2008 - Year in Races

As 2008 comes to an end I've been reflecting on my races from this year and thinking about what I want to do in 2009. I put together a list of all the races I participated in during the past year, and have included Fat Ass and other non-paying events in an effort to see where my strengths are, thus helping me make better decisions about the events I participate in in 2009. For each race I listed my time, place and a "place-percentage". This information turned out to be useless.

I can say that my best finish was at the Stone Cat Trail Marathon, and that was one of the most satisfying races of the year. But every race has a different feeling. My first 100 miler was satisfying just for having completed it, although I came away thinking there were many things I could have done differently that would have allowed me to do better. The Bradbury Trail Running Series races were great, even though I never raced particularly well because I was always worn out from everything that went into putting on each of those events.

01.05.08

GAC Fat Ass 50K 31 miles

5:24:01 (11/27 - 40%)

02.03.08

Mid-Winter 10-Mile Classic 10 miles

1:08:42 (92/692 - 13%)

03.02.08

TMR Fat Ass 50k 32 miles

6:49:01 (1/3 33%)

04.12.08

Bull Run Run 50 Miler 50 miles

10:13:45 (83/265 31%)

05.04.08

7 Sisters Trail Race 12 miles

2:33:28 (60/241 25%)

05.14.08

Back Cove Weekly 5k Series 3.1 miles

0:21:24 (14/109 13%)

06.11.08

Back Cove Weekly 5k Series 3.1 miles

0:21:20 (23/142 16%)

06.15.08

Bradbury Scuffle 6 miles

0:47:53 (14/62 23%)

07.02.08

Back Cove Weekly 5k Series 3.1 miles

0:20:24 (23/150 15%)

07.19-20.08

Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run 100 miles

22:54:04 (44/266 17%)

08.10.08

Bradbury Mountain Breaker 9 miles

1:21:59 (17/67 25%)

08.13.08

Back Cove Weekly 5k Series 3.1 miles

0:20:37 (21/103 20%)

08.20.08

Back Cove Weekly 5k Series 3.1 miles

0:20:15 (27/109 25%)

9.14.08

Bradbury Bruiser 12 miles

1:47:40 (18/73 25%)

09.28.08

Vermont 50 Mile Ultra Run 50 miles

9:27:06 (42/205 20%)

10.12.08

New Beginnings 5k 3.1 miles

0:30:35 (96/143 67%)

11.08.08

Stone Cat Ale Trail Marathon 26.2 miles

3:46:19 (13/184 7%)

11.16.08

Blackstrap Hell Trail Challenge 6 miles

0:54:48 (12/26 46%)

Totals:

Fat Ass and other Free Miles Raced (8 events) 81.4 miles

Paid Entry Miles Raced (10 events) 281.4 miles

Pavement Miles Raced (2 events) 13.1 miles

Trail Miles Raced (16 events) 349.7 miles

Total 2008 Mileage Raced 362.8 miles

I was hoping for something that would say "you finish higher up the field in shorted distance trail races so that's what you should focus on!" But there was no consistency or patterns in the numbers I came up with. So what I took away from this information is that I should focus on events that are fun. I remembered that running is supposed to be fun, and it is fun when you don't take things too seriously.

This past fall I started to get the road marathon bug after seeing friends taking part in a number of fall marathons, so I started to look for a road marathon to do in the spring. When I looked at a schedule of all the races I wanted to do in 2009 I realized that a spring marathon would conflict with too many of my favorite trail races, and I also realized that running through 14 miles of mud at the Muddy Moose, or 12 miles of treacherous rocky hell at 7 Sisters is far more enjoyable than trying to PR at a road marathon. So I scrapped that idea and decided to stick to trails.

2009 Race Plans

01.01.09 Hangover Classic 10k

01.10.09 GAC Fat Ass 50k

02.01.09 Mid-Winter 10-Mile Classic

02.28.09 TMR Fat Ass 50k

03.28.09 I’ve been married for 10 years and my wife still doesn’t have a Fat Ass 50k

04.11.09 Merrimac River Trail Race

04.26.09 Muddy Moose Trail Race

05.03.09 7 Sisters Trail Race

05.24.09 Pineland Farms Trail Challenge - 50 mile

06.28.09 Cranmore Hill Climb

07.12.09 Bradbury Scuffle

07.26.09 Escarpment Trail Race

08.09.09 Bradbury Mountain Breaker

09.13.09 Bradbury Bruiser

09.19-20.09 Iroquois Trail Ultra – 100 miler

11.08.09 Stone Cat Ale 50 Miler/Marathon

Many of these dates still need to be confirmed. I'm sure there will be a few other events that come along through the course of the year. I hope Jeff leads us through more Hell at Blackstrap, and that Chuck gets something going at Hedgehog, and Peter has an easier time getting events off the ground in his neck of the woods, and that the Maine Woods Trail Marathon returns next year...