Well the Goblin Valley 50 was
Well the Goblin Valley 50 was a very good run.. Goblin Valley is located in South Central Utah about 40 miles from Green River, Utah which is a part of what is called the San Rafael Swell. It's quite remote and beautiful. There were about 180 runners for the event, including 3 minimalist runners. I ran into the two other minimalist at the starting line but really didn't see them again until I was on the backside of the run (mile 18 or so). My fellow minimalist were running in Luna Sandals
http://www.lunasandals.com/ which now I have to try. Friday before the race turned quite nasty, loads of rain which certainly had an impact on the trail turning it quite muddy with several washouts which required re-routing. Race day was a beautiful day, sunshine and around 45-50 degrees when we started. The road conditions were not as bad as expected, but the one thing I'd call out for minimalist is this was billed as a trail run, but really it was predominately gravel roads that made for some difficult areas to traverse. There were some relatively minor climbs along the path but all in all it was a fairly what I'd call a moderate run.
Personally it was an ok day, I didn't set a PR, but with this being my 4th marathon or ultra in 6 weeks i wasn't looking to. The gravel roads took there toll on my feet.. The (the feet) finished pretty bruised, blistered, and sore.. My legs and joints had a lot left in them, and I certainly could have kept going if not for my feet.
My goal is 2 days off, then back to the trails. Looking back the one thing I would change now is my Five Finger choice. I've been running with Bikila's for about 5-6 weeks now. I decided last minute to revert back to my KSO Trek's.. I think the Bikila's would have protected my feet better had I been more knowledgable of the trail conditions.
The other minimalist runners that I mentioned finished 1.5 hrs behind me, we didn't connect at the end of the race but I assume they adjusted their pace to adjust to the conditions.
Will I be back to Goblin Valley next year?? Oh Yeah!