W100: Brighton-Pole Line Pass Looper

Date: August 18, 2018

Distance: 23 miles

Purpose: to learn about the last section of the W100

With the race only 3 weeks away, I was now starting to get close to the end of my training for the summer. I pondered and visualized the actual race course. I’ve always appreciated knowing what the course would be like when running marathons. It makes such a huge difference to me to know if the next mile is going to be uphill or downhill, sunny or shady, wet or dry. I can better micromanage the central governor to provide more or less energy depending on what the next section of the course looks like. But there were still two sections I didn’t know very well on this course: the first 30  miles and the last 30 miles. In other words, I know and have run the section from Big Mountain to Brighton a few different times, but not the bookends of the W100. It was time now to learn about the section from Brighton to the end, with some advice from Arie.

The course climbs through the resort, past the lakes named for the “Other” 3 sisters:  Mary, Martha, and Catherine, not to be confused with the equally beautiful 3 sister-lakes at Mill B South in Big Cottonwood Canyon of Blanche, Florence, and Lilian. At Catherine Pass, the course climbs once again to Point Supreme past a very sandy section of trail called “The Beach.” It is here that runners are invited to “kiss the sign”. This tradition is based on the fact that at Point Supreme, you are officially on the highest point of the course at 10,300’. At this point it is “all downhill” to the finish line a mere 30 miles away at Soldier Hollow outside of Midway, UT. But not really.

Granted, the drop from Point Supreme to the Ant Knolls cutoff is very steep. Again, I wished I had my backcountry skis on at this point with a couple feet of fresh powder. This was skiable terrain back behind Pioneer Peak and Sunset Peak!  After Ant Knolls, the trail actually climbs up a few steep switchbacks on a section called The Grunt.  The most annoying part of this section is that they allow motorcyclists back here – talk about annoying and loud! The views into Heber Valley and the backside of The Timp Massif were beginning to become more and more beautiful at this point. I actually got lost at this section and ended up on the road to Cascade Springs. I knew I was way off course if I was heading to these natural springs, full of cutthroat trout.  The terrain was all brand new and the confidence was beginning to waiver for me, so I felt like turning around at this point was my best option. The abandoned mines were amazing as well. I never did find the elusive, steep, painful sections of the trail called The Glide and The Plunge and The Torture Chamber around mile 78 of the actual race. Those will just have to wait for race day, I suppose.

On the way back up to Point Supreme, I had a real tender mercy experience that was just too good to be true. At the very summit of the run up by Point Supreme, I ran (literally) into an old friend from the Chemical Engineering program at the University of Utah – Ryan McDermott. I hadn’t seen him in over 15 years! McDee, as we used to call him, never shied away from a challenge, whether intellectual or physical, as long as I’ve known him. It turns out he has run sixteen 100-mile races, 10 of which have been the W100! And he was also going to be running The Wasatch this year as well. We caught up for 10 minutes and he imparted some hard-fought knowledge about the W100 based on his experience. His advice resonated with that which I have already heard from many other veterans: just keep moving. It sounds so simple, even trite,, but in reality after 50 miles are on your legs it is much harder than it sounds. I always listen to advice from people who have actually done what I’m trying to do; otherwise advice is usually as cheap as everyone’s personal opinion. He gave me some good confidence. So I really appreciated meeting up with McDee at the top of Point Supreme – it was meant to be.

I added an extension down into Albion Basin and back up through Twin Lakes Pass and Twin Lakes to up my mileage to an even 23. I even took a quick full dip into Twin Lakes for a much-needed mid-run cool-off in the icey, clear waters of high mountain lakes!