The Race Is On

It’s time for me to run some races again. If I’m remembering correctly, I’ve only run one race (Laurel Highlands in early June) since my disastrous Way Too Cool and lackluster HAT Run back in March. Heck, I even withdrew from Miwok and the Vermont 100. The racing drought will end, and soon. I don’t plan on racing the first couple events, rather the will be supported training runs to get me moving this fall. As I’m well rested and have no big plans this winter, it’s time for me to start ramping up my training for big races next summer. Yes, I can and will train for races 9 or 12 months out. It’s how I roll. :-P

Here goes:
9/22 – Odyssey 40 miler, Douthat State Park, VA
10/13 – 24 Hours of Momentum, Maidens, VA
12/8 – Hellgate 100k, Fincastle, VA

I plan to run conservatively at the Odyssey 40 miler. I’ll use the 24 Hours of Momentum as a supported training run and don’t plan on running all 24 hours. I may or may not “race” Hellgate depending on how my training goes to that point. If I’m feeling like I’ve put in the miles, it might be fun to go for it, if not, it’s great training… if a frigid, rocky, mountainous training run that starts at midnight can be good training.

Related articles:

1. 2011 Trail and Ultra Race Plans? What are your 2011 trail running and ultramarathon race plans?...
2. What Races Should I Run in 2008? A super quick, off-the-cuff post here. I need to develop my race schedule for the rest of the year by the end of the day and it’s still wide open....
3. Optimal Endurance Base Building or What's the Longest Period that You've Trained for One Race? As this post is longer than I originally intended, I’ll ask my question to iRunFar community up front: What is the longest period of time that your dedicated to training...

Filed under Bryon · Tagged with Race Plans, The Big Picture

Bryon Powell is the Editor-in-Chief of iRunFar.com, which he founded five years ago. Also the author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, he's quickly approaching 10 years as an ultrarunner and 20 years as a trail runner. These days he calls Park City, Utah and its trails home.
All posts by Bryon Powell