Bear 100 Race Recap

Two years ago after pacing for my son Josh at the Wasatch 100 he challenged me to run a 100 mile race. He knew I had paced for someone almost two decades ago and that I had talked about running one someday. I'm not getting any younger, and as a result I accepted the challenge and have spent the last two years training for this 100 mile event.

Friday September 28th at 6:00 am began my first attempt at a 100 mile mountain race. The Bear 100 takes place in the beautiful mountains starting in Logan, Utah and finishing in Fish Haven, Idaho on the banks of Bear Lake. The course boasts just shy of 22,000 feet of elevation gain and 21,000 feet of elevation descent over the 100 mile course. It was a beautiful calm morning and although it was cool, it was not as cool as I would have liked it. The temperature was in the low 50's which meant that it would get into the mid 70's during the day. I was hoping for a day about 10 degrees cooler than that. Heat is my enemy when I run, I typically don't do well with it. Hydration would be key for the day, along with nutrition, patience, persistence, and a positive mental attitude which are always major factors. After looking through all of the information available and trying to put a realistic expectation on my abilities, I thought this run would take me between 32 and 34 hours. This race has a maximum time allocation of 36 hours.

The first 10 miles of the race is uphill and I took it very easy. I knew it was a long race and I didn't want to use all my energy in the first 10% of the race. After hitting 10 miles there is a long downhill, which felt great. I got into a rhythm and really felt good. At the 20 mile mark I got to see Brenda and Josh (my crew) for the first time. They had a chair set up and my gear there so I could get what I needed quickly and move on. They would be able to crew me at nine locations throughout the race.

The next 10 mile section has a lot of climbing. I was more deliberate in my climbing and ran the downhill sections. In this section it started to get hot and would stay hot until about 7:00 pm. This is the first time that I realized I was out-climbing everyone. No one passed me on the uphills, I was better prepared than I thought I might be. For the remainder of the hot period I just consistently plugged along, doing well on the climbs but very average on the flat and downhill.

At about 35 miles my left knee started to hurt. I had the same pain back in March when I ran the Buffalo Run 50 Miler. I knew it was not going to go away. I had to figure out how I was going to finish this race with a knee that would not allow me to run downhill at all and that I knew would get worse as the day wore on and I would not be able to run the flat areas either. If I was going to get through this I had to hit the climbs very hard as my knee didn't hurt at all on the uphill, and walk at a crazy pace the flat and downhill areas.

Up until I got to the Tony Grove aid station, 51 miles, I was passing runners like crazy on the uphills. This would be the theme for the race as I never had anyone pass me on an uphill. I was making up good time now. I had been about 45 minutes behind my schedule for finishing at 32 hours at the 45 mile mark. I was now less than 10 minutes behind on my schedule.

At Tony Grove I picked up Josh to pace with me the rest of the way. We would spend the next 11 hours in the dark with headlamps lighting the way. We went from Tony grove at a very fast pace, once again passing runners on uphills but surprisingly not getting passed on the downhills. We were now gaining time on my schedule of 32 hours.

When I made my schedule, I looked at the last couple of years results to see the times for the runners who finished in the time frame I was anticipating I would finish. I then calculated my anticipated split times from those results. I knew from being involved with several of these events that runners really start to fade in the last 40 or so miles, and especially in the last 25 miles. At this point I still felt very good. I was not tired, I was not fatigued, so I just kept pounding the pace.

A couple of aid stations later I was more than an hour ahead of pace. Josh and I did some calculations and figured I might have a chance of getting in at under 30 hours if I could continue with the current pace. This was a huge motivation for me as 100 mile races typically have 3 different finishing classifications or award levels. The first is under 24 hours, the second from 24 to 30 hours and the last is 30 to 36 hours. If I could finish under 30 hours I would be in a different award class than what I ever thought possible. When we came into the next aid station it was now light. I told Brenda to forget about meeting us at the last aid station and go call the kids and let them know that I was going to be in by noon. They needed to come now as they were definitely not planning on being to the finish until about 2:00. I didn't want them to drive three hours to find out that I had finished a couple of hours earlier. Brenda said she thought she could get to the highway, find cell service, make the calls, and get back in time to help us at the last aid station.

We went into the last aid station which is at 92.2 miles. I was now getting tired and my knee was now screaming at me all the time. Brenda was concerned at this station as I was not in as good of shape as she had hoped. But I was still very focused and bent on getting in under 30 hours. I took some Ibuprofen, talked to Brenda (found out she had contacted the kids), pounded down some Coke, cookies, M&M's and potato chips, and we were off for the final section.

The final section has a very steep uphill coming out of the aid station for about a mile. It is then followed by a very steep four mile section of rocky downhill. I paced Josh through this section last year so I was familiar with it. The uphill was good, again passing several runners. Now the downhill. My knee was on fire! I went as fast as I possibly could but had multiple runners pass me on this section. With about 2.5 miles to go Josh let me know that we were going to make it under the 30 hours. At that point I eased up a bit until we got to the last mile which is flat. Once we hit the flat I walked fast for almost a half mile to let my knee recover a bit. I wanted to make sure I could run into the finish. I started running again just before the bend in the road. At that point you can see the main highway and there are people who can see you.

As we came around the corner I could hear my kids screaming. It was awesome! Coming around the turn onto the main road and then into the last 75 yards into the yard where the finish line is I was overwhelmed. My heart was full and I was holding back the tears. Before Josh peeled off about 30 yards before the finish line he said "You did it Dad, great job!" I couldn't say a single word back to him as I was on the verge of crying. Thankfully I did manage to keep it pretty much together as I crossed the finish line. The last thing you want is a bunch of pictures of you balling your eyes out.

My official time was 29 hours, 49 minutes, 18 seconds. I came in 83rd place out of 165 finishers right square in the middle of the runners. There were 230 runners that started the race, 65 either dropped out or did not finish under the 36 hour limit. In my age group for men I finished 12th out of 26. Even after being very diligent and disciplined in training I never imagined I could finish under 30 hours. I truly feel like I won the race! I far exceeded what I ever thought I could possibly do.

This course is absolutely beautiful. The fall foliage was beyond spectacular. The people volunteering at all of the aid stations were extremely helpful and friendly. The race was very well organized and the course well marked.

I have to thank my family. I never could have done this without Josh helping me over the last couple of years. He was a completely awesome pacer, keeping me focused during the race, especially during the sections when I was in tremendous pain. His experience in running three 100 mile races really helped me. My family has been very supportive during this entire process and although they often question my sanity they have remained supportive. Mostly I could not have done this without Brenda. She always supported me when I went up in the mountains to run at least twice a week and at least 3 times a week on the road in the early mornings. Most of my Saturdays over the last couple of years and especially the last six months have been taken up with running. I was rarely home before 1:00 or 2:00 p.m. on most Saturday's. After the long day running I rarely was in the mood to do yard work or most anything. My back yard looks worse today than it has in the 18 years I've lived in my house. Thanks Brenda for all of the support as well as crewing me during the run. I could not have done this without your help, love, and support.

 I don't know where my running will go from here. Right now my feet really hurt and are very swollen, my knee is not too bad. It may be that this running ultra marathon thing will be like a mother giving birth, they think they will never have another child but somehow time dulls the memory of the pain and all they remember is the joy and happiness that it brings to them. We'll just have to wait and see what happens with time.

Wasatch 100 Pacing, Bear 100 Ahead

This last weekend was the Wasatch 100. Once again I had the opportunity to run the last 25 miles pacing for my son Josh. He had a bit of a rough day, however with the lack of training he had due to injuries this year, he still ended with an amazing time of 28 Hours and 37 Minutes. He definitely pushed through some challenging times during the race and finished remarkably strong. I was very proud of him for getting through to the finish and happy that I was able to spend that time with him.

On September 28th is the Bear 100. I am having a difficult time getting my mind around doing a 100 mile race. My training has gone well over the last couple of months. I have completed my schedule generally to the mile. I have completed a 35 miler as well as a couple 25 mile runs over the last month. All that is left for long runs is an 18 miler this Saturday as I begin to taper my mileage for the race. I can say with confidence that although I am questioning what I am doing and my ability to complete this race,  I have stuck to the training schedule all year long.

I have looked through some of the times and splits over the last few years for the Bear and believe that if all the planets align I can complete this race in 32 hours. However I do want to state that my goal is simply to finish the race under the 36 hour limit. Heat will play a big roll in how I do in this race. Unfortunately heat always has a significant effect on me. I do heat training and spend quite a bit of time in the heat, but it still significantly zaps my energy whenever the temperature is at all high.

My goals for the Bear 100 are as follows: My primary goal is to finish under the 36 hour time limit, if I do this I would consider my race a success. My secondary goal would be 34 hours. This is where I would expect to be if I have some small problems and the conditions are not ideal. 32 Hours is where I believe I can finish if everything falls perfectly into place, things would have to be near perfect for me to achieve this time. At this point Josh is planning on pacing me from Tony Grove to the finish, almost 50 miles. Hopefully he will be recovered enough from Wasatch to do this. With Josh's help, a bit of luck, and good weather, I truly believe I can hit the 32 hour mark. We shall see how it all works out on the 28th and 29th.

Speedgoat 1 Bart 1

Here it is Wednesday, 4 days after the Speedgoat 50K, and I am still disappointed in my results. This was my 2nd time running Speedgoat and this year I dropped out at the 21 mile mark. Although I was very disappointed with my decision, as I have never dropped out of a race before, I knew it was the right thing to do. With that the score is now Speedgoat 1 - Bart 1. At this point I am planning on running it again next year as I cannot stand the thought of having that course slay me and having it end that way.

I knew it was going to be a tough day as it was going to be very hot. I also ended up working all day on Friday and was on my feet doing shipping all day long. Friday night my legs did not feel the way I was hoping they would at that point. The next morning I definitely could tell I was not where I wanted to be when we hit the end of the 1st long uphill. My legs were tired already and although I was on schedule I knew it was probably not sustainable.

The one bright side of the day came in Mary Ellen Gulch. This is the section that psychologically did me in last year. This year I passed 4 runners in this section and had no one pass me. I was more confident and my knees felt much better than last year. At this point I was quite tired and knew it would be a long day with the crazy uphills ahead. I pulled into the Pacific Mile aid station at 4 hours and 16 minutes and was out at 4:22, just about on schedule. After the Pacific Mine aid station is a brutal long and very steep uphill. I was doing okay until about half way up. At that point I had knots develop in both of my quads. I slowed down but the knots would not let up. I was drinking plenty of water but It was brutal finishing this section. The heat was crazy and the pace was slow. Once it flattened out a little the knots were not as severe but still present. When I got into the Larry's Hole aid station I felt fairly good  as there is some downhill just prior to the aid station. I knew that I could continue but would be quite a bit slower than I had anticipated. Once I started out of Larry's Hole and into the next steep uphill the knots in my quads flared up again. At that point I had a decision to make. There are only a few locations on the course where you can drop out of the race, Larry's Hole is one of them. I needed to decide if I wanted to tough it out and finish, knowing that I would probably be extremely sore for 3 to 4 weeks if I did, or drop out and be able to get back into training for my 100 mile race the end of September. After thinking about it for 3 or 4 minutes I made the difficult decision not to sacrifice my training for completing the race. At this point I turned around and went back to the aid station and officially dropped out.

It was definitely demoralizing, however I know it was the right thing to do. I was able to go out last night and run 6 miles without any pain and will continue with my training the rest of this week and through the next 2 months in preparation for the Bear 100.

Overall not what I wanted as a result of the race. However now looking back I know I did make the right decision to drop out in order to preserve my body for training for what is my ultimate goal of completing a 100 mile race this year.

As a side note, the course was very difficult this year and the temperatures were through the roof. when I saw the final numbers come in it appears that about 65 runners did not complete the race, almost 25%. It does bring me some comfort knowing I wasn't the only one having a tough day out there.

Next year I will definitely slay the Speedgoat 50K.

6 days to Speedgoat 50K

Here it is Sunday and 6 days away from the Speedgoat 50K. My training has gone very well over the last several weeks. No injuries to speak of and I have put in the mileage and the elevation runs. Last week Josh and I even went up American Fork Canyon and ran down Mary Ellen Gulch. Last year that section physically, and even more so mentally, did me in. This year I will be going in more confident than last year about the entire race, and especially about Mary Ellen Gulch.

This year I know the course, I have trained on what I consider the most difficult section of the course and have trained well. I am shooting for a time of 9:00 hours. If I accomplish that goal I will be 2 hours faster than last year. Looking back I know I can make up 2 hours by starting up further in the pack, hydrating better, wearing gaiters to minimize the cleaning out of my shoes, faster in and outs at the aid stations, and by cutting off at least 30 minutes in Mary Ellen Gulch. In addition I also know the course and what to expect.

It should be a fun race this year as my son Josh will be running the race as well. This will be the first ultra marathon that we have ran together in. I use the term ran together very loosely as I will not see him during the race once we line up for the start. Even though I will only see him at the start and at the finish it will still be a great experience to share the events of the day with him. In addition to Josh the field of runners is truly incredible. It is very rare to have the talent of elite ultra marathoners that this race will have this year. Obviously I won't see them at all except as we mingle around at the starting line waiting for the magic hour of 6:30 am to start, but the buzz and excitement with all of them present will be a memorable experience.

Speedgoat 50K Training

It has been two months since I have posted. Going forward I will make sure and post more often.

I ended up not running the Squaw Peak 50 this year. I was definitely looking forward to running it but it took me longer to recover from the Buffalo 50 Miler than I ever thought it would, and I also got sick after that and ended up having 3 weeks of minimal training. I felt it was best to not run Squaw Peak and focus on the Speedgoat 50K on July 28th, with my ultimate goal of completing the Bear 100 in late September.

That plan has been going very well. I have been running in the canyons for the last month or more with several runs a week in the hills for the last couple of weeks. It has felt great! I love to run in the mountains and with our snow pack being so pathetic this year I have been able to get up there running much earlier than last year. My goal from now until Speedgoat is to run at least 3 times a week on the mountain trails with a run or two in the valley's as well. This week has been a good week and I feel very good about where I am at right now.

As a side note. I absolutely love my Hoka Stinson Evo's. My last mountain run was in my Cascadia 7's and I honestly don't know how much more I will wear them. I will probably still wear them on some of my 2 to 3 hour runs but not on my longer mountain runs. I do like the Cascadia's on the slight downhill clean sections as I believe I am a little faster in them than the Hoka's in that scenario. The Hoka's are just so much better on the rocks and roots and anything technical, and my knees feel no stress at all when I am wearing them. If it wasn't for the fact that I probably only have about 150 miles on the Cascadia's I wouldn't put them on again, but I can't bear the thought of retiring a $100.00 pair of shoes without wearing them out. My only complaint about the Hoka's is the lacing system they use. If my feet weren't so narrow it might be okay but I have to do all kinds of looping and such to make it so I don't trip over the pull tabs. I will probably switch to a standard lace, as the way it is there is really no benefit to the pull tab lacing system that they have.

I will post again just before Speedgoat and update my progress and my goal. Speedgoat this year should be a lot of fun to be part of as they have a large number of the best trail runners in the country, and the world, running it this year. Not that I will see any of them except at the starting line, but it will be fun to just be involved with such a large group of high caliber of runners, both male and female.

New Clown Shoes

I celebrated my 53rd birthday over the weekend. It was great having the kids and their significant others, as well as my almost 3 month old granddaughter all there for a get together and dinner. I really didn't need anything for my birthday but my kids always get me something even though I ask them not to. This year they got me a gift card to Wasatch Running. That was a great gift as I was definitely ready to try some new trail shoes. I was not at all happy with my situation at the end of the Buffalo 50 Miler. So the research and pursuit of a new pair of trail shoes began.

I did quite a bit of research online and after determining that every shoe company and most runners are now leaning towards zero drop and minimalist running shoes, I decided I needed to go the opposite direction. Unfortunately I am still about 40 pounds heavier than I should be and I still get a great deal of knee pain whenever I do some extended downhill running. As a result I decided to buck the trend and go with more cushioning.

I have always thought the Hoka One One shoes to be a gimmick as much as anything, and they definitely resemble some type of clown shoes with their overabundant sole's, but after talking with Darrell at Wasatch Running I decided to try on a few different models.

I ended up walking out with a pair of Hoka One One Stinson Evo's. They were amazingly comfortable when I tried them on and ran in them at the store. They also have a crazy amount of cushioning. I was hoping to go trail running in them today after work but Mother Nature threw me a curve with all of the rain. So tonight I will run on the Parkway in my Brooks Glycerine's and do the same on Thursday morning. Unfortunately the Hoka's will not come out of the closet until my next trail outing which due to evening commitments the rest of the week will probably not be until Saturday morning. I can't wait to put some miles on them and see how they feel, or more specifically how I feel afterward.

My training is going well and I am finally getting back to my somewhat normal running routine after taking time off recovering form the Buffalo 50 Miler. Hopefully with the new shoes I can get the trail work in I need and get up to 50 miles a week quickly, as I prepare for the Squaw Peak 50 mile race on June 2nd.

Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50 Mile Recap

Here it is 4 days later and I still can't believe I actually finished the Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50 Mile Race. My first 50 miler. It wasn't pretty and my feet are still killing me, but with the help of a good pacer (my son Josh) and a good support crew (my wife Brenda) I was able to pull it off.

I got to the starting line plenty early, in fact too early. I had to wait around for more than 40 minutes until the race started. There weren't very many runners there when I poked my head into the tent to see if anything was going on. Some of the support people and organizers, as well as Karl Meltzer who had won the 100 Mile race a couple of hours earlier were there and maybe a dozen other 50 mile runners. I decided to go back out to the car and wait until about 10 minutes before the start. When I went into the tent with less than 10 minutes until the start it was completely packed. We received our last minute instructions, went out to the start/finish line and started the count down of the last 30 seconds, turned on my headlamp, and we were off!

I intentionally walked all of the uphill sections. I was hoping to end between 10.5 and 11 hours so I certainly wasn't in a hurry. When we had completed the first few miles of uphill I was definitely in the back of the pack, I probably had about 15 runners behind me which means I had about 110 runners in front of me. As the pack started to spread out I passed a few runners but also had a few pass me. I grouped in with a couple of other runners going about my same slow pace. When we got to the first aid station they had us go out to Elephant Head first, which I really wasn't a big fan of as it was very congested. I felt like all we were doing was dodging the runners coming back at us from the turnaround, it was really crazy in that section. You could never get in any kind of a rhythm as you were constantly jumping off the trail into the weeds to pass people coming at you. I definitely wish I had gone the other way first and done the Elephant Head loop second.

Soon after starting the next section at the top of the long downhill, my foot landed funny and twisted my left knee, then I over corrected and tweaked my right knew. I was hoping the pain would go away once I got to flat ground but that was not to be the case. Just what I didn't need was knee pain for more than 40 miles of a 50 mile race. From that point on the downhills were excruciating. I knew that once I Got to about 20 miles there wouldn't be much in the way of downhills. That thought kept me going until I saw Brenda and Josh at the gate at mile 19.

At the gate I decided I needed to change shoes, my toes had been hitting hard on the inside of my right big toe, not the end, but thought I should go with the 1/2 size larger shoe to see if it would help. A quick shoe change, took off the gaitors, put on the Ipod, and away I went.

The next 17 miles were quite painful, I took some baby aspirin and made sure I was getting adequate water, Chomps/Gu, and S Caps. I was run/walking. The pain in my knees would not allow me to continually run. Unfortunately the walking periods were beginning to last longer than the running periods. Not what I was hoping for. From about the 25 or 26 mile mark until the ranch turnaround, I was having leaders pass me on their way back. I was slow, hurting and becoming very discouraged.

It's funny the things that you focus on and that become important at this stage psychologically. There was a girl in a bright pink top that had passed me just before the Lower Frary aid station, about mile 27.5, I did a fairly quick stop there and headed out in front of her. She soon passed me again on the trail. She was walk / running like I was but definitely able to run more than I could. She was building her lead. I told Josh and Brenda that I wanted to do a very quick stop at the ranch turn around to make up some time and some ground. The girl in pink had become what I was focusing my attention on to help take some of my mind off the knee pain. As I got near to the ranch aid station the girl in pink had not completed the turnaround and passed me. As I got closer to the ranch I knew I needed to do a very quick stop there and get back out. As I went in I saw her still at the station. Josh quickly filled my water bottle, drank some Coke, had some chips, I took off my Ipod, and picked up my experienced pacer, Josh. I felt like I was ready to go.

From here Josh tried to get me to run as much as possible. It just hurt so bad. I would run about 75 yards and have to walk 200 or 300 yards. I could walk quite fast as I was not having a stamina problem, just a knee pain problem. My knees were getting worse and worse. It almost brought me to tears when I would run. It is in this section that I let Josh know that I was not in a good place right now and was really in trouble. I continued doing the run /walk system until we hit the Lower Frary aid station on the way back at about mile 39. At this point Josh suggested I go for full on Ibuprofen. I wasn't really sweating as I was doing a lot of walking. we also knew that at this pace I would not be able to finish before they took down the finish line at 6:30 or 12 1/2 hours so Ibuprofen it was. After a few miles the Ibuprofen kicked in. I was able to run a little more and walk a little less. However my feet were starting to get some significant blisters and the balls of my feet were bruised and quite painful. Plus that girl in pink was right on my tail. from just after the Lower Frary aid station until the Mountain View aid station she was right on my tail, never more than about 25 yards behind us. When Josh and I would run, she would run, when we would walk, she would walk. Josh even asked her if she wanted to pass us and she said "No, I really like the pace you guys are going". I was now determined to stay ahead of her no matter what.

At Mountain View aid station I didn't stop. Josh had my water bottles full and had a glass of Coke for me and I just walked right through. For the first time in a long time I was starting to feel like I could actually run for more that 75 to 100 yards at a time. Once we got to the top of the hill I started running more. I hadn't been able to pass more than one or two crippled runners since the ranch turnaround. Fortunately only one runner had passed me. When we got less than a mile from the Lakeside aid station I saw a couple of runners that I could focus on passing. The girl in pink was still right on my tail. I passed 2 runners just before the aid station. I again didn't stop as Josh had my bottles filled and a glass of Coke ready to go. The one runner who passed me a couple of hours ago was in the aid station, I passed him there. The girl in pink stopped at that aid station and looked like she was really struggling. I didn't see her again until the finish line. I passed 2 more runners going around the mountain. Josh was definitely pushing me to get to 12 hours. I ran most of the last 4 miles. I knew I probably wouldn't be able get under 12 hours but I wanted to make sure I didn't let anyone pass me. With a little more than a mile left I saw 2 more runners that I thought I could pass. As I ran by the 1st one I could see she was actually a 100 Mile runner. She was going to get in under the 30 hour 30 minute mark for her first 100. We congratulated her and went after the next one. I passed the next one with about 1 mile left. From here I didn't have anyone close enough to reel in before the finish.

Unfortunately I was not able to get in under 12 hours. I forgot to stop my watch when I went across the finish line but my time was about 12 hours 2 minutes and 30 seconds, the official times have not been posted yet. I had finished my first 50 Mile race! My daughter Brittany was there to greet me and of course my supportive wife was there. Josh ran (I use the term loosely) the last 17 miles with me. He really pushed me and I honestly doubt I would have made it under 12.5 hours without him. A good pacer is priceless.


My final analysis. I have huge blisters on the balls of both of my feet. I also have bruised the balls of both of my feet. I also have multiple small blisters. I will lose at least 1 toe nail and could lose as many as 3. My knees feel a lot better but it could just be that all I can feel right now is how bad my feet still hurt. My teeth ached for a full day from clamping my jaw shut so tight from the pain.

Overall I am happy with how I did. I was more than an hour longer than I was hoping for. However, I was fighting pain 75% of the race. My stamina was good. I know I need to run more steep downhills in training before my next run to prepare my knees. I also know I need to figure out my shoes. I don't want blisters like this again and I don't want to lose any more toe nails!

Thanks to everyone who supported me in preparing for this run as well as the race organizer and the volunteers at the event, they were awesome. Special thanks to Brenda and Josh. I absolutely could not have done it without both of them.

2 weeks until the Buffalo Run 50 Mile Race

With less than 2 weeks until the Antelope Island Buffalo Run 50 Mile race I thought I needed to post an update. My training mileage and consistency has been good. I have averaged 40+ miles weekly over the last few weeks. I have had a few minor set backs but am very happy with my training and preparation overall. I am having some pain in my heel but it subsides when I start to run, probably an inflamed tendon. My weight is no where near where I would like it to be, but let's face it, I love food! Until I get my eating habits more in line with where they should be my weight will be a challenge. Overall I continue to eat better but my sweet tooth constantly causes my problems.

As far as the race goes, if the weather is decent I think I will finish between 10 and 12 hours. To narrow the window I believe I will finish at right around 10 hours and 45 minutes. Time will tell if I am even close at estimating my time at a race that is this long. If we have bad weather that will add to the time.

Not much left to do between now and then but a few short mountain runs and tapering down for the big day. Brenda and Josh will be my support crew. Josh has run this race twice before. Brenda and I have supported Josh in both of these races. So my crew will be top notch and very familiar with this race. If I mess up it will all be on me as I won't be able to blame my support crew for anything that will go wrong.

2012 Plan

Here we are on the 6th of February and I now have the bulk of my running year planned.

Unfortunately, I did not draw out for the Wasatch 100. The good news is that my son Josh did. It will be awesome to see him conquer that course again and to help crew him. With me missing out on the Wasatch lottery I will be running the Bear 100 in late September for my first 100 mile mountain race.

Leading up to the Bear 100 I will be participating in 3 races in preparation and for qualifying for the Bear 100.

The first race will be the Buffalo Run 50 Mile race. This race is on Antelope Island on March 24th. My main goal for this race is that I need to run a 50 mile race in under 16 hours in order to enter the Bear 100. I can't imagine it will take me even 12 hours but you never know. In years past I could use my race in June for qualification for the Bear, however races are now filling up faster than ever and I don't want to chance missing out due to the race filling up before I can get a qualifying race under my belt.

My second race will be the Squaw Peak 50 Miler on June 2nd. This should be a fun race to be running in. I was scheduled to run this race last year but tore my calf muscle and was not able to compete. Josh is also in this race which will be the first time that both of us are in the same Ultra race. I won't see him at any point in the race, only at the start and finish lines as he is much faster than I am, but it will still be fun to be in the same event.

My third race with be the Speedgoat 50K on July 28th,. I ran this last year and am hopeful to knock a couple of hours off my time from 2011. I should be lighter, faster, and have course knowledge this year which will help me shave off a lot of time. Josh will probably also be in this race which will make it more fun as well.

The last race will be the Bear 100 starting on September 21st. This will definitely be an incredible event for me. I have wanted to run a 100 miler for a long time and at that point will have spent 2 years working up for it.

Between now and then I need to lose a lot of weight, and run a lot of miles. I am currently running about 33 miles a week and am increasing weekly. My goal is to be running more than 50 miles a week in the couple of months prior to the Bear 100. My weight goal is to be down to 170 before the Bear 100. That in itself may be my biggest challenge of all.