2012

No, this isn't a review of a bad movie, nor is it my New Years Eve plans.

The last possible race on my 2011 calendar was the Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll half marathon. I've run it the past two years and had a lot of fun with it, but this year the half marathon is $150. That's insane. So I won't be running it. Oh well, I'm sure they're not crying their eyes out at the for-profit Rock 'n Roll that they won't be getting my entry fee -- the marathon is already sold out and the half almost certainly will as well. Besides, they'll get me for the San Diego Rock 'n Roll in June. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

In any case, with 2011 essentially over running-wise, it's time to start thinking about 2012.

My first race is already set: The Houston Marathon in January. Now that I've done my complaining about how expensive the Rock 'n Roll series is, I should admit that Houston will probably go down as the most expensive entry fee I'll ever pay. I (stupidly) missed the date for the lottery and my mom and friends got in, which meant that I could miss out or pony up for the charity entry. I took the latter route. My bank account's reaction: "Ouch!"

It'll be a fun race though -- it's a road race and very flat, so I can see if I still have any speed chops left now that I've turned my attention more towards trial and ultra races. Also, the Olympic trials for the marathon will be taking place the day before the commoners run the course.

Choices, choices, choices
My main goal for 2012 is to run my first 50-mile race. I figure that April is a pretty good month to target for scheduling that race and I've got a few on my radar.

American River 50-mile - I've never heard of this race (not that I'm a grizzled vet that knows all the major races), but it looks like a really good one. The race is in Auburn, CA, not surprisingly right along the American River. A big upshot is that the race is run by the Norcal Ultras, who ran the Golden Hills Marathon that I really enjoyed. Downsides include that it's on the pricier side ($165) and there's a decent amount of pavement on the course.

Lake Sonoma 50 mile - I love the Sonoma region of CA and from the pictures this looks like a beautiful course. It also looks like a tough course (10,500 ft of climb). The course is an out-and-back which isn't totally ideal. Also, the 2011 race was cancelled due to flooding. It looks like that's the only time that's happened, but still, that would really suck to get all my training in and then have the race cancelled.

Zane Grey Highline 50 mile - This is in Arizona and I've heard a lot of talk about this race -- it's known for being particularly challenging. An advantage is that I know a bunch of people that have run this so I can get a pretty good idea of what to expect. However, I'm not totally sure that this is the right race for my first 50.

Mokelumne River 50 mile - Definitely never heard of this one, but it looks like a really cool course. It's in Comanche Lake, CA in the Sierra Nevadas. This looks like a ridiculously hard course with 11,639 ft of climbing. It's also an out-and-back. Particularly concerning is the fact that the time limit is 12.5 hours -- I'm honestly not sure that with that amount of climbing that I'd be able to hit that limit. This race is a dark horse contender, but it's on the list...

Leona Divide 50 mile - This is another race where I know a lot of folks that have run it -- and done quite well. Looks like a fun race and well organized which is a definite plus. Another out-and-back course (maybe I should stop worrying about that...). Tough course for sure, but not quite as tough as some of the others above (8,900ft of climb). This is the current front runner (so to say).

I'm guessing I'll have to make up my mind pretty soon because these races all have pretty limited fields. At this point I'm leaning toward Sonoma or Leana Divide, but if anyone reading this has some sage thoughts (or, heck, not so sage...) feel free to share.

Everything else...
Getting a 50-mile that I'm excited about is my main focus for planning 2012, so filling in everything else will just be a matter of finding some fun races (and not being too bummed if I miss out on some). Like I said above, I've already got Houston in January and I'll be in San Diego in June. I'm sure I'll schedule another race with my crazy, marathon-running mom (in addition to Houston). 

On top of that, I'll definitely be peppering additional ultra races in there. Right now, the Chuckanut in Washington in March is high on my list (that'd necessitate a late-April 50-mile). Depending on how the 50-mile in April goes, I might head back out to Berkeley next fall to hit the Firetrails 50. I had a great time running the Golden Hills Trail Marathon and wouldn't mind bumping up in that event.

A little help from my friends
Of course, the most fun is when I get to run a race with friends or family -- or run a race near where friends live. That's why I'm doing Houston and San Diego. So if you happen to be reading this and have an itch to do a trail race (ok, any race...) with me, LET'S GET IT ON!


--