3rd annual BPL Spring Run Adventure

[Mike M]

where? Zion National Park

what is it? it's a traverse of Zion National Park (roughly NW->SE), ~ 47 miles (w/ an option for ~ 35 miles), ~ 10,000' of elevation gain (and loss) on single track trail (short section of paved road) that goes through a myriad of different ecosystems and geology.

when? 4/5/14 Saturday (try to plan for a few days of hanging out prior/after if you can)

why? you know why :)

few relevant links

skurka zion traverse

zion traverse fkt

joe's guide to zion traverse

zion national park

Mike

possible to probable attendees

myself
Grant (friend from Helena)
Craig
Adan
Eugene
Art
John V
Greg
David W
Jacob
Ozzy
Slaton
Jeff G
Bruce L

[W I S N E R !]

Let's do it.

I was planning on Zion solo in October but I'm having some mild plantar fascitis issues and don't know if pushing the mileage over the next two months is smart.

I could wait and do a spring run for sure.

I already know all the logistics necessary for Zion- shuttles, campgrounds, route, etc., so it would be my vote. It would be a fun place to hang and camp with everyone as well. We got pretty close to making it happen last year….

[BlackHatGuy]

Can I just come and camp and hang out? I could never do the run, but you could all make fun of me for being a wuss around the campfire. That would be worth something, wouldn't it?

[Mike M]

Sweet! Craig do you think April is the best spring month? early, mid, late? I agree that will be a great place to hang

Doug- absolutely- the more the merrier!

[W I S N E R !]

It would be great to have you Doug.

I could pick people up in Las Vegas if anyone is flying.

April is pretty average vs. the rest of the year for rainfall and temperatures.

From the NPS site: Highs of 73/lows of 46 with extreme high of 94/low of 23

Potential snowfall drops off pretty drastically beginning in April.

First weekend of April (Saturday the 5th) would be good for me as I'm still on spring break. Last weekend of March could work well too. I'm pretty flexible though. I can be in the park in about 7-8 hours driving.

I imagine something similar to our R2R2R-
travel Thursday night/Friday
run Saturday
head home Sunday/Monday

[David W.]

The company,scenery and pain made for a memorable time last year at Joshua Tree. I would love to give it another go in Zion however I am reserving the right to drink beer with Doug until I see the route.

[Mike M]

Doug- either of those dates would work for me, format of running on Saturday will work best as well

David would be great if you can make it!

if we decide to run it west to east, there is a good option for dropping at the Grotto (30-ish miles in); east to west you're fairly committed to the entire distance

[Ozzy McKinney]

Maybe I'm being a bit bold here, but I'm going to keep this idea on the back burner. I need something to keep me motivated through the winter, and the last one looked like fun. I've never run that distance before. Maybe I never will! (haha)

Anyone else out there rockin huaraches?

[Mike M]

I was in the exact same boat our first run in the Grand Canyon, I had never run that distance and due to an injury, my training took a significant slide as well. I decided to still go and run a little less ambitious route (to Roaring Springs and back)- I was sure glad I went. It was one of my most memorable trips and met a great group of folks!

I've never run in sandals- doesn't seem to slow the Tarahumara down :)

[Eugene Smith]

First off, cheers on the Rut finish Mike! Glad to hear it went well and you're still reeling from it.

Secondly, I'll be keeping an eye on this thread because I'm still disappointed I wasn't able to connect with any of you out on the trail this past year. I've been running gobs this summer and haven't felt this healthy and fit in years. Lots of sweet long runs in the mountains the past few months in excess of 26 miles, so I'm up for most anything for the fall and spring assuming I stay healthy and avoid burnout. It's also mountain bike time in my neck of the woods with the nice fall weather around the corner.

I be running R2R2R in November and have the Mt Taylor 50K next weekend on the 28th- looking forward to both of these. No plans yet for the spring other the. The Jemez 50mer in May. Zion in April may be perfect timing.

Looking forward to seeing what transpires here.

[Jacob D]

Can I join you guys for this?

[Art …]

Sounds like a great idea !
Zion is a beautiful place.

John V. and I would be strong maybe's, depending on the weekend.

There is also that little loop that goes by Rae Lakes (in the Sierra). Although April is not the time for that one.

[Art …]

Mike – I have to say, you look like a modern day Wyatt Earp in your new photo :-)

[Bob Gross]

"I've never run in sandals- doesn't seem to slow the Tarahumara down"

Except when they have to run over snow in California.

–B.G.–

[Mike M]

Eugene-glad to hear the running is going so well! I'm sure this would be an epic trip, as were the previous ones. Hope you can make it.

Jacob- absolutely! Should be a fun run, and as you found out last year, typically even more fun hanging out :)

Art- would be great to see you and John again! Is John still racing every other weekend? :)

That's kind of what I thought w/ the pic, my wife however said Men in Black :)

[Ozzy McKinney]

They don't slow me down either. Problem is if they did I would just be crawling :-P

I'm stoked. And my wife want's to see Zion anyway.

[Mike M]

I'm definitely in the slow camp- no speed, but endurance is slowly building :)

[W I S N E R !]

My patented Surfing for Ultrarunning Success training strategy worked out pretty well for me in Joshua Tree (I consider being one of the only ones to be eating plates of food and drinking beer afterwords a victory), and it looks like I'm on the same track this year.

Every time I try and muster the energy for a long run it looks hot outside and I surf instead. And every time it's not too hot outside surfing just sounds more fun.

So I'm definitely all in. Death or Glory.

[Ozzy McKinney]

as long as we are talking (lack of) speed, what type of pace does one generally aim to carry in an endevour like this? I've done some "fastpacking" but never any "ultra" running.

[Mike M]

it really depends on the terrain – elevation/technical footing/# of breaks/etc are going to slow you down (sometimes considerably)

Zion has it's fair share of ups and downs (but not nearly as brutal as say the Grand Canyon), my wild guess is when you average the runnable sections and the walking sections- it will be in 3.5-4 mph range

for an example the FKT for this traverse is in the low 7 hours, very close to a 7 minute pace! I think I can safely double that :)

[Art …]

my guess is most if not all who join this adventure will be in the 3.0 to 4.0 mph range. there is a lot of fast power walking involved that gets lumped in to the term running.
efficiency of time is as important as moving pace.
a long break can really drop the "overall" pace.
not going out too fast in the first third is critical also.

[Ozzy McKinney]

I've heard there is quite a bit of sand on this route? I'm not sure but that sounds like something that would suck around mile 40. We just moved to a beach house so maybe I can call running on the beach my Zion Training Plan, make it sound serious ;)

[Mike M]

I know a couple of blokes that might have done that last Spring :)

[Mike M]

Does the first Sat in April, April 5 work for everyone? The sooner I get a date, the better it is for me.

My plan is to travel Thursday- hang Friday, run Sat, hang Sunday and travel back Monday

thanks

Mike

[W I S N E R !]

That date works perfectly for me Mike.
I'll likely bring my family up for this one.
We'd stay Thursday, Fri, and Sat nights, leaving Sunday.

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