There is only one thing standing between Steve LaBranche and what he's been striving with every ounce of strength to accomplish this summer. Well, 100 things, really.

LaBranche of Oakdale, the Montville High School girls' and boys' cross country coach, will compete in the Wasatch Front 100 Mile Endurance Run in Utah beginning at 7 a.m. Friday and must be finished by 7 p.m. Saturday to complete the race.

If he does so, that would complete the Grand Slam of Ultrarunning for LaBranche, running four 100-mile races in four months. LaBranche has already successfully finished the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in California on June 24-25 (27 hours, 47 minutes, 54 seconds), the Vermont 100 Endurance Race on July 15-16 (23:06:47) and the Leadville Trail 100 in Colorado, nicknamed "The Race Across the Sky," on Aug. 19-20 (28:13:22).

LaBranche would become only the second runner in Connecticut history to complete the Grand Slam, joining Jerry Turk of Guilford, who accomplished the feat in 2009. There are 12 runners still in contention for the Slam.

The Wasatch race features a cumulative elevation gain of approximately 24,000 feet — nearly the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest — as well as a cumulative drop of 23,000 feet throughout the course.

"It isn't like they made completing the Slam easy," LaBranche said earlier this week.

"I am excited about having the opportunity to run in beautiful mountains outside of Salt Lake City. At the same time, I am eager to finally close out this very long journey. ... When I registered for the Slam, looking at the total of four races gave me significant pause. To see this through is satisfying. I broke the series up, treating it like the 1,600 (meters, that LaBranche ran in hgih school).

"This is that final lap. It will hurt, but just for this last time."