The Ultimate in Adventure Running Races...select an event from the list on the left for details
24 Hours...the Run - Team Relay and Solo Challenge Racing Series
24 Hours of Utah...the Run/Moab 100
March 29-30, 2008
New Date! New Location
24 Hours of Laramie...the Run/Laramie 100
June 28-29, 2008
24 Hours of Boulder...the Run/ Boulder 100
Oct. 18-19, 2008
Desert RATS Trail Running Festival
Fruita, CO
April 19th & 20th, 2008
Desert R.A.T.S. (Race Across The Sand)
A six day stage footrace from Grand Junction, CO to Moab, UT
June 15th-21st, 2008
A six day fully supported mt. bike ride from Grand Junction, CO to Moab UT
June 15th-21st, 2008
Mountain R.A.T.S. (Race Across the Summits)
A four day stage footrace through the Colorado Rocky Mountains
July 31st-August 3rd, Steamboat Springs, CO!
Follow along with the Desert R.A.T.S. 6-day stage race
2008 Desert R.A.T.S. Trailrunning Festival
We just celebrated the sixth running of the Desert RATS Trail Running Festival (formerly known as the Spring Desert Ultra). The race continues to be an early season test of speed and endurance for runners from around the country and sold out for the third year in a row. While mid-season forecasts threatened cool temperatures and showers, we once again had a cool morning followed by warm spring temperatures into the low eighties and then very high winds late in the afternoon.
Allen Belshaw of Steamboat Springs, CO has run all six of the 50 milers. He’s done very well every year, winning once in 2006. This year was his best time yet and it was good enough for first place overall. He had taken the lead by about 19 miles and built on that lead over the rest of the race, taking only 7 seconds at the halfway point/turnaround aid station, ultimately winning with a time of 7:51, beating his nearest competitor by more than 30 minutes. His overall pace of 9:26 is impressive given the many hills, quad busting descents, and loose footing. Ryan Burch, Bryan Goding, Fritjof Fagerlund and Todd Holmes battled in the sun for the next four finishing times.
Finishing sixth overall and first overall female was Helen Cospolich from Breckenridge, CO. She grabbed her lead early on and never looked back, beating her nearest female competitor by well over an hour.
Run at the same time as the 50 miler, more than a hundred racers started the 25 miler. Runners for both events vied for the $100 cash prime waiting for them at the top of the first hill. Justin Mock won the prime and the 25 mile race for the men in fight for first with Bob Africa, Dan Goding and Chris Grauch. Jenna Gruben won the 25 for the women with a time of 4:19, but the prime went to Colleen Dulin. The festival also includes a five and ten mile race on Sunday, raffle prizes and a pasta dinner. We were also lucky to have Brent Weigner from Laramie Wyoming join us as our guest speaker. He shared his experiences of being the only person to have run an ultra on all seven continents and both poles and is currently preparing to run our Desert R.A.T.S. stage race. We are also fortunate enough to have some of ultrarunning’s best volunteers.
Ulli Kamm
Walking his way into history
Ulrich Kamm is a remarkable man. For those of you who’ve met him, walked with him – you already know this. What you may not know are some of the details behind his remarkable feats. He’s entering forty years of finishing hundreds – which is a milestone worth noting and sharing.
Born on July 29 in 1947 in Germany and moved to the U.S. in 1997, he ran his first ultra, a 50k, in May of 1966 near Munich, Germany. While he claims that its impossible to say which 100 mile race is the most difficult, that first one may have been the toughest because he didn’t know what to expect or how to train. It must have had a profound affect on him, because he’s now competed in 229 ultras.
He walks every single ultra he does – and, of course, he has highs and lows including one race where he traveled for 43 miles without food or water. He’s proud of completing 100 miles in less than 24 hours and for finishing the Hardrock 100 ten times. For his lows, his DNFs are for excusable (even by ultra standards) situations including hepatitis, typhoid with a 106 degree fever and the like.
His favorite ultras are Hardrock, which is “the ultimate trail race” for him, McNaughton, which he loves for the course, and Laramie, for which he likes the family atmosphere and scenery.
Along with Traudl, his wife of 33 years, Ulli has done some race directing of ultrawalking events (ultrawalk.com) including the Ultrawalk 200 where 6 people from 4 countries walked together for 200 miles in 67.5 hours to set a new world record.
He has seen many changes over the years including nutrition (gels, bars, energy drinks etc.), the introduction of trailrunning shoes (they used 2mm in. thick soles in 1968), and knowledge of how the body reacts to endurance events. With all the new technology he claims that success still comes from never giving up, having fun and not taking races too seriously.
While he claims that staying ahead of the cut-off times is growing more difficult for him, he was still able to complete 5 100 milers in 2007. So what’s next for Ulli? He’ll “celebrate” 40 years of finishing 100 milers by doing more of course. He plans to do the Moab 100 followed by Lean Horse 100 … and then, more 100s of course. He’ll keep going so long as he’s still having fun and enjoying the trails.
Partners
A trail half-marathon and trek in lush green hills of Nepal.
About Gemini Events Contact Us reid_delman@geminiadventures.com