2023 Wasatch 100
by Dana Miller
5-time winner, 20-time finisher
Don’t Be Misled by the Fold in the Shirt
There is MORE than 10 Miles of Heaven and Hell
The winter of 2022-23 dumped a record 832 inches of snow on Brighton Ski Resort (mile 69). The result on race day? Resplendent vegetation, stunning wildflowers, often overgrown trails and the steepest descents badly rutted by spring run-off. The rapidly melting snow also made baby rocks grow into rowdy teenagers just waiting for unsuspecting ankles and weary feet.
East Mountain Wilderness Park, 5 am, Friday, September 8th. Race Director John Grobben croaks out his usual “…5-4-3-2-1-GO!” As the dust settles, 309 runners cross the starting line and are now living their dream of running Wasatch. The 54 women and 255 men cautiously enjoy the first 3 heavenly miles to the Bair Canyon footbridge, knowing that the next 3.6 miles features 4,000 feet of relentless yellow jacket infested climbing. Wasatch’s “100 Miles of Heaven and Hell” has begun at last.
309 Runners Begin the Wasatch Adventure
Photo courtesy of Tommaso Bassa
The majority of runners are doing Wasatch for the first time. For some, it’s their potential initiation into the “Yes, I Ran 100 Miles” club. Most first timers feel a strange mixture of awe and fear. “Geez…I’m actually doing this! Is the course really as gnarly as I’ve heard? How bad will it hurt? Will I make it to the finish at Soldier Hollow?” They have 36 hours to discover personal answers.
The narrow trail up Bair Canyon forces runners into a single file, “conga line” making it very hard to pass someone going too slow for their liking. As a result, most competitors use the first 3 miles of relatively wide, rolling trail to position themselves according to anticipated climbing speed once the fun really begins.
Bair Canyon Conga Line in The Gut
Photo courtesy of Tom Qin
At the front of the conga line a handful of men jockeyed for position, going out strong but not full throttle. It’s common knowledge that the real race for the Coveted Golden Skull winner’s trophy doesn’t begin until Brighton, 69 miles away. In that pack is 52-year old Jeff Browning, who won the 2012 race in 19:33, still the 3rd fastest finish ever. Jose Cruz, 2nd in 2021 and 3rd in 2022, was back hoping for a magical race. Paul Terranova, a top 10 finisher at several very difficult 100-milers, was also near the front, along with locals Jon Love and Kyle Markisich.
The women’s race was wide open. Sarah Clark and Sara Boughner, both from Missoula (MT) worked hard up the Bair Canyon climb. Sarah Clark had won the women’s title in 3 consecutive races leading up to Wasatch (LeGrizz 50 Miler, Miwok 100K and Bighorn Mountain Wild and Scenic 32 Miler). Sara Boughner had 2 100-milers under her belt with a sub-24 time at Run Rabbit Run 100 in 2022 and a women’s top 10 finish at High Lonesome 100 in 2021. Washington DC’s Heather Dougherty had a lengthy string of women’s top 10 finishes (including nine women’s division victories) in eastern U.S. races. The question was if her impressive 19:29 Ulmstead 100 Miler finishing time would translate to a fast time on the rugged Wasatch course.
More than a half dozen men topped Bair Canyon (mile 6.65) within minutes of each other and made the rolling climb on the rough road toward Francis Peak before starting the 3.5-mile descent to Grobben’s Water Station at mile 11.5. Jose Cruz made a quick potty stop before the long downhill but quickly caught up with the lead pack that included Jeff Browning, Paul Terranova, Eric Holmstead, Jeremy Hurl, Jon Love and Kyle Markisich. Jose, a sub-2:30 marathoner, felt himself holding back too much on the downhill and wondered if the slow pace was doing more harm than good. He gradually pulled away from the group as he sped up to reduce the downhill jarring.
Jose Cruz Cruising Above Big Mountain*
Wily Jeff Browning, a professional runner and running coach from Flagstaff (AZ), studied the other lead runners closely as the miles passed. Jeff’s big summer project was completing the Rocky Mountain Slam and hoped to win Wasatch before concluding the Slam at the Bear 100 two weeks later. Jeff had won nearly 30 100-mile or longer races, so knew how to pace himself in the early miles. (Note: Jeff was injured in a fall at mile 85 of the Bear 100 and had to DNF.)
2012 Winner Jeff Browning Gunning for the Rocky Mountain Slam
Photo courtesy of Let’s Wander Photography
Cruz hit Bountiful B (mile 16.6) at 8:29 am with a 3-minute lead over Denver’s Eric Holmstead, who was followed by 3 runners all within 4 minutes of each other. 4 runners (Cruz, Browning, Hurl and Holmstead) entered the Sessions Lift-Off (mile 20.9) aid station together. Cruz and Holmstead left together after a quick 2-minute refuel. After the race, Jeff Browning recalled: “Jose took off and I wondered ‘Who is this guy?’ We thought he would crash but could never catch him.” Jose’s lead stretched to 6 minutes leaving Big Mountain (mile 31.9) and increased to 20 minutes by Lambs Canyon (mile 47.5). Cruz remembers making his move on a downhill, thinking “I’m just going to go and see how I feel. With those guys so close, I’m not placing in the top three.”
Afternoon temperatures between Big Mountain and Lambs Canyon soared to near 90 degrees. This rocky 16-mile stretch wins the “Wasatch’s Least Favorite Section” award by a landslide. The climb from Alexander Aid Station (40.7 miles) to Rogers Saddle (mile 44.8) was an oven.
Sarah Clark, running aggressively, opened a sizable 16-minute lead over Sara Boughner by Bountiful B (mile 16.6) and stretched her lead to 35 minutes by Big Mountain (31.9 miles). Boughner later said: “I got to be a pacer from Lambs to Brighton in 2021 so had some inkling of what to expect. I was a little surprised that it wasn’t all like that heavily forested section!” Boughner pulled back 3 minutes on Clark to Lambs Canyon (mile 47.5) and closed the gap to less than 20 minutes by Upper Big Water (mile 56.4). Clark maintained the interval over Boughner past Dog Lake, Desolation Lake, Scotts Pass and all the way to Brighton (mile 69.3). Sadly, Sara Clark’s race ended there with a DNF after “getting a stick in her leg” according to another runner.
Sara Boughner Approaches the Lamb’s Canyon Aid Station*
Suddenly in the lead, Sara Boughner remembers: “I had an adrenalin rush after the Brighton aid station. I was running scared in first place, puked and lost all of my calories.” Fortunately, Sara “settled back down” and stretched her lead over Heather Dougherty, now in 2nd place, from 29 minutes at Brighton to 45 minutes by Pot Hollow (mile 85.6). Boughner claimed the women’s Coveted Golden Skull winner’s trophy in 27 hours, 17 minutes.
Sara Boughner Was All Smiles at the Finish*
Women’s second place finisher (27:53) Heather Dougherty is a data analyst from Washington, DC. Wasatch was her first race “out west”. Being a “numbers person”, she loved the detailed split time information she found on the race’s website and, with that help, carefully crafted a race plan and stayed within 15 minutes of her projected splits the whole race. To her the wildflowers were “amazing and the race felt ‘old school’ with the friendliness of race personnel and local runners.” Lambs aid station (mile 47.5) saw her throw up for the first time ever in a race. After getting her stomach back in working order, for the 2.5 hours between Upper Big Water (mile 56.4) to Scotts Hill (mile 65.3), she leapfrogged and chatted with Shane Martin, who would go on complete his 21st consecutive Wasatch. Looking back, Heather confesses racing from about mile 80 to the Top of the Wall in hopes of closing the gap on leader Sara Boughner. After the finish Heather concluded: “Wasatch is the hardest race I’ve ever done.”
Heather Dougherty Finishes (27:53) in 2nd Place*
Jose Cruz ran strong to Brighton (mile 69.3) “still feeling good and not experiencing my typical low.” Jose shared: “I never asked any of the aid station people where the other guys were…I tried to run my own race, concentrating on finishing time, not place.” In the mayhem of the Brighton aid station, his crew said: “Okay buddy, you’ve been here 9 minutes, you’d better get going.” He finally asked about his lead and learned that Jeff Browning was just 20 minutes back at Scotts Hill (mile 65.3). “Oh crap, I just gave away 9 of those 20 minutes,” he lamented.
Running without pacers until mile 92, Jose remembers gaining time on the other runners “but was still worried that a low was coming.” After finally being joined by a pacer at the Top of the Wall (mile 91.8), he recalls “running sub 9-minute miles to the lakeside trail. When I hit the final stretch on paved road, I looked back hoping not to see any headlamps. I could not believe how great I felt. It was such a great experience.” He crossed the finish line in 20 hours 51 minutes, besting his previous best (2021) by 60 minutes!
An Elated Jose Cruz Celebrates a Great Run*
Meanwhile, Jeff Browning was still pushing hard despite not closing the gap on Cruz. In 2023 prior to Wasatch, Jeff won 5 races and finished 5th at Hardrock in August. With 2nd place now his goal, he was startled when Jon Love caught him near the top of The Grunt (mile 74.5). For the final 25 miles Jeff and Jon battled each other in perhaps the closest race of the day. Jon had passed Paul Terranova into 3rd place after Ant Knolls (mile 74). Jon recalls that Paul “had thrown up a lot earlier and was walking. It gave me a boost of energy to realize I might make it to the podium. After Pole Line (mile 77) I was more worried about being caught so was pushing pretty hard.”
Jon Love Hits the Shade of Elbow Fork Trail
Photo courtesy of @getupzeb
Browning remembers: “I just couldn’t shake him (Jon Love). At the last aid station he was only 100 yards behind and caught me as we hit the path around the lake. ‘Hey, good job man!’ were the only words we exchanged, then shoulder-to-shoulder silently pushed and tested each other until the final 200 meters. When I could see the finish gate, I accelerated so I could beat him to the left turn into the finishing chute. He finished just 2 strides behind me!” Browning finished in 21:34:30 and Love in 21:34:32. Paul Terranova (22:54) hung on for 4th place and was followed closely by Byron Foster (22:56), Ihara Tomokazu from Japan in 23:17 and Salt Lake City’s Kyle Markisich rounded out the sub 24-hour Crimson Cheetah finishers in 23:28.
Racing for the Ring
1,000 Miles of Heaven and Hell – 10-Time Finisher Ring
Two runners, Scott Weseman and Andrew Barney had an added incentive to make it to Soldier Hollow in under 36 hours…the coveted “1,000 Miles of Heaven and Hell” 10-time finisher ring. Weseman, hailing from Sandy (UT) finished in 32:18. Andrew Barney crossed the line wearing his trademark kilt in 34:23. Now about that kilt…
Andrew Barney Sports His ‘Urban Camo’ Pattern Kilt at Pole Line*
52-year old Barney, from American Fork (UT), has worked in cybersecurity for over 20 years. Back in 2016, for some reason he can’t clearly explain, he decided to run in a kilt. He blames it partly on his red hair and Scotch-Irish ancestry but then recalls seeing an April Fools product offering by 5.11 Tactical Gear – yes, a kilt for that hardcore audience! Not satisfied, he added playing the bagpipes to his running repertoire and traditionally plays them as he crosses the finish line. He has crossed a lot of finish lines with 65 100-miler finishes (including 7 Rocky Mountain Slams, 17 Bear 100s and 14 Bighorn 100s) and hopes to complete 100 (that’s 10,000 miles). When asked about his secret for racing so often, he laughingly replied: “I’ve beaten myself into submission so often that my body has given up trying to keep me from doing it.”
The weekend before Wasatch found Andrew in Ireland competing in the daunting Kerry Way 200km. Fearing he was jeopardizing his chances of completing his 10th Wasatch, he withdrew from the race after more than 70 miles and 25 hours due to “getting bogged down in the mud and wandering off course several times”. Arriving back in Utah on Tuesday he had just 72 hours to recover before toeing Wasatch’s starting line Friday morning. (Note: Andrew returned to Ireland’s Kerry Way Ultra in 2024, finishing the 200km in 38:40).
Andrew remembers the race being a hot one but was encouraged as more than one aid station volunteer, aware of his 10th finish quest, showed off their 1,000-mile Wasatch ring and sent him on his way to Solder Hollow. He describes the race as a “celebration” with just the last 10 miles (his least favorite) seeming like a chore. “Heaven and Hell and MORE Hell” is how he describes that stretch. Like many over 30-hour finishers, he had to cope with another hot afternoon on Saturday, finishing in 34:23.
10 Finishes and The Ring for Andrew Barney*
As the allotted 35 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds elapsed, 202 of the 309 starters had finished, a 65% completion rate. Three runners made it to Soldier Hollow but couldn’t make it to the finish line by 5:00 pm sharp so had to settle tied for “most exhausting DNF” of the race.
The Grand Slam of Ultrarunning
For seven runners, finishing Wasatch also marked completion of the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning. From the Grand Slam’s website:
In the Spirit of Wasatch
True to Wahsatch
Virtually all Wasatch Runners have a story to tell but one of the most intriguing has to be Wahsatch True’s. Prior to his first Wasatch 100 in 2019, Wahsatch says he never felt a connection to his birth name, an ache that intensified as he approached age 40. With an overwhelming desire to choose a personally meaningful new name, he went through a guided meditation experience during which he saw himself die and be reborn during his upcoming Wasatch 100 race. He knew what his new name should be.
Not knowing what to expect during the race, he went out way too hard in 2019’s heat and was in deep trouble by Lambs Canyon (mile 47.5). Surprisingly, while he was suffering over Bald Mountain (mile 35.3), a friend called him and offered to pace him from Lambs Canyon to Brighton (mile 69.3). Despite having a pacer to lift his spirits, he was in an even deeper hole by Brighton. It took 2 hours for the aid station crew to convince him to leave the comfort of Brighton Lodge.
Wahsatch and Former Student Jason Thomas Headed Up Elbow Fork Trail
They Ran the Whole 2023 Race Together*
Wahsatch compared the steep climb to Catherine Pass (mile 72) to Frodo Baggins putting on the ring in Lord of the Rings. In his private Mordor hell, he cursed then “kissed the sign and cried all the way down to Ant Knolls as all of the bad things in my life came out.” Physically and emotionally expended, he planned to quit at Ant Knolls (mile 74) but a woman at the aid station told him the only way out was to trudge back to Brighton. Without enough strength for a second trip through the hell of Mordor, he decided to keep going and ended up finishing the race with 27 minutes to spare.
That race confirmed the choice of his new name and his mighty struggle over Catherine Pass, as it turned out, proved to be his rebirth as Wahsatch True. After the race, curious about exactly what “Wahsatch” meant, a Google search provided the answer: According to the John Van Cott book, “Utah Place Names,” Wasatch (also spelled Wahsatch) is a Ute word meaning “mountain pass” or “low place in the high mountain. Wahsatch True certainly experienced a “low place in the high mountain” in his first Wasatch 100. Thankfully, he climbed back stronger.
#44 on Wasatch’s 44th Anniversary Was a Good Omen*
The 44-year old Utah Valley University Exercise Science instructor is the father of 5 children ranging in age from 21 to 1. Lila, the 1-year old, was his constant companion while training for the 2023 race. Perched in her baby carrier backpack, she loved sharing time on the Wasatch trails with her Dad. Lila’s coaching and encouragement paid off as Wahsatch finished the 2023 race in 32:49. His goal is to do the race every year and someday earn that magical Crimson Cheetah sub 24-hour belt buckle. He slapped a photo of the Crimson Cheetah belt buckle on his refrigerator as a daily reminder of his lofty aspiration.
Wahsatch’s 3rd Finish Was a PR by 41 Minutes*
In Her Genes
A 2-time finisher entering this year’s Wasatch, 43-year old massage therapist Marci Van Horn’s 100-mile roots go back to her childhood. She grew up riding endurance horses with her Dad, John Jacobs. “My whole childhood play consisted of long training days on horses with my Dad. Sometimes we were in the saddle and on steep climbs we were on our own two feet to save the horse effort.” She learned early on to pace herself because “Dad taught me to go out until I couldn’t go anymore, then turn around and go back home. His ‘you’re only halfway’ taunts taught me to be tough.”
Marci on Arabian Stallion “Artesian”*
She also got “100-mile buckle mania” as a young girl. Her Dad proudly wore his huge silver Tevis Cup belt buckle to church every Sunday. Those familiar with the pre-history of the Western States 100 remember that the first 100-mile runners on the Squaw Valley to Auburn (CA) gold rush trails actually joined the Tevis Cup – 100 Miles – One Day horse ride. Belt buckles, then a ‘cowboy thing’, were adopted as the Western States 100 finisher award along with the 24-hour time standard (later increased to 30 hours). So, growing up on mountain trails and wanting to earn her own belt buckle, it was natural that Marci progress to 100-mile trail races after she started running in 2005.
The Western States 100 Buckle Mirrors the Tevis Cup Award
Marci and Dad John Jacobs with Miss Perfection*
Looking back to the 2016 Wasatch 100, her first, she chokes back fond memory tears as she finished in 34:53 and “made my Dad proud.” She now had her own huge belt buckle!
Marci’s 2023 race began with husband Matt (7-time finisher) at the start line together. Their plan to run together blew up before Bair Canyon as Matt went out hard in his effort to be near the front of Bair Canyon’s conga line. Marci confidently told him she’d catch him later but still worked hard up that initial climb to over 9,000 feet. In fact, her 2-hour 12-minute time from the start to the top of Bair earned her a Strava trophy for the 8th fastest women’s time to date!
She trailed Matt by 11 minutes at Bountiful B (16.6 miles) and 20 minutes by Big Mountain (31.9 miles) but Matt started to falter going down Baugh Bearing Hill (mile 37). The gap was just 11 minutes at Alexander (mile 40.7). With afternoon temperatures in the 90’s, she grabbed a bottle of Gatorade sitting on the side of the road that Matt had dropped off in hopes that she’d see it. On the long climb to Roger’s Saddle trail (44.5 miles), she finally saw Matt ahead. Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted her and yelled: “You son-of-a-bitch – you did it!”
Marci Feeling Great Near Alexander Aid Station*
Marci soon dropped Matt (who would DNF at Brighton) and ran well until Brighton (mile 69.4) but characterized her race this way: “I set a PR to Brighton, then it was a death march to the end.” After Pole Line (mile 77.2), the 4 miles to Rock Springs (mile 81.2) “felt like 20”. “What I should do is lay down but it’s too cold and I’m starting to shake” she remembers thinking. One of the very few runners who look forward to Irv’s Torture Chamber (miles 81-85), its seven climbs got her rolling again all the way to the finish in 32:08.
Marci Teaches Daughters Danielle and Jordan About Toughness
While Son Luke Rides to the Finish on Matt’s Shoulders*
Like many Wasatch competitors, Marci has found that “Wasatch feeds me in my daily life and gives back so much.” And…her Dad is SO proud!
*Photos courtesy of the runner/person pictured unless otherwise noted
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