Running the Dead Horse Ultramarathon - Moab, Utah
My first trip out to the west of the US was with a couple friends I started work in New York City at Andersen Consulting, now Accenture. This trip was before the age of google maps, so we used paper maps to make a rough plan for a two-week trip. We flew into Denver, Colorado, picked up a van, then meandered our way west and south through Moab, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We camped, rode mountain bikes, and hiked at each spot, including hiking the entire Narrows at Zion. We spent a few days in Vegas, including taking a hard hat tour of the Hoover Dam, then headed north to San Francisco, stopping in Death Valley and Yosemite National Park. The stop in Moab was one of the high points of the trip, since we rode mountain bikes into the park, a first for me, so I always wanted to return to experience more.
I got the chance to make a return visit since I found an ultramarathon on a weekend I could get away. I had some time off before Thanksgiving, so I was looking for a late season ultramarathon and found the Dead Horse Ultra being held in Moab. The course is a single loop 50k long race, my favorite kind. The races are in the fall since summer has deathly temperatures.
My friend Brian and I flew into Denver then drove west to Moab. The drive was exciting since a winter storm was racing us to the pass on I-70. Fortunately, we got through the pass before the worst of it since the Department of Transportation shut the pass down for several hours after we passed through, a not uncommon occurrence. After we got through the pass, it was smooth sailing and an uneventful drive.
The Dead Horse Ultra is a very well organized race. We picked up our race packets the night before, so the morning of the race was calm. It's tough to put any aspect of Moab into words, so the gallery below will speak for itself. It was a fine weather day, an excellent track with lots of variety throughout.
One cannot visit all of Moab in a day, but it’s still worth doing if you have a chance to get away for even a short time. Check out either an ultramarathon or set your own course to make it an ultrarunning destination! In addition, if you fly through Denver, you might even get to have a hike in the snow if you stop along the way back!
