In search of the elusive Sidewinder on the Moab 240 race

We have embarked on another virtual endurance “race”--the Moab Sidewinder 240.  This race begins and ends in Moab, Utah.  The race route runs southwest from Moab  by the Colorado River through the Canyons section, south to the Abajo Mountains, then north through the La Sal Mountains to the finish line in Moab.  A total of 240.3 miles.

We really feel that we are going to be able to win this race!  We have to be honest.  We are the only ones running it.

We made up this race by plagiarizing Candice’s Destination Trail Moab 240 Endurance Run. Due to the pandemic almost all of her scheduled races in 2020 had to be cancelled, except for the Moab 240.  Candice laid out strict guidelines that included wearing face masks, social distancing, and staggered starts for the racers.  The Forest Service approved of her race plans and allowed this race to go forward in October.

Candice, her crew, and volunteers were able to host this week long event with 200 racers (and their pacers, support crew, and family) without even one person contracting Covid-19.  We are so proud of all of them!

The down side to the race being allowed to be run is that Candice didn’t create a Virtual Moab 240.  So Dan and I made up our own virtual race and named it The Moab Sidewinder 240.  

In case you don’t know, the Sidewinder is a type of rattlesnake in southern Utah.  It is very cool because it has horns on its head and can travel 18 miles per hour.  That is nine times faster than we hike, so if we see one we couldn’t even outrun it!  Heck we couldn't outrun it in Leisure World if we were on our bike, truth be told.

Here is the namesake of our race.  It should keep us hiking VERY fast!

We will have to keep on trekking since Candice (owner and race director of Destination Trail) said that she thinks that our Moab Sidewinder 240 virtual race could be completed in two months.  

That’s an average of 4 miles walking or hiking a day—every single day.  We expect it will take us closer to three months....or more. After all we’re just a couple of old people having fun together. 

In addition to “racing” the Moab 240, we cycle 14-15 miles on Daisy (our tandem) almost every morning when we aren’t out camping and hiking in the desert.  (As a side note, we just passed 3,300 miles cycling this year.)

On November 12th we started the Moab 240.  This was the day after we finished the 205.5 mile Tahoe Tessie Virtual Race.  

Our Tahoe Tessie Finish Line picture and the belt buckle that we earned by finishing the race:

We are 104 miles into the Moab 240 and we just passed Bridger Jack Aid and are headed to Shay Mountain Aid Station.   

It’s especially fun for us to “run” this race, because we were volunteers for the Moab 240 inaugural  Endurance Run in 2017.  Here we are with Candice three years ago at the start/finish line of the race she created.

We have hiked extensively in this area of southern Utah, so as we add up the miles on our virtual Moab Sidewinder 240 race we can smell the creosote, hear the birds chirping and coyotes howlng at night outside our camper, and visualize this red rock desert where we are “running.”  

We just love this wild remote desert in southeast Utah.  This spring we will be hiking these canyons and mesas for real, not virtually.

For now we are off and running....well walking and hiking actually, and we intend to win our own made up race. 

And earn another belt buckle!