Trails Before Dawn

I woke up at 5 AM and hit this trail with Sean at 6. It's a steep climb, almost 3,000 feet in just 3 miles. During the climb, my thoughts were with my cousin whose 23-year-old son just passed away. What can you do to comfort someone who just lost their son? I am heart-broken over this. I decided I'd dedicate this morning's climb to my cousin and his family. I thought about the symbolism of mountains.  I love the mountains, but they can be treacherous, steep, and very difficult to climb. For me, the mountains are also the best places to receive inspiration and guidance. I do a lot of pondering and praying in the mountains. Symbolically, we all have mountains to climb on our journey through this mortal existence.  When you feel like giving up, keep going.  You might need to slow the pace a bit, but don't stop.  You have something to look forward to at the top of the mountain.  We started the run in the dark, trusting the light of our headlamps.  The trail...

When ultra athletes like these invite you to run 10-15 miles, be prepared for 15+.  We started this run at the closed gate just above the Grotto Trail.  Tyler Fannin grew up biking these trails and we had fun letting having him show us around. Trails included sections of (in order): Pete Windward - Shram Creek - Rock Springs - Frank Young - Black Hawk - Jones Ranch - Lizard Lake (turn-off back to Shram Creek). Tyler Fannin, Aaron Jensen, Sean Cox - Great Trail Runners Thanks to Sean and Aaron for the pics that include me in them

Sean, Brian, and I ran the Y Mountain Circ this morning, starting and finishing at Rock Canyon.  The Y Trail and Slide Canyon are very steep, over 3,000 ft. elevation gain in 3.2 miles.  We took our time and enjoyed a beautiful morning. Atop the Y just before dawn Craig looking down slide canyon It's the deer hunt, so I put on this silly looking orange hat Craig and his son's eagle project We ran into some South Utah County Trail Running friends on the trail. Corby, Sean, Monte (looking a bit foolish, especially according to my 16-year old son who couldn't stop laughting at this picture), Aaron Jensen, Tyler Fannon, Craig The Home Stretch