Serengeti 50k is put on by the Tooele Trail Racing Group. I signed up for this race because I simply needed something to look forward to in April and an excuse to leave town. I was working 7 days a week in March and it was really getting to me. I have since changed my work schedule. When I picked to run this race I saw it was 20 minutes from my best friend’s house and only cost $65 which is an absolute steal for a 50k. Usually they cost at least $100 and have a much higher production value but that’s not why I was running this race. Since Scout Mountain 100 miler is now only 8 weeks away I can’t afford to be missing any long training runs. Visiting people who don’t run is really hard during training for something like this but running a 50k would allow me to focus on relaxing and hanging out with my friends the rest of the weekend! I was stoked to learn about the other races that Tooele Trail Racing offers and how affordable they are as well. I expect I will run another one someday just because of how cheap and low key they are and I absolutely love coming to visit Carly and Kurt who live nearby.
The race started at 7am. I don’t know if I even heard a gun go off. Likely it was just the race director yelling ”Go!”. About 50 or so runners took off at the same time from the spray painted line across the dirt ATV road. The course was two 25k loops but we ran the second loop in the opposite direction. Some of those runners were doing the 25k. The first 5 miles were pretty flat and stayed on an ATV dirt road through cow fields. Some cows were really close to the course and we had to go through several gates that we were instructed to make sure were closed so the cows did not get out. We ran through the valley with views of the mountains in every direction and also a view of the city of Tooele and the Great Salt Lake itself. I could smell the bug spray on the other runners. We got an email before the race telling us how bad the mosquitoes were. I ignored it thinking that bugs have never been a problem when I have been running before and laughed that hopefully I could run fast enough that they wouldn’t bite me. I wore a HR monitor for the first time ever and I was frustrated with how high my HR was showing even though I was purposefully trying to take it easy. I chalked it up to race day anxiety and changed the screen so I couldn’t look at it any more. My legs felt so flat and I was very grumpy about it for the first ten miles or so. I just did not feel like running this race today and it was really bothering me that I tapered for something I didn’t care about right after a de-load week. The course turned on to a rolling rocky power line road and I just tried to keep the people in front of me in sight so I didn’t have to question the course directions. Finally we got to the aid station at mile 8.5, I grabbed a pickle and left immediately after telling the volunteer keeping track of the runners my bib #. This race was so cheap because it did not have the fancy chip timing system like some others do and I was all for it.
After the aid station we got to the really pretty single track trail parts of the course called the BBC Trail and Pole Canyon. These trails were tightly tucked into the small canyons of the mountain foothills and had many scrub oak trees. It was so pretty and I imagine even prettier in the fall. Around mile 10 I met an older lady who told me she was running this race because she was going to have a knee replacement soon. Honestly hearing that changed my entire day. I thought about how lucky I was just to be out there and really focused on changing my attitude and trying to just run what parts of the course I could. Descending down the short wooded pole canyon trail was really fun and then the trail became a long windy switch back single track in the open desert valley. It started to sprinkle rain and I saw a flash of lightning in the distance. I wondered if the race director would see it and put the race on hold or not. I was mostly just concerned because at this point us runners were the tallest things around! I saw the first place male pass me going the opposite direction around mile 12 -13 and at this point I also realized I would get to see the first ladies whenever they came by as well. Turns out all of us ladies in the front of the small 50k group got to the halfway aid station at the same time. I was debating getting my rain jacket from the car because the sky was not looking great. I saw the first lady leave to run the last half of the race in the reverse direction with nothing but a t-shirt and a waist belt. I just decided to follow her hoping I didn’t make a stupid decision leaving my rain jacket behind and thinking I was definitely not a fast enough runner to only be running with a belt?
It started to blow hail as I followed this lady slowly running up the 4-5% grade of single track. It was slow but I was proud of myself for running it instead of walking! Two other very strong looking ladies in tank tops were right behind me. I just kept my head down to keep the hail from hitting me in the eyes and at this point just decided to move to keep warm. I have no idea how those other ladies were warm enough, I was absolutely freezing. But at least I wasn’t the only one silly enough to leave without a rain jacket! By the time we got back to Pole Canyon the sun came out and I was so thankful. All of us ladies caught up to each other and I think we all knew that this would be the podium. I tried not to think about that and just focus on my six hour goal, having a good attitude, and running what I could. At the last aid station I filled up my flask and left as fast as I could because I was barely going to hit the 6 hour mark with a 12 minute pace at this point and I knew we had a little bit of climbing left on the power line road.
I did not let myself look behind me or even at my watch from the last aid station to the finish line. Once I knew I had five miles left (because I noted this spot on the first lap) I started to run as fast as I could. I felt so strong and was having a blast. I thought about how I finished Arches 50k in January 2025 and I could barely run the last five miles at all. I was really proud thinking about how far I have come with running in the past year and how much all of the road work I had put in the last month was paying off right now. I really hate to admit that because I hate road running … ALOT. But if it is necessary in order to get results like this then I guess I will do more of it! With three miles left to go I came up to a tall cattle gate that I could not get open. I decided to just climb over it. When I say tall I mean at least 6 feet tall. It was way over my head. During that climb I felt my right adductor cramp up so bad and I limped my first few running steps thinking “oh crap please not now”. Luckily it straightened itself out. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I won! And beat my 6 hour goal by 10 minutes! I had to sit down right away because I was breathing so hard and then my legs started cramping up. I watched Joni, the second place lady, come in only a minute behind me. She told me how hard she was trying to catch me those last five miles and that she also could not get the cow gate open and climbed up behind me. 3rd place was a tie with the tank top ladies and they were only four minutes behind me maybe? We all got to pick out a fun canvas with a picture of the course on it as a prize. I picked the view of the power line road. Well that day certainly turned around!
Finish time: 5:48:38 … 1st place Female… 13th overall… 44 total 50k runners and only 13 total females … A very small race!
Results: https://ultrasignup.com/m_results_event.aspx?did=132428
Race Website: Serengeti https://share.google/dazd4zfKD26maRmbE
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