a run of this length again, with some of the lessons learned it will be even better.
