2007 Rock Ledge Rumble 50k

I think the Rock Ledge Rumble 50k is now a tradition for me, this being my third finish in a row. I've never set what I felt to be a good time there and the last miles always turn into a death march, but the rumble is by far my favorite race. This year I was lucky enough to share it with Lindsay and her brother Jimmy too. This report is not really about me anyway - my big race of the year is over and this was just a chance to have fun with friends and to see Lindsay conquer her first ultramarathon - which she did gracefully and coincidentally in the same time that I ran the rumble in 2 years ago (also my first ultra). Lindsay definitely looked much better at the finish line than I did after my first time!



I'm really proud of her for toughing it out to the end. I didn't run the race with her because I wanted her to be able to finish without me egging her on (and whining about all my stomach pains). It was a hot and humid day and we were all suffering in our own ways, but when I passed her on the out and backs she always looked fresh. I think had her legs not cramped up she would have easily beat me!

The hero of the day, fresh off a blazing fast half marathon the weekend before, was Wasatch pacer and one of my best friends Joey Guajardo! Joey won the race with no competition in sight in a new course record of 4:16.



I really thought I was running fast during the first 8 miles until I saw Joey on the return leg of the first out-and-back: he was flying and already 3 miles ahead of me! By the time I finished, Joey had been hanging out at the finish line waiting for me for almost 3 hours. He didn't even look like he'd been running! Joey is a great friend and a huge inspiration to me, plus it's pretty cool to know an elite runner that is going to be famous some day.

Jimmy also did awesome at his first trail race. He finished the 15k in a speedy 2 hours on a tough course. It's great to watch friends get hooked on this sport. I think Jimmy is going to be some tough competition if he chooses to push his miles up to the ultra distances - he's already too fast for me on training runs.



Tom Crull - race director and one great guy - did an incredible job putting the race together. It was a lot of fun seeing all my friends from NTTR working at the aid stations. I felt a little guilty getting such great personal attention. I'm still walking funny today, but I'm already looking forward to next years rumble.



Images by Brad Garrison