Speedgoat 2013

Yesterday Katherine and I volunteered at the Speedgoat 50k which is held at Snowbird, my old stomping grounds.  Don't let the distance fool you.  This race is TOUGH!  I've never run it, but after a day of volunteering I'm a nutter tempted.  I loved volunteering.  Seeing the faces of each runner as they came through and watching them regroup, was amazing to see.  So many people came to us completely beat up by the mountain and you could see the mental switch that some food, drink and kind words caused.  I remember that feeling so very well from my own 50k experience in March.  There were runners from all over the country and some from other countries as well.  

Katherine and I were stationed at the tunnel on the Mineral Basin side of the mountain, where while setting up I got to meet Karl Meltzer.  We were joined by several other seasoned volunteers and some of their children.  There were four little girls who were wonderful helpers, and did things like hand out popsicles, ring cow bells and refill water bottles.  It was a very fun group of people.  

I saw and cheered on several familiar faces: Britta (who I know from running on Antelope Island) Ryan (my running buddy, Lindsay's husband) Johnny Runner (who is one of the race directors for the CCUTR) the nice guy from Wasatch Running Center who has helped me with loads of things and of course some of the big names in running like Sage Canaday, Anton Krupicka, Max King, Krissy Moehl, and Timothy Olsen. Exciting!

Our aid station was the last cutoff.  Runners had to make it to us by 3:15pm.  Keep in mind that the race started at 6:30am.  That's a long time to run through the mountains! Some of the last runners through to us were hoping they hadn't made the cutoff.  Some were absolutely thrilled they'd made the cutoff, and some were just surviving.  All the runners were kind and so many of them thanked us for being out there. Some runners would barely stop long enough to refill their water bottles, while others would stand around and graze from the food table.  A few sat and even fewer needed a few words of encouragement to get back out there and keep going.  I was honored to be part of each and every one of their journeys to the finish line.  Fortunately, we only had to tell a small handful of people that they had not in fact made the cutoff and that this is where the race ended for them.  Those folks had been running for nearly ten hours when we had to break the bad news.

A few favorite runner interactions:

Katherine and I met a man from Texas in the parking lot before the race and when he came into our aid station, his face went from defeated to a smile when he said, "I'm so happy to see you guys!"  We were glad to see him too!

A French runner came through and when one of the little girls asked if he'd like a popcicle.  With a look of confusion on his face he answered, "I'm French and I'm tired!" HA!

When the last runner who made the cutoff came through, she looked defeated until we announced to her that she had, in fact, made the cutoff!  She thought she hadn't and couldn't have been happier!  She began smiling and crying and even hugged one of the volunteers.  She said, "I'm stupid happy!"  That was an awesome moment!

Two runners came up to Katherine at the same time.  The first asked what was in the small shot sized cups and when Katherine told him they were Red Bull he reacted with a very strong, "NO!  NO Red Bull!" While the second runner came up saying, "I need Red Bull!" very enthusiastically.  

Before the start of the race down at Entry 1.

Riding the tram up.

Katherine and I were awesome "cooler full of ice" haulers!

Hidden Peak

Let's run!

We made it to our station before all the others because we came up with our coolers.

Of course, Katherine and I thought of Dean Karnazes.  

We had a good giggle over this.  When running Speedgoat, there is no easier route!

Here comes Sage Canaday!  He was flying!!!!

Here comes Olaf, one of the volunteers who'd be at the tunnel with us.  Oh, and behind him that's just Anton Krupicka and Max King!!!!

Second place female, Jodee Adams-Moore.

Olaf

Our home for the day.  The tunnel aid station.

Fooling around.  You're shocked, right?

What the runners had to look forward to after our hospitality.

Before any runners came through and the station was neat and clean.

Some of the other volunteers.

Around 10:30am, here comes Sage Canaday in the lead!

Cutest bell ringers.

People watching from the peak.

He kept looking up at the peak to make sure no one was right behind him.

His parents were crewing for him.  He ate like nothing I've ever seen.  He took a huge hand full of chips from his mom, crammed them at his face, and as half of the fell to the ground he spilled drank some fluid and then said, "I gotta go!" and was off again.  Speedy!!

Here comes Anton Krupicka in second place!

This man moves like a gazelle.  He doesn't even look like he's working.

Max King

The man in the green and blue is Timothy Olson.

Jodee Adams-Moore had an impressive lead, but she ended up in second place.

Krissy Moehl, 5th place

Ryan, Lyndsay's husband was in a bad way when he came into our aid station.  He's fast.  A lot faster then Lindsay and I and ended up getting a Speedgoat PR of 7:40. Congratulations Ryan!

Here comes Britta, she came up smiling and looking quite fresh!  Way to go Britta!

Nice pants.  They weren't racers, but liked the shorts.

The sky was impressive as we left.  We had been rained on here and there throughout the day.

It was quite cold at the top.  I was glad I had so many layers with me!

Runners coming up the cirque ridge toward their last aid station stop for the day.

More of our fellow aide station crew.

The entire day was an awesome experience. Thanks to all the tunnel crew for making Katheine and I part of your aid station. Thanks to all the runners,  watching your determination to make it to the finish was more than inspiring.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll be on the other side of the table next time.

Check here for more pictures, info and results.