This morning I did a trail run organized by Erik Storheim called the Grandeur Peak Fun Run. The first two miles is neither fun nor a run. It goes up the face of Grandeur Peak starting in the parking lot near the bridges that go over I-215 and Parley’s Canyon in Salt Lake City. You climb about 3,500 feet in 2 miles up to the peak and then head down the backside, hook up with the pipeline at Church Fork in Millcreek Canyon and then work your way around the front of the mountain back to the trailhead. It’s about 10 miles long and was a great time. You can see the map here: http://sites.google.com/site/mrcultra/granduer-fun-run

I got a little carried away on the way down from the peak and twisted my ankle pretty bad (heard a crunch) but luckily I was able to walk it out and get rid of any stiffness so I could continue running down. That was only about 3 miles into the race so I was nervous I’d have to drop out. I was glad the twist wasn’t as bad as it sounded and I was able to keep going.

My favorite part was when the route left the pipeline trail and scrambled up a deer trail across the ridge of Millcreek canyon. The 600 ft climb there was a little grueling but coming down the other side of the ridge was a beautiful single-track completely covered in trees. There were a couple spots that were so green I felt like I was in the Northwest.

My two goals in the race were to finish and not finish last. Luckily I accomplished both of those. I made it to the top of the peak in 1 hr. 15 minutes which is pretty good for a mere mortal. To put it into perspective the winner finished the whole race in 1 hr. 45 minutes. Sickening right? My finish time by my watch was was 2 hr. 49 minutes.

Below are some photos from the race, mostly of the way up. Once I got to the running portion I was having too much fun to stop and take pictures.