Last week I realized I don't have any races planned after the Howl, which is only 2 weeks away. With ultras the sign up is normally well before race day, so I decided to plan and register for a late summer/early autumn one.
I began looking for 50 milers as that seems like a logical progression after running an 8 hour race. However, now that I have regained the health of my legs, I contemplated signing up for a 100 mile race. Seeing there are not many races between 50 and 100 miles, one has to take a leap of faith and hope that if one can run 50 miles, one can run 100. It reminded me of talking with the 1st time 50 mile guy at Devil's Lake - "if I can run 20, I can run 40, and I can gut out the last 10". As I was unimpressed with this line of thought at the time, I too am skeptical of people attempting to double down from 50 to 100. I therefore take the same line - I most likely won't finish my first one, and if I do, it will be a death march from mile 70-100.
That being said, the seeming impossibility of it, and the chutzpah needed to even think one can achieve it the first time around, makes me want to attempt it. It is not everyday that a task most likely headed for failure is contemplated and attempted.
The image of the man running up and down Blackwell Hill when I was 22 is still etched in my memory. Even more so the words he spoke - "I made it 80 miles, but then got pulled from the course because I was taking too long to finish." He had been unable to finish, but the fire was still in his eyes, he was in amazing fitness, and ready to try again.
I found a race in South Dakota called the Lean Horse 100. It is 2 weeks after the Howl. I am close to pulling the trigger on this one (clicking the submit registration button). The only thing holding me back is the financial burden it will place upon me when I return from the race. It is a question of how important the 100 mile quest is to me - am I willing to sacrifice in order to achieve something which had been burned into my spirit 22 years ago. I need to decide by August 8, the final day of registration...
