Hot Times, Cold Weather: Hellgate 2008

So Hellgate has been on my radar for several weeks now and I was pumped at the idea of completing my first 100k. The stories I had heard from other Bimblers (icy weather, treacherous footing, Horton miles, freezing eyeballs) were both daunting and exciting but I loved the idea of adventure and overcoming the challenges. On the other hand, no matter who you are or what races you’ve done, hearing such tales of peril and difficulty is enough to give anyone pause. Read more

Mr. Brightside

So I ran my first 50miler yesterday, the Stonecat 50mile in Ipswich, MA, and came away with mixed feelings.

The day started, as they all do, with an alarm going off well before I was ready to get up. After a quick breakfast in the hotel with a couple dozen fellow Stonecat-ers, I was at the check-in site at 5.30am. Got my number, milled around and listened to some music until the RD gave his pre-race speech. He gave us the usual info, what colors to follow, what arrows to look for, what aid would be available and then dropped a gem of a comment and said that they had to adjust the course at the last minute and the total distance would now be a solid 54miles and dropped the term Horton Miles.  Now, I fully expect the given distance of a trail course to be taken with a grain of salt, but I’d rather know the total AFTER I’ve ran it. Not before so that I dwell on it throughout the race. So on that bombshell, it was outside to the starting line. Read more

Chi town urbanathlon Oct. 18, 2008

I was excited at the idea of traveling to chicago and running a race, but the fact that this was an obstacle course over a good distance, 10.5 miles, intrigued both my adventurous and endurance sides. I was also pumped to see my high school buddy Todd since we had been planning this trip for a couple of months.

The day started at 5.30 am in the hotel. Normally, i enjoy staying at hotels because of the breakfast in the morning, so imagine my excitement when i found that there was no complimentary continental breakfast. NO FREE BREAKFAST!!! I was devastated. To add insult to injury, there was a resturant in the hotel that offered a buffet but that didn’t start till 6.30. We left at 6. Read more