Summer Outdoor Retailer recap

The show was buzzing as usual and bigger than ever before. The Salt Palace completed an additional wing and the rows of booths seemed to go on forever. There were a bunch of new vendors and faces, but also the plenty of the familiar ones. It was such a comforting and pleasant feeling at the show for me this time around; after having been there for the last 5 years with Montrail I wondered how things relationships would feel and how the show would go without this affiliation. It was so nice to have people truly interested and concerned with where I’ve landed (even though I have yet to do so) and to receive a number of job offers with some great companies. Lots of energy humming around in that place.
Roch, Matt and I were able to get out for a couple of beautiful runs over the course of the weekend. Saturday night we did the Desolation Lake Loop with Karl Meltzer and Scott Jurek; a little over 2 hours with some nice climbing, great views of Park City and the best part, good company. We took Sunday off, but this morning snuck up Grandeur Peak and had breakfast before shipping Roch off to work. Grandeur Peak sits right behind Roch’s house; we ran this peak at the winter show (snowy, post holing, cold) so it was fun to see the trail in the warm morning sun. On top (about 8000 ft) you look out over the Salt Lake City sprawl and can see out to Antelope Island.
Tomorrow we are planning a preview of the Soldier Hollow Trail system. Matt is gearing up for the 24 hours of Soilder Hollow Mountain Bike Race and will ride a couple of loops to become familiar with the terrain and course. I might run a bit, but plan on taking it easier the next couple of days. Saturday August 19 is the Where’s Waldo 100km Trail race just outside of Eugene, Oregon which I am looking forward to running.