Did you hear?… Annual Wasatch Wobble 5K attracts some 220 participants

The annual Wasatch Wobble 5K (or thereabouts) trail run at the Outdoor Retailer trade show last weekend attracted some 220 participants despite the starting gun going off at 6:30 a.m. just as the sun was rising and after several days of trade show fatigue, altitude complaining and, in some cases, a late party the night before. The event — sponsored by Montrail, KAVU, Layers, DeFeet, Clif Bar, Ultimate Directions, and Trail Runner this year — also comes up with some twist, this year being a stop just after the mid-way point that required runners to “stop and smell the roses” for two minutes or tie themselves with a yard of string to another runner and keep going. Seems most in this crowd went for bondage. First men’s “tied-up” team was Bob Africa of Salomon and Curtis Moore of adidas (19:59 — outstanding considering hills, altitude, time to do the tying, and tired trade show bodies). First coed “tied-up” team was Liz Wilson of Sport Hill and Adam Moore of Great Mountain West (but no time was to be had). Craig Vanderoef of Asics Tiger opted to stop for the rose-smelling pause and still ended up third overall. SNEWS® Views: SNEWS® can vouch for the zany fun of this event, even on little sleep and wheezing up Red Butte hills that left many wondering what happened to the oxygen. It’s a great excuse to get up and get some exercise — and moan with everyone else about how tired you are. But the mutual whining makes it all the more fun.