Looking Forward

With 2010 winding down I thought I'd touch a bit on my running plans for 2011.

Actually my current racing season isn't over yet. Since March I've been racing more or less one race each month (only in November did I not race) and I'm going to extend that streak one month into 2011 and head down to Texas to race the Bandera 100k on January 8th. It was just announced this past weekend that Bandera will be the USTAF 100k trail national championship race for 2011 and '12. Hopefully this will help entice some top runners to line up with me next month, and I know of at least 2 top guys who are considering joining me there.

After Bandera I'll take a little time off and then race again in late March (either Way Too Cool or Chuckanut); early April (Lake Sonoma 50); and early May (either DTRE 100, Miwok, or Ice Age).

My summer will look a lot like this past summer: Western States, Crow Pass (tentative), and UTMB. I wavered for the entire fall on whether to run Western States again. I had fun in that race this year. The course was a lot more enjoyable than I expected. This said though, I certainly wouldn't be running Western States again if it weren't for Kilian and/or Tony both planning to run again next year. I just can't imagine the two of them lining up for a rematch in that race and me not being there to be a part of it.

Without a doubt though, UTMB will be my focus race for 2011. Ever since this year's race was cancelled I have been ready and anxious for next year's race. This race is so far above and beyond anything we have here in The States as far as the energy one feels in being a part of it. I still get goose bumps just about every time I think about running through St. Gervais in last year's race. On top of this I feel hungry and excited to race Miguel Heras after he got the best of me this past weekend in Marin. And I'm sure Kilian will be there again. And hopefully Tony. And all the other top runners who seem to be planning to flock to this race next summer.

Trail Ultra Running is becoming more and more of an international thing than ever before and I couldn't be any more excited about this then I am. I love the American Ultra Running scene/culture, but I think it's great to mix this scene/culture with the Ultra Running cultures around the globe. I feel like all the foreign runners who ran this past weekend (and did very well for themselves) was a huge step toward many of the top races around the globe becoming truly international events. I think next year's UTMB will have more of an American presence than ever, and I fully expect Americans to be a huge part of the race at the front of the pack. Beyond UTMB there are dozens of races around the globe that interest me, and will interest me more and more as they become globally participated events. Good stuff.

Interspersed amongst all of this racing next year, I am hoping to put on a couple Trail/Ultra running training camps up in Alaska next summer. I'll be posting more details on this in the next several weeks as I get more of the details figured out.

In all it should be another super exciting year of running. I'm looking forward to it.