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Although problems ran rampant at this year's 24 Hours of Moab, Granny Gear wasted no time in getting out the 2007 schedule. Next Years Moab, Utah race will be October 14 and 15th.
The rest of the mountain bike races are scheduled as follows:
- 24 Hours of Temecula (SoCal): April 21/22, 2007
- 24 Hours of Conyers (Georgia): May 19/20, 2007
- 24 Hours of Big Bear (West Virginia): June 9/10, 2007
- 24 Hours of Killington (Vermont): July 21/22, 2007
- 24 Hours of Landahl (Missouri): September 16/17, 2007
- 24 Hours of Moab (Moab, Utah): October 14/15, 2007
Hopefully they run into better weather and more favorable conditions next year!
As usual, you can get the race results from 2006, and schedules for all the races at Granny Gear's website.
The 3rd annual Moab Utah Half Marathon is getting set for the Sunday, October 22nd race date. It has picked up popularity over the last few years, and this year should have over 1,000 entrants.
RunnersWeb.com has a short report on the marathon, and according to the race director, female runners outnumber the male runners 3 to 1. The race itself is 13.1 miles long, and is originally meant to be the companion to the spring event Canyonlands Half Marathon. For you runners, a complete listing of running events across the country is on this calendar.
Hopefully the weather stays nice and we don't have a repeat of 24 Hours of Moab weather nightmare.
Due to the local rain problems and huges amounts of water passing through Arches National Park, the park service had to once again close the trail to Delicate Arch, one of the most popular sites in Moab. Utah is home to multiple National Parks, and Arches hosts many popular scenic spots.
Delicate Arch trail, the classic red rock arch you see everywhere, is not yet open again to the public. It was closed up to the fromthe 6th to about the 12th. Then it re-opened, but this weekend caused it to be shut down again.
The park service said they were working on a "alternate" path, but that just seems like a long solution to a short problem... but then again, what do I know.
Well, if you talk to the participants of the adventure race Primal Quest in Moab Utah this year, they will give you the horror stories of the heat, exhaustion, desert weather and cool terrain.
You wont get the same response from the participants of 24 Hours of Moab. Apparently it was just a huge muck... wet, muddy, rainy and not very nice, not to mention the added danger of slippery rocks (hence "Slickrock") and huge amount of red mud. If you want more details, just check out the Salt Lake Tribune Article or the Summit Daily News . They even had to stop the race early and didn't actually fit in the branded "24 Hours" that the race needed to go for.
Unfortunately I was not able to be there this year. I was actually white water rafting in West Virginia on the Gauley and New Rivers. So I was a little wet too, just not as miserable as some of the bikers were.
Looks like Adventure Travel is getting a boost this year. The Primal Quest Race that was in Moab, Utah this year is scheduled to be televised on ESPN2 and ABC Sports. 
One-hour espisodes of Primal Quest will be shown Monday October 9th through Thursday on ESPN2 at 5:30 PM, with the Finale set for noon on October 14th. If you go to ESPN TV listings you can see the schedule.
I think plenty of people will be happy about the news, including the Utah Sports Comission.
Jeff Robbins is hte President of the Utah Sports Comission and helped ot get Primal Quest to Moab this year. He said that "You couldnt ask for a beter event to showcase the unmatched beauty and adventure our state has to offer."
It shouldbe interesting to watch on TV and see how they documented the race. And for those of you that missed it, you got a second chance!
