In early September 2013, my next door neighbor and I went shoe shopping for me.  I tried on a few different pairs of trail shoes, but couldn’t commit.  A couple days later he came over with a pair of Brooks Cascadia 8s.  He had only used them a few times and they were only a size bigger than what I usually wear, and it turns out that lots of trail runners and ultramarathoners buy a size or 1/2 bigger because your feet swell at long distances.  Excited about the “new” shoes (they were in great condition) I set off for some runs.

First, I drove up Farmington Canyon to the FAA towers and ran the Great Western Trail to Thurston Peak and back.  It is a beautiful ridge – Morgan County on the East and Davis County on the West.  Really spectacular.

It was also my longest run at 9.1 miles.  My pace was probably around 12:00-14:00 min/mile, although the messed up GPS said faster.  This may be the run that sealed the deal for me.  I was up in the mountains where I love to be – covering more miles than I could on a slow hike – and loving it.

Panorama from the parking lot at the Francis Peak

Looking SW as a shaft of light shone down on my new home

Obligatory Selfie to prove I was there