Gearing up for the 2013 Race Season

I have been thinking about my next BIG race in June, The North Face 50 Mile trail run, and have been thinking that I will need to do some longer training runs in the spring months to prepare for this increase in race distance. I have began the search for one or two races in the east that will supply me with the necessary training and of course a challenging and interesting race that I will be genuinely excited to participate in. I figure that the races will have to be 50K's because that id the closest distance to my 50M that is typically organized. If I can find a 40 miler, that would be ideal! Here is my list of possibilities:

Disclaimer: The registration fees can be steep, but when you consider the amount of race support that is required and the relatively small number of people that participate in these events, the prices are understandable. Above all else, a lot of race organizers are in the business of charity. They donate some or all of the profits to trail maintenance and preservation.

NJ Ultra Festival - March 23, 2013 (click on link)

A weekend long ultra festival (as the name implies) that has the following distances; marathon, 50K, 50M, 100K, and 100M. The course is a 10 mile loop, which is nice, but not a true trail run. It is mostly forest roads and rail trails from what I can tell. Another negative is the registration fee - $110 for the 50K.

The Farm Park Challenge May 4, 2013 (click on link)

A race of loops, these are 5.18 miles each. The "rules" are interesting though. From the website:

     The Challenge

1)    The Farm Park Challenge starts at 7am on 5/4/2012. The 3 Hour Challenge will start at 8am and conclude at 11am.

2)    There will be a new Challenge each hour on the hour for 12 hours or until everyone has had enough.

3)    To complete each Challenge, the entire roughly 5 mile loop must be covered in less than 1 hour

4)    No competitor may begin a Challenge earlier than the beginning of the hour, regardless of when the previous challenge was finished. Got that? If it takes you 50 minutes, you wait 10 minutes to start the next loop. Choose your strategy wisely. The trail is pretty easy, and fast miles can catch up to you, or maybe you could benefit from a few minutes to rest and hydrate in between laps.

5)    Only those competitors completing each Challenge are eligible to begin the next Challenge. Those failing to meet a Challenge may drop to the Open Fun Run.

6) All those who complete 6 or more Challenges will be recognized as FPC finishers with their name submitted to Ultrarunning Magazine. The official order of finish will be based on the number of Challenges completed with the winners taking home a "Coveted" FPC Golden Rock Trophy. Note that this prize may be closer to a rock than a trophy. 12 hour finishers are immediately inducted into the FPC Hall of Fame.

7) Those completing 5 laps will be recognized as Marathon finishers as long as they also run a "baby lap" to make it the right distance. Note that the 5 laps may be covered as Challenges or as part of the Open Fun Run (see below)

8) Those finishing 3 loops will be recognized as having completed 25k.

The Open Fun Run:

Should you not be up to The Challenge, miss a Challenge, or simply want to run the trails supported and in good company, consider the Open Fun Run. We will keep track of your laps and report your lap count, but not the time. You can start laps whenever you want during the event. This is not a race and 6 laps run in 7 hours will show the same as 6 laps run in 10 hours.

The Relay:

The Challenge may be run as a 2-person relay, provided both competitors are registered and have signed the waiver before running.  Each Challenge may be attempted by only one member of the team. The rest works the same, if you meet a Challenge, the team is eligible for the next one. If you miss a challenge, the team is out and may join the Open Fun Run. You may go in whatever order you like, run two in a row, or however you want execute your strategy. One person could run 11 legs and the other just one leg, something more balanced, or decide as you go. Your choice.

This would be a great event for those of you to participate in and do not want to run for six or so hours. You come and do what you can and quit when you want to. One lap, three, five...whatever. Registration is cheap due to the minimal amount of support at the aid station, only $39. One more bonus, it is close. It is in Derwood, MD. 

3 Days at the Fair May 16-19, 2013 (click on link)

THIS is interesting, a one mile loop that is run for 6, 12, 24, 48, or 72 hours! However many laps you can complete in the alloted time. This would be the weekend of my last long run leading up to The North Face 50 miler, after which I would taper off to allow my body to be at its optimal level of preparation. The 12 hour registration is $125. 

A final note, and one of the real reasons I decided to post today. I HAVE to do The Rock/Creek StumpJump 50K this year! It is in Chattanooga, TN and is on some of the most beautiful trails I have ever seen. Check out the video!! 

It is in October, so I have a lot of time before this event, but it will sell out quickly. Registration opens January 1, 2013 and if I get the "Go" from my wife, I am all in!!! 

Only Two Months to Go - Looking Forward to 2013

It has been quite a while since I have posted, and I am only doing so now (today) because I was nudged my a friend of mine - Pat Fahey.

Current Goal for 2012
My progress towards my current goal is really coming along. I set out on January 1st, 2012 to run at least 100 miles every month of the year. I barely made it in January, logging 101 miles. From there I went up to 135 miles, 165 miles, and so on. Some months I was really able to get out a lot and felt highly motivated, others were hindered by weather, life, and motivation. In August I hit a road block with my first ever injury, tendonitis in the top of my left foot. I was forced to take off two entire weeks and only logged 75 miles. The next month I ran an Ultra, the Labor Pains 12 Hour Race, and was knocked back again. I injured my other foot, same condition, at mile 17 or so. I managed to run 14 miles in agonizing pain and log another 50K. I was shooting for 50M, but I had to stop at hour 8. If it wasn't for the injury, I certainly would have hit my goal!  This caused another two week stop in my training, but it did not prevent me from hitting my goal of 100 miles for September! In October I came back strong with 149 miles.  I am now shooting for 1500 miles for the year, and goal that I established in June or July when I realized that the 1200 miles was going to be no problem. I have NEVER logged so many miles in all my life. I contribute this simply to setting goals and finding bigger and badder races to enter. I will most certainly log my final 240 miles and hit 1500 by December 31, 2012!

Looking Forward to 2013
I will certainly shoot for 1500 miles again, this time a little more passively. My real goal is to see just how far I can go in one shot. I will definitely run my first 50M race in 2013, and most likely more than one. I am looking to do The North Face 50M in Washington D.C. on June 2, but there are a few others that I may hit including the Ice Trail 50M in Wisconsin. It's one of the oldest trail 50M races in the country. I only run trail races anymore, so whatever I do it will involve dirt, rocks, water, mud, hills, logs, and some serious adventure!!  Depending on how those goes, I just may have to go for 100M. The Javalina Jundred is #1 on my list at this point. I've talked about both of these races (Ice Age and JJ) in prior posts, so you can scroll down and find out more or search the web and get the details.

Thanks for reading! Please write a comment if you've taken the time to visit my page and take a peek into my life. I have no idea who see this or how many people come through here. Even if I don't know you, just give a smily face or something. Thanks again.