by Shir Regev, Race Director
The most beautiful thing about ultra-running is the emphasis placed on effort versus times. This spirit is what makes an ultra-marathon one of the most egalitarian events you will ever see. So even though course records were set in every event this year, I want to frame the day from the perspective of the athlete with the most heart, the one who came in last.
The race began with the most perfect weather a runner could ask for. There were some clouds, but no rain. It was cool, but not cold. There was just enough of a breeze to help you stay dry, but not so much that you felt like you were fighting it. At six thirty in the morning 45 runners started their adventures along the Snake River. After they left I looked behind me. One woman was standing there looking lost so I asked if she needed help. She was the mother of one of the runners in 100km event. She had never been to an ultra before, and wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help her daughter other than wait and pray. I informed her there wasn’t much else to do, but we got her lined out with how to get to the other aid stations to cheer for her girl.
We would end up spending the rest of the day in the separate togetherness of polite strangers. Mom drove from aid station to aid station to cheer for Daughter. The times she waited at the trail head she told me how Daughter was doing. If I heard Daughter cleared an aid station, I would tap on the car window to let Mom know. While this was going on, the day unfolded for the rest of the runners.
One by one as they crossed the finish line I got to hear their stories. There were sightings of a tiger and a narwhal whale at Big Flat Aid Station. There were several osprey sightings and perhaps even an elusive marmot was seen. I listened to newly minted ultra-runners make plans with the new friends they made in the canyon to meet up at other races. The best part of all was hearing runners who had never attempted an ultra before the Hop start making plans to level up from 50 to 100km.
As each story mounted up there was one less runner on the trail. Almost as soon as the first 100km finisher had left the trail head, the weather that was so perfect at the beginning of the day, turned into a storm. With three hours left and three runners still on the course the skies split open with thunder, lightning and rain. I got word two of the runners had cleared the last aid station. The only one who hadn’t belonged to the woman knitting the car parked a few yards from mine.
Another runner came in rain soaked. Two runners were still in the storm. Two parked cars at the trail head waited. Then the call, the last runner could be seen at the final aid station. I let Mom know. This was the moment every runner loves. It’s the moment they know they have made it. All they have to do is finish. Our last runner, the one with the most heart, came in with 37 minutes left to spare. It was her very first 100km. She did something most people never even dream to accomplish. As good as it feels to help runners achieve a new goal. Nobody will ever savor the moment more than that (rightfully) proud mom, holding a blanket in the rain, waiting for her baby to cross the finish line. This is what makes this sport so great. Thanks to all the volunteers, the runners and the people who love them for making this year’s Snake River Island Hop unforgettable.
Results from this year’s event are available on ultrasignup.com. To see pictures, please visit our Facebook page.