Firming up my plans…

My race plans for the rest of the year have been firming up, and I have a few new developments that I wanted to share.

First, the Greenville Track Club is trying to set the 100 x 5k relay world record, and I will be one of the 100 participants. It will be certified by Guinness and everything. It’s just 3 weeks away and should be a unique experience. Odds are I’ll be running one of the Saturday night legs, so all my Ragnar races will prove useful for something.

Second, I’ve written the check for my key Spring/Summer race… Old Dominion 100. Looks like I’ll be facing off against such stalwarts as Neal Gorman and Eric Grossman. Should be a blast.

Third, for about a year I have toyed with the idea of entering one of the top ultras such as Western States or The North Face 50 championships. I have had a fair amount of success in relatively small ultras so far, but always wondered how I would do against the best of the best. While I normally go out at a reasonable pace, just once I’d love to square off against the fastest and see what happens. I was therefore thrilled to read about a new race in my neck of the woods, the 100k Ultra Race of Champions. Intended to be somewhat of an ultramarathon championship, it caters to the elite and brings some of the best (i.e. the “one name” guys like Geoff, Scott, etc). I was accepted into the elite start today, and am really looking forward to this challenge. Bring it on! Now the only question is if I’ll be dumb enough to also race Grindstone 100 two weeks later…

Last but not least, the 77 mile Foothills Trail has caught me in its web. After only 2 runs on it, I am already planning when I will attempt to run the entire trail. Being a true nerd, my split projection spreadsheet is in-work and will be refined over the next 6 months (Cody and Paul, you know exactly what I am talking about). I’ll likely make my first attempt around Thanksgiving, hopefully with my Dad crewing. Am I ambitious enough to try to break the course record on my first try? You better believe it.

So there you go- my plans. Of course, I’ve got quite a few other races (a bunch of local 5k’s, Iron Mountain 50, and possibly another few ultras in Nov/Dec), but these are the recent developments. We’ll see how it goes.