Alastair and I were up on race day by 5am so we could be at the start by 6:30. I had gotten about 6 hours of sleep, better than my pre-race norm, and my body felt pretty good (despite having done a moderately strenuous 6 mile hike in Bryce Canyon National Park the day before). After breakfast (consisting of coffee, and hot oatmeal with chia seeds, flax seed powder, protein powder and banana), we departed our motel for the 20 minute drive along a dirt road to where Vacation Races was set up for the 30k, 50k, 60k, 50 and 100 mile distances. Over 500 people were registered for the 30k, but the start was well organized and didn’t feel particularly crowded. We were off at 7am.
The race started at 7287 feet elevation, at the mouth of Proctor Canyon and climbed 700 ft. over 2 miles on doubletrack up to the first aid station. We continued climbing west on a rugged doubletrack road until we summited at 9156 feet elevation.
Runners ahead of me circled in yellow 
The course then mostly descended to the Aid Station at mile 8, which was designated as the “Grim Reaper”, meaning if you didn’t arrive there before 10:48am you would be pulled from the race. I got there @ 9:36am, grabbed half a sandwich, filled my water bottle, and resumed (everyone was mostly walking at this point). That was the only food I picked up at aid stations – I carried Accel gels, Chok Blocks and a Clif protein bar.
We peaked out around mile 12 where it began a mostly steady downhill for the remainder of the course. For the most part, we were in heavily wooded areas with views of the surrounding area, but it wasn’t until miles 13-15 that we could see some of the famous red cliffs. I was very glad we did a hike in Bryce Canyon National Park the day before – I was a bit disappointed with the overall course and lack of any views of the iconic canyon formations.
The course turned out to be a bit longer than a 30k, which the organizers only informed us at the end. According to my Garmin, I did 19.73 miles (similar to the distances recorded by several of the other runners I talked to), with an elapsed time of 5:33:13. My official time recorded by the race timers was 5:32:54, placing 2nd in my age group.
I was pleased with how I did, finishing about an hour faster than any of my training runs with similar elevation profiles and distances. My favorite part of the race were the other participants I talked to along the course. I was encouraged by their great attitudes and stories – trail runners are awesome people!
