Can I just say that Runtastic Events puts on some pretty spectacular running races? They really do! So the Dino Half took place out in Vernal, which you may or may not know, is a huge area for Paleontology. Lots of dino bones and excavation sites are out there.
I drove out on Friday night and camped overnight at a campground, and happened to run into my friend Erin, who I met volunteering for the Runtastic Salt Lake Haunted Half last October. It rained most of the night, and I couldn't sleep from hearing a guy snoring in the tent-site over.
Saturday morning was cloudy and cold, and the buses weren't in sync with the rotation of shuttling the runners to the start line. That's okay, because it gave me the opportunity to chit chat with my fellow runners.
When I finally got on the bus, we headed up Dry Fork Canyon. It started to rain, and even drizzle with snow! I was just ready to get up there and get this race started! When we got to the start line, you could see snow capping the mountains. It made it really cold! On the upside, it was very pretty too!
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| Starting line porta-potty line. Snow capped mtns in the back |
It started to drizzle a bit. As long as we got moving, I knew I'd be okay. I wasn't up there long before the race started.
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| I'm in the left hand corner |
Once I settled into a rhythm, I stuck around the 2:40 pacers. Cevan was one of our enthusiastic 2:40 leaders that kept us going! It was fun! We all chatted and were just silly!
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| My new buddy, Cevan |
The canyon was absolutely beautiful! Most of it was downhill, but the course was a little deceiving with some rolling hills thrown in there.
There was a steep hill at mile 4. They did the "Sprintasaurus" mile from mile 6 to 7, in which people could try to run as fast as they could (fastest mile). I opted to just keep my same pace. The sun started to come out from behind the clouds.
At mile 7, I had to run to the bathroom. Shortly after, I knew that wasn't the end of my tummy troubles. My feet started to blister from being on a crowned road, and there was a wicked, gradual uphill starting around mile 9 to about 10.5. At that point, I needed to find a bathroom. I knew I wasn't going to make it. Then the weather couldn't make up its mind... it was between sunshine and hot and cold and rainy. Mile 11 brought some much needed relief, with a porta-potty just where I needed it. The release felt good, but I knew if I wasn't careful, there'd be another accident. So I walked most of mile 11 to 12. I didn't mind.
I decided to walk-run mile 12 to get me to the finish. Some of the people that were behind me had already passed me, but I ended up catching up to them. One of the guys from Phoenix (that I had met after the start) I caught up with. I encouraged him to run with me through the finish, and finish strong. It started to drizzle as we started to run in to the finish, and then it just started to pour! I finished at the perfect time!
My time wasn't great... no PR, but that's okay. I was exhausted from the night before, and the tummy issues didn't help. But I thoroughly enjoyed getting to explore and race in Vernal (in which I had never been to before) and the cool T-Rex medal made it so worth it! I'll definitely be doing that race again in the future!
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