[Brian Bauer]

I’ve run the cirque series and the races just over the mountain in Jackson Hole. in particular the 7 mile cirque race in Alta is a “mountain running style” i.e up then down.  there are 4 things going on 1) uphill grind: you have nearly 5 miles to ascend 2500ft…aka not that steep.  lots of people will be hiking, the fittest will run the whole thing 2) altitude 8500 – 11,000ft.  if you are not acclimatized you really need to be careful not to dig an aerobic hole you can’t get out of( but if you’ve raced The Rut, Mammoth, Sky Peaks…its very similar) 3) run back down is steep, you are losing all the elevation in half the distance you climbed…upper section is technical , your quads will take a beating 4) high altitude sun and heat.  do not under estimate how hot and dry it is up there…hydrate properly.   my suggestion for your race: do a lot of hiking in preparation. practice understanding the line between sustainable running at 10% + gradient and when it makes sense to hike.  there is no substitute for vert in your training.  if you live near altitude, practice your pacing up high