The "Toughest 10K" Lives Up To Its Name (by Munro)

(Posted by Munro) I had the great opportunity to participate in the Toughest 10K in Midway, Utah last Saturday, and it was the hardest run I have been on to date! Seriously.

Had it not been for the enthusiasm of my good friend, Geoff Bolton, to participate, I'm not sure if I even would have done it. (Thanks a lot Geoff :)He registered right after I told him about it, so I was committed at that point.

The elevation in Midway is around 5500+ ft. which is about 1,000 feet higher than the elevations I am used to running at in the Pleasant Grove area. After a couple of training runs in Midway I felt like I was as ready as I was going to be for the race.

We stayed at my parents Zermatt Condo and Geoff came up and joined us on Friday evening, the day before the race. Fortunately, the weather on race day was slightly cooler due to some rain and cloud cover.

Prior to the 10K the race organizers had a Kids 1K race, which took all of 2-4 minutes from start to finish. It was fun and I wished I would have signed Mason and Maile up for that. They would have LOVED it!

After some walking, stretching and pre-race picture taking, Geoff and I joined the other 150+ runners as they headed up the trail to the starting line. The course was setup throughout the Soldier Hollow cross country ski trails, which consists of a lot of hills.

The first mile of the run was all uphill and was a great way to kick off the race. I kept my pace steady and slower than I wanted to go, knowing I'd need to save my energy for the second half of the race. It was a beautiful setting in the mountains and hills of Midway. Everything was green and the air smelled so fresh and invigorating.

I quickly fell in love with trail running, not having really done it before. It was just cool to be in nature, away from the cars, pollution, noises and to just hear the sounds of running feet and rhythmic breathing.

Initially there was a bit of congestion on the trail with so many runners starting out with only a 6-7 foot width area to run on. Slowly though, the crowd separates as everyone settles into their pace, with the faster ones cruising ahead and the slower ones drifting behind.

Once I hit the first downhill segment of the race I really let my body carry me into a relatively quick pace. The interesting thing about a hilly race like this is that the pace times with each mile vary quite a bit due to the mix of uphill/downhill terrain. I clocked my first mile, which was mostly uphill, at 8 minutes, 24 seconds. The second mile, which has quite a bit of downhill to it, I ran in 6 minutes 39 seconds! My total race average ended up being approximately 8 minutes, 15 seconds per mile.

There are three main things that I believe contribute to this race being named "Toughest 10K":

1. The elevation (5,500-6,000)
2. The hills
3. The psychological effects of hills

The higher elevation causes people to get "winded" more quickly and slightly reduces the amount of oxygen the body can consume in any given breath, thereby slightly slowing the pace or intensity of the runner.

The hills were frequent enough, long enough and steep enough to slow down even the most serious and seasoned runners.

The psychological effects of hills is really interesting and I'm sure each person deals with this differently. For me, it was hard not knowing how many more hills lay ahead and how long or steep they were going to be. I just wasn't sure what to expect in that regard and therefore didn't quite know how hard I should be pushing myself on the downhill segments. Also, while running a hill or facing hill after hill after hill, it becomes more challenging, both physically and mentally, to keep running! The hills slow the pace such that the temptation is to just walk "since I'm not running that fast anyway". It is also easy to question one's own endurance when facing a long hill. "Can I really run ALL the way to the top of this one?" "I don't know if I can do it."

It is so important to keep a positive focus when running and to do the best you can at all times and in all circumstances. There was one and only one hill that I ended up walking. It was preceded by at least 4-5 smaller hills in succession and then I faced this LONG steady climb. I was already so winded and tired that I started to doubt myself and give in to the temptation to just walk. I pushed the temptation aside and kept running up this hill, but shortly thereafter I gave in to my tired body and my heaving lungs and walked up the second half of the hill. This actually worked well for me because I slowed my breathing down and was able to pick up considerable speed on the other side coming down the hill. However, I vowed that I would not walk again until I crossed the Finish Line. :)

WATER STATIONS
They had water stations setup at miles 2 and 4. I skipped the one at mile 2. I was carrying my own water bottle, which I hadn't touched until then, but decided I should probably drink an ounce or two and pour a little on my head to cool me down. At mile 4 I did grab a cup of water and just dump it on my head to cool me down a bit. Some runners don't realize how much water stations can slow them down and just subconsciously grab the water because it is there and being offered to them. I prefer to self-hydrate when I need it and to only use the water stations if I'm out of water or just need a quick cool down. Also, if you don't train drinking water then don't do it on race day. "Nothing new on race day" is a good motto to go with. However, when running more than 3 or 4 miles, especially in the summer, it really is important to be hydrating and keeping the body temperature as moderate as possible.

By the time I hit the 3 mile mark I felt more worked than I did at the FINISH of the Freedom Run 10K on July 4th! That run was a cake walk compared to this one in the hills of Midway. However, I kept going and caught a second wind of energy around the 4.5-5 mile mark.

There were so many HILLS on this course I couldn't believe it. What was really hard on the endurance were the final 2-3 hills. I was nearing the finish area and I knew there was only a mile or so left to go. I could see it. I was climbing what "I thought" was the last hill of the race. After crossing the summit of it I saw runners ahead of me climbing an even longer and taller one. "That one HAS to be the last hill," I said to myself. It was, thankfully.

I was able to muster up some energy to pick up my pace for the final 50 yards, but I was tired and ready to cross that finish line! It felt great to complete this race and I was pleasantly surprised when I was handed my unofficial results on a small business card size piece of paper, which read:

2009 Utah's Toughest 10K
July 25, 2009
Men's 10K
Munro Murdock
51:17.0 (8:15 Min/Mi)
21st place overall
3rd in Men 30-34

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I never expected to place in the top 3 in my age group so that was a great feeling. I even got a nice purple ribbon to go along with it :)

Geoff came across the finish line a few minutes later and set a new Personal Record (PR) for the 10K distance! He ran it faster than the one he'd done on Oahu at Kualoa Ranch three weeks earlier.

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Rachel and the kids were there to celebrate our accomplishments. We took some pictures, enjoyed a 5 minute complimentary massage and picked up our race shirts.

It was a great race and while I'm still quite sore from the experience I am looking forward to getting back out on the streets and the trails to get ready for the Redrock Relay as well as some triathlons and half marathons in the not too distant future.

"Keep on running. Keep on running. Keep on running."

- Munro -