Mission accomplished

Let’s hear from the newbie first. Jim is a pilot and aviation sales manager here at Garmin. Jim: “The race was more difficult then I could have ever imagined. I was hoping to finish in less than 4 hours, but I had no previous experience to really gauge my hopes. I ended up finishing in 4 hours – 4 minutes – 45 seconds. 4 hours – 4 minutes and 45 seconds of nonstop, heart pounding, leg-punishing action. It took me about 30 minutes AFTER crossing the finish line to actually enjoy the moment. During the race, right before I got to A-frame (near the tree line at 12,000 feet – 2,100 feet to climb – 3 miles to go) … I really started to run out of energy and sanity. The next 3 miles were just perseverance. One mile at a time. I had gone that far, and as insurmountable as it still seemed, the only option was UP. I’m so glad I did the race, even happier I finished. Will I do it again? Possibly. It still may be a little too soon to talk myself into doing it again next year, but since I enjoy a good challenge … I can see myself doing it again some time.”

Shane, an engineer at Garmin, said: “The weather was great, but that climb seemed somehow steeper than I remembered it. I think I was working harder this time because I didn’t work as hard before the race. Considering that, I was happy with the results.” Shane’s time was 04:02:44.

Steve, also an engineer at Garmin, finished the beastly race with a time of 03:23:34. Here’s what this veteran had to say: “I was a couple of minutes slower than last year because my training has been a bit on the light side. I think my previous experience, plus my heart rate monitor on the Forerunner really helped me pace this race well and get the best out of myself. The mile markers early on in the race are a bit further apart than a mile and a glance at my Forerunner told me that I should not panic and that I was right on pace. The first half of the race I was quite a way back in the field and I was running, jogging and walking up the real steep inclines and keeping my heart rate below 145 beats per minute . I found on the second half of the race that I was overtaking people and by the last 3 miles, which are above the tree line, I was storming by people. At this point, it is pretty much walking all the way, but I’ve got long legs and can walk faster than the speed a lot of people are running. I always enjoy this race. It’s way more intense than the local 5K races, and it is a race that challenges you because you have to take whatever weather conditions the mountain gives you. This year it was warmer than usual, but I did not really notice that after running in Olathe the last few weeks. I have run on the trail with rain, snow, ice and wind before. I’m sure I’ll be back next year. I’m always trying to figure out what I need to go faster, and looking at the Forerunner data has given me a few ideas!”

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