The weekend of February 5th is over and I found out that I lost both the Wasatch 100's and Hardrock's lotteries. I am okay with this because I now have proper time to recon the Hardrock course route and perhaps even volunteer at an aid station. I would have been hard to fit reconning the route into a proper build-up and taper training program because the race is so early. With the race being July 8th if one were to factor in a three week taper it would be mid-June at the latest that I could recon the route and the San Juans are still under a fair amount of snow at that point. I would have to recon the route on skis and hope that it is not a bad dust year. But now I do not have to worry about it! I have another full summer to check it out!
So that leaves me with the question of what race to enter now. I have narrowed it down to two open races but I continue to look around daily. The two choices I see are Cascade Crest 100 and The Bear 100. Of course I would like to do a 50 miler or two. I plan on running the Collegiate Peaks 50 in Buena Vista in May. I am also planning on running the Grand Canyon from Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim by the Bright Angel Trail (a total of about 48 miles with 11,000' vert or so). I have been running this winter to keep maintenance miles so my training will be able to take off soon after seriously starting (I am planning on late Feb to early March). So, I am planning on it being a busy summer runningwise. Here are the factors I am taking into account in my decision of the 100 of the summer (this is a little "thinking aloud"):
Cascade Crest 100, August 27-28, 2011, Easton, Washington - I have an article in the book A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide to Ultrarunning that ranks (very subjectively) the leading 100s by difficulty. It places Cascade Crest on the same plane as Leadville at a 7.0 out of 10.0 on the difficulty scale. In addition an article in Trail Running Magazine in the October 2010 edition has Cascade Crest as the classic 100 of the future. Both articles have me raising one eyebrow. Both articles say that it is scenic and that the 2.6 mile long Snoqualamie Tunnel is something to be experienced. Sadly, this year is the first year that they are closing the tunnel so the draw for me is not so great anymore.
I have never run in the Pacific Northwest but I am looking forward to doing so. This race would be a great introduction to a part of the world I would like to run more but I am afraid that being so far from Leadville and being so close to the Leadville Trail 100 it would be difficult to make it there with time to acclimate and see the sights and enjoy the days leading up to the race. I would prefer to recon it on my own time some year and then run it the following year. However it would provide me as an immediate escape from the traditional post-Leadville 100 depression that affects me each year. Once Leadville was done I would beat feet for Washington, have two or three days to run a little and experience the weather and recon aid station locations.. Maybe it would be worth not having the time to recon it like I had with Leadville (knew every inch of trail)
The Bear 100, September 23-24, 2011, Logan, UT - The Bear is a Point-to-Point race just north of Salt Lake City. It is about a 9 hour drive thus it would be less of a financial commitment and higher likelihood of being able to recon it before the race and having Brenden as a crew for me. The article in A Step Beyond rates it as an 8.0 out of 10.0. The pictures I have seen from past races and topographic maps show that much of it is above treeline so the esthetic value will be high. The race will be held later in the season, which is a good thing and a bad thing wrapped in one. While it would give me more time to train it would also mean more time to wait after Leadville before running.
There are a lot of points to consider for each race. I continually lean in toward one to change my mind and want to run the other. I am just not sure which I want to commit to at this point. At least I know that I am young and have a lot of time to run many races in my life. Which ever race I do not choose I can run next year...
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