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Are you faster than a train? Hundreds race Heber Creeper to find out

Soldier Hollow • Superman was “more powerful than a locomotive.” On Saturday, 134 Utah runners proved that they are faster than one.

Sure, the train they outran is called the “Heber Creeper” by locals, and is known less for blazing speed than for allowing leisurely viewing of pretty mountain scenery.

But runners still had to average faster than 10-minute miles over 12 kilometers (7.45 miles) from Deer Creek Dam to Soldier Hollow to beat that train — gaining 1,022 feet in altitude over the dirt-trail course, with inclines as steep as 18 percent.

Crandall finished 17 minutes ahead of the train — 1:01:00 compared to 1:18:38 — so the physical education teacher didn’t actually see much of it after the race began.