The CAPSTONE Races

The Capstone Races ~ The fastest way to find Zen

The Capstone course is a 10k loop with expansive sweeping views of the desert in and around St. George Utah. It wanders along sections of the blissfully scenic Zen mountain bike trail! Just remember the Zen trail rising up out of Moe’s Valley is a wee bit rocky in spots, and with more than 1000 feet of climbing, you might want to bring (or beg, borrow, steal) a set of climbing legs as well.

The course was designed to provide an opportunity for new trail runners to gain confidence in an unfamiliar setting.

• The Course includes 3 aid stations
  • 1 full aid station at the start/finish line where those running the ½ marathon or longer distances will visit each lap. The more laps you do, the more times you get to sit down and sing (or cry) before heading back out on your way to see Zen.
• Your drop bag will stay where you put it before the start so you know just where you left it unless you forget where you left it. Then, of course, it will still be where you left it.
• There is a distance for everyone, bring the family!
• This is a fun event! Some may decide they have more fun when they make it competitive but remember encouraging and accepting new people into our trail running tribe is what this event is all about.
• You will learn firsthand how awesome trail running is.
• While the course is certainly challenging for the best trail runners out there, it is also doable for new racers ready to learn how capable they are. Trust us, you will consider this a capstone event in your year, and possibly your life!

Race Course:

Starting in the counter-clockwise direction, competitors run the loop in alternating directions (washing machine style) to cover their race distance (10k=1 Loop, 1/2Marathon=2 Loops, 50k=5 Loops). FYI: We want to offer you a trail tip! Run at full speed at the gun if you are interested in becoming the living definition of Zen. You will climb and descend 1,000 feet per lap. If you are still running by lap 4 of the 50K, you are our hero.

Race Details:

Location: Moe’s Valley in St. George Utah. 1388 W. 2130 S. St. George, UT 84770 (see map below)

Note: If you feel like you are going to school on a Saturday, yes you are heading in the correct direction. Only don’t actually go in to the school, it’s most likely closed for the weekend and that would not be where the race starts.

Date: December 7th, 2024
Start Time: HIGH NOON
Cost: 

• 50k – $110 before October 1st : $120 before the close of online registration (Midnight 12/1/2024) : $150 day of the event
• 1/2 marathon – $80 before October 1st : $90 before the close of online registration (Midnight 12/1/2024) : $100 day of the event
• 10k – $65 before October 1st : $75 before the close of online registration (Midnight 12/1/2024) : $85 day of the event

Register Here:

Aid Stations:

One staffed aid station at the Start/Finish

Aid station will have:

• Pickle Juice and the pickles that reside in pickle juice (never tried it? keep it in mind, it’ll get you back out there when getting back out there is the last thing you ever wanna do)
• Bananas and oranges and other various fruits
• Nutella …. We slather this stuff on all sorts of things (if you’ve never tried Nutella, you’re in for a treat)
• Momma Miller’s Banana Bread
• Swedish Fish (unless Turd’L eats em all)
• Beginning at sunset we’ll have more of a focus on real comfort food:
• BACON! and not just any BACON! we’re talking better BACON! than your mom used to make (and Turd’L is a Bacon connoisseur)
• Grilled Cheese sandwiches – grilled in ….. yup you guessed it rendered BACON
• Quesadillas (pronounced kwesa-dilly-yaaaaa’s) – grilled in ….. yup you guessed it rendered BACON
• Vegan options will be made available if Jamil Coury decides to run the race … Don’t be a jerk and get offended by this, I bought $50 in vegan food for the last guy that got offended AND HE NEVER SHOWED UP

All finishers get…?

• Free camping at the start/finish for both Friday and Saturday night (sleeping accommodations provided by you)
• Bring your own clothing item -or- we have a selection of times at the race for purchase (donation to Girls on the Run Southern Utah) and we’ll silkscreen the Capstone logo for free!
• Finishers award (you’ll want to show your friends!)
• REALLY refreshing refreshments (all the bananas you can consume)
• A hug from the race director (if you want it & you’re not too stinky… But seriously, Turd’L loved to hug Matt Gunn and if Matt Gunn wasn’t too stinky, you’re not too stinky).

Okay fine. Here is the school part you don’t actually need to go to school or a monastery to learn. Just memorize the following:

Karma Rules

• Dogs allowed at the Start/Finish area unless they’re aggressive… and by aggressive I mean if they bark or growl at other dogs, they’re not welcome at the party (Please note, our permit/insurance does not allow animal participation unless service animal documentation is provided prior to 9/1/2024)
• Don’t be a jerk – to the volunteers, to the other participants, to other trail users you see that are not a part of the event, to the environment.
• Clean up after yourself. You don’t want to have the karma gods come after you on this one!  Or the BLM, or Moe’s friends “Little Petey” and “Joey”.

FAQ

Please ensure you read the race information and all of the following, as you will know immediately many of your answers vs. waiting until we send you a link right back to here! Of course, still send an inquiry, if we haven’t thought of your question yet.

Q: Can first-time trail runners enter this event and not die?
A: We believe anything is possible, but death by a trail run is not on our list of what we consider fun. The statistics are incredibly low that you will die, while the probability is high that your happiness factor for life will be greatly enhanced.

Q: Why is the Zen trail in St. George, Utah?
A: People say Turd’L ingested a bad batch of (not Momma Miller’s) banana bread right before he stumbled upon the trail. Turd’L claims “that wasn’t me” but when you run this race, you’ll surely find the answers you seek (make sure you try Momma Miller’s Banana Bread).

Q: Who is Moe?
A: We don’t know. But if you can figure it out, please let us know. What we do know is he or it offers a very fine race desert race venue.

Q: Is it a typo that the race begins at HIGH NOON?
A: Nope, Turd’L wants you to sleep in. Consider it Turd’L’s gift.

Q: Okay Great! The race starts in the middle of the day. Does this mean I don’t need a headlamp?
A: You might not, if your momma is momma Hawks….. Let’s put it this way, our first female 50k course record holder finished in the dark with no headlamp. Her momma ain’t momma Hawks but she ain’t slow, she finished 2nd overall that year and she’s THE former COURSE RECORD HOLDER. Fortunately, she’s like a cat and somehow saw enough in the dark not to fall off Zen.  Seriously, bring a headlamp.

Q: What about Pacers, are they allowed?
A: Nah, you don’t need anyone to hold your hand, it’s a 10k loop and you’re all that and a bag of snack crackers.

Q: What about Crew, are they allowed?
A: Crew, Yeah! Heck Yeah! Absolutely, they can hang out at the staffed aid station / Camp Fire and cheer on all the runners as they get progressively more loopy!

Q: Can I camp at the race venue?
A: Yes! And not only the do we allow it, we highly encourage it!

Q: Okay, I want to camp. What is the cost?
A: FREE (that’s Turd’Lz favorite four letter “F-Word”). Bring your own food and beverages and plenty of positive energy in addition to your favorite dirt worthy animal slippers.

Q: Another camping question. Are there hook-ups and amenities?
A: It depends on what you consider “hook-ups and amenities”. We do not have hairdryers or a shower. We do offer the finest in outhouses.

Q: I can’t run, what’s your refund/cancellation/rollover/transfer policy?
A: TurdLTrek Races does not issue refunds or allow deferrals/transfers/rollovers.  However, if you end up injured and don’t want to risk further injury by running, but still plan on coming to the event there is a loop hole if you want to exploit it….  All volunteers get a fully transferable entry the following year for any distance.  We’d love to have you come hang out at the finish line and help.