Running Zion Ultra Marathon 2024 - Challenging but Scenic Race - 100 Miles Ultra Running Documentary
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 เม.ย. 2024
- Running Zion Ultra Marathon 100 miles is always such a great adventure. In this ultra running documentary, I bring on my 4th time trail running Zion ultra marathon. And let me tell you - it never gets easy to run 100 miles! And this race is just as scenic as it is challenging - pushing the physical and mental limits of every runners.
Zion Ultra Marathon 100 miles was also my 4th 100 miles ultra marathon in 2024, and my 28th in 28 months. This ultra marathon course covers trails in the desert and mesa with steep cliff and majestic backdrop. Being in Southern Utah, heat is a factor when trail running in the afternoon - with zero shades. It’s easy to forget the basics in this context - food, fluid, salt, and slow pace.
My race was not what I would have wanted. But isn’t that always the case? Well, yes…but no. I faced unexpected challenge, and my body - particularly my knee - did not cooperate. But using mindfulness, I was able to keep moving ever so slowly, until I crossed that finish line. I hope you will enjoy my adventure in this new ultra running documentary!
Next race - Mt Fuji 100 miles on April 26! Very excited about racing in Japan.
As always - Thanks for watching and remember -
Work Hard!
Believe in yourself!
Push your limits!
Simon
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Curious about trail running gear? I've created a list with all the gear I personally use when racing. You can have a look here, or below are the individual links. Those are all product I use and recommend.
www.amazon.com/shop/ultramara...
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Zion Course Scouting preview + Tips + Running gear for 100 miles
• Zion Ultra Marathon (C...
Zion Ultra Marathon 2024
• Trail Running Zion Ult...
Trail Running Zion Ultra Marathon 100 miles (2022) - SUB24
• Zion Ultra Marathon (T...
Trail Running Zion Ultra Marathon 100 miles (2021)
• Zion Ultra 100 miles (...
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Instagram:
/ runningwithsimon
Strava:
/ strava
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Music credit: Songs by Infraction - No Copyright Music
• By Infraction : Farmer, Back to You, Make me Happy, To Nights, Searching, Tokyo Streets, City Beat, Good Vibe,
• By Mokka Music: Energy Wave, Purple Summer, One Soul,
• Megaman X: Cast Roll, Password
• Super Metroid: Prologue
Music from #InAudio: inaudio.org/
Track Name: BACK TO YOU (EDM)
inaudio.org/track/back-to-you...
Music from #InAudio: inaudio.org/
Track Name: CITY BEAT (ELECTRONIC POP)
inaudio.org/track/city-beat-e...
Music from #InAudio: inaudio.org/
Track Name: THIS DREAM (POP)
inaudio.org/track/this-dream-...
Music from #InAudio: inaudio.org/
Track Name: THE FARMER (FOLK)
inaudio.org/track/the-farmer-...
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My gear list (and suggestions) and where to find them
- Clothes - Running Vest - amzn.to/3J6ugVL
- Clothes - Running Belt - amzn.to/3VB5aWL
- Clothes - Sun Hat: amzn.to/3VFj5es
- Clothes - Running Shirt: amzn.to/3PEoIp9
- Clothes - Arm Sleeves: amzn.to/4cP53gu
- Clothes - Liner Socks: amzn.to/4aD56tY
- Clothes - Smart Wool Socks: amzn.to/3TDCJEP
- Clothes - Thicker Socks: amzn.to/3vB8pTn
- Poles - Black Diamond Alu: amzn.to/49yIcD7
- Light - Headlamp:amzn.to/3TDRgAv
- Light - Safety Light: amzn.to/4ag2xhk
- Nutrition - Gels: amzn.to/49htPmn
- Nutrition - Gummies: amzn.to/3IXTFBh
- Nutrition - Tailwind: amzn.to/4aeruK1
- Varia - Tape: amzn.to/4acK9WX
- Sport Watch: Garmin Fenix 6X: amzn.to/3VHTl16
- Sport Watch: Garmin Fenix 7 (not what I have but if buying today, that’s what I’d get - you want the sapphire glass. Solar - not necessarily): amzn.to/3Txuxpy
- Filming - Go Pro: amzn.to/3VGsv9t
- Filming - Insta 360 x3: amzn.to/3U8Vpy1
These are affiliate links - meaning it’s the normal price but the seller gives back a small % to the channel. You pay the same price and ordering from these links is an easy way to support this channel. - กีฬา
I'm soooo sorry for the bad audio! I really regret the new camera... Oh well, you live you learn. Coming up soon, a play by play of what my body went through in the minutes, hours and days after an ultra marathon!
Ps: again it's soooo nice to meet you all out there! Zion is particularly good for that. I hope you had a great race! ... hmmm ok let's set realistic expectation - I hope you had an OK race
Is this the insta 360 x3/4? (Thinking about getting it.
@@UntalLaurencio x3. I think it really depends on the intended use. If I was not making long form movies, I'd be very happy with it. But for a race recap, I think I'll go back to my normal action cam for a while. Action cam is smaller, more rugged, easier to keep the lens clean. It also starts waaaay faster. But you WILL definitely miss some shots because of bad framing.
Insta 360 makes some really nice shots, and enable some cool self shot. Image quality is plenty enough if it's short form and/or intended to be mostly seen on a phone. So I'll definitely keep using it. And the big big advantage (which is huge) is that you will almost never miss a shot. You reframe in post production so it'll always be exactly what you want.
But the latter is my biggest grief for long form content. I take 200-300 shots during a race like this. It takes me at least 30-60s to reframe, and another 30-60s to process. And that's fast and mostly using Ai tools like auto-tracking. But still adding easily 5-10hrs EXTRA - that's 5-10hrs JUST to get the clips ready to start editing my movie (which will be another 10-20hours). With the GoPro, I'm already skilled so those 5-10hours were done by pointing what I want to film, and despite missing some shots, or it not being perfect, I get what I want 95% of the time. And when I get the shot I want, the image quality is better than what you'd get on a 360 camera (BUT that's only obvious when on a big screen). So again, it's not a bad camera necessarily - all of these issues are not an issue if you focus on short content, plan to have it seen on phone, and or it's mostly for yourself.
For the sound, it was noticeably worst, but I could probably use some deadcat or some wind muffer to help. The other inconvenience for an ultra marathon is that you HAVE to use the selfie stick. Not a big deal on a short outing, but for 30 hours.... Camera + stick is fairly cumbersome - definitely much heavier than action cam alone, and bulky. I ended up carrying it in my hand 95% of the miles even when not using. So you can't use poles, and eating is harder, and it's also easier to forget the camera at an aid station.
I'll keep using mine, not planning to return it. But I will probably not using in race anymore. I knew these things coming in, but was mostly curious if the hassle would help me make a better movie for you all, but I don't think so. On solo adventure or with nora (so outside of races) I'll use it a lot.
@@runningwithsimon I just ran a 50-miler with a (rented) x3 last weekend. I was comfortable with holding the selfie stick (filming short clips of no more than a few minutes at the time) and was able to find a good spot in the back of my vest to put it away. In the front, it was just bumping around too much. What attracted me to try this camera was the idea of not having to be a camera man since you can "just" edit the shots you want in post. I'll need to spend some time getting some good footage and mess around with it. I'm very hesitant to bring it again, though. I'm impressed with the image quality and 360 view capabilities but I might try with a regular GoPro. What version do you use?
@@jacobdeleur I brought the x3 for my next race. I will use the gorpo as the main, but wouldn't mind having the extra camera just for this race (fuji). I'll use quiver normally used for poles - I think you're 100% right, in the front it's annoying. But in the back would be fine. I just want quick access and that should do the trick
I really appreciate your honesty in this video. I feel like most of the ultra videos I see are so “perfect” and as a new trail runner, it makes me feel like my struggles doing a lot less are so silly. This was the most comforting video I’ve seen!
Thanks - yeah exactly! For me, it's either that their race seem perfect and goes to plan, or they are visibly being overly dramatic. And I'm like - hey hold up, I raced with you. It wasn't like this at all. It wasn't THAT bad. No we did not almost die.
I'm fine people twisting perception I guess, but my issue was always that then someone goes running their first 100, and they are surprised and disappointed with themselves that things didn't go as they would have expected, and think something is wrong with them. I'm just trying with an honest take on these to show how it's really like.
Congratulations!! Thank you for your honest representation of your experience. Your grit is amazing! I’m so glad Nora was waiting for you at the finish! I knew she would be. No way could she sleep until she knew you were safely across the finish line!
I was glad too (and surprised). Of course she went sleeping before but was able to make it just in time :)
man that was what I needed. Had a suuuuper hard 40 miler on Saturday which I expected to go by easily. Had to suffer through 30miles of stomach pain and 13 miles of cramps. To see you marching through so much more discomfort just inspires me to thank you
Well good job! It's in those tough ones that you can show your character!
Thank you for bringing us along. I appreciate the reality of your struggles, and your determination to continue on. I was exhausted just watching!
Thank you !
One second “I’m in so much pain”. Next second…”How are you doing?”….”Fine!” 😂 Great job 💪🏻 and great video!
I was " "Fine" " ...
Love this!!
Firstly I love the intro with the retro game sound theme. Secondly, Simon you are a sentinel of righteousness. I love that you acknowledge how pain in areas of your body can negatively impact your spirit because it correlates the mental and physical aspects of long distance running. You're tough as nails and truly inspiring!
Thanks :)
Hey man, I was there, saw you and recognised you. I knew a video will come up for Zion. Thanks, I appreciate your contain and it helped me !
Hey Congrats! I was actually wondering if there were any other quebecois - didn't hear anyone but glad to hear I wasn't alone!
The calculated risk of pushing through the pain💪😎🤘And you weren’t lying when you said those climbs were steep. Whew!
yeah exactly - you know you'll have pain. But is i good pain or bad pain. Should i stop, or should I stop complaining. hard to know sometimes!
Congratulations! The audio is better than you think, and the wind noise is an important reminder that the weather elements are a part of it all! Thank you for being humble about the difficulty! We're not interested in your ultras and our own because we want them to be easy!
Thanks - appreciate you saying that. I was really annoyed with the audio and will do better next time. There's a a few cheap things I can try to improve drastically.
I look forward to these every month! Grats! Way to push through.
Thanks Andrew :) I'm gonna cheat a little with April/May with an extra one (3 total)!
Wow, I can't believe this is for real... 100 miles! Maybe one day. I mean I should probably do a half marathon first, but lol. I just posted a lackluster run update. But I am getting back on it now. 👟💕
Getting back on it is what matters!
Well done! I got my first ultra medal just a few weeks ago, I’m really jealous (motivated really) to have a display similar to yours
Congratulations!
I think I'll never have to go shopping for a belt buckle...
Finally!!! My Friday night is better now!!
Fridays are already pretty good :P
I keep coming back to this video. Simon the scenery for me who lives in the south east in Georgia is unbelievable gorgeous. Who knows maybe someday I don’t see it getting out there but what a beautiful place.
Thanks for what you do it’s just the courses you run are beautiful we get we get to see you go through it and we get the seat is beautiful scenery that we can say you know maybe someday
Thanks - that's really nice. And fully agree with you. I'm from the North East, and for me landscape like that is like being on mars or something. That's one of the reason why I love this one so much!
Congrats! Tough one Simon thanks for taking us along. This part really made me laugh: "Where the F have you been?" Chillen.. LOL!! .... cya at Cocodona.
Those guys were hilarious! And they really 'up their game'. They had chairs, drinks in a cooler, food - really nice of them!
Cocodona is coming up sooooo soon
"I'm here b/c of you."
"Don't blame me!" LOL!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Andrei was chill - we actually spent a couple of miles together afterwards!
Nice video and details as to what is going on and how you handle adversity and keep pushing on.
Thanks - glad the transparency is appreciate!
Great race recap and honesty Simon - I raced the 50k (my second ultra) last weekend and your Zion race overview video was super helpful to help mentally prepare (and get excited!) for the race! Amazing work on the 100 miles and keep crushing it
Congratulations on the 50k!!! So you guys did Gooseberry with sunrise, and Grafton day time? That sounds like the perfect timing!
It looks amazing. You're an inspiration
Stay moist
@@rclembobbyphe3362 Is that a BUA reference?!?! ... heck, I barely even know her!
BUA for life here.
I'm 53 and new to signing up for ridiculous running stuff. This is year 2 for me, so I'm old and slow but you're doing a great job conveying really important stuff, so thanks.
I'm totally unqualified to be giving advice so BUA is my place to be
Please stop running so close to the edge of those goddamn cliffs on the drone shots. Yer freaking me out
@@rclembobbyphe3362 Don't worry - falling off is not dangerous at all. Nobody ever died falling from a cliff!
....however the landing is a bigger issue
thank you Simon for all your vid materials - very helpful! Thank you also for a bit of chatting during the race, this was a pleasure to meet you in person.
Keep on doing what you do - ultra running is clearly your passion, and you are great at it, and inspiring othesr to follow.
What is the name of the 200 mile race you are preparing for? crazy!
All the best !
Andrzej
It was great meeting you! I hope the remaining of your trip was amazing.
There are 2x 200+ miles races I'll be doing this year. The first starts Monday May 6th and is called Cocodona 250 (in Arizona). The other is Tor des Geants in Italy - which is arguably one of the hardest ultra in the world - with 24,000 m of elevation gain!
wow. That is a bold plan ! I was doing TDS (utmb) that was the hardest ever for me. But your plans are 10x more challenging 🎉 Goood luck Simon.
Ps. I am still in Utah & Arizona for 2 more weeks. Who knows - maybe I will be cheering you on along the way :-) of cocodona
Ps2. Hope they found your bags from Virgin station ?
Anyways - GOOOOOOOD LUUUCK ❤
@@DziennaDawkaDyskomfortu They found my bag after the race. Didn't get a full explanation but seems it was simply still in their truck or something. At least I didn't lose gear, and they apologized, so I'm not upset. In a big event like this, it's normal that there will be some issue, and the fact that they apologized to me shows they are a serious and credible race organization that takes accountability. It just shows how good vacation race is.
Hats off to you, ya beast!! I think this was the most down and out I've ever seen you- it's the first time I thought you might actually drop! Incredible job pushing through! I love that you don't hide the struggles. The sound wasn't bad at all. "I can cross without getting wet!" *splash* "OH SHT" 😂😂
100% jinxed myself...rookie mistake! Nora (and I) thought it was hilarious...ooopsies
9:18 you saved someone from potentially getting lost or adding unwanted miles to the race 👍👍
Always lol. This one time they would have been fine, and people did the same to me too. In this area, it's just hard to see the trail. But you'll find it - it's just faster if someone tells you.
The one we saved him a lot of miles is at Antelope - poor fellow was going in the wrong direction for a loop, which for sure would have led to DNF.
Very nice video 👍
Thanks!
Good effort on the dry stream crossing! Love the audio narration of it. 👍
I watched it with Nora - and she did her best but in the end she couldn't stop laughing at me... :P
Hiya,thank you for this channel. I did my very first ultra last weekend and I used a lot from your tips which really worked for me. Thank you, and keep going❤
Congratulations - that's great. That's exactly why I put all these effort into the channel :)
I may have laughed when you got your feet wet; "water crossing without getting our feet wet and OH #%^&". LOL! Great run! I always thought this run had more single track and trees. Haha! Still, beautiful run and awesome race.
Beginner mistake of jinxing it... I deserve it!
But watch out, you might have jinxed it for you too!
Thanks!
Wow thanks Linda :)
As always an amazing video.
Thanks Matthew!
1:21 "How'bout dem'Sausages Charlie?"
thank you very much for inspiring... can't quite find all the words, but sharing and showing all, inspires to get out there
Glad to hear it!
What a struggle! I am happy you made it. Hope you liked the shoes and that they were not the reason for the knee pain.
I did like them - hard to say if the knee thing was or wasn't related. But my Achilles pain was much lower (which I guess, also hard to say if related or not...but either way). My intuition is that Achilles and heel were better thanks to the shoe, and knee was unrelated. But hard to prove either way, right? I might use them for Fuji, and will try to post a review shortly.
Speed Goats are my JAM👌
Congratulations 🎉
Thanks!
your commentary is very helpful!!!!
Thanks ! If you’re thinking about racing, I also have a course tips video about Zion which I think can be very very helpful (regardless of the distance you are doing)
th-cam.com/video/dx6HuL3W5iQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Dx5X1pzL77c7JQhI
Les vues sont si belles ! Je pense que je vais ajouter Zion a mon "bucket list" Peut-être en 2026
Je recommende vraiment! Et ce sont des paysages tellement different de ce qu'on ait habitue au Qc - ca fait tres 'exotique'.
@@runningwithsimon C'est pour les mêmes raisons que j'ai choisi Black Canyons 2025.
Love the video. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic video, great to see you out there again. See you in 2025! :) strong work this year, great job!
Go Simon!
Thank you :)
Finally! Thank you Simon! Congrats
Thanks!
What a show of perseverance. Seems like if it could go wrong it did go wrong. Do you think your achilles had anything to do with your race volume?
Thanks - yes seriously, it felt like everything went wrong. But hey - they say a bad dress rehearsal portends a great opening night. So I guess Cocodona will go smoothy!
Achilles: yes and no. I think it doesn't always give me enough time to fully heal. But I also struggled at HURT 100 despite having a longer than usual time to recover. I think it doesn't help, but shoes might be another factor. It really feels like the way the Speedgoats are was helpful by not putting pressure there. I'll try them again for Fuji, and if I get the same results...then wowza! Found myself my new favorites!
Bravo! Maybe the new camera is affecting your gait? I find you had better spirit with the old camera in during the night. Thumbs up for the introduction..
It's a very interesting comment! I was also noticing that while watching over and over those clips, and it feels like I was semi-limping or had an uneven gait. At first I was thinking "wow my knee pain was worse than I remember", but I have a hard time believing it was THAT bad and I wouldn't notice during the race. My alternate theory is that because of the extreme wide ankle, it messes up with perspective a little.
But regardless, yeah no question I prefer running with the gopro. It's lighter, smaller, I don't have to hold it in my hand all the time. I'll try something different for Mt Fuji 100 this weekend, where I use 95% gopro, and 5% for 'cool shots' the 360, while simply leaving it in my pole bag/quiver (poles are not allowed so why not).
Great video! As others said, the audio was not that bad. Congrats on persevering and pushing thru the physical and drop bag challenges. How did the Hoka’s work out? I used the Speed Goat 5’s and they were great for a 50 mile, no blisters.
'Simon'. English translation: 'Beast Machine'. 💪
Thank you for sharing your experience and congrats on finishing! May I ask what happens with the dropbags when you don't get it, do they then return them to the start? And also I noticed you had trekking poles for quite a while, but then they were gone :) Did you end up using them and then leaving them at a dropbag? I have my first ultra coming up a 54km with 3000m+ (10000ft) elevation gain and just as much elv.loss and I am considering bringing a trekking pole, and curious for your experience using them on races, useful, not not really? Thanks!
The dropbag thing is a mystery - if you don't receive it where you should, could be that it's lost, or misplaced (e.g., sent to wrong aid station). It's NOT common, and there's not much you can do about it. I kept looking at every aid station just in case. When I didn't find it anywhere, I assumed it was lost. But no - somehow it was there with the others at the finish line. A bit of a mystery - it was probably left in the truck and never came out. It's not a normal thing so I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Typically, it will be there. And then you give it back (there's typically a pile with the dropbags after being used, so they can return them - any drop bag that is not put in that pack of bags will simply be returned later when the aid station closes, for example bags of people who DNFed).
For poles - I could be wrong, but I think I carried them all day except at grafton mesa (the last loop / last 7ish miles). I had an empty dropbag there where I had planned to leave all my extra night stuff (clothes, lights, etc), and figured I'd just leave my pole too. They are useful, but I was actively trying not to use them. And it depends on the course - a lot of gain like the race you describe I'd probably bring them to help. And for longer race it's helpful too. But it's good to train with them, otherwise I wouldn't bother taking them for the race.
@@runningwithsimon Thank you for the detailed answer Simon, very helpful! And have an awesome race in Japan!!
Hey, congratulations on getting through a tough run!!! I am still training towards my smaller ultra (38 miles). Any tips on helping with knee and ankle recovery after a tough run? Did you do anything special to get your knees and ankles healthy again after this run?
I didn’t do anything specific this time. But it’s two different things. Short term relief with ice on my ankle if swollen. Knee depends what’s the issue, but for me it’s often tight ITB so I massage my quad a lot. If that happened in a race, ok fine. But if it’s training, I’d say rest and recovery. Rethinking current mileage. Best not to aggravate.
Longer term however is more important. A lot of strengthening exercises. That will with enough time prevent most issues. But of course that takes time and isn’t 100% reduction. Still that’s the best otherwise you’ll eventually have bigger issues. Running isn’t (I think) necessarily bad for knees and joints. BUT, if you aren’t careful, you can have injuries.
What is that cord for. Dud you have to have to go down the mountain. Scarry
Amazing job to push through the knee pain and other issues! But enough about you, how was Nora's run?
It was a blast! It was super hot and I was slow, but I did it :) surrounded by a lot of wonderful, kind and badass people
haha exactly! :)
Sorry if I missed it, but did you give your thoughts on the Hoka Speedgoat?
Not yet - unfortunately didn't have time to wrap that movie up. And realistically won't be before a few weeks (I've just raced Mount Fuji 100 in Japan, and racing Cocodona next week). But overall, very happy with them. I think the way the back of it is helped relief pressure on my achilles, which is a recurring problem I have (and is for half my race my #1 pain). Cushion felt good for Zion, but I also raced Fuji with the same pair, and I think already by then it was not protecting as much. Tread was solid for technical train - that was more obvious at Fuji where you had a lot of technical segment including mud.
in the main complaints. Because of the way the back of the shoe is, it basically creates a funnel to collect a bunch of debris. On road it'd be fine, but for a trail shoe, it's an odd choice. You probably need gaiters. The toe protection is also very weak, which for a rocky course like zion meant hurting your toe by hitting rocks. I wish it was a bit sturdier. Also speaking of toe box, it's fairly narrow. It's ok-ish for my feet (just a little too tight) but anyone who prefers to have room will likely find that annoying and could have blisters. There seems to be a wider version - that might do the trick. Finally, maybe it'd just me, but I feel they got used up very quickly. I have about 250 miles on them now, and the tread is almost 100% gone in some spot. The heel cushion is definitely used up. So I can still run a little with them, and it's not like they only have 50 miles, but still, I feel they got torn to piece a little quicker than my regular shoe.
So summary is really that I'm happy with them, partciuarly for the achilles thing. If that's the reason why my recovery has been so fast after both Zion and Fuji - then it's 100% worth it for me.
amzn.to/4dkJJPV
@runningwithsimon - WOW. Thank you for this very thorough and thoughtful response. This helps tremendously.
Beautiful video BTW... and new subbie too.
28 100-milers in 28 months? Where do you find the time to do all that?
Honestly - managing this channel and training for these races is much more time consuming than traveling + racing those. I also do have a very time-consuming work (easily 50-60h week) but the big advantage is that it's hybrid, so I have to go in office, but can also work remotely sporadically (I also have to travel for work some times, but not so frequent). The races I can do mostly weekend (which is why 200 milers have been an issue for me), but making those movies some times bring me up to 2-3am despite work at 7-8am next day.