Alas there seems to be no Minie or Moe, and the Enie and Meenie are not quite right either. I have, over the last few weeks been scouring the ‘net looking for a suitable race for 2009 Fall/Winter but have come up short, well actually I have come up long!
The plan for 2009; two ‘A’ races of 100km in length, the first is set; Twin Peaks in February, that latter is wide open. The criteria are simple; (1) 100km (62 miles), (2) on trails, (3) run in the Fall or Winter, that is October through to the end of the year, (I’ll run shorter distances in the tail end of Summer but otherwise it is too hot!) and (4) it needs to be local, Southern California preferably, but at a push Northern California, and a real push Southern Nevada or Western Arizona. Training takes up too much time so disappearing for a three days over a weekend is just not fair on the family. So with that in mind I have come up with a grand total of nil!
The only two that fit most of the bill are longer, way longer, like 38 miles longer. And while I am planning to step up to the 100 mile distance; that was reserved for 2010. Going for it this year means, more training time, longer runs and more of them, they also need to be qualified for so that may mean extra races to get the right qualifying times and at least one of them will require me to put in some trail maintenance time, not that that’s a deal breaker; just another thing to consider.
The two races and some of their benefits/highlights and my concerns are:
AC100 September 19th
• Local; the finish line in Pasadena is about an hour from my home, the start is further away but I can car pool to it
• Very well established; this is the 23rd year, it’s a nationally recognized event and very well organized race
• Qualifying entry; a completed 50 mile race within 12 months of start date
• Entry fee starts at $200
• Some of the peaks skirt around the 9500’, that may present a problem given my trip to the area this summer
DRTE100 October 2nd
• Local; the start and finish are about 90 minutes from my home
• Inaugural year; should not be a problem but may become one if the organization is not up to par
• Unknown entry qualifications
• Unknown entry fee
• The route has lower peak summits but the race bills itself as having the greatest elevation gain of any 100 mile race in the US; 36,000’
Given the distance it’s likely that both races may require me to have a crew, even a minimal one and maybe even a pacer at the end which is another couple of things to organize, I will have a better feeling for the need of a crew and pacer come the end of February. So as you can see both have positives and negatives, registration is open for AC100 now and opens for DRTE100 on February 1st.
Decisions decisions…
hmmm, tough decision! Good luck with making the choice! Happy New Year
ReplyDeleteI WILL CREW YOU!!!! COme to the South and you can count me in... and Scott will as well...now you have two.
ReplyDelete100 miles in 2010... AMAZING!!! Bob Gentile is trying to get the 100 miler in my head but I am just not there yet...maybe soon though.
Never say Never..right?!
Seems like you have a hard decision on your hands. Good luck with that! Sure you'll make the right choice. bummer, there isn't more races to choose from.
ReplyDeleteMan, where did all this mileage come from? Is crazy contagious though? I'm looking at your races wondering when my ultra days will come (I'm guess sooner than later).
ReplyDeleteWhatever you race you decide, you can count me in to crew/pace.
That's a tough decision, and both look like grueling races. Good luck trying to decide!
ReplyDeletewell, no matter what, it's a 100 miles. Which one suits your training best?
ReplyDelete