Arches Ultra aka "How NOT to run an ultra"
Step two in the Triple Crown of Moab. Thanks to tightened down COVID restrictions, this race was tiny by Mad Moose standards. They'd had to limit the entire field to 250 runners - across all the distances! That didn't mean the competition was any less impressive though. An entire distance team from San Francisco had decided that Arches sounded like a great first ultra and about time for some live racing. I have to admit, they picked a good one! We decided to just camp in the little campground near the start/finish this time. Nothing glamorous - just a place to park the van pretty much. Since this was a short trip, there was no sense in heading up to the top for just one day, then driving back down. Wasn't as quiet as we would have liked, but it was convenient for sure! All I would have to do would be roll out of bed and stroll to the start in the morning. If only running worked like that.... We watched the clouds drop lower and lower as we ate dinner, then crawled in to the