I did a perfunctory showing at the Icy 8 this year. I was hoping to put in a 50k but came out just about 4 miles short. I ran 28 miles.
I ran it last year (report). We had the same format, 8 hours, 4 mi loop or 8 mi loop to choose from. We could run as many loops as we want until the time is up.
I finished with 3 long loop and a short loop with 20 minutes left. There was not enough time to do a 2-mi exit loop. I could have been close if I did it.
My take of the day was sharing the trail of two runners who are heading to Western States 100. I thought they were the same person until after the race and found they were not the same. My goofball.
Also during the race, I was watching the Wasatch’s lottery drawing. Two of people I know got in. My other friend though did not get in. I was rooting for him though. I might still end up going to Wasatch this year to either crew or pace. I would definitely love to step on those mountains again.
My focus was not there at Icy 8. So I lost a lot of time listening to the Wasatch drawing.
My feet and fitness too were not there for me to push hard enough to finish up four long loops.
The day was good and sunny. A good day. We had mud too, lot of it.
We saw many familiar faces. I wish I could stay longer, maybe to camp overnight in one of the cabins or camp sites.
We were rushing back to a club event in the evening. Yours truly had to be there to receive his award for runner of the year. I felt embarrass when I realized I was up against truly great runners in our club. 🤭
The next day though was my favorite event, a local 10K called For the Love of It, which I have been taken part almost every year. It was the location where I started running, 8 years ago.
It brought back a lot of memories. I love the sunrise. The fast run and the local community. The photos were free. I have not done a short race like this for a long time because last year I was focusing on the longer ultra trail races.
In awe 