Davy Crockett’s Running Frontier

To close out my 2010 racing schedule, I decided to give a fixed-time 48-hour event a try. I entered Across the Years (ATY) 48-hour footrace held at Nardini Manor, in Buckeye, Arizona, west of Phoenix. For a fixed-time race, you try to cover as many miles as you can in that period of time. The clock is always ticking. Each year ATY attracts many of the elite in sport from around the world. Two years ago I ran the 24-hour version of the race and did pretty well, so this year I wanted to see how I could do in the 48-hour version.

continue reading…

Capitol Reef National Park is one of the lesser-known parks in Utah.  The park is in a remote area of south-central Utah that did not have a paved road going to the area until 1962.  In 1971 President Nixon signed a bill to make the area into a national park.  This park is still a relatively secret national treasure compared to the other well-known parks in Utah.  It is an ultrarunner’s paradise because of its solitude, spectacular scenery, primitive and rugged trails, slot canyons, and gorgeous slick rock.

The major feature of the park is the Waterpocket Fold.  This is a remarkable, nearly 100-mile long up-thrust extending like a rugged spine from Thousand Lake Plateau southward to Lake Powell.  On the east side of the Waterpocket Fold is an extremely long valley that extends the length of the Waterpocket Fold.   Bordering the east side of the valley are high cliffs of Halls Mesa.  Winding through the valley is Halls Creek normally dry but runs full of water during flood run-off times.  This valley can be brutally hot during the summer and surprisingly warm in the winter. continue reading…