For Every Season – Run, Run, Run

One of the things I’m supposed to do as part of my Montrail deal is submit a race schedule for […]

By on December 7, 2006 | Comments

One of the things I’m supposed to do as part of my Montrail deal is submit a race schedule for the coming year. Actually, you are asked to submit one with your team application and I did that; however, you are asked to submit another one following the signing of your contract. The request for a revised tentative schedule is a wise move as my race schedule is reasonably different from and significantly more settled than the version I submitted in late October.

Whilst I would have enjoyed running Western States for a fourth straight year, my loss in the lottery last weekend is also a bright spot. Because of it, I can do some races that I’ve never done as well as some that I’ve been meaning to go back to for more than a couple years.

Not only do the individual races on my calendar excite me, the entirety of my schedule is a thing of beauty. In choosing the races I want to run, I progress from 50k up to 100 milers in incremental steps over the course of four months. Then, after building a huge endurance base (and taking a couple weeks of down time after Vermont), I can devote an adequate amount of time (a couple months) to sharpen for the final race of my season. Here it is:

Feb 3 – Uwharrie Mountain Run 40 Miler – Uwharrie Nat’l Forest, NC
Mar 3 – Seneca Creek Green Way Trail 50k – Damascus, MD
Mar 24 – HAT Run 50k – Havre de Grace, MD
Apr 14 – Bull Run Run 50 Miler – Clifton, VA
May 6 – Miwok 100k – Marin Headleads, CA
May 27 – Rocky Mountain Double Marathon – outside Vedauwoo, WY
June 9 – Laurel Highlands Trail 70.5 Miler – Ohiopyle, PA
July 20 – Vermont 100 – Woodstock, VT
Oct 13 – 24 Hours of Boulder (as an ultra relay) – Boulder, CO
Nov 17 – JFK 50 Miler – Washington County, MD

Of the above noted races, the races fill many different roles. For instance, Uwharrie and Seneca Creek are nothing more than supported training runs at which I will run at an easy effort throughout. Bull Run Run … well, it’s here and I should run it – another good workout. Miwok is supposed to be an incredibly beautiful run and I just want to be there to see it and get in a good workout. Similarly, the Rocky Mountain DM offers the beauty of Vedauwoo and a good workout… on the other hand, if I am near the front I will try to defend my title there. The 24 Hours of Boulder will be a fun team experience… that we hope to win. When you take all of those races out, you get my “focus races” for the year: HAT Run, Laurel Highlands, Vermont, and, most surprisingly of all, JFK.

In addition to many semi-official training runs and “fat ass” events, I am considering the following races at the moment. Chances are some other races will fill in my schedule as supported training runs.

Feb 10 – Holiday Lake 50k – Appomattox, VA
Apr 16 – Boston Marathon – Somewhere, MA
Apr 28 – Promised Land 50k – Bedford, VA

I am also committed to pace at the following events.

Jan 13 – H.U.R.T. 100 (Steve Burton) – Oahu, HI
May 19 – Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 (Mike Mason) – Front Royal, VA

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Bryon Powell

Bryon Powell is the Founding Editor of iRunFar. He’s been writing about trail running, ultrarunning, and running gear for more than 15 years. Aside from iRunFar, he’s authored the books Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons and Where the Road Ends: A Guide to Trail Running, been a contributing editor at Trail Runner magazine, written for publications including Outside, Sierra, and Running Times, and coached ultrarunners of all abilities. Based in Silverton, Colorado, Bryon is an avid trail runner and ultrarunner who competes in events from the Hardrock 100 Mile just out his front door to races long and short around the world, that is, when he’s not fly fishing or tending to his garden.