Change in Race Plans (that's one way to put it)

The other way to put it is – I’m buying a house. I put in an offer on a single […]

By on April 6, 2007 | Comments

The other way to put it is – I’m buying a house. I put in an offer on a single family home two doors down from where I live in the Ballston neighborhood in Arlington, Virginia. The house is a real fixer upper, but the local and price can’t be beat. I close on the 26th and am very excited. However, with the outlay for buying the house, the immediate need for major renovations, and possible for immediate major system fixes (the electrical system in the 1932 house has never been updated), mean that I’m very cash poor for the foreseeable future. Lots of rice and beans, pasta, and the like in my diet for awhile. I’ll be looking to rent two of the three bedrooms out and if that happens, I should be back to a normal lifestyle in about a year. Until then, any major outlays outside of my home are off (as are any unnecessary minor outlays).

Accordingly, I’m not running Miwok in May. Yeah, I’ve paid for the race and could afford to split the hotel room, but I can’t justify the plane ticket with my current financial situation. With regard to Miwok specifically, I’ll be closing just over a week before the race and surely will not have the time to go out to California, as I’ll be taking off work for at least that next week to do major renovations.

(If any locals are interested/willing to help with home renovation stuff or moving a couple things, please, please, please let me know.)

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.