Most people in the business of trail running are Mark from Field of Dreams. And if they get their way, we will lose races like Wasatch 100.
Ray mowed down his cash crop and built a baseball field to satisfy a longing in his heart for something that was economically foolish. Mark showed up regularly bringing his hustle-culture vibes and, I admit, in Ray’s case, some wisdom.
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Then Archie Graham was living his own dream on the field when Karin fell, choking on a hot dog. Archie stepped off the field, aged into (Dr.) Moonlight Graham, and saved her.
Mark stood helplessly as the thing he pleaded to kill saved his niece’s life.
His grip on pure reason as a lens loosened, and he saw the beautiful thing that doesn’t translate to numbers or hold up in a strategy meeting.
If we optimize everything, we will lose races like Wasatch.
Wasatch is loose and messy and probably a Type A’s nightmare. But that mess leaves room for the community to show up and improvise. This is how we get character in races. It can’t be programmed.
It’s serendipity that becomes tradition.
And when Mark finally sees that serendipity, he begs Ray to keep the field.
If you’re trying to extract every dollar possible out of running, I beg you to volunteer at a race that started at least three decades ago with the original founder still at the helm.
There aren’t many.
You may not have a hallelujah moment like Mark, but you’ll understand why so many people bristle at the optimization and professionalization of ultrarunning.
The morning after driving the DNF truck at Upper Big Water all night, I drove up to the all-new Snowbasin by UTMB. It felt fresh out of the box. There were a lot of happy people and good runners.
But I couldn’t help comparing the two experiences.
Trail running needs races like Wasatch 100 and the “by UTMB” races. For different reasons, and often for reasons that frustrate the people on the other side.
We need both.