Battling sleep deprivation, punishing elevation gains and relentless storms, Cortez dispatcher Steven Bogott completed the grueling 240-mile Moab ultramarathon with the help of nearly a year of high-altitude training and a dedicated support crew led by his wife and close friends.
Bogott, who has been a dispatcher since 2015, crossed the finish line in 115 hours and 30 minutes. Of the 265 racers who started the race, 115 did not finish, resulting in a 44% drop rate. Bogott said this high percentage is unusual, attributing it to severe weather conditions.
This year’s race began at noon on Oct. 10. It concluded at 9 a.m. on Oct. 15 with a cutoff time of 117 hours.
Runners have the option to run solo, relying solely on aid stations, or with a crew to support them. Bogott chose to have a crew, with his wife, Caroline Bogott, serving as an “invaluable” crew leader and pacer.
“My wife and I calculated I'd need about 55,000 calories so I was on a constant diet of running fuels (goo, gel, gummies). I tried to consume every 30 minutes,” Bogott said. “I also had two bladders on the front of my running vest that had liquid nutrition (sometimes caffeinated) to help keep up with the demand.”
Two friends also joined as pacers for part of the race. Tyler Smith paced with Bogott for 30 miles, and Kellie Pettyjohn for 18 miles. Some of Bogott’s family traveled from Virginia to help.
“The best part of this year's race was bringing together some valued friends and family to help crew me through adversity. … It was not only a life event for myself but a life memory for those involved. We came together and overcame adversity and challenges everyday to finish the race,” Bogott said.
“Our base of operations was a house in Moab where my folks, Karl and Linda, helped by watching my kids while Caroline concentrated on the race. She had to be available at any hour to come to a crew station maybe as far away as the Abajo Mountains. She, fortunately, was able to see me during normal hours, but many were not so fortunate.”
Bogott also received support from those who watched his live location on the Destination Trail website, including those at the Cortez Communications Center.
“I had an absurd amount of support from all my work friends and family. The Moab240 staff has a live tracker on each runner and it's refreshed on their website continually. This allowed almost everybody to have access to my location and to be involved emotionally in my journey,” Bogott said.
“Their unending support pushed me through dark moments,” he said. “I knew they were watching the monitor and my progress at 3 a.m., giggling at my delusional goal, but nevertheless supporting me. I've been a dispatcher since 2015 and have been lucky to know some truly fantastic front-line heroes.”
Aid stations were available every 15 to 20 miles with full kitchens, medics, fires and sleeping areas including cots, tents and blankets.
Bogott trained for nearly a year for the Moab240 through local trail running and high-elevation workouts. His high-elevation training proved valuable.
Most of the course climbs above 4,000 feet and peaks at about 10,000 feet in the Abajo and La Sal mountain ranges. In addition to the challenges brought on by elevation, this year’s race was also marked by an extreme storm that brought heavy rain and mud.
Bogott and Smith faced one particularly grueling 30-mile stage from Road 46 to Pole Canyon and Geyser Pass. As they ran over 4,600 feet of elevation gain, they were pelted by “copious amounts” of rain accompanied by fog, thunder, lightning and “unending” mud in the same storm that brought flooding to Pagosa Springs.
Runners, including Bogott, faced physical challenges like exhaustion, trench foot and excessive blisters.
“The medics were overloaded with foot care; it was truly a suffer-fest,” Bogott said.
Bogott only managed about seven hours of sleep during the race. He also experienced hallucinations and moments of falling asleep while walking.
“Another challenging aspect to the race was sleep deprivation. I slept a total of about seven hours during the duration of the race. Sometimes I tried, but it was the heat of the day, other times I tried and I simply could not. This resulted in falling asleep while walking and countless hallucinations,” Bogott said.
“The medical director said, ‘If they're off the trail, they're napping (leave them alone), if they're in the middle of trail – check on them.’”
The race’s fastest finisher, Kilian Korth, completed the course in 58 hours, 45 minutes and 47 seconds. He also won the Tahoe 200 and Bigfoot 200 to break the Triple Crown record time set in 2019. His cumulative time for all three races was 156:30:20.
Bogott shared that he became interested in competing in the Moab240 after a chance encounter with the race a few years ago. After that, he followed the race, even volunteering last year. By volunteering, he was guaranteed entry and discounted admission into this year’s race.
The Moab240 draws an international field from countries including Switzerland, Japan, Italy and Great Britain, as well as participants from across the U.S., so in other cases, admission is not guaranteed.
Bogott took about 450,000 steps, burned an estimated 55,000 calories and went through three pairs of shoes and a dozen or more pairs of socks.
Though he has no immediate plans to repeat the Moab240, he is considering other ultramarathons, such as the Canyon de Chelly, Crested Butte Ultra and Antelope Canyon Ultra.
“The ultramarathon/endurance race scene is expanding and there are events literally everywhere,” Bogott said. “There are events as short as 30 miles and as long as the Arizona Monster, 300 miles.”
Sign up for an ultramarathon by visiting www.ultrasignup.com. More information on the Moab240 can be found online at www.destinationtrailrun.com.
