The Broom... Sweeping the Kessel Run Ultras

 Right after my eye surgery, I'd thought I would use my rollover credits for the 50 mile at the new Kessel Run Ultra that Mad Moose Events was hosting out at the North Fruita Desert. Seemed like a good plan - roll from the Hanging Flume 50k right into the 50 mile training. But when I was plotting out the training plan for that I realized how silly it would be. I might have the fitness in my legs for two back to back hard efforts, but I didn’t have the recovery time I though I would need after Hanging Flume. So that plan was nixed and I decided to use my credit for Bears Ears in 2022. I still wanted to be involved in the race though, and I had the weekend off…

A quick message to Denise - do you still need sweep help for the race? The answer was a quick YES! And there I was. I love sweep! It’s a long day some times, but so much fun and so rewarding. The original plan was that I would run out to where the 50m/60k split from the 20 mile course and then sweep from there to the Sarlacc station. It would figure out to be about a 20  mile day. I would hitch a ride back to the start/finish from Sarlacc and then head home. At least that was the plan. We all know how ultra runner brains work though… somewhere on the drive from home to Fruita, the marbles started churning. After all, what’s another 15 miles? If Denise was game, maybe I could grab a chip and a number and actually “run” the race! I might even get back faster then waiting for that ride back to the finish. The thought kept percolating the entire drive up 18 road. Of course Denise was game - that meant Justin wouldn’t have to sweep at all! I would do my original segment, then continue along until the short out and back for the 50 milers. Then I could just run back and get my finish. 

I gathered my bib, chip, shirt and hat and ran back to the car. Of course, it didn’t really matter if I started with the main group - between chip timing and needing to stay behind that last runners I wasn’t really in a rush. I topped off my bladder for the extra distance, made sure I had extra snacks and turned the spot tracker on. Since I’d never been up above the desert, I was bringing that with me! I texted Nick and told him I was sweeping the entire course and it would be a long day. Then I was off into the desert! Okay, it was up the main road for a mile, then down Kessel Run and looping back through the start/finish area - then it was off into the desert on the Edge loop. 

Sunrise over the Eastern Bookcliffs

The sun was just starting to peek over the mesa and lighting up the trails. I settled into the pace of the runners ahead of me, just chilling and enjoying the day. The first few miles of the Edge Loop meander through the lower desert, gradually climbing away from the parking area. If you didn’t know where you were going, the cow paths and other off shoot trails could be slightly confusing - good thing it was well marked. It also really starts feeling like you are in the middle of nowhere as you get closer to the first aid station. The parking area is miles behind you, the Bookcliffs starting to loom closer and closer yet there is no evidence of where you are going. The course shows that you climb up into mountains, but how? Nothing but vertical walls and cliffs surround the desert. I actually heard the runners ahead of me asking that - how were they going to get up to the top of the cliffs?  

After the first aid station, the course dropped down in to the Edge Wash. There was a little mud from the storm on Tuesday, but nothing crazy. While the wash isn’t easy running, it’s actually pretty cool. Use your imagination and it’s like being in the trenches on the Death Star…. Or maybe I just have an over active imagination! Soon enough, we reaching the turn off for the 20 mile course. They would be taking the Edge Cutoff back over to Vegetarian and then back to finish. The longer distances? Continue up the Edge Wash and then climb into the clouds. And that meant that my job was starting. Time to start pulling all the pin flags and ribbons to make sure the course was clean. I pulled out my flag bag, got things organized and set to work. Not much more running for me either - with how well the course was marked, there were lots of flags to pull! Up through the wash, around the bypass and then onto the single track to climb to the cliffs. I was actually starting to catch up to the last runner even with pulling the flags, so had to dial the pace down a little. The climb up from the valley floor is steep - steeper then most people realize! And then once we pop off the single track onto the double track, the views open up, revealing yet another steep climb. The runners ahead of me looked tiny on the climb.

View from the trail - in the burn scar from the Pine Gulch Fire

I kept moving effienctly - jog to a flag, pull it and stuff in my bag. I’d already decided that I really like the pin flags more then ribbons on the trees - the pin flags were so much easier to pull. They were heavier though and my bag was soon brimming with a forest of blue pin flags. I was super happy to see the second aid station and be able to hand off the flags to Justin. I knew I’d fill up my bag again pretty quickly though as we started on the single track high up on the Bookcliffs. There was no risk of getting lost with how well the course was marked! I had a nice gap between me and the last runners, but was again starting to make up time. Even with pulling the flags, I was closing the distance. Justin had told me that he was most likely going to pull the runners ahead of me at the Sarlacc aid station, so I wasn’t worried with how slow we were moving. It was nice up there - quiet and no other trail users except for one group of dirt bikers. I told them about the race and what trails we were using. They seemed pretty cool about it and then took off. Hopefully, they were nice to the runners they met as well! We crossed a few roads, the trail meandering around. My bag was really starting to fill up with the pin flags and there were a few more miles to go before the Sarlacc aid station! 

All the course markings!

Finally I reached the aid station and was able to deposit my growing collection of flags. Since Justin had said he was pulling the runners, I was a little disappointed to see all of them heading back out to course. I knew the majority of the climbing was finished but the pace had significantly slowed in the last few miles. It was going to take hours and I would be racing the sunset if we kept moving at this pace. Justin apologized about letting them go - just one of those things. I at least had company for then next 10 miles - the original sweeps were sill raring to go and get in their miles. We made quite the train - three runners a bit in front of us, one much closer and then the three sweeps. Still pulling the pin flags and collecting the occasional ribbon, we chatted our way around those miles, taking in the views and generally making it a social hour(s). We’d very nearly caught up the last runner when we hit the very steep double track dropping off the cliffs. I’m not sure if that would have been easier to run, but hiking down was hard on the legs. I’ve ridden my bike up it once, even more of a chore! There were much fewer flags on this stretch, so we really didn’t have much for three sweeps to do. The double track dropped into the shadows of the Bookcliffs as it descended into the valley and the temperature started dropping almost as quickly as the elevation! At last, we reached the last aid station. The four runners we’d been following were standing around having been told they could not continue. I gave Justin my bundle of flags, got instructions for the final section of sweeping and took off. It was going to be a race against the sunset and I hand’t thought to check the light in my pack or to bring my good headlamp with me.

Sun setting on the Book Cliffs as the moon rises

With only a few miles left to sweep and no runners ahead of me, I was able to start making some good time. Jog, pull flag, stuff and keep moving. I very quickly reached the turn off for the 50 mile out and back. My job was done. Now to just run the last few miles back into the finish. I could already tell that I was going to be losing the battle against the darkness. The sun set was amazing and the full moon rising over the Bookcliffs gorgeous. Neither one really helped too much with the oncoming darkness though. It was just how far I could get before giving in and dragging out my headlight. Hopefully it worked…. 

The last moments of light as the sun slipped below the horizon

I made it to Zippity Do Dah before getting out my light. The batteries worked and it was surprisingly bright for a small headlamp. Enough to keep me moving down the trail that is! Zippity isn’t one of my favorite trails out there - it’s definitely one designed for wheels and maximum momentum to get up the steep climbs after each plummet off the ridge. And here I was running down it, in the dark, with less light then I normally used! In some ways, having the narrow beam of the headlamp kept me focused on the ribbon of trail. Yes, the descents are gravity defying, But we still had to get down them! I passed a few people on the run into the finish - I assumed most of them were in the 50 miler and my DFL position in the 60k was assured. Alas, two of the people I caught were actually in the 60k. I would not achieve my goal on the day.