So the racing schedule is shaping up nicely.

I’m just over a month post-WTF 50k and training has been going well. I’ll detail that a little later, but first I wanted to give a rundown on the rest of my races over the next few months so you can follow along and ask any questions when you see me in the gym hobbling around.

Reverse Ring – February 24-25. THIS weekend. This course is 70 miles long and follows the orange blazes along the Massanutten Mountains. It covers a good chunk of the MMT course. It is run twice a year – September when you run the course clockwise, and again in February when you run it counter clockwise. I am a member of “The Fellowship”, recognition for those who have completed both the Ring and Reverse in the same year. I completed the Ring in 2008 and Reverse in 2009 with one other attempt of the Ring in the fall of 2009, but called it quits after 57 miles. I prefer the February running, but both are challenging in their own right. One of the challenges with this run is the lack of aid after mile 46 due to the remoteness of the course. This will be a tough one to finish, and I’m hoping to do so to get practice climbing and plenty of time on my feet.

Elizabeth Furnace 50K – March 11 – I have attempted this race one time before but cut it short. This, along with Reverse Ring and Chocolate Bunny, are known as ‘fat asses’. They are races that don’t require an entry fee – usually only a donation of food or water, and no whining. I did a 20 mile training run a couple weeks back on parts of this course, so I’m feeling ready for it. Hopefully my legs will have recovered from Reverse Ring by then.

Bull Run Run 50 miler – April 8 – I have completed this course 9 times, so wrapping up #10 would be sweet. I train on this course a lot, either starting at Fountainhead Regional Park, Bull Run Marina, or Hemlock Overlook. This race is a stark contrast to MMT and the other races as the course is much flatter and more ‘runable’.

Chocolate Bunny – April 15-16 – This is technically a training run, but I treat it as a race in that I want to finish it as quickly as possible. Why? Because it starts Saturday at 7pm, so you get some time on the course running in the DARK on fresh legs. This covers parts of the MMT course that I’ll be running on at night, so it’s good to ‘see’ it before I have nearly 14 hours of time on my feet race day. This includes nearly 5,400 ft of ascent/descent.

Finally, Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 Mile Run – the big kahuna. What it all leads up to. I have 5 finishes under my belt (buckle – the official finisher’s award), and wanted to run it a 6th time as I wanted to be present to collect my 5 time finisher award.

But I’m trying to not think too much about that right now as I have plenty on my plate this weekend.

Speaking of plate, I’ll be sure to have another blog post detailing my nutrition for this race. It may or may not look something like this..

Stay tuned!