Kings Peak Marathon

Kings Peak Run from andy dorais on Vimeo.

Yesterday, my "son" Kyle Perry and I went out to the Uintas for a little run up Kings Peak. I had heard the trail is between 24 and 32 miles long, but once out there, we met a guy whole gave us directions for the best semi runnable trail and he claimed it is exactly 26.2 miles. Kyle is a former NCAA national champion in the steeple chase and currently runs for New Balance. I definitely had my hands full chasing him up hill for 13 miles.

Above video and pic taken with my new iphone 4

About a mile from the summit, we bumped into a couple guys on their way down that I recognized from a long time back. They were trying to run the "fastest known time" for Kings Peak. I guess there is some website that keeps track of the fastest reported times for many classic hikes/runs. Apparently, Kings is yet to be reported, so those guys figured they'd start with the record. Kyle and I were running steadily, but taking our time to stop and take pictures and chat with backpackers that were trying to figure out why we were underdressed and without big packs. But, on the way down, our conversation about the fastest time lurked in our minds and we ran a bit faster...until Kyle started to cramp up a bit and I was happy to join him in what became a walk/run/walk/run routine for the last couple miles.

Strolling back into the parking lot, we were surprised to find the other runners hanging out waiting for one of their lost buddies. They were eager to ask our car to car time (they had been holding the record for the "fastest known time" ...for that afternoon at least). That was until we informed them of our 5 hrs 29 min and 01 second new "record". They were good sports and it was fun to see other people out trying to cover some alpine ground quickly.

I'm sure there are tons of people who have run this trail faster. I can think of a few, just in SLC, that could probably knock off a good chunk of time. Sub 5 hrs wouldn't be too hard if we weren't goofing around so much, not that I'll be back for a while. And, I think the urge to ski in the Uintas is probably satisfied for the time being after seeing the long flat approaches and relatively gentle terrain.

Anyway, I have a few more summer plans in the works before the seasons change. But, like I mentioned at the end of the video...the count down has begun. 121 days until the winter solstice.