Well I have always wanted to write a race report for John Pendergrass, and I finally get to do it. John claims he is too busy (traveling back to Hattiesburg) after another unsuccessful attempt to beat me in a race.  This is good as he always puts a negative spin in his reports (for example mentioning how far ahead of me he finished). If you don't have time to read the whole report, here's the executive summary: He did not finish ahead of me this time, nor did he do as well as I did last year.

John traveled all the way to Moab Utah for the November 17 Turkey Day Run, apparently hoping to set a new PR on a downhill course, and beat his old nemesis Running Bear, who reportedly was vulnerable. He came the Sunday before the Saturday race to acclimate to the altitude (4000') and scout the course. Imagine his surprise to find that he had confused the Turkey Day 5K with the Winter Sun race in December, a 10K which ends up 1000 feet lower than the start. The turkey day race starts and ends at the same spot, and has over a mile of single track trail, much of which is deep sand. He was also upset to find that Running Bear had been here acclimating for two weeks already, and was in better shape than when he won second place in his age group the previous year. (Not really that hard since he and Ann had been the only entrants in that age group). But once reassured that RB was really retired, not just vulnerable, he decided to run the race anyway, forget the PR, and hope for the turkey awarded to age group winners. He brought a large staff of handlers to help prepare him for the race. They were all young, capable, and charismatic. To hide their true identities (from USATF or WADA?) they were all using aliases, (apparently hastily concocted, as they all ended in Pendergrass, which was preposterous, as they bore no resemblance to and were all much better looking than John). They claimed to be software technicians and student counselors, but seemed in actuality to be a professional photographer, a psychoanalyst/publicist, and a risk manager/nutrition expert. They all seemed oblivious to risk; John's insurance costs to take this crew to a race must be outrageous.

John's plans started to unravel when he accepted Running Bear's offer to show him some of the local sights. He soon found that seeing the sights in Moab involved strenuous climbs and descents unheard of in Mississippi, measured in the thousands of feet, usually involving large rocks, and what they call in Moab "exposure" (to long falls). But of course he could not lose face to RB by begging off the daily outings. This, in addition to his regular training, began to wear him down, and shake his determination. His staff did their best to encourage him, often running (or biking) ahead, and urging him to catch up. Running Bear was oblivious to the detrimental effect his tour guiding was having, as he was too absorbed in observing the flora and fauna to keep up, even with John. Despite an unusually busy week in Moab, with crowds of people everywhere, (often 2 or 3 on the same trail), they did at least one and sometimes two or three hikes or bike rides each day. There were actually clouds sighted  several days, but otherwise the weather was good, with temperatures ideal all week, lows around 40 and highs around 65.

The end result was probably inevitable. John realized by Friday night that it was not to be. He sent his staff packing (back to Dallas and NYC), and did not show up at the start line for the race Saturday. Technically, it could be argued that he did not chalk up his first DNS (did not start), since he had not preregistered, but John, actual Viet Nam war hero, and runner supreme, (see John's profile) is never one to hide behind technicalities.  So I feel sure he will stand behind my account of his misadventures in Utah. The upside is that no one got hurt, John survived his first real mountain bike ride, and even RB will probably be OK in a month or two.

Since of course there are no Turkey Day Run race pictures featuring John (at the starting time for the race he was reportedly in the local Denny's ordering their top end breakfast, appropriately named "Grand Slam Slugger"), I have included a few pictures that at least show that John did come to Utah, and did some serious training. © Running Bear (Motto: There is a grain of truth in everything I say)

 
John and staff: Patricia, Eric, and Joy

 1. John heading for Corona Arch
 2. John and Ann under Corona Arch (Running Bear was safely out of the potential impact zone if it fell)
 3. John on the Portal Trail
 4. On a small arch in the Arches National Park's Fiery Furnace
 5., 6. Hiking an exposed area in the Fiery Furnace
 7. BASE jumpers atop the Tombstone on Kane Creek
 8. John had to pass up his turn at jumping, for fear of injury this close to race day
 9. John pushing his luck, standing under a balanced rock at Steelbender's Flat Pass
10. John and Patricia head up the Klondike Bluffs bike trail
11. Off their bikes to explore an old mine. The start of the slickrock in the background.
12. On a dome at the top of Klondike Bluffs
13. Lunch on the domes
14. Joy at the Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands National Park
15. John begs for a time out in the hike
16. Heading back to the car
17. Patricia and Running Bear urge John up the climb while the group waits
18. He made it!
19. Sunset paints everything with a warm glow
20. Joy checks out the 1000' drop while Running Bear hides his eyes and sits down