Calf Creek: Hiking and a Dip

Judd and Jamie recently traveled south for a family reunion and ended up doing a little hiking. They made the trek to the lower falls of Calf Creek and got to cool off in the somewhat chilly water. See, being active doesn't mean that you have to be pounding the pavement as a road warrior. Thanks Judd and Jamie for sharing your experience. Everyone else keep sending in photos of your active adventures.

Catherine killin' the 5k

Pioneer Day started off with a bang! Catherine competed in her challenge event, the Pioneer Day 5k, and placed 164 out of 219 with a time of 35:40. She was also 13th for her age group. Not too shabby for her first 5k! Most of the family was there to cheer her as she finished strong and now we are all waiting in anticipation for what's next?

2008 Pioneer Day Classic 5k

Let's start our Pioneer Day with a bang. Come and support Catherine as she competes in the 2008 Pioneer Day Classic 5k. The race will begin at 8:00am at Timpview High School. The course is a big loop and will end right where it began. This is Catherine's "Challenge Event" so please come and support her as she hits the road in T-bird country.

Battle at Big Spings 8k

Jeremy, Judd and Jake all competed in the Battle at Big Springs 8k trail race on Saturday. Jeremy won his age division, Judd was right on his tail and Jake finished just a few minutes later - he is still a bit of a rookie. It was a great workout and running in the mountains was awesome! Enjoy the photos of Jeremy and Judd (I guess Jake's performance was not photo-worthy). There are a few more picutres of Jeremy and Judd on the racing website, click here to see the pics - Battle at Big Springs Pics.

Jeremy making the press

Surviving 50 miles
Written by Katie Robison
Monday, 07 July 2008

Standing over 6 feet tall with a muscular, football player build, you’d never know that Jeremy Gines, owner of the Bamboo Hut Hawaii Grill, is an ultra marathoner. In fact, he still doesn’t consider himself an ultra marathoner even after running in the 3rd toughest 50-miler in the country — the Squaw Peak 50 Mile Trail Run held on June 7. “I’m not a runner type,” said Gines.

“Growing up I was all about getting big. I played football at Snow College and never got into distance running.”

An ultra marathon is any race that is longer than the standard marathon of 26.2 miles.

The majority of the Squaw Peak Trail is run on dirt roads and trails including 10,000 feet of elevation gain and loss and five steep inclines. More than 230 people from all over the country participated in the ultra marathon. Due to the late winter this year, about three miles of the trail was patched with snow.

Gines finished the race in 12 hours and 28 minutes. Gines considers this a victory as he had planned to finish about an hour later due to the mud and snow on the trail.

“When I was at mile 39 my brother came and ran with me while I was going over this huge mountain and the last major climb,” said Gines. “I got to that point and just said to myself ‘I’ve got this — after this point everything is going to be easy.’”

In an ultra marathon one of the most rewarding and sentimental parts of the run is the finish line.

“I crossed the finish line with my five daughters and family waiting and I felt really good,” said Gines. “I set out to accomplish something and I did it and did well with it.”

Gines said that his motivation to run in one of the most difficult endurance races in the country came from his daughter and brother.

“My waistline started to grow and I couldn’t keep up with my 3-year-old daughter,” said Gines. “I wanted to be the dad where the kids had to catch up with me.”

Gines also was motivated by the passing of his brother who played football for the University of Utah.

“He was always super competitive and never set limitations on himself,” said Gines. “That’s why I decided to run my first marathon.”

Since the first 26.2 miles, Gines has run in dozens of races including six half marathons, five marathons, and now to add to his list, has finished his first ultra marathon. He said the main difference between running a 5K or marathon and an ultra marathon is the time you spend running. Gines spent dozens of hours every week running the Squaw Peak trail in high altitude and snowy conditions.

“To feel strong enough to finish I started putting in 50-70 miles a week when usually I’d run 20-30 miles when training for a marathon,” said Gines. “It’s been good because the higher elevation has increased my lung capacity but the training was fatiguing.”

“For me this was an endurance race and not necessarily about speed,” said Gines. “I’m not a runner type, I’m the rookie.”

After surviving 50 miles, Gines is all about fitness. In fact, he’s opening up a new organic health food store called Café Fresh right next to Good Earth in July 2008.

For more information on races throughout Utah go to http://utahmarathon.com/.

Stewart Falls Here We Come!

On July 5th Jake, Audra, Holden and McKenzie took an adventure to Stewart Falls. They battled stinging nettle, the occasional exhaustive meltdown and the curiosity of caterpillars around every corner. In the end the kids did great! Enjoy a couple pictures of their hike, especially Holden playing Rock Band on the trail!

Remember that fitness in not always an organized event...
so let's promote fitness in everything we do!

Provo Freedom Festival 10k and Fun Run!

The freedom run was a success! Congrats to Charakie for finishing her challenge race!!!!
Here is a brief overview of the times for the 10k.

Name - time , overall place, place by gender, division place
Jeremy - 45:41, 115, 92, 16
Jake - 56:02, 527, 345 , 56
Audra - 57:23 , 576, 208, 58
Brent - 1:08:34 , 975 , 517 , 30
Charakie - 1:09:20, 995, 473, 102
Cassie - 1:09:52 , 1005 , 479 , 138

Everyone did great! Check out Dad's division place - and that is with a leg cramp! Jeremy of course rocked the house, but I am sure that Dad will still give him grief that it wasn't better than his all time best of 42 minutes. Mom competed in the 1 mile fun run, which she successfully completed by tripping as many kids as she could. photos of the event will be coming soon!

We own this 10k!

Just a reminder that the big 10k is just a few hours away. Make sure that you carb up and don't forget the Vaseline:) Most of the family is participating, so it should be fun to support everyone. This event is Charakies challenge race, so you better kill it Char. We are still working on getting the racing shirts - sorry Charakie you may have to wait on getting your shirt.

I have heard a rumor that there will be navajo tacos at Brent and Caren's after the race! I am sure that there will be enough good stuff on the top to counteract the fry-bread.

Make sure that you send Jake any photo's of the race.