For those unfamiliar with the race/format. The race takes place on a 10k long paved trail in the heart of St. George, Utah. Although the race is called Last One Standing, there can be more than one finisher. The race is over when only one runner remains or the runners reach the maximum of 17 laps, totaling 102 miles. Every 90 minutes a new lap is started, if you don’t get back to the Start/Finish line before the next lap begins then you are eliminated. You cannot start the next lap until the 90 minute mark. So you only need a 15 min/mile pace to stay in the race, which is easy at the start, but as the laps mount it becomes increasingly difficult to balance your speed on the trail, and time refueling at your aid station before the next lap starts.

As you complete each lap you are given a pin for each lap number you have completed, with some big pins for the 30, 60, and 102 mile marks. They also award a Rabbit and Turtle pin to the fastest and slowest on each lap.

This was my third time running the race, previously I had completed 60, and then 75 miles. Those were also my distance PRs at that time. And I also learned that as the miles/laps mounted the precious minutes at the aid station became few. Eventually it was impossible to take care of everything that needed to be done to get back out on the course. Previously I had been crewing myself and realized that if I wanted to finish this race I would need some help. So I begged, conned and cajoled my wife to come and crew for me this year, it made all the difference.

The Race Begins

The race started like normal, an easy pace with lots of good friends and conversations. It was warm while sun was still up but getting ready to set during the first lap, and then it was dark and getting cooler. It was fun to visit and share miles with so many that I knew and many new friends as well. Just like previous years the crowd which started at 91 runners began to thin. A few runners dropped after a lap or two, and a large number had dropped off once we reached the marathon distance.

Chasing the Rabbit

As we got to the 30 mile mark I got this burst of energy and felt like pushing hard. Just before the 2 mile mark I found that I was in front. I have never received a rabbit pin, and figured it was out of my reach, but this looked like this was my chance. With this realization I dug down and pushed hard, busting out 8ish min/miles for most of the lap. Hearing the sloshing water in my handheld I felt like I had someone on my tail the whole way. This kept me digging deeper and even had a 7:40 minute mile right before finishing the lap. With that finish I got my rabbit pin, and a 51 minute lap, the next runner came in 5 or so minutes after me. So he wasn’t on my tail but it was a good incentive.

After my rabbit lap I dialed things back considerably and we continued to run on through the night.

My wife, Becky, was the star of the show she took such good care of me, and got very little sleep during the night. I could not have gone the distance without her. She prepared and fed me bacon, breakfast burriots, Nutella sandwiches, and fruit, and always had my water bottles ready to go. When there was time she used our impact massager to keep my legs feeling good. A couple of times we realized that I had forgotten to pack something and she ran to the store during the lap to pick it up.

On lap 12 I decided to come in last for the lap and pick up a turtle pin to compliment my rabbit. I only intended to get one but later on lap 15 I picked up another one.

The Second Turtle Pin

Coming out of lap 14 with 84 miles under my belt I had made it further than any previous attempt. I wasn’t the turtle but I needed to sit on the toilet, reapply sun screen, and address some chafing. With only about 8 minutes before the next lap would start. Becky grabbed what I needed and joined me in the restroom. She got the sunscreen reapplied while I took care of the other business. And although we were quick, once all was handled and I had ice on my neck and was back on the trail I was 5 minutes behind the pack.

It was about 4pm and the sun was baking everything in the 100+ degree heat. Although I was able to make up the 5 minutes I was down at the start of the lap and get back to the finish in less than 90 minutes. My pace was a crawl when I came  back in and arrived in last place, so I got my second turtle pin. I was so ready to drop when I got back. With only a handful of minutes left before lap 16 started I was bruised, broken, tired and melting. I didn’t think I could continue and go the distance.

The Rally

My wife calmly but firmly reassured me that I could finish the race. There was definitely an undertone of “I didn’t come here to help you all day and night just for you to give up and drop out now”. But I didn’t feel like I had another lap in me, I was dragging so badly. I don’t typically take any sort of stimulants, I like to stick with real food and drink. But in this case I decided the only way I was doing another lap was if I got some help. Becky grabbed me a sugar free Red Bull, which I quickly downed despite the disgusting taste (Honestly that stuff is horrible). And I set out on the trail again.

Becky grabbed her own running gear, some honey stinger gels and run gum then met me after the initial out n back to help pace me on the trail. I was 7 minutes down when I hit the 1 mile mark shuffling along trying to get moving.

Being One of the Last Ones Standing

It did take a bit for the caffeine to kick in, but when it finally did I was able to keep a pretty steady 10ish minute pace. By the mile 3 water/ice station we had made up the 7 minutes and was right on the 15 minute pace. After getting some more ice we were on our way again. Becky was getting sluggish herself between miles 3 and 4, and told me to keep going without her. I pulled ahead and was able to keep the 10ish min/mile pace most of the way back to the Start/Finish, passing several of the other runners in the last mile.

When I got back in there were many more people there ready to see the action of the final lap. With Becky out on the trail I was not sure I could get ready and to the starting line on time. My friend Josh who had looked like death warmed over a few hours earlier  when he dropped, had come back and asked what I needed. He grabbed me another Red Bull which I downed, and I grabbed some more run gum and a Honey Stinger gel. Then with my hydration bottles in hand I headed to the starting line with a bit of time to spare. After the last couple laps I was not going to start another lap with a deficit.

The Final Lap

Starting the final lap were 7 runners of the 91 that had started the race. In the past 2 years there had been only 1 and then 2 finishers respectively. But now we had 7 toeing the line.

Starting out the final lap Roberto took off, leading the pack from the start (he eventually finished with a 55 minute lap). I was next in line and feeling fairly good considering. My pace was staying steady at about a 10 min/mile, but Todd blew past me just after mile two. As he passed he exclaimed he was probably going to blow up, but he didn’t. I kept pushing and when I got to the bridge at mile 4 I saw that Marc was not to far behind me. But I could also feel that the stimulating effects of the caffeine were starting to wain.

Going For The Podium

At that point I had a decision to make, everyone that finished that last lap would get the coveted belt buckle. The buckle has been mi primary goal, but at the moment I was in 3rd place overall. I could either push to stay in 3rd place, or just worry about finishing. With about 15 minutes in the bank at that point my buckle was virtually assured.

I decided to hang on to 3rd, I doubled down and pushed. After about 3/4ths of a mile I slowed and decided to see where Marc was, and if I had widened the gap. As I turned around I saw that he was only about 100 or so feet behind me. I took off again and kept digging deeper and deeper, trying to pull any strength out of my tired and beaten body that I could. My pace was around a  9:30 min/mile for the last mile or so, not letting up and not looking back. I wasn’t sure if he was still on me or not.

Video that my sister caught of me passing on the trail during this section of the race revealed that he was right on my tail.

Crossing The Finish Line

As I approached the finish line the cheers of the large crowd gave me a little extra strength to push to the end. I crossed the line in 3rd place and sure enough Marc was only steps behind me, he had been on my tail the whole way. After he crossed he assured me that if I had let up one bit he had been ready to pass me.

I was thrilled to have completed this monster race, I had done 4 other 100 mile races/runs over the year prior to this run. But my fastest time had been over 31 hours. This one was 102 miles in just over 25 hours. According to Strava, there was only 20.5 hours of actual movement. So this was a big achievement and improvement for me. I was so happy to finally have the buckle! But when my friend Kevin came in a few minutes later I was moved to tears. Kevin had completed the race, set a personal distance PR, and did that only 7 months after having completed chemotherapy, That was probably a bigger highlight for me than my own finish.

Last Ones Standing

In the end of the 7 runners that started this last lap, all 7 finished and received their buckles. So there were 7 Last Ones Standing, It was pretty stinking amazing. I am humbled to have been able to share the trail with that amazing group.

I am so grateful to all the volunteers that helped keep the race rolling, sprayed me with ice water during the heat of the day, helped top off my ice, or just cheered me on.

My sweet, amazing, dedicated wife Becky deserves this buckle as much or more than I do. Her willingness to stand by my side, get me what I needed, and just being willing to take the time out of her busy schedule to dedicate to me and helping me achieve this goal is mind blowing. I love you Sweetheart.

And finally to my TRIP running family, thank you so much for the love, support, and encouragement. It was great to see so many of you at the race, share trail time with you, and I know that all the crazy challenges we do helped prepare me to finally finish this race. Max Kudos to you all!!

I know running 100 miles in blue jeans sounds miserable, because it was, lol. Our TRIP running club had an event planned for June 2021 that involved running in a pair of denim jeans, The BlueJeans FKD. The individual who got the furthest distance in a single activity would take the win. I was already planning on doing a long attempt for this challenge. And had planned to go for our Gambler Bottle-cap Award.

The Gambler requires you to put $50 on the line and declare that you will win the event. But another club member Jeff declared his intent to go for the Gambler. I had some internal turmoil, because this would make it much harder. But in the end I ponied up the cash and declared as well. I knew it was go time and the 50-75miles I had been planning probably wouldn’t be enough. I’d have to think bigger, 100 miles became the plan, hopefully it was more than Jeff was planning.

Preparation

Preparing for this attempt I realized that my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration/Family Reunion was Friday-Sunday. But this presented an opportunity, we were having the celebration at my uncle’s cabin, why not run home from the cabin? I charted out the course and found that it would give me my first 50+ miles, and keep me in slightly cooler temperatures the first day. Then I could run loops in the heat, closer to home and water/ice to finish up the last 50 miles. And since I was starting on Sunday afternoon I decided I should be dressed for the day. So I added a button up white shirt and tie to the jeans.

I ran several test runs in jeans to try out different pairs of denim. And found that at least in the cool early morning hours I could run in jeans fairly easily. But then I did a 20 miles in blue jeans midday heat test run to test water requirements. And it was then that I realized what a bad idea this was. So many miles in the heat with jeans that don’t breathe but retain the heat against your body. Fortunately for me the temperatures dipped a bit on Monday. This didn’t make it easy, but I’ll take 95 F over 100+ F any day.

Prior to my parents 50th wedding celebration/reunion, a few of my siblings and I invaded my parents home. They were on the tail end of a kitchen remodel and just needed the floor finished. We got this done but it took a lot of hours, many more than had been planned. I got back home after getting things finished up at my parents and still needed to pack. Not only for the reunion, but also for my hundred miler. I scrambled to get my pack, drop bags, and the cooler ready to go. I kept remembering things that I had nearly forgotten, which would have totally derailed my plans. Headlamp, fluid bottles, fuel, etc… it was a comedy of errors for sure. But I finally got everything packed and we headed out.

This quick packing created a bit of frustration and humor for others as I started checking for things. I would find my headlamp missing from my running pack, but later find it in my suitcase. This happened multiple times but fortunately in the end I had everything that I needed to get underway.

My amazing wife dropped/hid some frozen water bottles for me in New Harmony, Pintura, and Leeds. These strategic drops helped give me enough water to stay hydrated on the road. They were all melted by the time I got to them, but at least they were wet. She also dropped my car with a cooler full of Ice and water at the Cottonwood Trailhead. This would serve as an anchor point of my ending loop. Providing a refueling point where there was no water in the desert.

Running 100 Miles in Blue Jeans

About 2 PM on Sunday June 6th 2021 I got underway. The high elevation provided cooler temperatures. And the head wind which I first thought of as a pain helped keep it cooler, so the extra effort was worth it. The first afternoon was fairly uneventful, not many on the dirt roads heading toward New Harmony. But once I got into town I did get several strange looks from passers by. I could see them thinking “Who is this guy running in jeans, a button up shirt, and tie?” Further down the road just before sunset I ran across a couple herds of cows. The cows were easy enough to scare, but the bulls just stared at me, considering wether my tie was red enough to get mad about. The view from New Harmony into the Kolob Fingers area was breathtaking.

I was planning on 12 hours for the first 50 miles getting me down to the Cottonwood trailhead, and almost did that, had some really rough terrain during part of the black ridge area so that slowed things down a bit. And I did take a quick detour off my path to see the New Harmony Aviation Arrow, which is the only one in Washington County I hadn’t visited yet, I know it’s just a cement arrow on the ground, but I think their cool 😉

Running Through the Night

Along with the Gambler bottle-cap, another award our club has is the Zombie Dave bottle-cap. This one was named for a club member who is frequently running at all hours of the night. To receive this award you have to complete an activity from Sunset to Sunrise without sleeping. I have received this award in the past, but this attempt would require me to stay awake for the duration anyway, so it made the list.

The roads after New Harmony area got progressively worse. And at many times were too rough to run on, there were just too many large rocks. So the going was hard, but I kept moving. I had planned the route using Google Earth, which is an amazing tool, but it can’t tell you the current state of things. It just gives you a nice snapshot in time from way overhead. It was a good thing that I had created and loaded a GPX file of my route onto my Coros watch. There were several locations where the road, which was clearly visible on Google Earth, just disappeared.

While running all these miles in blue jeans I had routed myself through some private property which I discovered when I arrived on the back side of a couple “No Trespassing” signs/gates. I hope they didn’t mind a lone passer by in the middle of the night. I promise I didn’t touch anything besides the dirt on the road 😉

In order to avoid as much traffic as possible, I used a route that took me through a couple washes. And proceeded under the freeway in each. A couple of them were pretty eerie, and I wondered if I would survive the trek through them at night. Fortunately I was able to make it through them with nothing besides a slightly raised heart rate. Eventually I made my way to some familiar trails, and it felt good to really “know” where I was.

Once I got to the Cottonwood Trailhead I was joined by my brother Trevor. He was fresh and could keep me moving in the dark while he made his own BlueJeans FKD attempt. I took a rest, swapped shoes and socks. And had a few bites to eat. After so many miles alone on the trail it was nice to have some company. In the wee hours of the morning I was starting to drift a bit, having someone to talk to kept me more alert. Together we were able to make it through the rest of the night.

The Miles in Blue Jeans Brings on the Chafe

Just after sunrise we stopped at a Maverick convenience store to refill our water and ice. We also got a couple sausage egg muffins to eat for breakfast, they really filled up the void. After we ate with the sun up and the Zombie Dave bottle cap secured I laid down on the grass. I tried to sleep for a few minutes while Trevor logged some more miles in an empty lot nearby. I think it was about this time that I started to notice my first chafing. My ankles under my socks were raw and red, not even from the jeans. I tried to clean the area and put some Squirrels Nut Butter on it. But throughout the rest of the run it was a constant reminder of what I was doing.

As the heat ramped up our pace slowed, till it was almost a crawl. Ice in bottles quickly melted and the temperature of the water warmed to the ambient temperature. The warmer it is the more you learn to appreciate ice and ice water. I had a bandana that was sewed in such a way that it could hold ice behind the neck and keep you cool. Trevor used it until we had finished his 22 miles, then he passed it to me. Wow it made such a difference, I am pretty sure that it was the primary factor in my second wind.

After Trevor took off I stayed at the Cottonwood trailhead to eat and tend to my increasing number of irritations. I was wearing a pair of 3/4 length base layer to help cut down on chafing under the jeans. But here I noticed that the part of my lower leg that was still exposed was bright red, it looked and felt like it had been sunburned. In my drowsy state I tried to understand how I could have been sunburned through he jeans.

I later came to realize that this was purely the result of running in jeans. Also despite having liberally coated all sensitive areas with anti chafing creams, and continuing to add more along the way. I started to notice chafing in many unexpected locations. And many of those areas were not because of the jeans. The strangest one being right toward the end of the run when I noticed my arms feeling chaffed as they brushed against the flowing untucked bottom of my button up shirt.

After dealing with the chafing issues, and with a bag of ice around my neck I headed west along the Prospector trail. I quickly found my second wind, and was able to log some decent splits down the trail despite the heat. When I got back to Maverick I grabbed some lunch and then again laid down in the shady grass and closed my eyes for a few minutes. Then after restocking my fluid and ice I headed off again.

Winding Down to the Finish

At this point it was the hottest part of the day, the ice I had picked up was melting fast and the logistics of getting to the next refill/ice location was not looking very appealing. So with about 20+ miles left to go I decided to switch up the plan and finish up on Randall’s Loop. With the short 0.95 mile loop length and only being a few feet from a parking lot made water and ice a bit easier. My wife was an angel and brought my car and a restocked cooler up to highland park so I could get refreshed regularly.

I was not sure but had calculated that Jeff would probably do 100 miles as well. But I didn’t know how much padding he would add as a buffer. So initially I had thought about doing 120 miles, then during the activity I brought that down to 110, and toward the end I almost stopped at 101. Fate as they say was on my side, my wife insisted that I was not going to drive myself home. And for good reason, I was basically asleep on my feet. So while I waited for her to come pick me up I kept meandering and logged a few more miles. Giving me the total of 105, which fortunately was more than Jeff’s 101 ;).

Running 100 miles in blue jeans was an amazingly challenging activity. In the heat with clothes that wouldn’t breathe, just concentrating that heat around your body. And then all the chafing. I thought I had planned sufficiently so that I could avoid most of the chafing, but that wasn’t the case. I found I was chafed in areas that I have never been chafed before. And after a week I still have many areas that are healing.

Bottle caps earned:

• TRIP Hundred (100 miles in a single non race activity)
• Zombie Dave (Single Activity from Sunset to Sunrise with no sleeping allowed)
• Jean Machine (Accumulate at least 100 miles in blue jeans over the course of a week)
• Gambler (Declare your intent to win an event, and put $50 on the line, and win it back)
• Event Winner (Winning a TRIP event)

My journey to run my first 100 mile ultramarathon, and running the Zion 100 specifically, started a decade ago. I helped with the inaugural Zion100, volunteering with the local Ham Radio club. We helped radio in the bib numbers of runners as they passed through several of the aid stations. This amazed and inspired me with the determination and pain that I saw on so many runners faces. What would cause a person to decide to put themselves through such an arduous experience? I did not realize it at the time, but a seed had been planted and slowly started to grow.

I was not a “runner” at that time, and wouldn’t be for several more years. But as I started running in 2017 the desire really started to grow and set me on a trajectory for running the Zion 100. I was initially signed up for running the Zion 100 in April 2020. But as issues with the Covid-19 pandemic started to arise the race got cancelled and I was forced to wait another year.

I continued to train after the Zion 100 and most of my other races were cancelled for the year. And even ended up completing two 100 mile activities, but not in a race setting. So I had run the mileage, and had been building up for over a year of training prior to running the Zion 100. But the pressure and excitement of an actual race is much different than just completing the hundred mile distance.

Preparing for running the Zion 100

Over the eight or so months leading up to the 2021 Zion 100, I had focused on becoming a fat adapted runner. I hoped that this would give me an edge, avoid bonking, and to keep moving when things got tough. After completing many training runs between 17-30 miles relying on fat adaption, and felt like I had a handle on things. But I had not spent much time zeroing in on exactly how I planned to fuel overall for the full one hundred mile ultramarathon. So I talked with other fat adapted runners and searched the internet for strategies that others had used and cobbled together an assortment of all the options. In the end my drop bags were filled with nut butters, Ucan Super Starch, Honey Stingers, electrolyte powders, Vespa, and more. At the outset I felt prepared and ready to roll.

In my inexperienced mind I had planned and hoped for a 22 hour finish, but decided a 24 hour finish would be acceptable. But after the experience, the 31 hour and 53 Minute finish was just fine with me. I had a pacing chart all ready to go, with anticipated paces adjusted for elevation changes and duration. But plan all you want and the reality of the actual race will break all of your expectations, one after another.

Race Day Arrives

Starting the race with just a few hours of sleep probably wasn’t the best and I am sure I paid for that later in the day. But there was lots of energy at the starting line as the 300 or so of us took off. It was a beautiful morning, got some good chatting in with with friends. We made it to the Goosebump aid station and continued around the Gooseberry Mesa loop. At this point the group started to fracture as we got split up in the crowd.

The view at the tip of the mesa was amazing in the early morning twilight. But that slick rock was no joke. It beat me up and made it hard to keep any sort of running rhythm, the South Rim especially. So I fell a bit behind my desired pace on the loop, but made up a bit with some great runnable dirt road leading back into the Goosebump aid station.

Descending the Mesa

I followed Rick as we started down the side of the mesa, and I was determined to keep up with him. We bombed down the hill at a break neck pace. Although my feet weren’t loving the thin Altra LonePeaks I was wearing, their awesome tread kept me in control.

I tried to recapture some lost time on my way across the desert to Virgin Desert Aid. But my feet were begging for a little more cushion. So I called my wife/crew to have her bring me a different pair of shoes. It cost a bit of time to wait for them to arrive, but it was a good decision. My feet were much happier after that. But the long wait at the aid station allowed my muscles to cool down. And it took a bit to get things going again. At the same time the temperature was steadily rising, and that was gonna make things fun.

Race Nutrition Issues Begin

My nutrition strategy in hind site needed some additional refining with some long runs prior to the race. I used Ucan super starch at the start and halfway points as a long burn carbohydrate. Ucan bars and Stinger honey were a carb supplement along the way. Trail butter and Ultra fat as my supplemental fat source, and Vespa to pump up the fat burning. I consumed those along with a small amount of the other fare available at the aid stations. But that combination was not working like I had hoped, and later would almost prove my undoing.

Dodging the Bikers

This next section of the race course was extra fun. The BLM had “accidentally” granted a permit for a bike race on some of the same trails as we were running. It was the most fun was running the bottom part of the Jem trail. Bikers were bombing down that section from behind us. It really threw off your rhythm jumping out of the way of the bikes. But it was great to finally get off the shared trail.

The desolate, rocky and hot final couple miles leading to the Virgin Dam aid station beat me up. Upon arriving all I wanted to do was sit, and get out of the sun. I ate a few things and sat for what seems like a long while. Finally I used the vault toilet that was at the aid station. It was much cooler in that cinderblock cube. I was selfish and almost didn’t let anyone else use it. And I was just glad to be out of the heat. But I finally gave in, left the cool, ate a couple more items and headed out again. These miles were some of the toughest I had. And it was a chore just to keep moving.

As I approached the Smiths Mesa climb I had recovered a bit and was determined to make up a little bit of time. I had pegged a 18 minute mile pace for that hill but was able to keep a 16:30-17 minute mile pace for the duration of the climb. It felt great to pass the 8 or so runners that I did on the ascent. And that bolstered my flagging spirit a bit.

Running The Zion 100 Without Water

Once at Smiths Mesa I made a big mistake. I added ice to my electrolytes bottle. Now this may not seem like a problem to you, ice in the heat is amazing. But I put electrolyte powder and ice into my electrolyte bottle. Then I added ice into my water bottle. But after I filled up my water bottle I neglected to add water to my electrolyte bottle. I didn’t realize my mistake until I was about a half mile from the Smiths Mesa aid station.

The course map showed a water only aid station about a mile or so ahead. It indicated we would hit the aid station before we started the Flying Monkey loop. So I didn’t worry about it my lack of electrolytes and forged on ahead. But apparently they changed the route from what was on the map. We turned up onto Flying Monkey without hitting that water station. As finished the initial climb on Flying Monkey, I turned around and could see the large blue water cooler way down below. As we started up the climb we had probably been within 200 foot of it. But I didn’t want to backtrack, or make the climb again so I just kept going.

Wrath of the Sun

I do most of my training in the wee hours of the morning. So knocking out a 10k with no water at that time is just a daily activity for me. This probably affected my decision to continue on despite the reduced amount of fluids. The loop was brutal, rough, and popular with the local cattle, they had rutted it completely. So my progress was significantly slower than it could have been. And that kept me in the sun and heat for a longer period.

By the time I had reached the far end of the loop I only had about a quarter of my water left. Because I had been stingy with what I had I could hardly run at all in that heat. But I very slowly crept through the final miles of the loop. And eventually made it to the end of the loop and the Water Aid Station.

Dehydration Sets in

I filled my bottles and drank, and drank, and drank. Immediately I must have downed at least 48 ounces. I sat for a few minutes in the shade before determining to start my decent down Smiths Mesa. As I got up it was obvious that I was seriously dehydrated. My stomach was starting to have issues with all the water I had ingested. I believe this may have slowed down the rehydration process a bit.

My arms had become numb and tingly, also my balance was not doing well, and my head was foggy. This descent was not what I would call a well worn trail by any means. With rock hopping in parts, down climbing with a rope, and narrow ledges I was concerned. The NewBalance Hierro shoes, which I had traded for at the Virgin Desert aid were not up to the task. They were great for the flat trails as a cross trail/asphalt shoe but didn’t have any teeth. So I kept slipping, that along with the other mental and physical issues made the descent a crawl. All this lead me to make a decision. And even though the next aid station was only a mile away, it would be the ending point. I was hot, delirious, and unstable on my feet, I needed to drop out for my own safety.

Problems Compound

I had used the “racejoy” app that the race director had provided. This allowed me to share my location and progress with my pacers and crew. I wanted to make sure they knew when they could anticipate my arrival. But it had sucked the battery life from my phone.By the time I had started my descent I only had about 3% remaining. And in low power mode the app was no longer updating my location. I was going to die out here, and wouldn’t have the ability to call for help 🙁 The last mile seemed like an unconquerable enemy, it was just too far to travel.

The Miracle

Then a miracle happened, and it’s name was Josh! Josh had been waiting to pace me from the Virgin BMX aid station. But I was now hours behind schedule. He headed up the trail to look for me, and I am so glad that he did.  I will never forget his cheerful shout of “Randall” as he saw me and started to easily and effortlessly “bounce” my way. It instantly Buoyed my spirit. He said “you may feel awful but you look great!” His optimism and smile broke down the dark walls that were forming in my mind. And in short order he even had me running into the aid station.

Grabbing an ice cold ginger ale to calm my stomach I sat in a reclining chair. I rested for a while, ate a bit, and then eventually with Josh’s encouragement we got ready to head out. The next 20 mile stretch with Josh over the Guacamole loop was planned to happen during the mid to late afternoon. Now the sun was setting, it was going to be a nighttime loop. So to ward off the cold Josh hunted around for warmer attire. He borrowed a long sleeved shirt from a friend. And found some of his son’s socks for gloves, thus clad we headed into the night.

Pacers Rock

Josh was a godsend, he kept the conversation lively and constantly checked to make sure I was doing well. He also carried my pack which was amazing! One of the most infamous segments I had heard of while preparing for running the Zion 100 was the Guacamole loop. But seemingly against all odds, we made it up the climb to the Guacamole aid station, ate a bit then headed into the dark. The loop was almost like a scavenger hunt, no real trail to follow, just cairns and trail markers. You could see the lights from so many other runners on different parts of the loop. So although it was not very runnable it was on of my favorite parts of the race. We helped a group or two get back on the trail after they had lost their way.

The 20 mile Guacamole loop ends right back at the Virgin BMX Aid Station where I had picked Josh up. My wife was going to meet us there to take over from Josh for the next 10 miles (70-80). But given the early hour she wanted me to call and wake her when we reached mile 65. I pulled out my phone to call, but the call failed, only 1 bar of 3G service. So we ran on for a bit more and then tried again, still nothing. Repeatedly I tried again and again, same service same results.

Switching Pacers

Finally when we were at the top of the last hill, and I could see Virgin I tried again, still nothing. Then I thought to have Josh try his phone, and it worked just fine. We made it to the Aid station and I said goodbye to Josh. Becky helped me set a good pace as we started toward Gooseberry Mesa. I knew this distance was going to be a stretch for her, but I was so glad that she decided to run it with me. If it had seemed steep going down Gooseberry, it was at least twice as steep going back up. What a crazy climb, Becky pushed me all the way and as daunting as it appeared it was done much more quickly that I had anticipated.

At the top I had some broth and bacon. Becky rubbed my shoulders for a bit and one of the volunteers brought over a massage gun. WOW that felt soooo good. Rejuvenated after that short rest we got underway again and made quick work of the final 5 miles back to the start/finish line area where I was supposed to pick up my brother Trevor to pace me for the final 20 miles.

The Final 20 Miles of the Zion 100

About a mile from the end of that stretch we passed a runner that was growling loudly with each step. I had visited with him at the Guacamole aid station where he complained about some leg pain. We asked if he needed anything or if we could help. He responded with a curt “NO” and then followed that with a respectful “Thank You”. So we left him to is growling, I expected he would be dropping.

At the 80 mile mark I kissed my wife goodbye and Trevor joined me. He took my pack and we started off. He had never done 20 miles at once before, so this was a stretch for him. And he was totally amazing. He was constantly reminding me to take fluids, telling witty stories or singing silly tunes which helped keep me going.

Less Fuel = Better Results

Since the issues with my stomach heading into Virgin BMX the first time I had changed up my fueling strategy. Other than a bit of real food at each aid station, the only supplement I was consuming was Vespa. But with it I found that I had plenty of energy for the rest of the race. The biggest hurtle I was facing was mental fatigue. My brain was foggy with little sleep the night before the race and having been awake and moving for almost 30 hours. A couple times I felt like I was sleep running.

I had this strange focus and drive that kept me going. Although I wanted to be a part of the conversation Trevor was having, most of the time I couldn’t summon the mental energy to respond. All my mental capacity was focused on the trail and continuing forward. If Trevor hadn’t been there I don’t know that I would have thought about staying hydrated. And I am sure I would have suffered a severe setback. But as it was we continued forward and passed many runners in those twenty miles. Trevor’s constant encouragement I am sure was a large part of that.

The Finish

When we finished the Grafton loop we started up the hill for the last 1.5ish miles to the finish line Trevor told me to take off if I was feeling like it, and I was. I was so close to the completion of running the Zion 100, this goal I have had for years. Even as I was heading up the hill my eyes started to tear up at the thought of finishing.

As I approached the top of the hill I saw my wife and kids cheering me on, this almost overwhelmed me and I started to break down. But I reigned it in as on of my sons ran with me for a bit then I just wanted to lay it all on the line and broke out into a full on sprint as I headed into the finish line. Where I found my parents and siblings there cheering for me. I was overwhelmed and am even now tearing up with the thoughts of gratitude for all the help love and support. Gratitude fills my heart for all the encouragement, insights, examples and strength I have received along the way. 

This race was an experience never to be forgotten. The beauty and grandeur of the location is unrivaled. The amazing volunteers were so helpful and giving of their time, and always had a smile on their faces. The sheer magnitude of the distance and vert. And the outpouring of love and support was humbling.

The Afterglow of Finishing the Zion 100

I got a chance to talk with Jeff Browning for a few minutes after the race and he gave me some good food for thought on my nutrition strategy as a fat adapted runner. I don’t know how much of what he said that I actually remember, but it was nice to get some extra insights from a world class runner like him.

As a final note, it was inspiring, to see the growling man hobbling his way toward the finish line. His was one of, I am sure, many such stories that happened during the race. Overcoming crazy obstacles to achieve your goals. But one thing when I saw him at the end, he had a pacer with him. I can only think that his pacer had the same affect on him that mine had on me. Running may be an individual sport, but it is never a one man show. Running the Zion 100 was a life changing event for me, and I am sure it will be for you as well.

Who decides that running 50 miles in a small circle is a good idea? Probably no one you know. A member of our running league came up with a crazy idea. Let’s all run around a baseball diamond and see who can do complete the most laps/runs. The name of this interesting endeavor was “Foul Play”. I decided that sounded like an fun but challenging adventure so I got signed up for the event.

​The event was scheduled to take place the last full week of March 2020, Sunday thru Saturday. One member of the league set the bar at 260 runs on the first day. So on my first attempt I pushed a bit beyond that and hit 305 runs. I knew that would make that the target to beat for all the other contestants. I had to come up with another more substantial effort if I wanted to win.

While thinking about what to do for my final Foul Play run, I looked at professional baseball’s highest lifetime scorers. I found a list of the top 1000 lifetime runs scored. Before looking at the list I had fantasized about completing the same number of runs as one of the greats. I quickly realized that in order to run the same number as Ricky Henderson, Ty Cobb, or Barry Bonds that I would be running over 121 miles. That just wasn’t in the cards. So I started at the bottom of the list and worked my way up and found “Shoeless Joe Jackson” with 873 lifetime runs scored. I calculated that this would be just over 51 miles.

If I’m going to be running 50 miles anyway…

Our running league likes to give out custom bottle caps as awards for special achievements. The thought of running 50 miles hooked me. If I was going to run that far, I might as well try for the Zombie Dave Bottle Cap award. That award required the winner to complete a single activity that started at sunset and lasted till sunrise. At this time of year that would be 12 hours of running, and I was sure I would take me at least that long. Completing the challenge would also make me the first league member to achieve this prestigious award. So on Friday I Started about 10 minutes before sunset, about 7:45 PM, and embarked on my first all night running adventure.

And so it begins

Starting out things were clicking well. There were a few individuals in a nearby field that were giving me strange looks. Who is this guy running around the bases over and over again? But they eventually left and it was just me and the field. I settled into a pretty good routine, using a handheld clicker to mark off the laps each time I crossed home plate. The number of completed laps was slowly growing. Meanwhile I was keeping my brain occupied by listening to an audio book. Given that this was happening during the Covid-19 pandemic, I thought it was fitting to listen to Spillover. A book all about how viruses make the jump from species to species. It was not light listening but was very interesting.

As the night deepened my brain became drowsy and I started to become paranoid, seeing things moving in the distance. Having never done an all night run, this was a new experience for me. It was a strange and eerie feeling. I spotted a set of power meters installed around a wooden power pole which looked like someone watching me. Even thought I knew what it was it freaked me out virtually every time I rounded third base.

Time for a break

As part of “Foul Play” we had side achievements, one that I attempted was called “Benchwarmer”. To win this achievement you had to sit in the dugout for the longest duration between laps. So I took an hour during the activity to warm the bench, and fought to keep myself awake. Towards the end of my bench warming I was startled as another league member, Dave, walked around the corner of the dugout. We both jumped and I let out a bit of a yell/scream, it might have been a bit girly ;). I guess the paranoia of being alone and drowsy out there combined to really put me on edge.

Dave totally startled me, but it was nice to have someone else on the diamond with me. It was about 4AM when he arrived, putting me at 8 hours on the diamond. His arrival gave me some added energy which helped me get going after my bench warming session. But that was soon depleted leaving me at a walk. I was still listening to my amazing audiobook. But even though I was super interested in it I found that I was starting to nod and shut my eyes while shuffling around the diamond.

Asleep on my feet

After a couple dozen sleepy laps I decided that I needed to turn off my book and switch to some music. Almost immediately after getting some good music going my body perked right up. And after a couple laps I was logging some of my fastest laps for the night. It surprised me how I could go from almost not being able to walk any more to a good strong run in seconds. And this was after having about 40 miles under my belt for the evening.

Dave’s company was good, he stuck with me for 175 laps and left just as the sky was brightening in the east. I can honestly say that I don’t know if I would have made it through the night without his help. Even though we didn’t talk much, and ran at our own speed. Just having another human nearby gave me a ton of additional motivation.

The Morning Comes

I was able to squeeze in 45 miles before sunrise, but that still left me about 6.5 miles to complete. Running in the dark had brought it’s own specific challenges, paranoia and the like. Those were washed away with the coming of the dawn.The rising of the sun also reminded my body of just how long it had been working. So these final laps were the toughest mentally. I was so close to my goal, but it was a fight to keep going.

Continued effort finally brought me to my efforts conclusion. I completed the 873rd run and was elated at having completed my goal of running 50 miles on a baseball diamond. And to have honored “Shoeless Joe Jackson” with the effort. I had made it through the night, won my bottle cap award and hopefully had secured the first place spot for the event.

I Ran 50 Miles Overnight!

It was a transformative event, I learned that I could make it through a long overnight run. But that it would help to have other people with me. That the brain would play tricks as it gets drowsy, so you have to fight against them to maintain your reality. And finally that as good as an audio book is to pass the time, a good beat goes a long way on the trail.

On a side note, my Coros Apex Adventure Watch did a great job tracking the mileage. Because I was running in a circle rather than a square each loop was about 311 feet, and with 873 loops that comes to 51.42 miles, only .23 miles difference from what the watch reported… which is probably just my trips into the dugout to get food and be a benchwarmer. So I was quite impressed with it’s ability to track accurately with such a small loop.

Elapsed Time	Moving Time	Distance	Average Speed	Max Speed	Elevation Gain	Calories Burned
13:09:22 hours	10:53:19 hours	51.66 mi.	15:17 min/mile	7:40 min/mile	915.35 ft.	7,482 kcal

While thinking about what to do for my final Foul Play run, I decided to look highest lifetime scores for professional baseball and run the same number of their lifetime runs/scores, I found a list here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/R_career.shtml I quickly realized that in order to run the same number as Ricky Henderson, Ty Cobb, or Barry Bonds that I would be running over 121 miles... and that wasn't in the cards... so I started at the bottom and worked my way up and found "Shoeless Joe Jackson" with 873 lifetime runs scored. I calculated that this would be about 51 miles. So that got me thinking that if I was going to run that far, that I might as well try for the Zombie Bottle Cap award, and be the first to get that. So I Started about 10 minutes before sunset yesterday and finished up about an hour or so after sunrise this morning. As the night wore on and my brain became drowsy I noticed that I started to become paranoid, seeing things moving in the distance. And there was a set of power meters surrounding a power pole that totally looked like someone was standing behind the pole and looking at me. Even thought I knew what it was it freaked me out virtually every time I rounded third base. I took an hour during the activity to warm the bench, and fought to keep myself awake. towards the end of my bench warming I was startled as Dave walked around the corner, and we both jumped and at least I screamed a bit. But it was nice to have someone else on the trail with me. Dave gave me some added energy so I was able to pump several miles out and then I was back to a walk. I was listening to an amazing book "SpillOver" about how viruses jump from species to species. But even though I was super interested in it I found that I was starting to nod and shut my eyes while shuffling around the diamond. After a couple dozen of those I decided that even though I was enjoying my book I needed to switch to some music. Once I got some pounding music going it perked me right up and I was able to log some of my fastest miles, even after having about 40 miles under my belt for the evening. On a side note, my Coros watch did a great job tracking the mileage. Because I was running in a circle rather than a square each loop was about 311 feet, and with 873 loops that comes to 51.42 miles, only .23 miles difference from what the watch reported... which is probably just my trips into the dugout to get food and be a benchwarmer.

​

Braken’s Loop Description

Braken’s Loop Trail a beautiful loop that takes you on an amazing tour of the Southern Utah landscape. The trail meanders through basalt cliffs, sandstone mountains and sandy washes. Much of the trail is sandy, so the best time to visit the loop is soon after a rain storm. When the trail is nice and wet it is much more runnable. The trail is popular with local horseback riders so it can be pretty rough, with lots of deep horse hoof prints. But the beauty of the trail makes up for the tough slog. The views of Pine Valley Mountain and St. George from this trail are well worth the effort.

Braken’s Loop from Grapevine Trailhead

The Grapevine Trailhead is very easily accessible being about 0.15 miles off the freeway (I-15) from the Washington Parkway exit (exit 13). The Grapevine trail heads up a dirt access road for the first mile. About 0.1 miles up the road you will pass under some trees and have a trail fence step over next to a locked access gate. Proceed through and up the rocky dirt road as it gains about 200 feet of vertical. At about the 1 mile point you will come to a split in the road/trail. Taking the trail to the right starts the loop in the counter clockwise direction. Continuing on the road/trail starts the clockwise loop

Braken’s Loop Clockwise

Continue to follow the Grapevine trail/road for another 0.8 miles then follow the trail to the right marked Braken’s Loop. The trail will proceed downhill toward a wash bed. Once in the wash the trail will head basically northward following the wash. The trail can be difficult to follow through this section. Keep your eyes open and you will see the trail leave and then rejoin the wash. At approximately 2.5 miles you will cross a dirt road.

The trail will curve left around the top of the Grapevine Trail, and then proceeds north again. Here you pass a basalt cliff to the north/west of the trail. For the next 0.5 miles the trail is primarily following the wash bed. between going through a wash and slick rock it can be easy to miss the trail. But the trail basically follows the wash so if you cannot find the trail, follow the wash to the North East.

Sandy Trails

Eventually the trail leaves the wash heading south east. The trail is pretty well defined for the next mile or so. During this section you will reach the highest point on the loop. At about 4 miles in the trail crosses some slick rock areas that can be a bit tougher to navigate. But there are several cairns to guide you across. The trail stays basically heading East and slightly south.

At about 4.2 miles the trail again continues through the sand with a well defined trail. It continues to hug close to the sandstone hills, and then turns away to the south. At about 4.6 miles in you will reach my favorite rock on the Brakens Loop trail. The stack of layered sandstone is quite a site. The trail continues to turn south, and then starts to aim back to the west. At this point (4.9 miles) in you have some great views of the Church Rocks Cathedral to the south.

The loop continues west for about another mile before descending into another wash and following it. The trail hops out of the wash a couple times until approximately 6.3 miles in where it exits the wash and proceeds south west up onto a ridge. Once at the top of the ridge you continue south on the trail for about a quarter mile before reaching a split in the trail. At the split you will turn right towards the west. This trail is the western end of the Prospector Trail. You will continue to follow this trail for about 0.5 miles before it reconnects with the Grapevine Trail/Road to complete your loop.

Braken’s Loop Counter Clockwise

Turning right off the road starts the western end of the Prospector Trail. Follow the trail for the next 0.4 miles. You will be at a crossroads at the top of a ridge. Looking to the East gives you a good overlook of the Church Rocks Trail area. As the sign here indicates turn left and proceed north. Another 0.5 miles up the trail you will enter a dry wash. Turn left as you enter the wash and follow it for about 0.3 miles. The trail will continue up the side of the wash, periodically dipping back into the sand. From this point on the trail will stay pretty sandy.

About another 0.5 miles in you will get some great views of the Church Rocks Cathedral to the south of the trail. The Trail continues to gain elevation as it loops around to the North. At approximately 3.5 miles in you will come to my favorite rock, bumpy layers of sandstone. The trail continues to be sandy and relatively easy to follow until about 3.9 miles in. At this point there is a good amount of slick rock but several cairns to follow. The trail follows a basically westerly direction across the slickrock. After about 0.3 miles you should be back on the sandy trail.

Struggling through the sand

The trail continues to hug the side of the sandstone hills to the North East of the trail. About this point you will hit the highest point on the trail. At about 5 miles or so in the trail starts to get a little sketchy. between going through a wash and slick rock it can be easy to miss the trail. But the trail basically follows the wash so if you cannot find the trail, follow the wash to the West. At 5.5 miles you will approach the gates of Mordor. This is just a basalt cliff face, but pretty cool looking. Another 0.1 miles past the Gates of Mordor the trail splits, follow the left fork to stay on the Braken’s Loop trail. If you are tired of the sand, the right fork takes you to the northern end of the Grapevine Trail.

The trail then follows a southern heading for the rest of the loop. For the next 0.7 miles the trail is primarily following the wash bed. Again this part can be tricky to follow the trail since a lot of it is meandering in the sand. Eventually you will exit the wash heading south west at about mile 6.3. Then it is a short 0.2 miles to get back up on to the Grapevine Trail. Once back on the Grapevine Trail you will turn left and head south on the road. It is about another 1.7 miles from that point back to the trailhead.

Braken’s Loop Details

• Type: Loop
• Loop Distance: 6.49 mi/10.44 km
• Trail Distance: from 8.29 mi/13.34 km
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Elevation: 3068 – 3623 ft/935 – 1104 m
• Google Maps Link to Grapevine Trailhead: Click Here

Strava Route(s)

Braken’s Loop Counter-Clockwise from Grapevine Trailhead Route

Est. Moving Time	Distance	Elevation Gain
01:30:14	8.29	894.36
hours	mi.	ft.

Brackens Loop in all its Sandy Glory Run Counter Clockwise

Braken’s Loop Clockwise from Grapevine Trailhead Route

Est. Moving Time	Distance	Elevation Gain
01:30:09	8.18	1,080.99
hours	mi.	ft.

Brackens Loop run in a Clockwise direction

Braken’s Loop Trail Gallery

Jump to a section of our Coros Vertix Review:

Coros Unboxing | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | Day 9 | Conclusions | Pros & Cons | Test Details

Choosing the Vertix

After reviewing several different options and receiving some testimonials from running buddies I took a look at Coros. The Coros Vertix Adventure Watch appeared to have the essential features. Along with the best battery life of any GPS watch on the market, so I decided to give it a try. Could it live up with all the hype. As a result of that switch I present my Coros Vertix Review.

Coros is a relatively new company in the GPS fitness tracking watch market. It has long been dominated by names like Garmin, Sunnto, and Polar. But Coros made a splash in 2018 with the Pace, and quickly added the Apex and then Vertix. Each model pushed the features and battery life to new levels. So despite being a new player in the market, they sought to disrupt the existing ecosystem with their own unique features and capabilities.

The Coros Vertix Arrives

Since no review is complete without showing the packaging, I will start out this Coros Vertix Review with the box opening process. When my Coros Vertix arrived I was immediately impressed by its packaging. It had a standard but attractive cardboard box presentation on the outside. But was then inclosed within a watertight pelican type case, with custom foam to hold it securely in place. Needless to say it was impressive and probably a little overkill, but gave the feel of a rugged watch.

The initial setup was a breeze, after activating the watch and choosing my language the watch presented a QR code. I scanned the QR code with the Coros app for iOS and it was immediately connected. Although setup instructions were included in the case, most people should be able to intuitively set it up.

Unboxing Images

Day 1 – Randall’s Loop 7.05 Miles

My Apple Watch had been with me for some time, so I was quite familiar with it. Additionally I was registered to run the 2019 Speedgoat 50k 11 days after the Vertix arrived. So I determined that if I ran with both watches simultaneously on each run through Speedgoat I would be able to compare their functionality and accuracy. Also this would also give me a pretty good test of the Vertix’s real world battery life.

I started my Coros Vertix Review test on Randall’s Loop. I had set a goal to run this loop 1000 times before the end of 2019. As a result, I was well acquainted with it and had already run 557 of my requisite loops for the year. Consequently this made it a perfect place to test the Vertix and compare it with many similar runs.

Firstly I found that the elevation was being reported strangely. Looking at the screenshot from the Coros app it appears that the elevation recorded keeps reducing each lap. On closer re the first 4 loops had the same recorded elevation of 3261 feet, then the next three laps each had reduced elevation. The last loop showed an elevation of 3245, so only 16 feet lower than the first few loops. I am not sure if the Vertix was improving it’s accuracy over the run or if it was an anomaly. The Apple Watch Series 2 that was on my other wrist showed some variation but most around 3251 feet.

Vert Comparison

But apart from that GPS discrepancy I also found that overall the Vertix reported 371 feet ascent, and  397 feet descent. While the Apple Watch reported 285 feet for both ascent and descent. For whatever reason Strava decided that the 371 feet value was accurate.  Where the day before this test the Apple watch recorded 285 feet gained on the same run. But Strava decided the correct value was 466 feet. I had observed this same behavior with previous runs recorded with the Apple Watch being uploaded to Strava.

Observing this same behavior with the Vertix on subsequent runs. I did finally see similar behavior with the Apple Watch on a 14 mile run on day 6 of the test. Although I am not sure if that is just the nature of the watch software or if it is a result of the small GPS receivers in watches.

Distance Comparison

Other than the difference in elevation, the distance appeared to be right on 7.05 miles between the two watches. Despite the time being basically the same some of the mile splits were as much as 7 seconds different. Additionally the Vertix calculated 140 less calories burned than the Apple Watch.

Heart Rate Comparison

The Apple Watch reported a recorded average heart rate of 141bpm and max of 148bpm. The Vertix reported an average of 151bpm, and max of 171bpm. And the reported number of calories burned by the Apple Watch was 968, where the Vertix reported 828 calories burned.

Day 2 – Dino Rocks 9.1 Miles

For day #2 I chose a different path that combined two of my favorite trails, Dino Cliffs, and Church Rocks. These trails have a bit more vert than the previous days loop. They also varied the terrain by adding some slickrock and sandy sections to the mix.Trails like these are fun and I highly encourage you to try them out. The first thing to point out is that the Vertix still had over 90+% of it’s original charge. This was after both of the last two runs were completed. While I had to charge the Apple Watch at night to ensure I had sufficient battery for the run. The reality of not having to charge the watch every night was starting to sink in.

On this run I noticed similar differences to the first run. The recorded mile split times varied by as much as 22 seconds. But as noted with the vert on day 1 the spits were accepted by Strava as the Vertix recorded them. Previous uploads from the Apple Watch were always adjusted/corrected by Strava. Was this Strava showing a bias toward the Vertix, or just a recognition of more trusted tracking? A minor item was that the Vertix reported 9.1 miles where the Apple watch reported 9.13 miles.

Vert Comparison

Because this wasn’t a loop like day 1 any elevation anomalies were not readily apparent. But the Vertix recorded 1066 feet of vert vs. the Apple Watch’s 797 feet. That just caused me to think, I don’t mind the extra vert 😉

Heart Rate Comparison

On the heart rate front the Apple Watch reported an average of 141bpm and a max of 156bpm. Versus the Vertix’s average of 146bpm and max of 179bpm. The calories burned according to the Apple Watch were 1365, and 1255 according to the Vertix.

The Digital Knob

I found myself really appreciating the Vertix’s enlarged digital knob. It made it very easy to switch between detail screens during an activity. On the Apple Watch I used the WorkOutdoors app, since it provided me with more detailed information than Strava’s app. Switching screens was much more difficult, requiring a triple tap to move between information. And a hard press to finish the activity. This was intended to help keep the watch from accidentally changing screens or ending an activity for you.

With those protections I still found my watch on a different screen or with the activity ended prematurely. I don’t remember the digital knob ever switching screens without my input. A single press on the knob pauses the activity, which has not happened accidentally. And in a software update Coros added a three second hold to finish an activity, ensuring no premature endings.

Day 3 – The 5k

Day 3 found me back on my loop, running a familiar path. But having a bit less time I was not as adventurous as some of the other days. So I opted to push the pace a bit on a 5k. The previously reported issue with the elevation was not as prominent with the shorter length. But it was the pacing that was interesting on this run.

Pace Comparison

The Coros reported a 8:30/mi average pace, and a max of 8:11/mi as my fastest split. Where the Apple Watch gave me a 8:35/mi average pace and a 8:12/mi as my fastest split. But then Strava gave me the fastest average at 8:26/mi and 8:11/mi as my fastest split. But in a change the Vertix recorded a longer distance on this run then the Apple Watch with 3.16 vs 3.12 miles. All in all not a huge difference between the watches reported pace. But it was interesting to note how much of a difference there was on this shorter/faster run. The first day had no difference between average speeds, and the second day was only one second different.

Heart Rate Comparison

The Apple Watch reported an average heart rate of 150bpm, and max rate of 157bpm. While the Vertix recorded an average of 153bpm, and max of 170bpm. So a significant difference in recorded heart rates. Additionally the Apple Watch also recorded a calorie consumption of 429, in comparison to the Vertix’s 354 calories consumed.

Day 4 – Pine Valley Mountain Marathon

Day 4 of my Coros Vertix review was the first double digit mileage run with the Coros Vertix. It was the first run with any major vert involved. And it was my last long training run before the Speedgoat 50k, which would be one week after this run. The Pine Valley Mountain Summit Trail is a back country wilderness trail. It is basically unmaintained for most of the trail along the top of the mountain.

I had run this course a in prior years, but this year the mountain was still covered with snow. So it was going to be a difficult and more treacherous course with snow drifts and fallen trees. But the trail also breaks the 10,000 foot mark in elevation. So I was excited to use the Coros Vertix high altitude blood oxygen monitoring. Hopefully it would reveal that I was going to be ok running Speedgoat, where the elevation repeatedly hits 11,000 feet.

The Pine Valley Mountain Marathon Results

The run was difficult, and ended up being fairly slow, because of all the snow that still remained on the mountain. But it was a good long and tough activity with lots of vert to test the watches performance.

Vert Comparison

One glaring difference was the vert. The Coros Vertix logged as max elevation of 10,056 feet and a total of 6,516 feet of ascent. While the Apple Watch recorded a max elevation of 10,338 feet and 12,808 feet of ascent. Although the Official height of Signal peak, the highest point on the mountain, which we summited, is 10,369 according to Wikipedia.  Here the Apple Watch obviously got a better reading on the elevation, but doubled the elevation gain. So that the results were a bit mixed. The elevation chart from the Vertix shows essentially a flat line on top of Signal Peak. And while it is a fairly flat peak that looks more like the watch was having a problem getting an accurate reading.

Distance Comparison

Right out of the gate there was a major difference with the Coros Vertix logging 26.44 miles. The Apple Watch had gone the extra mile… Literally, and logged 1.17 miles more than the Vertix at 27.61 miles. When uploaded to Strava, it was adjusted slightly to 26.43 miles. So the GPS inaccuracies of the Apple Watch were really apparent here.

Heart Rate Comparison

Heart rate tracking for this long run showed some big differences as well. The Apple Watch reported an average heart rate of 116bpm, and max of 157bpm. While the Vertix reported an average of 131bpm and max rate of 167bpm. Then the Apple Watch reported 5505 calories burned while the Vertix reported 7025 calories burned. Some major discrepancies on heart rate tracking and burning calories.

Coros Vertix SP02 Monitoring

One amazing feature that was highlighted on this run was the Vertix’s high altitude blood oxygen monitoring. With this feature enabled the watch automatically detects when you reach 8,500 feet in elevation. It then proceeds to monitor your heart rate and oxygen levels. If your oxygen levels fall below recommended levels or your heart rate becomes extremely elevated it will warn you. I found this feature very useful to help gauge how I was doing in my Speedgoat preparations. And extra useful when trying to determine if I was overdoing it.

Day 5 – Randall’s Loop Half Marathon

I know the typical thing to do on the week of a race is to slow things down and taper. But for day 5 of my Coros Vertix review I was back on Randall’s loop, but for double the distance of my previous run. And to continue my testing I decided to run basically the same run back to back for a couple days. I figured a half marathon length would make the length long enough to test overall accuracy. And running on the same route/distance would help to see if discrepancies were a fluke or the way things are.

Vert Comparison

The Vertix showed the same reduction in max elevation on each successive loop as it had on previous runs. With a max elevation of 3251 feet reported on the first loop, and 3232 feet on the last. Giving a difference of 19 feet, which isn’t really that much, but it sure makes the graph look funny. The Apple Watch didn’t show the same reduction in elevation, but did vary a bit on each loop. It also reported a high of 3251 feet, but a low of 3235 feet. Total elevation gain was 522 feet on the Apple Watch but 732 feet on the Vertix. So this time around the elevation appeared to match up much better than the previous run. But total elevation gain was off by 30%.

Distance Comparison

On the mileage front the Apple Watch again tracked more distance than the Vertix. But this time it was only 0.1 miles longer than the Vertix’s reported distance. The average paces synced up better as a result, with 10:29/mile on the Vertix and 10:26/mile on the Apple Watch.

Heart Rate Comparison

While Apple Watch tracked an average heart rate of 130bpm and a max rate of 144bpm. The Vertix on the other hand recorded an average of 139bpm and max rate of 159bpm. With the difference in reported heart rates I would have expected different calorie reporting. But the Apple Watch reported 1929 calories burned, while the Vertix came in at 1710 calories.

Day 6 – Randall’s Loop Half Marathon Streak Day 2

For my Coros Vertix review on day 6 I was back on Randall’s loop again, running another Half Marathon+ distance. Again traversing the same distance and trail helps to make a level field for comparison between the watches. This morning was the same as every other with the exception of running across a desert gecko in the early morning hours before twilight.

I should note that since before day 1 starting my Coros Vertix Review I had not had to recharge the watch. It had made it through each of the last 6 days of running and 73.9 miles of running on the initial charge. And the watch still had about 50% of its battery left. In contrast my Apple Watch Series 2 required a recharge every night. And on the Pine Valley Mountain Marathon, it was within 15% of remaining charge when we got back to the car. So I was duly impressed with the battery life of the Coros Vertix. It was performing far beyond anything that I had used before.

Vert Comparison

This morning found the max elevation recorded by the Vertix exactly the same as the day before. With a max of 3251 feet, but the lowest peak was 3228 feet, 4 feet lower than the day before. On the other hand the Apple Watch recorded a max height of 3261 feet and low of 3241 feet.  That was 10 feet higher than the max height of the day previous, and 6 feet higher than the previous days low. Those differences from day to day for each individual watch are well within GPS tolerances, so no real surprise there. But it was cool to see the Vertix hit the same max height with precision.  And with only 4 feet of difference on the low point it looks as if it showing higher precision overall.

Distance Comparison

On distance, the Apple Watch again tracked more distance than the Vertix, but this time only 0.06 miles difference. So it was the smallest difference in distance per mile since my initial run where both watches matched up. And the average pace was pretty close with a 10:51/mile pace on the Vertix and 10:49/mile on the Apple Watch. Fastest mile wasn’t too far off either with 9:19/mile pace on the Apple Watch and 9:23/mile on the Vertix.

Heart Rate Comparison

The differences in recorded heart rate continued on this run. The Apple watch recorded an average of 123bpm and max of 140bpm. On the other hand the Vertix recorded an average of 132bpm and max of 160bpm. The Apple Watch reported an identical number of calories burned as the day before with 1929. But the Vertix reported 110 calories burned less than the previous days run with 1600.

Day 7 – Randall’s Loop Half Marathon Streak Day 3

For day 7 of my Coros Vertix review I returned to Randall’s loop again, running yet another Half Marathon+ distance. Continuing my effort to provide an accurate comparison between the watches.

Vert Comparison

This morning found the max elevation recorded by the Vertix higher than before. Showing a max of 3274 feet, 22 feet higher than that recorded the two days before, and the lowest peak was 3235 feet, 7 feet higher than the day before. On the other hand the Apple Watch recorded a max height of 3255 feet and low of 3241 feet.  That was 6 feet lower than the max height of the day previous, and matching the previous days low. Those differences from day to day for each individual watch are well within GPS tolerances, so no real surprise there. Although the Vertix had quite a bit higher reading than the previous days, the Apple Watch seemed to win this round.

Distance Comparison

As with the day before, the Apple Watch recorded 0.06 miles longer than the Vertix. Making for a consistent tracking on both those runs. And the average pace was pretty close with a 9:40/mile pace on the Vertix and 9:42/mile on the Apple Watch. Fastest mile wasn’t too far off either with 8:41/mile pace on the Apple Watch and 8:40/mile on the Vertix.

Heart Rate Comparison

Differences in recorded heart rate continued on this run. The Apple watch recorded an average of 140bpm and max of 152bpm. On the other hand the Vertix recorded an average of 145bpm and max of 165bpm. The Apple Watch reported an identical number of calories burned for the third day in a row, 1929. But the Vertix reported 83 more calories burned than the previous days run with 1683.

Day 8 – Randall’s Loop Half Marathon Streak Concludes Day 4

I felt that keeping my runs consistent would help to ensure the validity of my Coros Vertix Review numbers. This final day of my half marathon streak I stayed on Randall’s Loop. However, since Speedgoat was looming large on the horizon, just two days away. I wanted to make sure I got at least one rest day in before race day. I know you are thinking, what is he doing? Putting in 60 miles on the same week as an ultramarathon sounds like a dumb thing to do. It definitely was, but my running league had a challenge.

The challenge, #tapermenot, is all about who can get the most miles during a race week, with a different division for each race distance. In other words, besides running the toughest 50k in the world, I was also trying to do it with 60 weekly miles already under my belt. Above all, I needed to make sure that I had a good time, and ensured that I got some good data to test these watches with. So I kept a similar pace to the rest of my half marathon streak and enjoyed the cool morning air. In conclusion of my half marathon, I realized that I would be at about 57 miles for the week, and wanted to be closer to 60.

The Unexpected 5k

I had not decided to run anything extra after my half marathon. But after completing the exact same route that I had run the previous several days, I commenced a final 5k, in addition to my previous miles. I was already tired from the last several days of running, and the last half marathon. So I took it easy on this final chunk of trail. Certainly, it had been a long week, but it wasn’t over yet. The Coros Vertix and other Coros watch models have a nifty feature that tries to estimate your stamina. As a result it gives you an estimate on how long it will take you to recover from the activity you have just completed.

I forgot to record exactly what figure it gave me at this point, but I remember that it specified about 1.8 to 2 days for recovery. As a result it was obvious that I was not going to be able to fully recover before Speedgoat started. In short, it was going to be a tough race day.

Vert Comparison

This morning found the max elevation recorded by the Vertix lower than the day before. Showing a max of 3258 feet, 18 feet lower than that recorded the day before, additionally the lowest peak was 3238 feet, 3 feet higher than the day before. On the other hand the Apple Watch recorded a max height of 3261 feet and low of 3219 feet. Ending up 6 feet lower than the max height of the day previous, and 22 feet lower than the previous days low. The readings for vert continued to be acceptable and within normal GPS error thresholds.

Distance Comparison

Surprisingly the Apple Watch recorded the exact same distance as the Vertix. Making this the first time since day1 that the watches tracked the same distance. As a result the average pace was virtually identical with a 10:09/mile pace on the Vertix and 10:10/mile on the Apple Watch. However the fastest mile was a bit off, registering 8:59/mile pace on the Apple Watch and 9:13/mile on the Vertix.

Heart Rate Comparison

Differences in recorded heart rate continued on this run. The Apple watch recorded an average of 128bpm and max of 145bpm. On the other hand the Vertix recorded an average of 138bpm and max of 157bpm. The Apple Watch reported a slightly lower number of calories burned compared with previous days, 1925. Meanwhile the Vertix reported 59 fewer calories burned than the previous days run with 1624.

Day 9 – The Speedgoat 50k

The final day of my Coros Vertix review was race day on the 2019 Speedgoat 50k. I have run a couple 50k races before but nothing could have prepared me for what ultimately awaited me on the trail. A 50k with over 11,000 feet of vert over the amazingly rugged course. Additionally record snowfall in the area over the winter had the ski resort allowing skiing through July 4th 2019.

A Snowy Summer Route

Because of the conditions there was still a ton of snow on the ground 16 days later when the race was held (check the pictures out for reference). Most importantly, regardless of the amount of snow on the ground we were still able to run the race. Consequently though, the snow did present some interesting course changes. Specifically there were dozens of locations where you had to butt slide down the snowy incline. And in one place (pictured) all the runners had to ascend directly up a snowy slope. Then slide back down the same route on our final descent. This unique challenge added a lot of fun to an already amazing race.

One Final Test For the Vertix

Like all the previous tests, I ran Speedgoat with both the Coros Vertix as well as the Apple Watch Series 2. But unlike my Apple Watch which had received a full charge overnight in preparation for the grueling course. The Vertix had not received any additional charge since the initial charge I had given it after opening the box. So by the time I got to the starting line the watch had already been used for 105 miles, and almost 25 hours of GPS usage. In addition to the approximately 215 hours in normal watch mode.

With that usage over the last 10 days the Coros Vertix still had just over 30% of the battery remaining. Never before had I set out for a critical run/race without a fully charged watch. I had great faith in the watch based on it’s performance thus far, but I was still a bit nervous that the 30% wouldn’t be enough. But there was no time for hesitation, the starting gun fired and the race began.

Trying to be a SpeedGoat

Setting off up the mountain I was quickly edged to the middle of the pack and we trotted along eating vert with each step. I turned on my favorite trail past time, an audio book, and methodically plodded along enjoying the scenery.

The Speedgoat course is a vicious meat grinder, you get to the summit of 11k feet just to be sent back down the opposite side of the mountain. And then get turned around to head back up to the 11k foot summit again. As a result after a couple times you can get very disheartened, I know I did. But as with any ultramarathon it is only completed by continuing to put one foot in front of another until you are at the finish line.

The Effects of High Altitude

I had not been up above 8,500 feet since my run on Pine Valley Mountain, day 4. And although I had tried to get up on the mountain regularly in the weeks leading up to Speedgoat, I was not fully prepared for the altitude. Fortunately the Vertix’s SPO2 monitoring capability kept me aware of how my body was performing in the high altitude environment. I feel that Coros had put some significant effort into that sensor/system, and it helped to keep me aware of how my body was doing. Whenever my heart rate would jump over a certain level the Vertix would notify me. As a result I was able to adjust my effort to return my heart to a lower rate.

After finishing my final ascent of the summit with my bruised and battered body I headed downhill to the finish line. I remember thinking how amazing the day had been, despite or because of the toil. I tried to take the beauty of the scenery in to its fullest, and although it wasn’t a fast time by any means, I was satisfied with the 11 hour finish I received.

Checking the Vertix Battery

After finishing the race and ending my run on both watches I found that I still had 10% of the battery left on the Coros Vertix. As well as about the same amount on my apple watch. I was floored, that after all the miles and GPS time over the previous 10 days, and an epic 50k, that it would still have 10% of its battery left. It was just crazy to me. I was super impressed, and if that were the only thing that the Vertix did well, it would totally have made it worth the investment alone.

Vert Comparison

So after this epic run it was time to check how the two watches performed. The Coros Vertix logged as max elevation of 10,856 feet and a total of 10,732 feet of ascent. While the Apple Watch recorded a max elevation of 10,938 feet and 12,933 feet of ascent. Although the Official height of Hidden peak, the highest point on the mountain, which we summited three times, is 11,000 according to Wikipedia.  Here again the Apple Watch appears to have picked up a better reading on the elevation, but added some significant elevation gain. As a result there is no definite winner here.

Distance Comparison

As with previous days the Apple Watch logged more miles than the Coros Vertix. In this case the Vertix logged 32.22 miles, while the Apple Watch logged 35.13 miles. Now I am pretty sure that I had both watches on my person the whole time. But yet my Apple Watch recorded almost 3 more miles than the Vertix. As a result in this area the Vertix is the solid winner, hands down.

Conclusions

Construction

As I conclude my Coros Vertix review I think back over my runs with this watch and I am amazed by it’s robust construction. It is a very durable and reliable watch and is so much more than your average GPS fitness tracker. The housing is made with amazing and lightweight components and materials. They leave you with a watch that is heavy enough to convey its quality while also still leaving it light enough to not weigh you down. The watch will definitely handle whatever you choose to put it through. And the silicone strap keeps up with the rest of the industry for durability and usability.

Battery Life

Beyond the physical construction, the next most notable feature has to be the battery life of the watch. I may have been more conscious of the length of battery life, since I had been using my Apple Watch which required nightly charging. But the battery life in the Coros Vertix is next level for sure. The simple ability to have a health tracking watch that could last for 45 days between charges is a game changer. But then adding the long duration GPS tracking changes everything. 60 to 150 hours of tracking allows you to conquer even the longest of ultra activities without worrying if your watch will die mid event.

In my own testing the battery lasted through 9 days, and almost 37 hours of that GPS tracking for 137.22 miles. Even after all those days and hours of activity tracking, the watch still had 10% battery life remaining, a major win from my point of view.

Charging

My Apple Watch required charging each night and took quite a while to get to 100% battery life available. The Coros Vertix on the other hand was able to be charged only once over those 9 days. And it took less than 2 hours to get it to a full charge. Much less time spent charging the device compared to its usable time between charges.

Accuracy

The tracking accuracy is better in many ways than the Apple Watch I was comparing it against. It appeared to be more accurate in GPS distance tracking. Better at tracking the moving and stopped time/distance. And generally better at tracking the elevation overall. But the main issue it appeared to have was with the peak elevations reported. This issue was only made visible because of the loops I ran on the same trail over and over again. Where the Apple Watch would report slightly different elevations, some lower and some higher, each time I passed the highest point in the loop. As I continued this Coros Vertix Review the watch reported a constantly reducing elevation for the highest point on the loop.

It is possible that the watch is using some algorithm to attempt to increase the accuracy of the elevation measurement each time the same location is traversed. But it seems like the result should mediate all the peaks rather than constantly reduce them. I have hoped that this would be addressed by the Coros development team. But as of yet, it has not made it into any of the feature updates.

Display

The display on the Coros Vertix was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It has a highly reflective component to the LCD screen that ensures the watch face is extremely visible in sunlight. The liquid crystal display is only capable of displaying 64 individual colors. But those colors are put to good use, offering an amazing presentation given the limited color array.

As a comparison my Apple Watch has a fully lit OLED screen, which can display millions of colors. And this works great at night, giving you a bright easy to read display. But during the day the Apple Watch’s screen can be quite difficult to see, especially in direct sunlight. This is not an issue with the Vertix, its screen stands out in any level of sunlight. The reflective ability also makes it easy to view with the light from a headlamp. And it also has a backlight to make things easy to see at night.

Oxygen Monitor

Having the SP02 monitor that automatically kicks in above 8500 feet was an amazing feature. As a trail runner I have never thought wow I am getting up there in elevation, maybe I should check my oxygen levels. But the Coros Vertix is set to do exactly that by default. So when you get above 8500 feet, where hypoxia could start to occur, it kicks in to help you become aware of potential hazards, like low oxygen in the blood, or higher than normal heart rate. I used it above 10,000 feet on two of my runs over my 9 day review period and found this feature very useful.

Ease of Use

After using the touch screen on the Apple Watch, I wasn’t sure how I would enjoy being relegated to the button and crown on the Coros Vertix. But I am happy to say that it was an easy switch. The button and crown usage was very intuitive and they were large enough to easily use even with gloves on. I had experienced several cancelled runs or other issues with my Apple Watch, because of a wet sleeve, or other moist object being interpreted as my finger. The touch-less interface made that a thing of the past. I have never had my Coros cancel a run on me prematurely.

My Coros Vertix Review Pros and Cons

The basic details of each of my runs for this Coros Vertix Review are laid out in the table below to allow the reader to easily reference the differences in recorded distances, elevations, and Heart Rate.

Trail Description

The Highland Loop Trail is an easy and very accessible route with gorgeous 360 degree views of the southern Utah landscape. The trail sits on top of a flat toped ridge thus giving it the “Highland” name. The area is teaming with chaparral and yucca as well as lots of rabbits and even the occasional coyote. The trail is one of the most accessible in the area since you can basically park on pavement at the trailhead and be on the loop within a handful of feet. As a result depending on the time of day you will probably run into other runners, mountain bikers, or neighbors that are taking their dogs on a walk. There are rumblings about this area getting developed, if that happens this gem of a trail will be lost forever, so don’t delay your visit to come try it out.

Starting at the North East corner of the parking area you will find a dirt trail heading primarily north. After about 200 feet on the trail you will come to a split this is the start of the loop. Wether you take the clockwise or counterclockwise direction you will end up back where you are at this point. There are a few other trails on top of the ridge but if you get turned around just know that the water tower at the end of the ridge (and Pine Valley Mountain) are to the north, and heading south on any trail on the ridge will get you back to the parking lot.

Heading in a clockwise direction you will meander a little bit on the mostly smooth dirt trail, only occasionally having its surface broken by a rock or two. Shortly after starting you should start to see three poles way up in the distance, those mark the upper end of the loop, so you can gauge how far along you are based on how close they appear. After approximately 0.3 miles you will come to a trail that has been blocked off with a line of rocks, bear to your right to stay on the loop shortly thereafter (a little less than 0.1 miles) you will come to a split in the trail, again bear to the right to stay on the loop. About another 0.1 miles later you will come to a wide dirt road or cleared spot that goes perpendicular to the trail you have been on, you will also be very close to the three metal poles mentioned previously, on the north side of the road/cleared area and west of your position, this is the top of the loop, hang another right on the cleared area and head east for about 50 feet then you will see another trail crossing the cleared area. Turn right onto the trail and start heading south. This part of the trail hugs the edge of the ridge pretty well, offering lots of beautiful sunrise photo opportunities. There are a few open more sandy areas on this side of the loop, but keep to the more worn parts of the trail or head straight across those sections and you will meet up with the trail again. This side meanders a bit as well, but after about 0.95 miles total you will be back where the trail split and you can go around again.

Trail Details

• Type: Loop
• Distance: 0.95 mi/1.5 km
• Difficulty: Easy
• Elevation: 3190 ft/973 m
• Google Maps Link to Trailhead: Click Here

Strava Route(s)

Highland Loop Clockwise Route

Est. Moving Time	Distance	Elevation Gain
00:11:33	1.07	93.68
hours	mi.	ft.

Highland Loop Clockwise

Trail Gallery

Trail Video

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.	9,659 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.

Adventure Video

Grapevine Trail Description

The Grapevine trail is straight forward and easy to follow. The trail gets its name from the wild grapes which grow near the trailhead. The trail ends at wells which supply Washington City with some of their culinary water supply. Grapevine is basically the single track dirt road that the city uses to access and maintain the wells. So navigation is relatively simple. This trail is a favorite of ours because of the easy access from the freeway.

Heading North East from the parking area up the rocky dirt road you will come to a fence/gate with a crossover after just 0.1 miles. After crossing the fence you will continue up the road for approximately the next mile. For the next half mile or so you will have an average of a 5-6% grade and gain about 200 feet of elevation. At about 0.9 miles you will come to a fork in the road, bear left to stay on the Grapevine route, The other side of the fork heads over to the Prospector and Church Rocks trails. At just over the 1 mile mark you should come to a Dino Cliffs trail marker on the left hand side of the road defining the Dino Cliffs single track trail that takes off to the left. Continue on the road to stay on the Grapevine Trail.

The Wells

The road continues to gradually climb and meander up toward the wells. At approximately the 2 mile mark there is another single track trail that takes off to the east. This trail is called Sand Hill and as it’s name implies it is very sandy. About another 0.4 miles brings you to a fork in the road, there is a well at the end of each of those roads. The way we typically run it is to continue straight for another 0.1 miles to hit the first well head, and take a view of the black lava wall. After which we turn around and hit the second well. The out and back on the second well road adds approximately 0.8 miles for the full out and back.

Once you have reached the wells at the end of the Grapevine Trail you have a few miles of nice easy decent ahead of you. So take a nice easy gait and enjoy the downhill.

Trail Details

• Type: Out and Back
• Distance: 5.74 mi/9.24 km
• Difficulty: Easy
• Elevation: 3064-3550 ft/934-1082 m
• Google Maps Link to Trailhead: Click Here

Strava Route(s)

Grapevine Trail Route

Est. Moving Time	Distance	Elevation Gain
01:02:26	5.75	545.32
hours	mi.	ft.

The Grapevine Trail/Road through the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

Trail Gallery