2021 Rock the Canyon 10K Race Recap - Provo UT

Official Time: 56:19
Placement: 1st in the 50 - 59, 30th overall
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Mid 60's, wet and a little wind at times.
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2020] [2019]

Mile	Time	Comments
1	9:51	Onto a cramped trail. Hilly and windy. And did I mention rainy?
2	10:01	Climbing here
3	9:05	Pretty gassed at this point
4	10:17	Finally the turn around and some super hilly stretches
5	8:51	A few rolling hills but I should've been faster. Just nothing left.
5.93	8.12	Actually all things considered, not too bad of a mile.
	Total Miles: 5.93 - 56:19

Introduction

At some point this past spring I got an offer email to come re-run the Rock the Canyon 10K Race.  I have the done race twice before and with a price that was definitely a steal (I wanna say under $20), I decided to sign up.  If something else came up, I certainly could change my mind and not be too sad.

The race is a challenging course set on the benches along eastern Provo.  It is a beautiful -- but hilly run.  Every year I've done the race, I've been humbled -- my 10K time is normally in the low 50's.  But this race is so hilly and relentless that my time is usually quite a bit higher -- in this year's case, it was over 6 minutes higher.

But I keep coming back to this race. Primarily on the price point and it is just a fun race in a beautiful setting.

The Race

The race started at 7:30 in the morning and I got to the race site at about 6:45.  It was dark and I was one of the first to arrive. Occasionally a few rain drops splattered on my windshield but it seemed like a really ideal day to race.

I picked up my bib and shirt in a matter of seconds at the park's bowery.  Just as I returned to my car it started to rain -- heavily.  It was close to 7 AM and the last thing I wanted to do was run a 10K in a torrential downpour.

Fortunately, like most storms in Utah, it was short lived.  Within 5 minutes it was simply raining and then finally just drizzling and finally it stopped.  

I did a very brief warm up and used a body stick to work out some kinks in my calves.  I had a bit of shin splint that I was hoping wouldn't act up.

The race started promptly at 7:30 and we were off -- just as it started to rain again.  Great! Just a t-shirt / shorts for me and I was getting chilly.  

I told myself to be patient.  This year's course was different from the previous but it was also kind of the same.  In fact, about 85% of it was.  And the first .75 of a mile of the course is uphill.

So I was already breathing hard before I had even exited the parking lot and I was swallowed up into a single line to do switchbacks up a dirt trail.  I am not sure I could've run much faster but I was hemmed in and blocked from time to time.  I even had to walk periodically.  I knew this wasn't a PR attempt but I definitely was gunning to beat last year's time.

Finally we got to a wider section of the trail and the weather conditions went up a notch.  Wind howled through the canyon and my hands were getting cold.  After exiting the canyon though, the rain and wind stopped and it seemed like I was going to catch a break.

Near the start of mile 2 you get a really nice downhill section.  My shin wasn't happy with the massive descent and I was terrified of slipping and falling on the wet asphalt.  Fortunately, slipping didn't occur, but part of me held back.  It wasn't unexpected to see a 10 minute mile come up on my watch.

At this point the course has gone from trail to road racing -- hilly road racing.  Either I was climbing a hill that most race directors avoid for their courses or grinding my way up a small incline.  I was hurting but I actually felt like I was running well.  I was furious though to see a 10 minute mile come up for mile 2.

Around mile 4

At this point I was getting discouraged.  With all the gains I've made in the past year, why I wasn't I running faster?  To make matters worse, walking up the hills almost resulted in the same pace had I just shuffled up them.  

Mile 3 finally got into the flatter section. There was a good mile stretch of just a slight incline. I wanted to make up some time, but I was simply tired.  I kept counting on the fact that the return trip would primarily be downhill.

Mile 4 got me to the turn around point.  It had been some slight inclines and from previous experience I knew the final 2 miles were going to be fast.  However, I had to run around a tennis court area. This involved running up a super steep hill followed by a series of paved switch backs.  I found that simply power hiking up them was just as efficient as attempting to run up it.

Once I was done with the switchbacks I felt a sense of the tides of the races were going to change. I remember from the previous year flying back to the finish and hitting some low 8 minute miles.  However, this year, my legs were just dead.  There really wasn't any second wind and I found myself sputtering.  I'd get rolling for a bit and then peter out.

A runner behind me appeared to be my age so I was working at keeping ahead of him.  There were a trio of runners in front of me -- all younger -- that I was working off of.  I had no idea where I was going to finish in my age group but I was shooting to place in it.

It was also at this point that my hamstring started to twinge and I could feel my patella tendon rubbing against my right knee.  Gosh, could this race get any tougher?  Fortunately, I had less than 1.5 miles to go.

The park came into view and I was elated.  I had dropped the competitor behind me and the 3 runners I was working off of pulled ahead of me (I had almost reeled in one of them near the end).  I cruised into the park and made the final lap around Rock Canyon Park before crossing under the finish line (It was cruel to run by the finish line and still have about half a mile to go).  I was just happy to finish.

Conclusion

So this race didn't really go to plan.  I have had a stretch of races recently where I've handily beaten last year's time.  This race broke that streak.

Suffice to say though, this course was different from the previous years.  So I am not comparing apples to apples.  I did feel like I finished stronger though. I remember last year's race clawing my way to the finish, where as this finish I was still pushing the pace.

I did finish first in my age group, netting myself a rock award that had a sticker on it.  The rock was picked from the canyon.  I got a t-shirt and there was a decent spread of food at the end: chocolate milk, pancakes, energy bars, oranges and bananas.  

I really like the challenging nature of the course.  I wish I could completely disregard my time versus other 10K courses.  But I am competitive by nature so I can't really say this was a successful race.

My Garmin indicated that the race course was short.  However, after looking at other Strava runners, I am seeing that many runners have recorded ranges in the 6.1X area.  So I am thinking my watch was off (or I simply missed a section of the course).

Either way, this race was fun.  I got in at a seriously discounted price and the course was well marked.  It was beautiful too -- I love running by the stately houses with green trees and lawns.  While the hills can be tough, I was really enjoying the scenery.

I'll likely be back next year to challenge the hills again.

2020 Rock the Canyon 10K Race Recap - Provo UT

Official Time: 55:12
Placement: 3rd in the 50 - 59, 35th overall, 23rd male out of 100 runners
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: 50 degrees, no wind
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: [2019]

Mile	Time	Comments
1	10:11	Killer start. Up a service drive and then nothing but up for about half a mile.
2	8:18	Once I recovered I had 160 feet of downhill. If only the rest of the course was like this
3	10:04	Now over 200 feet of climbing.
4	9:07	Mostly flat here. Did some small up hill and down that are not covered on the Garmin
5	8:38	Gentle downhill back to the start
6	8.21	Mostly downhill here but was pretty gassed to take advantage of it.
6.08	0.33	Crawl to the finish (Video here)
	Total Miles: 6:08 - 55:15

Sample hill we had to run

Introduction

Last year, I ran the second edition of the Rock the Canyon 10K, at the base of the Wasatch Mountains in Provo, Utah.  The race struck a cord with me and while it certainly wasn't my best race, it was definitely a challenge.  In short, this race has some serious hills.

Last year's race took us from the east side of town to running by BYU (west side) and then coming back up to the east side.  The first few miles were fast, then flat and finally all uphill in the final miles.

This year had some changes.  Instead of running west (primarily) we went north.  Very little of this year's race was identical to last year's.  So it was yet another way to explore Provo and see the sights, and most importantly get out of the house for a t-shirt, finisher's medal and bananas!

Hiking area to Rock Canyon on the left

The Race

I rolled into the race site, at Rock Canyon Park, at about 6:45 AM for a 7:30 AM start.  Packet pick up was subdued and of course socially distanced and with masks.  I snagged my goodie bag and t-shirt and bib and warmed up.  Despite our warm summer, it was a chilly -- almost perfect morning for a run.  

The race assembled at 7:30 and I lined up in the back.  Being that it was chip timed and Covid-19 a real threat, I figured I'd have the same strategy as the last week's Pun Run: let everyone start off and I'll chase everyone down.

Run the upper bank before dropping to the finish line.

Last year there were some very serious (i.e. fast) runners at the race.  This race's attendance was significantly down from last year, but there were still plenty of speedy runners and I watched them put some serious distance between myself and the rest of the pack.

The first half mile was brutal.  "What did I sign up for?" kept echoing in my head.  We had to run up a quick service drive, then flat and then up another hilly service road which led us to a dirt trail.  Normally my first mile is the fastest -- this one, not so much.  It was humbling.

Once I got onto the dirt trail, however, my breathing settled down and I was able to pass some of the runners.  It was time to make up a little bit of time.

We had put up a bit of a climb and we were treated to some beautiful views of Utah Lake and the Provo Valley from the trail vantage point.  This is why I came to run, I told myself.

Mile 2 got us on a sweet downhill.  I had settled into a decent pace at this point and while I knew there were hills to come, I used a little extra energy to take advantage of easy running.

The course was well marked with cones.  There weren't a lot of volunteers on the course but there were ample cones and road dots to indicate where to go.  I was worried about not finding my way around given the thin number of runners and my lack of familiarity with the area but I was never hurting on where to run next.

The course, other than a stretch on the trail, was primarily on surface streets surrounded by million dollar houses.  It was such a treat and the scenery was so pleasant.  There also wasn't much traffic so despite the rolling hills, it was fun to run.

The middle miles were fairly flat and while my legs were pretty spent as a result of running two previous 10Ks in a week, so I didn't have quite the get-up and go I was hoping for.  I was trying to chase down a few women in front of me and I couldn't see anyone chasing me down, so the urgency to really push it wasn't there.

One very interesting part of the course was the turn around.  We reached a point and then turned around and ran into a tennis court area.  The issue was that we were at the top of a hill and you took a series of paved switchbacks to the tennis course and then ran around the tennis court and then climbed back out!  My legs felt like Jello on the way back up.  

The final mile and a half were flat or downhill.  My pace which had been lackluster suddenly picked up.  I know I wasn't going to get a PR on this race, but I wanted to beat last year's time -- even though this course was entirely different from that one.  

Finally the park came into view and last year we simply entered the park and ended.  This year, however, we had to run a lap around the park and then drop down into the park and finish  The woman I had been chasing had pulled ahead of me and try as I might I wouldn't be able to catch them.

I cautiously looked behind me and there was a runner, about my age, a hundred yards behind me.  He was moving in quick.  Part of me knew he had me and he was no where near me when the race started (it was chip timed) and likely started behind me.  But I was going to give it a shot to not let him pass me.

I tried to get my legs to go faster but I couldn't go any faster. My legs were rubbery and I just wanted to be done.  I almost wanted to weep when the runner passed by me with 50 yards to go.  Hopefully he wouldn't cut me out of an age group award.

I crossed under the finish line in a hair over 55 minutes.  Definitely faster than the high 56 minutes from last year.  I was wiped out but I was thrilled to have taken time off last year's time and conquered the canyon.

Conclusion

After the race, I wound up walking off the haziness and stepped aside to recover.  I had a small flask of water I had carried, that I sipped from now that the race was over.  Since Covid has begun, I have been bypassing the water stations.  Just out of an abundance of caution for myself and the volunteers.

I wasn't dehydrated by any means given the cooler temperature, but once I felt up to it, I went to the relief area and grabbed some cheese sticks, chocolate milk, and a pair of bananas.  They had a pretty nice spread of snacks but it wasn't quite the same without the pancakes.  Once again, another victim of Covid.

Once again, I was pretty happy with my performance and it would appear I won my age group in the 50 - 54 age group, but 3rd in the 50 - 59.  Either way, an age group award (just need to pick it up down in Provo).

This race was well organized.  There were volunteers at the age stations and at tricky locations throughout the course.  Despite all the turns, I never felt lost or unsure where to go.

The course did appear short however.  I am okay with that though.  This isn't really a PR-worthy course so I was there just to get out and run.

The medal was ho hum but to be expected.  They upgraded the t-shirt from a cotton one to a technical one, so I'll definitely wear it for other runs.  I paid about $40 for the race (about 3 weeks from race date) and I felt like I had gotten a good bargain.

I enjoyed my time and was one of the last to leave.  I was totally tempted to re-run sections of the course to get some pictures of the hills and views.  

This race will certainly come up for me again to run next year and if my calendar is clear, I'll definitely be there.

2019 Rock the Canyon 10K Race Recap - Provo, UT

Official Time: 56:37
Placement: 4th in age group, 62 overall, 44th male
Results: Here
Race Website: Here
Weather: Mid 60's, sunny, no wind
Garmin Dump: Here
Previous Years: New to Me

Mile	Time	Comments
1	9:06	Hemmed in and I felt like I was gasping for air at the start. Not a good way to fire it up
2	7:27	Fast downhill
3	8:26	On to the flats
4	9:32	Was gassed at this point. Pretty much all up hill from here.
5	9:20	Grind up
6	11.12	OMG, hills non stop here.  Nothing but climbing
6.22	1.39	Last quarter mile was primarily downhill.
	Total Miles: 6:22 - 56:44

Introduction

A friend of mine turned me on to this race.  The race calendar for this past weekend was kind of light so my choices were sort of slim.  I haven't really felt "half marathon worthy" of late and so a shorter race was what I was looking for.

I heard the race was fairly hilly but how bad could it be?  Well I would soon find out.

The Race

The race was held on the east side of Provo in a park called Rock Canyon Park.  The park is mainly a multi-use field nestled at the base of the Wasatch Mountains.  It sports beautiful views of the mountain range as well as Utah Lake. 

The race actually served as a circuit race for the Salt Lake area.  To say there were fast runners there was an understatement.

I got there with plenty of time to spare, and grabbed my shirt and bib and basically killed an hour waiting for the race to start.  I circled through the bathroom and did my warm up drills as I admired the 360 degree views. 

I hadn't run that much during the week so I figured I'd be spunky to race, but I was anything but that.  I just wasn't in the mood to run / race.  But I had paid my race entry and I've always had pretty decent races when I've run through Provo.

The race had a really decent turnout, in part that it was a circuit race.  Minutes before 8 AM we assembled in the parking lot, got some brief instructions and soon we were off.

Almost immediately I was gasping for breath.  I was cursing myself for not doing a more comprehensive warm-up.  I also attributed it to being at slightly higher altitude. 

I was almost thankful when the trail we were on narrowed down so that only 2 or 3 people could run abreast.  Naturally this forced everyone to slow down.  The break was short lived but it was enough for me to re-group upon hitting the road.  It didn't help either that the start of the race was an up-hill as well.

Upon hitting the road I was able to dial in a pace and soon I got to enjoy the first down hill section of the race. I wasn't surprised seeing my Garmin flash a 7:30 mile. 

I knew I was right on target pace-wise on account I was tailing a woman I usually finish about even with.  In fact, throughout the race I was within 20 - 150 yards of her. 

I was enjoying the race quite a bit.  It was all new territory as well ran down the hill.  I turned to a woman running next to me, though and stated that we were going to pay for it on our way up, though.

Mile 3 was a gut check.  We were entirely down with the downhill section and now we had a section that involve a little bit of uphill but mostly flats.  My quads were pretty shot and my legs weren't feeling that responsive. 

I wasn't too surprised to see my pace drop from speedy to a fairly pedestrian 8:30 pace for mile 3.  And yet, I knew I had the hardest section of the course coming.

Mile 4 was a climb and while it wasn't that bad I figured maybe the rest of the course would be like this.  But I had studied the map with the elevation profile and I knew the worst would come.

The race was held primarily on residential streets.  Some times we ran on the side of roads and other times on the sidewalk.  There were police at important intersections and the occasional volunteer at quieter ones.  I was rarely in doubt of where to run because I was always within eyesight of someone and they had placed markers that led the way.

Mile 5 through 6 was where the insanity started.  I turned a corner and there was a monstrous hill.  Me and the runner next to me both were like What the Heck...it was steep and other runners were clearly running up it.  This race was cruel... at mile 5 of a 10K you put a monster hill?  Come on!

I ascended that at a shuffle -- hurting every step of the way -- only to turn a corner and find another hill.  I almost came to a walk as I saw many other people do in front of me.

I kept looking at my Garmin in hopes that I would reach mile 6, when I pretty much knew that the hills would be over. 

Finally mile 6 came and I knew that I was now close to being done.  There was a good down hill here and I knew once I entered the park.  In fact, I totally got a second wind and flew to the finish line.

Conclusion

I wasn't too surprised with my lackluster time.  I figured I'd hit about 55 minutes given the difficulty of the course.  Even some of the elite runners there said don't worry about your splits as this course was anything but flat.

They had finisher's medals, which was nice.  Usually races don't award finisher's medals for 10Ks.  It isn't fancy but it's something to take home.

Finisher's refreshments were water and bananas.  They had some pancakes, but after the run, they didn't seem very appetizing.   

Results were printed out and easily obtained.  Unfortunately I placed 4th in my age group.  They may have done top 3, but I basically cleaned myself up and took off.

Hard to have any take-aways on this race.  The course was really fun to run believe it or not.  They also had 3 water stops, it was properly marshalled and the course was fairly accurate.  The mile markers were pretty close to spot on but as the race went along I was coming up short.  I had hopes that it might be a little short but actually it turned out to be a little long. 

The shirt was a standard cotton one.  It was nicely designed but I probably won't wear it much.  (What has happened with tech shirts of late?)

I would do this one again.  It was a little expensive -- about $40 plus the usual service fees and taxes but I registered fairly late in the game.

If my race schedule was empty, I'd run this one again.  It was well organized and definitely challenging.  But this race isn't for the faint of heart... or those looking for a PR.  The course though was top notch though.