Running(not marching) to Zion; new record

[John B]

48 miles; +10,000 ft of elevation change, in 7 hrs. 58 min. Incredible athlete. I think that Mags has hiked this trail. Maybe he can comment on it.

Posted May 20, 2010, Runners World:

"Montrail-sponsored ultrarunner Matt Hart from Salt Lake City, Utah, broke the speed record for the 48-mile run known as the Trans-Zion Treck in Zion National Park on Thursday, May 14.

The route is typically done as a 5-day backpacking trip, and Hart completed the run in 7 hours, 58 minutes. The previous record of 9 hours, 8 minutes was set by Jared Campbell and Christian Johnson in 2009.

Hart started the run atthe east entrance of the park at 8:15 a.m. He received support at times along the route from his girlfriend who gave him refueling supplies like oranges, bananas, water and electrolyte replacements.

At mile 35, Hart made the mistake of taking just one 24-ounce water bottle and four gels for a 2- to 2.5-hour section over 14 miles. “As I ran away I sort of freaked out,” he says. “I had four gels, which wouldn't be enough for my planned visit to the pain cave up the last climb…'I am screwed,' I thought."

The one bottle ran out in about an hour of running, explains Hart, who resorted to drinking out of the La Verne river. "I'm still waiting for a bout of giardia to hit me," he said this morning, a week after the run.
But despite running out of fuel, water and electrolytes, and climbing a total of 10,400 feet over the 48 miles, Hart stayed on track to reach his goal of breaking eight hours.
“The last 3 miles felt like 20,” he says. “I pushed my pace…and ran to the end fully embracing the pain.”

Hart once set a speed record on a route circumnavigating the Tetons in Wyoming (which has since been broken), and plans on attempting to break the speed record on Washington state's Mount Olympus sometime this summer.
"I felt great all day," he says of his day in Zion. "I kept an eye on my heart rate and stayed beneath my anaerobic threshold, even on long climbs. It's a good lesson for me in racing, because I usually go out way too hard."

[JJJ]

Go Matt!
He also has a cool video on

I've heard the Trans-Zion is a "must do" run.
I suppose you could backpack it too -if you're into that sort of thing

Thanks for the update.

[Mags]

I have not...but it looks awesome.

[Sly]

Apparently, Andy Skurka held the record* or maybe still does.

*unsupported

http://www.andrewskurka.com/RACE/ZION/photos.php

[John B]

Sly, where do you read that Skurka did it unsupported? I got this from this page:
http://www.andrewskurka.com/RACE/ZION/index.php

"So I jumped at the opportunity to join a group of 18 Boulderites -- i.e., residents of the Republic of Boulder, CO -- who were heading out there in early-May 2009 in order to explore some nearby canyons and to run 48 miles across the park."

and

" Elite ultra-runners should expect the route to take 8-10 hours depending on their effort. I finished in 9 hrs 27 min after casually running and hiking the first 20 miles. Karl and Jared finished in 10 hrs 24 minutes, which was a "fun" pace for them. I think that a strong "record" time would be under 8 hours. Strong, near-the-front-of-the-pack runners should expect to finish in 10-13 hours. Recreational and casual runners can expect to take 13-17 hours."