34 - Run with the Horses Marathon - Green River, Wyoming

Who could pass up a marathon called "Run with the Horses?"  Kristen, a friend who I taught with in NYC suggested we make a vacation of the Wyoming Marathon.  We flew into Denver, rented a car, and drove to Wyoming.  Run with the Horses Marathon was in Green River, which is in the south-west part of Wyoming.

We had one night to explore before we needed to be in Green River.  Once we crossed the border into Wyoming we stopped at the local tourist office in Cheyenne, they suggested we spend a night in Saratoga, about a two and a half hour drive away.  Saratoga sits atop an active mineral hot spring.  We took the Scenic Snowy Range Byway to get there, which passed through both the Medicine Bow National Forest's Snowy Mountain Range and Sierra Madre Range.  We spent the night at the Saratoga Resort and Spa that had the added bonus of a Microbrewery (The Snowy Mountain Brewery) on site.

The next day we drove to Green River.  The Run With the Horses Marathon was coordinated with the local River Festival held on August 18 and 19 on Expedition Island in Green River.  Number pick-up and the marathon start & finish was at the festival on Expedition Island.  The race director warned us about the first six miles of the run—all up hill— and recommended that we walk and take it easy at the start. There was also a warning about rattle snakes: "just run around them." That night had dinner at the Krazy Moose Restaurant and hit the hay as early as we could.

We were up before the sun, which is fine since our "clock" was 2 hours ahead, one advantage of running out west.  Not many people gathered at the start at an elevation of 6100' — a total of 42 people had signed up to run this marathon.  The first two miles was getting out of town on paved city streets and the paved Green Belt along the Green River.  I thought the race director had maybe been exaggerating about the intitial part of the race.

Just before mile two, however, we turned onto Wild Horse Canyon Road where the paved road changed to a graded dirt road and a climb up the canyon. We climbed to the top of White Mountain at approximately 7300' elevation. There was NO way I was going to be able to run 26.2 miles if I ran up the canyon.  As I made the decision to walk, I started talking John, a runner from Michigan.  He was also walking so we walked and talked until mile six when he had to turn; he was doing the half-marathon, and I continued on.

This is about when Wild Horse Canyon Road plateaued.  From then on it was rolling hills at elevations of up to 7500' but nothing like the initial 6-mile climb.  Fortunately, there were some wild horses to keep me company.  There were water/food/aid stops every 2 miles, most needed for this race.  This was high plains desert and no shade.

Turn around point at 13.1 miles

Descending the canyon was a welcome relief. The second 13.1 miles were much better than the first half had been!  After the run, we sat in the river for a long time and just relaxed.  Believe me, there is nothing better than a cold soak after running a high plains desert marathon!

Over the next few days, we did another marathon— a marathon drive around most of the State of Wyoming! Leaving Green River, we first drove to Jackson or, as some refer to it, Jackson Hole.  We tried to spend as little time there as possible; it's a huge uppity tourist place.

Hidden Falls

Old Faithful

We then drove up to Grand Teton National Park and got a room at the Jackson Lake Lodge.   The next morning we took a hike around Jenny Lake and up to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point.  From there we drove up to Yellowstone National Park and spent the night at the Old Faithful Inn.  The "sulfur" smell of the geyser was everywhere.

Proghorn antelope in Grand Tetons

Elk in Grand Tetons

Bison herd in Yellowstone

The next morning we continued driving through the park and exited in the north-east, and briefly drove through Montana.  From there we headed south and spent the night in Thermolopis.  Then it was back to the Denver area.  We spent the last night with a friend of Kristen's in Boulder, Colorado before heading back home.

This was a good trip, we saw a lot.   But I'll go back to see the beautiful scenery and parks at a much more leisurely pace!