I made the decision to downgrade from the 50-miler to the 50k. That means I get 11 hours to go 31 miles. I can practically walk that, so it doesn’t really matter how much training I do between now and then. But to complete the Triple Crown of Moab one of my races must be a 50-miler. I chose the last one in the series, Behind the Rocks, to be my new 50-miler.

Behind the Rocks Ultra 50 Mile is an extremely challenging and remote course with the majority of the elevation gain occurring in the second half of the course. Finishing requires a strong and consistent pace. The course has long distances between aid stations, far from support or rescue in the case of DNF. Cell service is sporadic or absent for the majority of the course.

The warning above is why I didn’t want to do BTR for my 50-miler. But when I really looked at it, I realized it’s the best one of the all races in the series for me.

50-Miler	Elevation Gain (ft)	Time (hrs)
Dead Horse	4,900	12.75
Arches	4,500	12
Red Hot	7,000	13
Behind the Rocks	6,800	14

Sure, it has a lot of elevation gain. Sure, it’s remote. Sure, there aren’t a lot of aid stations. But when I think about my recent long runs, they had more elevation gain over a shorter distance. They were remote and didn’t have any aid stations. Also, with 14 hours to finish, that means I only need to average like a 15:30 min/mi with an hour cushion, and about a 16:30 min/mi if I want to finish right at the cutoff. I got this!

The only disadvantage of this race is when it takes place – in March. Keeping uphill legs in shape in the winter is fine because my treadmill goes up to a 12% incline. And since I usually hike uphill, snowshoeing uphill works just as good. But I need to make sure I keep my downhill legs strong somehow.

Although this was a tough and sad decision to make, I think it will work out for the best. I was really stressing out about running 50 miles in 12-ish hours. But I feel confident I can do 50 miles in 14 hours as long as my jankle cooperates.

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