This entry is a total surprise. My running year has been slowly winding down. The Hennepin Hundred was my main priority for so much of the year, but I have had some incredible success in the shorter races as well. Whether it is the Hundred training or just staying very healthy, I am grateful for the way things have turned out with numerous firsts in my age group and some of the fastest times in several years. After my birthday run last weekend, I figured I would just have two, maybe three short races left for the year. But low and behold, things can change suddenly.
The night of my birthday run I get a text from Mark Clarke about possibly crewing for him and another at the JFK 50 Mile in just two weeks. As it turned out, there was nothing going on that weekend and the wife gave the okay. The JFK 50 is one of the oldest and largest ultra in the USA. I was very excited about heading out
East and seeing the Appalachian Trail for the first time which encompasses about 10 miles of the race. After sending a text back saying "Hell, yes!" to Mark, a while later he sends back that I should maybe register myself even if I end up on the waiting list. By race time, a spot might open up. At first, I thought this was kind of crazy. I had just run 38 miles earlier that day only two weeks before the JFK. Would there be a chance that I could even be ready and it would be pretty expensive this close to race day. I sent back that It would be a crazy idea, but I would think about it. I went to bed with the whole thing jumping around in my mind.
The next morning, it was probably the first thing that popped into my mind. What might be my only chance at this thing kept pounding away at my resolve. I decided to check the website later that morning just to see what all there was. To make a long story short, I signed up and got in right off the bat. So, in just a week and a half I will be running one more ultra this year.
It has a strict 12 hour cutoff, with some fairly tough mid race cut offs as well. I'm a little scared of it. The Appalachian Trail can be very technical which is not one of my strengths and it has some heavy duty climbing as well. A big part later in the race is on a towpath like Hennepin's, so if I can reach that point and not be destroyed by then, I should be okay. But the first 15 miles is going to be tough. With my first half at Hennepin being under nine hours, you would think I should have no problem. But the combination of the technical, the climbing, and not actually being in the same shape I was for the hundred is going to make it interesting. But I suppose life is meant to be challenging and this race will be a good challenge for me to see just what I am made of.
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