SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — There will be plenty of Utahns with households divided when BYU and Utah kickoff on Saturday. But for brothers Christian and Thomas Hales, they came up with an idea that pushes the limits of what it means to support your school.
Unlike the clashing colors of red and blue, they don’t describe distance running as being in their blood.
“I’d say we both grew up running here and there, never got into it super crazily,” said Thomas, who’s currently attending BYU.
Excitement builds throughout SLC ahead of Utah-BYU rivalry battle:
Yet this past year, Thomas says they were inspired to create an ultramarathon. He suggested to Christian that they run from Provo to Salt Lake City.
“I was like I will do you one better — what if we start on the Y and end on the U?” said Christian, who lives in Salt Lake City but also pulls for BYU.
The ‘Holy Ultra’ concept was born, but there was a bigger question they still had to answer.
“We were like, ‘I don't even know if this is possible,’” Christian said. “First of all, like physically, can we even do this?”
So they mapped it out, did four months of training to prepare and took on their own challenge in May.
They say the route is relatively flat and entry-level, but 55 miles is no easy feat.
“When you get to the Point of the Mountain, you’ve just finished a marathon,” said Christian. “You go around the corner. You can see the U, and you’ve got a whole ‘nother marathon to go. It’s pretty depressing.”
Christian says their route will have runners mainly following the Murdock Canal Trail in Utah County. Once they round the Point, they will run north along 1300 East for much of the Salt Lake County portion up until Sugar House, before weaving their way up to the Block U.
After 14 hours and several breaks to refuel, the two brothers made it to the end in May.
So they’ve turned it into their own game day competition. Each finisher who signed up will earn points for their school.
“People say they’re willing to die for their team and I was like, ‘But are you really?’” said Christian with a chuckle. “Because we’ll test you on that.”
A visit to their website, holyultra.com, shows the numbers look a bit skewed in favor of the BYU blue at the moment. As of Friday night, there were 26 Cougar participants to seven who are for the Utes.
But Christian and Thomas say this game day is all about bringing people together, whether you're in the stands or out on their trail.
"We just really want this to be something that can celebrate the heritage of both schools," Thomas said.
The brothers hope to turn it into an annual tradition. But the early 10 a.m. local kickoff time has thrown another wrench in their inaugural plan.
Some runners will start as early as midnight Saturday in hopes of being able to catch the big game, while others will start at 5 a.m.