I marked my calendar many months ago for an appointment at 12 noon. This is in the top 3 events of the year and I was mentally and physically prepared.
And at noon, with my husband on speaker phone talking me through it, I was able to successfully register for the Umstead 100 mile endurance race within the 4-6 minutes it was open online. There were nearly a few mis-steps in this process but luckily I remembered my initials (TJM), my zipcode and who I needed to have as an emergency contact (who knew how much stuff I would have to type in??) But alas with no cramps and no major errors by 12:04 p.m. I had my entry to the 2010 Umstead 100 mile Endurance Run confirmed.
Now I just need to train up for this. I have no idea how I am going to do this when it seems my calendar is solidly booked until Umstead. I have my favorite local race George Washington Birthday in Feb. My favorite race in which the trees go wild: Mardi Gras Marathon. My favorite race where they remember your name, the lower Potomac Marathon. My favorite 50 miler where I saw & interacted with my mom last: Rocky Raccoon. My favorite race run along an old rails to trails, B&A trail marathon and of course my favorite marathon to run into lots of characters: Disney Marathon. And this list excludes my upcoming races in 2009. But I know I can dig deep and perservere!
For those of you who made it into Umstead, congratulations and I look forward to seeing you in March (and I sure am hoping for good weather).
For those of you who did not make it in but do want to run a 100 miler in the winter/spring, I definitely recommend Rocky Raccoon. I will be there volunteering overnight and with the other amazing volunteers will take really good care of you! And Rocky (like Umstead) is an exceptionally well organized and run race! And overall the course while a bit more challenging then Umstead is still manageable.
Finally, since I did switch to the "dark side" of facebook, I have over 180+ pictures from the 2009 just drop me a "friend" evite. Alternatively, if anyone knows how to share this album with non-facebookers feel free to send me instructions...
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Growing up and growing out.
2 weeks ago
9 comments:
Hi Tammy,
Look forward to seeing you there! I can't believe how quickly it sold out.
Jim
Hi Jimbo,
Congrats on getting in...I am actually not suprised about the speed of how it filled up. My first time it took until Oct/Nov (2007), my second time it took about 2 weeks, last year 19 minutes so by a mathematical model it was going to be filled within the first wave of e-online entrants.
The same is true of JFK50 (first year I did it it took months and subsequently-even with a major price increase last year it now takes one day!)
Tammy
Hey Tammy,
That's crazy to think Umstead sold out in minutes. I entered the 2007 Umstead in November of '06 and made it in easily. How things have changed. Glad I ran it while I could. I hope to see you on the trails/roads soon. Are you running JFK? Enjoy the fall weather.
Walk the hills, run the flats
-Mike
Those are some FAST fingers you have! Ever consider running a 100 miler on your hands just to see? I know lots of folks are upset about not getting in...you must be among the top elite register-ers in the country! Well done!!
Fantastic! I can't believe it was only open for a few minutes before selling out! that's nuts. Come on down to carolina and run a few miles.... maybe i'll see you out there. umstead is not far from where we are trying to move to.
Hi Mike,
It is crazy but not overly unexpected that Umstead filled. It is such a great race! And last year it did fill in 19 minutes.
I am running JFK 50 with the Reston Runners, New Babes. I am thinking a goal time of 14 hours is reasonable considering it will be only 3 weeks after Javalina.
Dan,
You are right, I should run 100 milers on my fingers because they can move quick:-) But was I really that slow at the end of VT100? I think we were scampering through 15-18 minute miles as per my Garmin (well except for the downhills which I tanked...although my downhills are never fast). I was really suprised when the entry fee has not gone up much in the 4 years since I started doing Umstead. The low price, relative easiness of the course and no service requirement definitely make it a super popular race. In fact JFK50 is only $5 less than Umstead.
John,
I will keep my fingers crossed that you move to Raleigh...then I can beg you to be one of my four pacers, for the last 4 laps of the 100.
Tammy
All this ultra talk is making me curious. Then this book I'm reading makes it sound pretty appealing. Then I wahwahwah my way through a little 14-miler - I think that cured me of this ultra curiosity :)
Joy,
Ultra's are so different than marathons. They are definitely slower and more relaxed. And of course the camraderie of toughing it out over 30, 40, 50 miles+ really is the super glue that bonds us all:-)
There are some ultra's in NJ by Freehold that get alot of good word of mouth. And there are 2 ultra's in Philly near the river (I think).
Of course I tend to like my JFK50, Umstead 100, VT100, Rocky Racoon 50, Race Around the Lake 24 hour and Niagara Ultra 50km. All of these events I may walk more than I run, but the time flies because I am hanging with my friends.
I bet if you and I run a bunch of miles together at Richmond I can show you how much fun ultra's are with a sneak peak of enjoying the sights, cheering crowds and other runners at Richmond. And then suddenly you'll be sitting over your computer at 12:01 p.m. on some ultra online registration day:-)
Tammy --yeah!! Thank goodness we both hae fast typing:)
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