As 2008 disappears in the rearview and 2009 looms large and full of potential I can only count 7 days until the 2009 Bridle Trails Winter Running Festival 50k. Usually around this time I am chomping at the bit waiting for the Indoor Track Season to start, waiting for that gun to sound and the first 200 meters to fly by. Not this year!!!!
Being a 50k newbie I really don't know what to expect. I've talked to many ultra folks, did some reading and gotten some solid advice, but the biggest sense I've gotten is that you never know what could go wrong until it does(blisters, weather, turned ankle, etc)...so don't fret about it. My biggest concern is that more then half of the race will be in the dark. I've done some headlamp running and it seems pretty straight forward, but I guess I'll find out on Saturday night.
Goals??? I guess I'm going to go with the old "Hey my first goal is to finish" goal, but I want to be somewhat competitive with the other runners, the distance and the terrain/conditions. With this race being sponsored by the Seattle Running Company, any number of national level ultra stars could show up and use this as an early season training run. Greg Growther who has multiple ultra wins and a US 100k title to his name has blazed some incredible times at this race and owns the course record with a 3;19:40 in 2007 should be the favorite. Anything around 4 hours would be great in my book, so I'll set my pace just below 8 minutes and try to hold on as long as possible. Onward...
With 7 days to go I can only wait and let the excitement build. I'll be sure to pack extra shoes, extra socks, lots of snacks(maybe some pizza) , a coke or two to get me through the tough times and of course my ipod. You better bet that somewhere in my playlist will be "Saturday Nights All Right For Fightin"
Rock On and Happy New Year!!!
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good luck johnny!!! i am jealous. was looking to branch out myself to a snowshoe race, this weekend, but a 2-day coaching stint is going to delay my debut to later in the month. Can't wait to hear your account of the 50k!
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