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/.