Racing Through the Red Rocks
Moab 5 miler, 2005
By: Daniel Olsen
Of all the various family traditions that my family shares, none
is more well known than running the famous race in Moab, and enjoying the
numerous things that you can do there. There are so many adventurous and
funny incidents that have occurred there that I will remember forever, like
the first time I'd ever tried prime rib, the first time going to the Adobe
Abode Bed and Breakfast, racing go carts at a racing track, close finish
line races, and sad defeats, honking and teasing the war protestors, and
going to the marvelous picture stores and restaurants. This is the fifth
year I have run the Canyonlands Half Marathon and Five Mile, and I hope to
share more exciting stories about the place.
This year was the first year my mom and little brother Henry
went, along with my brother Russell, and Dad. My Dad really wanted my five
year old sister Bethany to come, but our hotel usually doesn't allow kids to
come there because it's mostly an adult place, and for them, 5 is a little
too young.
It took about 7 hours to arrive in Moab. When we got to the
Adobe Abode, I watched a hilarious movie called Mrs. Doubtfire. Then we sat
in the hot tub for a while. Finally, we went to one of the newest rooms that
the owner had built.
There are many cool things that I like about the hotel. Their
southwest decorations inside are cool, they have a pool table, a keyboard, a
dartboard, 100's of DVD's, a hot tub, a wonderful breakfast, and many other
ways to enjoy yourself.
So Russell, Henry, and I got under our covers. I made the
mistake of telling my eight year old brother a creepy sick story about a guy
named Hacksaw Jones, a disguised man with a hacksaw for an arm, seeking
revenge for all the kids who teased him in school.
So of course at 5:30 in the morning I'm sleeping and I here a
tiny voice say "Daniel what time is it?"
I look at my watch and then yell at Henry before I realize it
was my fault for scaring him.
At 6:30 we put our racing clothes on, went down to eat
breakfast, and went off to the race.
This year, because I'm in high school now, my high school coach
insisted that I should do the five-miler instead of the half marathon. In
the past, the half marathons in March haven't effected my track season, but
my track club didn't start until May back then, but high school track starts
in March.
We stretched and warmed up for about an hour, and then we waited
for five minutes, for all of the runners to get there. As I was looking
through the crowd, I saw a familiar kid that I had raced against in road
races before. He was close to my age group, so he was the kid I wanted to
beat. Since we were both in the front, we started off really fast. My first
mile was a 6:07, and we were running slightly downhill.
My goal was to hit the same pace each time, but then came a
couple of hills, and my splits gradually got slower, and the temperature
reached 80 degrees, a temperature you are not used to in Logan Utah in the
winter.
My time was 33:26. That's not too good of a time for me,
considering I ran an extremely hilly 9 miler course with a 6:30 mile pace,
and this one is 6:40's. I still ended up getting first place, because the
other kid was sixteen. My 9 year old brother Henry ran a 44 minute 5 miler.
My dad ran with Henry, and unfortunately got tripped by another guy as they
were sprinting at the finish line. My twelve year brother Russell ran the
half marathon in 1 hour and 35 minutes, which is right about where my
fastest half was at his age. My mom started out great in the half marathon,
but got really stiff at the end, so she was just under two hours.
Russell and I both took first, and Henry got a fifth, because he
had to run against many eleven year olds. After the race, we ate at the Moab
Brewery. Then we drove go carts. My mom drove very slowly with Henry.
Roadkill Russell, however, put his foot on the gas, so that he was speeding
in the slow right lane and bumping into the walls every time.
At about eight o'clock, my dad went off to a photography place
where a famous Moab photographer was signing autographs of his work.
On Sunday, we left Moab, and went to see my Aunt Margie.
I really enjoyed running in Moab for my 5th year in a row, and I
can't wait until next year, where I bust my lungs in another race.