Garfield Grumble 2026

Garfield Story 2026

The lack of snowfall this winter and rain in the spring caused concern about drought and wildfire for this summer. With that in mind, instead of the usual flaming finish line, we brought out the fake flames. Those were first introduced in 2018 when Patrick Hummel won the race. 

Ernie was the only passenger to take advantage of the pre-race shuttle. Normally I pick up four to six participants. So, it looked like it was probably going to be a low turn-out for the race this year.

However, the parking lot was full of vehicles before the start. Good sign! It turned out that we had a record 42 finishers. Buzz Burrell brought a team of seven from Moab.

It felt pretty chilly at the start. This apparently was good for the runners. We saw Brian Glassey lead the line of runners up the front side. We next saw him from the finish first to the coal seam which begins the adventure down the face of the Bookcliffs. He said his time of 49:18 was a PR. Melissa Beaury from the Moab contingent set a new course record for the women with a 55:00 flat. The previous record was set in 1995 by Suzi Evans at 56:03. In the early days, traversing the downhill was about ten minutes faster than today. No bridges or ladders were needed back then. So, Melissa’s course record is super impressive!

The temperature warmed up to be just right for folks to enjoy hot dogs, beer and Gatorade at the finish. Again, we distributed goofy prizes. Thank you to all who participated and our customary race helpers!

I miss the real flames.

Conrad