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It was a spectacular western sunrise. The temperature was about 50°F with a light wind and the air was crystal clear, the Wind River Range visible far to the north. This moment was one of the reasons why I do this.

The first few miles are a 500-ft climb, and I really had a hard time getting warmed up, it was very, very uncomfortable for me. Anything more than a fast walk felt very difficult and I was reluctant to exert myself too much so early in the race. There was an older 50-state guy (several times over) who I knew was a 5+ hour finisher at sea level, and I couldn’t even pass him for long, he kept catching me. I even walked a few short sections here. The elevation and climb were tougher than I had expected. Finally by mile 4 I got into a groove and started to feel comfortable. By the time I hit the plateau at 7550 ft in mile 6 I was warmed up and left 50-State Guy behind for good. It was only about 10:00/mile pace, but it was good enough.

                                                    ELEVATION PROFILE

The next 13 miles were rolling hills along a ridgeline. Aid stations were every 2 miles with water and Powerade, and occasionally candy. The road was sprayed with water that morning to keep down the dust, and the Inov-8 trail shoes I wore were well-suited for it, they are lightweight shoes with good protection against sharp rocks but little cushioning, which was not needed on the dirt road. The only traffic was the County Rescue ATVs working the race and the occasional car hurrying to set up an aid station. Any runner who needed to squat behind a bush would have been distressed to discover that the tallest bush is about a foot high and doesn’t offer much privacy!  I kept looking for wild horses. I had seen a few the day before while driving the route. Today there were none to be seen (not surprising since there are only 250 horses spread over 400,000 acres) but plenty of big piles of horse poop, which the horses use to mark their territory.

The miles went on with temperatures in the 60’s, a few drops of rain, the occasional view of Rock Springs in the valley beolw on the left, and the plains to the right, dominated by Pilot Butte:

Finally by mile 15 I saw a group of about 6 wild horses climbing a ridge off to the right. It occurred to me that had I been here 300 years ago it would have looked much the same.  I never tired of the scenery, and compared to the urban blight I’ve seen in the middle miles of some big-city races, I could not imagine a better view. Now there is a move to put up a giant power-generating windmill farm here--I hope they find another location.

Finally at mile 18 the course went into a gradual descent, passing the 10k start where I could see the finish area in the valley far below. It looked like a long way down there. At mile 22 I hit the steep downhill part of the course. My legs were starting to feel the miles, and by the time I hit the downhill it really started to hurt. My legs were taking a pounding and each step felt more like a stomp, although the canyon was beautiful:

ELEVATION PROFILE

The painful pounding only got worse when the course hit asphalt in mile 24. The Inov-8’s aren’t intended for that surface and I felt it. I ran into Green River on city streets and across a narrow pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks. Here I encountered the last of the half-marathoners, walking three across (don’t they always?) and blocking the whole bridge, who refused to move over despite my repeated “excuse me”...”EXCUSE ME”...”EXCUSE ME!” Finally I reached the finish at Expedition Island in 4:31 or so. Considering the course, I was OK with that. They had drinks, salty snacks, fruit, and plenty of food. All in all, a memorable race through a beautiful landscape. I recommend it to anyone who appreciates nature and doesn’t need all the amenities of a big-city race like crowds, chip timing or bands.

First mile of the Run With the Horses Marathon