Forest Gump Training Run

We’d been trying to schedule a long training run for a couple of weeks, but the weather and work kept getting in the way. Wednesday evening, at the annual Locomotion Running Club meeting, we finally sat down and decided our best shot was Friday morning, but we had to start by 4 AM. This had all the makings of a trudge run. The temperature for the past three weeks at 4 AM had been huddling around 0 degrees, with two feet of snow on the ground, no body was sure what the parkway would look like and my wife wouldn’t be too happy about me leaving for Salt Lake at 3 AM. We were all wrong, as Joe called it; this was a real Forest Gumpper.



Joe, Carl, Larry Emery, Bill Catmull and I met at Gardner Village at 4 AM Friday. The temperature was surprisingly warm, I’d guess about 25 degrees, the moon was mostly full and the Jordan River Parkway trail through South Jordan had even been plowed. Best yet, it snowed about ½ an inch Thursday evening. The little bit of cushioning provided by the skiff of snow was amazing. It provided a little extra traction in the slick places and it made the asphalt surface feel like trail.

We wanted to run about 30 miles. It’s fifteen miles from Gardner Village to the Fairgrounds on North Temple. The Jordan River Parkway is a mostly paved path that runs the length of the Salt Lake City valley along the Jordan River. In the summer time, there are lots of parks with bathrooms and water faucets. Unfortunately, most are closed and locked in the winter. Instead, we stop at a 7-11 on 13th South in both directions for refreshments and a bathroom stop this time of year. The first 12 miles to the 7-11 went really fast. There were no other users on the trail, we felt good so we moved along at a respectable pace.

Following a quick stop, we ran north almost to the fairgrounds. One of the only sections of the parkway not completed goes under I-80. You have to make a short detour west, go through an underpass, and follow some train tracks back to the river and cross the river on the train bridge to get to the fairgrounds. Because of snow, we turned around at the train tracks, coming up a little short. Of course, since I wasn’t wearing a GPS, I can still claim it was a 30 mile run.

After another 7-11 stop, we headed back to Gardner Village. The run back was as peaceful as the run up. Joe’s phone seemed to be a little more reserved and respectful than usual, even when you’d wish it would ring so you’d have an excuse to walk and catch your breath. From the park at 48th South, it’s five miles to Gardner Village. As we left the park, I told Carl I wanted to see how fast we could do it. We ended up running it in 51 minutes. I’d hoped we could have maintained a 10 minute per mile pace, but considering the shape I’m in, I thought this was very respectable. Everyone finished under 6 hours and 30 minutes, 30 minutes faster than when re ran this course in mid-December.

This was also Bill’s first run longer than a marathon. He really surprised me. Now that he’s got his house finished, I expect he’ll be with us on many more long training runs and races. Way to go Bill, “You’re the man!” Oh yeah, I think I heard a mumble from the other side of the bed at 2 AM when I got up. Something about, “you’re f___ing crazy!”