Has it Really Been 3 Years?

Yes, you read that correctly. My last post was over three long years ago. That said, since I am no longer on any form of social media, I'm pretty sure the viewership of this blog is pretty close to non existent. That's a big change from the glory days of Lost in the Woods Running, which was somewhere between 2009 and 2014. But, alas, life has a tendancy to throw us curve balls, and for me, right at the moment when I thought I was nearing the pinnacle of my running "career".

Flashback to three years ago. Ah yes, it was 2017, and 2017 was going to be a huge year! I had been in a groove since the fall of 2014 and the momentum was going strong. 4 ultra wins, a marathon win, a 100k state record, a 2nd place trail marathon and my first BQ.

I had qualified, again, for the legendary Spartathlon ultramarathon and I actually was selected to represent team USA. A dream come true!

Lastly, on the heals of a 77 mile 12 hour run, I was going to attempt to qualify for the US men's 24 hour team by running at least 140 miles in a 24 hour race.

....Oh, but did I mention those life curve balls? My 2017 curve was more like one of those cartoon baseball games where the pitcher throws a zig zagging, swirling, spinning curve that defies the logic of science.

That's when my running started to come to a halt, and over things I literally could not control.

But, I made my efforts here and there, so I was able to fake the funk through 2017.

September 2017 - I completed a casual 64.63 miles at the Hinson Lake 24 hour. It was one lap more than my previous year.

October 2017- I won a small, but unique road marathon, the Cary Firehouse Tour Marathon. Marathon win number 2.

October 2017- This was the beginning of the end. I "ran" the Medoc Trail Marathon the day after confirming my significant other had been cheating on me. This coupled with family health issues all bubbled up to a disapointing run/hike. It was nearly three hours slower than my 2nd place time from the previous year.

Then came the one year away from racing, and pretty much away from running completely. It wasn't planned or predictable. I made a poor job choice that seemed wise at the time, a very poor relationship choice(taking back the cheating ex and having history repeat itself), and I found myself pulled away from running and the running community by things I had placed a false value on, as well as things that truly did take priority over running.

My weekly mileage became non-existent and over a four month span from late 2017 into the spring of 2018, I literally did not run a step or even go to the gym. I gained 13 lbs, and none of it was muscle. I was roughly 10% body fat and a lean 150 lbs when I qualified for Boston in October of 2015. Although others said they didn't notice a difference, I could see and feel it all too well. I was 163lbs and over 15-16% body fat for the first time since my sophomore year of college. I realized if all that could happen in just 4 months, what would happen within a year? A 40lb weight gain? 50!? I didn't want to find out.

It wasn't until May that I cowboyed up and committed to getting back into shape. It was now or never. I hit the gym hard and the muscle came back quick. I went from barely being able to bench 175 lbs for one repetition (my pr is 260 from college) to repping 185 for five reps within six weeks. The running, however, was a bit different. I was getting in the mileage, but the speed didn't seem to come back. I remembered when I was running a brisk 8-10+ miles every day from 2010 through 2016, and now I was lumbering through 2-3 mile runs at a 10:00 pace. I couldn't even run my marathon pr pace for ONE mile. It was tough, but I knew it wouldn't be easy. My ego hurt more than my legs, and at times I didn't even want to enter any races, and although I have never been super fast, I was still embarassed of how slow I had gotten in such a "short" period of time.

(The Bell Buckle Summer)

It's funny how just a few months in the right place can change a trajectory.

(fire side evening with the Cantrells)

Remember that poor job choice I mentioned above? Well, I got laid off after three short months. At the time it sucked. I was living off a lousy $600 a month in unemployment, applying for work, trying to find someone to takeover a lease, but it turned out to be more a blessing than a curse. I got my apartment subleased and spent the summer of 2018 in Bell Buckle, TN. I spent some time with a family you may have heard of if you've ever heard of the Barkley marathons. I got back the hunger to run regularly, to run far, though the speed still hadn't come back. Although some of the people and relationships revolving around my Bell Buckle Summer have since moved along in their own directions, I still look back at it with fondness as the place that brought me back from the year away from ultras.

The Comeback.

September 2018- A Race for the Ages. My first race in nearly one year. My 2nd year running ARFTA. 115 miles. The most I've ever done in a running event. Some running, but also a lot of walking in the intense TN summer heat.

October 2018- High Bridge 50k. 4:22. Pleasantly surprised considering my typical weekday mileage was still in the 20-30 range, but again this was a pancake flat course.

November 2018- Paced the 4:00 hour group at the Richmond Marathon. Achieved the most consistent segment splits of any pace group. It was my 4th year pace leading there.

January 2019- Tideland 24 Hour. 63+ miles. Learned I could still run 50 miles in 9 hours on trails.

January 2019- Frostbite 15k. Finished in 1:11. Better than expected, but the 7:27 pace was still slower than my marathon pr pace and very close to my trail 50k pr pace.

February 2019- Colonial Half. Ran the entire event with a friend. Our 1:51 felt pretty easy, even on a cold and icy day, so that was a good sign.

March 2019- Dogwood 12 Hour. 58.65 miles. 1st overall. It was nice to finally win an ultra again, but truthfully, this was not even close to a competitive event. The 2nd and 3rd place runners were 14 and 17 miles back.

April 2019- Hampton 24 Hour Run for Cancer. 56.25 miles. This was almost entirely social to catch up with old friends. It was my 3rd running.

May 2019- Bust the Banks Half. 1:57. This was a nice challenging trail half that was part of Dominion Riverrock weekend in my home city of RVA. Definitely a reminder of my lack of running fitness, but at least I broke 2 hours.

September 2019- A Race for the Ages. 122 miles. New event PR, but my legs were toast only 20 miles in.

September 2019- Pepsi 10k. A local Charlottesville 10k. Legs were recovered from ARFTA 12 days earlier, but still felt slow, though fresh. Finished in 46:54. That said, even without ARFTA, I doubt my lack of speed would have let me break 46 minutes.

October 2019- High Bridge 50k. 4:36. Ran without a gps. The 8:51 overall pace felt fairly comfortable and I never walked. I could have definitely dipped under 4:30 if I knew what pace I was running, but likely would not have reached my 4:22 from the previous year (which was still 24 minutes slower than my 50k trail pr).

November 2019- The Richmond Marathon t-rex. Yes, I ran the entire FULL marathon in an inflatable t-rex costume. Logistically and physically very demanding, but worth it. My time of 4:15:03 was nearly two hours faster than the only other recorded full marathon run in the same costume.

(photo credit: Richmond Times Dispatch)

(photo credit: Richmond Times Dispatch)

February 2020- Icy 8 Hour Trail Run. Every year I've run this event, I have run less than the previous year. In 2009, I won the innaugural event with 50.3 miles. I ran 48.9 miles in 2012 for 2nd place and then 47.5 in 2013 for 4th. This year my small victory was just that I showed up and completed at least a 50k. I ran a controlled 28.5 miles in 4:50 followed by walking a final 4.7 mile cool down loop to finish 32.9 miles in 6:10. I volunteered in 2019, but it was nice to come back as a participant for the first time in seven years. I also become the first person to have run this event in three different decades.

February 2020- Sugar Hollow Bridges 10k. Signed up the day before and regretted it the moment I showed up. 30 degrees with a wind chill in the low 20's and light snow drifting over the Crozet mountains. My A goal was to break 46 minutes, which would have been nearly a minute faster than my 10k six months ago. My B goal was to break 45 minutes, which I hadn't done in three years, which seemed like a long shot. The end result was a pleasantly surprising 43:45. The course is a gradual uphill 5k, turning around with a gradual downhill 5k. Thanks to a fairly controlled first 5k, I left enough in the tank to really hit the downhill with a decent effort. While this was still well off a 10k pr, it was 30 seconds per mile faster than my last 10k (7:03 pace vs 7:33).

What's next?

Qulifying for Boston 2022. I BQ'ed in 2015, only to miss the acceptance cut-off by 6 seconds. I've now waited five years, and you bet your ass I've been itching to give a BQ another attempt. After a long layoff, I finally think my running fitness is turning in the right direction for it to be a possibility this fall. The one catch, five years ago my qualifying time was a 3:10 and now it is.....still....a 3:10 since the BAA once again lowered the standards two years ago. On the bright side, if I go sub 3:10, there is, knock on wood, a 100% of getting entry in Boston, as opposed to maybe getting in with a time 2:03 under the qualifying mark.

But, while I am already working to get that sub 3:10 leg speed back, I am doing several spring ultras to build up my core endurance. This spring will mark a long awaited return to trail and mountain ultras after really only doing flatter loop styled fixed time events much of the past three years. I will also be closing in on my 150th marathon, or longer, event with the Terrapin Mountain50k being number 149 and the Bull Run 50 miler being the big number 150. Bull Run being number 150 is fitting, since a Virginia Happy Trails event was also where my 50th marathon/ultra took place in July 2010. After that, I will likely cap off April by returning to the Promise Land 50k. Perhaps with the residual build up of endurance from the spring races, I may attempt a summer 100 miler (though not Old Dominion as it falls on my parent's 50th anniversary) before turning exclusively to fall marathon training in late July or August.

Well, whew! That was the quick recap of the long three year gap between posts, but I am hoping to be back semi-regularly with not as fast as before race reports, but reports none the less.

Happy trails and happy running in 2020.

-Mike Bailey

First Sub 4

Well, I finally ran my first sub 4 hour trail 50k. 3:58 to be exact. It probably could have happened a lot sooner, and definitely on a paved course (I've split 4:10 for 50k during a paved 100k), but I have never run a faster 50k trail race before.

I decided the Frosty 50k in Winston-Salem was an ideal event to finally go for the sub 4 goal. I was also using the race as a starting point to gauge my fitness goals for the rest of 2017. January can be a weird time of year for me to figure out what kind of shape I am in because my running tends to taper off heavily around the holidays. My fitness seemed decent enough through the fall and I capped off 2016 with a solid 12 hour run, but my speed work had been lacking. I had also only logged about 25 miles per week of running since Christmas and a quicker 50k is a much different beast than running for 12 hours. Lastly, I went into the Frosty 50k about 5 lbs heavier due to plentiful holiday feasting and an increase in strength training, which is great, but not necessarily for running.

(Courtesy of Shannon Johnstone)

Not much to report on my race. The Frosty 50k course is fast, but still contained some rolling hills around Lake Salem and wet packed dirt from rain the day before. Temps were in the low 50's and muggy, but good for running. The 50k's four 7.75 mile loops made the overall pacing strategy fairly easy, since all I needed to do was make sure each loop was completed in under one hour. I basically ran it like a trail marathon with 5 miles tacked on. Loop 1 was probably a bit fast, loop 2 was right on goal pace, loop 3 had a 1 minute gear swap pit stop, loop 4 saw a marathon split of 3:18 but was plagued by bad stomach issues the last two miles. If I could have just maintained the 7:45's I was running for miles 30 and 31, I would have had a 3:55-3:56 finish, but the final two miles ended up taking 19 minutes. Thankfully, the stomach issues had little impact on placement, other than one spot, and no impact on making the top 3.

On a funny side note, I had totally forgotten that there was a 25k race also going on. I was admittedly a bit baffled by the number of people that magically disappeared after the second lap, but was also happy to find out I was well ahead of the 25th or 30th place I thought I was in.

(Courtesy of Robert Hill Photography & Twin City Track Club)

I think my lack of any regular training runs in the 15-20 mile range was really noticeable after mile 20. Legs got pretty heavy and pace dropped off a bit, but still in the high 7:40's. I think with more ideal training and continued speed work, I could average sub 7:30 pace for the 50k, which would bring me into the 3:52 range for this kind of course, or even 3:40's for a road 50k. For now, I'm just happy to knock out another PR and check off another ultra running goal.

Nutcracker 12 Hour Recap

I decided to jot down a few thoughts and notes from my final event of the year, the Nutcracker 12 hour run in Erwin, NC. Figured I'd do it now before I forget the details of this fun little event. This is mostly for my sake and trying to plan ahead for future longer ultra events and also to remember what I did right and what I can improve.

Training: None. I did my base mileage of 40-50 miles per week and signed up a few weeks before the race.

Goals: I based my tentative goals on a run I did in April. Basically, in April, I had decided to run the daylight portion of a 24 hour race that had similar smooth trails as Nutcracker. There I ran 71.25 miles in 11:10. Adjusting for a slight fade, I figured over 12 hours I could do another 5 miles. However, given the lack of training mileage, I honestly wasn't sure how feasible that goal was. In short, I figured somewhere between 75 and 80 miles was doable.

The race: My strategy was to start pretty slow and gradually speed up. The course consisted of a 5 mile out and back on the Dunn Erwin rail trail for a total of 10 miles per lap. The course had about a half dozen road crossing in each direction and near sunset we started half mile out and backs for a 1 mile lap. The starting temperature was a brisk 22 degrees at 7:00am, but allowed for a beautiful golden sunrise over frosted fields and neighborhoods. The daytime highs were in the low 40's, sunny with a slight breeze, and then dipping back down to 30 when the sun set.

(Running with the one and only Santa at the start. Photo courtesy of ROAM Ultras)

Miles 1-10: These were my warm up miles at an easy 9:17 pace. It was nice chatting with a few runners as I settled into the pace I hoped to hold for a half a day. By the end of the first 10 miles quite a few folks were infront of me, with some already ahead by a mile gap.

Miles 10-20: I continued to hold pace and resisted the urge to speed up, despite the fact the lead runner now had nearly a 2 mile lead. My mantra was to be patient and experience told me that slow and steady is the key to success in 12 and 24 hour events. 20 miles completed in just under 3 hours. Only 9 more hours to go.

Miles 20-30: With temps now in the upper 30's, I ditched my heavier jacket for a light running vest. During this stretch I figured I would gradually start speeding up a few seconds per mile just as other runners would be starting fatigue. I reached my marathon split in 3:53. Not too fast, but also not too slow. The runners ahead of me start coming back. 30 miles complete in 4:27.

Miles 30-40: Holding at a low 8:50's pace, I hit my 50k split in 4:36. I pass the lead runner around mile 37 and complete 40 miles in 5:51. Time wise, we're not even halfway done....

Miles 40-50: Nothing too impressive, just a bunch of nine minute miles, but in this kind of event, nine minute miles are good enough to spread things out. 50 miles complete in 7:25.

Miles 50-60: Fatigue starting to kick in and the legs are feeling a bit heavy. 9:00 pace starts slipping to 9:15 and 9:30, but overall it's not too bad given the cold. 60 miles complete in 9:00. 3 hours to go.

Miles 60-70: I finally get to switch to the one mile laps, which allows me to see the other runners on a more frequent basis. It's a much needed energy boost to see some familiar faces a bit more often. I reach my 100k split in 9:23. It's a half hour slower than my PR, but with over two and a half hours to go, I think it's right where I need to be. The cool darkness settles in and now there are 70 miles completed in 10:45. Mathematically, I had already won the race, but I really wanted to run as close to the full 12 hours as I could.

Miles 70-77: My legs are definitely feeling tired, but the night has brought a surprising boost of energy. With temps now back in the low 30's I switch back into my heavier jacket from the morning. Dang, the zipper somehow broke and I spend several costly minutes trying to fix it. The course is dark, but dozens of steadfast runners are still out there hammering away in the cold. The moon above sets aglow the earth below and the twinkle of local Christmas lights remind me how quaint and friendly this little town of Erwin has been today. Time check, 45 minutes to go. Looks like my zipper malfunction may have cost me the time to run an extra mile and I will have to settle for four more laps. 77 miles completed in 11:55.

Nutrition: 3,000 calories. Mostly Tailwind, 4 gels, a few handfuls of pretzels, gel blocks (bad idea in the cold), 1 ginger cookie
Gear: Hoka One One Clifton 1, North Face Torpedo Pants, long sleeve Nike compression shirt, Marmot Stride Jacket, Pear Izumi wind vest, Injinji mini crew socks

Afterthoughts: I was pleasantly surprised how well my legs felt given my relatively low running mileage. I think if I had been a little more confident early on, I could have gone a little faster for the first 50 miles and still had plenty in the tank for later. In addition, on a slightly warmer day, with a better training base, I could realistically foresee getting 80 miles on this course. Also, as a pleasant surprise, I found out that one of the Spartathlon qualifiers is completing 120k at a 12 hour race. 120k equals 74.4 miles, so my 77 miles actually requalified me for Spartathlon, which is nice because my qualifier from 2015 expires this year.


Anyway, in case anyone from the event reads this, thanks to all the volunteers and to Roam Ultras for this fun seasonal event.



Happy Holidays!

Wrapping up 2016

It's strange to think that it has been fall for several months now and another autumn running season is nearing a close. With temperatures still in the 70's, and even 80's, there have been times it hasn't felt like fall at all and yet here we are three weeks removed from Halloween and one week from Thanksgiving.

I remember how I used to wait excitedly all year for the fall running season to do my favorite races; the JFK 50, Mountain Masochist and the Marine Corps Marathon. However, with the price increases and politics of JFK, the price increase of Masochist and not being able to train in the mountains, and the logistical craziness and crowds of Marine Corps, I haven't had the desire to do any of the big three races that were typically the defining highlights of my year.

Things do change. My move to central NC has given me the wonderful opportunity to try many new events, but I've also realized I've been running much more than I had planned. The mileage and lack of any real training finally caught up to me in late October and forced an executive decision to pull back on several races in order to relax and rest my body. I also realized that in a two month span from September through late October I was essentially running an ultra or marathon every other week, or every third week. And though most of these races were done as casual efforts, there was no denying that doing an "easy" 103 miles at A Race for the Ages, followed by "only" 63 easy miles Hinson Lake taxed my legs more than I thought. Flashbacks to 2008 and 2009 when I severely over raced and hurt the potential of doing better at bigger goal races.

The misleading crux, and albeit also a pleasant surprise, came when I got 2nd place overall at the Medoc Trail Marathon, again on minimal recovery time. Granted, the field is typically not competitive, but I did run a 7 minute PR for the event, despite running an extra 3 minutes off course. This, of course, gave me the false confidence to proceed with the idea of trying to run a BQ at the fast downhill Peak to Creek marathon. Well, this is where I learned that a 4th straight race on minimal recovery, while running only 45 miles per week, was going to seriously backfire. Needless to say, I had all the signs of poor recovery and fitness that was okay, but not great. Quads were sore early, glutes were sore early, and typically comfortable marathon pace was far too laborious. I fought through it, slogging into the halfway mark in 1:33:40, but conceded at mile 15 that this was just going to have to be a pretty day in the mountains. No 3:05, no BQ, just a 3:19 long training run. I also had to remind myself how crazy it is that several years ago I would have only dreamed about running a 3:19, and now I was considering it a epic failure from a performance stand point.

Thankfully, the fall running season did not end on that sour note and I successfully paced a very strategically accurate 3:45 pace group for the 3rd straight year at the Richmond Marathon. We came in at 3:44:58, and for the second time were the closest pace group to goal time. Now time to rest up and maybe get in some actual training sans interruption by over racing. Who knows, there might even be a semi secret goal race in December I plan to run. But, who knows?

Just Missed Boston

By 6 seconds....

First world problems I know, but still a tough pill to swallow. I worked my butt off to get my first ever Boston qualifier a year ago. I ran a 3:07:57, which was 2:03 under my qualifying mark of 3:10. I admittedly did not think that would be enough, given that it required 2:28 under the previous year to get in. However, as fewer qualifiers came in, the statistics showed my time might very likely get me into the 2017 race.

I was about 99% certain going into the big notification day that I would be receiving an e-mail from the Boston Athletic Association congratulating me on my acceptance into the 2017 Boston Marathon. I instead, however, sat with a sinking feeling in my gut as I glanced at the message "All those who ran 2 minutes and 9 seconds under their qualifying time were accepted." Crushing...6 seconds. That's a big hill, a mile into a headwind, a few slow water stops, a few high fives, a missed workout, who knows. Not sure where I could have shaved the time, but I'm trying not to second guess. I ran as well as I could on a fast course in ideal fall weather. No complaints there.

It's the waiting that sucks. I had waited 11 months to apply to Boston, and now I wait yet another year to do it all over again. Back to train for yet another BQ in hopes that I can lower my time again and secure a spot. The reality is needing to run at least 3 minutes under the BQ time, and 5+ under for essentially a guaranteed spot. But, my talent is on the bubble. It's what makes it so much work just to get a BQ, no less a time a few minutes faster. It has literally taken years, if not an entire decade, to go from running a 5 hour marathon, to a 4 hour, to 3:33, a 3:10, and finally a BQ. But, the improvement margins are getting smaller and harder to achieve and I am getting older.

I admit, not running Boston was much easier to accept when I was a 4 hour marathoner or even 3:30 marathoner. I wasn't close enough to entertain the notion of running Boston for it to bother me. But, now that it's in reach, it's like getting a faint grasp of that starting line, online to get pushed back again. It tough being on the fringe, but rest assured when I finally do get into Boston, it will mean that much more knowing I didn't get it easy.

And worse case scenario, my BQ goes up to a 3:15 in five years, but only time will tell. Another good year of health and running is hardly a certainty these days. A heartfelt congrats to everyone on the other side of the looking glass that got in, and especially to those that got in by mere seconds. Here's to Boston 2018.

Running Against Cancer 10 Years Later

(2006 Rockingham County Relay for Life)

In 2006, I had been running for just over three years and running ultras for 18 months. As a long time supporter of the American Cancer Society and their Relay for Life events I found it fitting that my first true run dedicated to fighting cancer would be at their 2006 Rockingham County Relay for Life.

At the time, I had lost two grandmothers to cancer, one in 1994 and the other in 2005. I promised myself I would attempt to run 70 miles during the one night event, which would represent 10 miles for every month my grandmothers fought cancer. In short, it was a tough, but incredibly inspirational night of reflection and community support. I met a lot of people, made some new friends, and a few hours after sunrise I completed my 70th mile. It was by far the longest I had ever run and it took 13 hours and 35 minutes to complete, which included walking most of the final 5 hours. My body and feet were beat up for at least a week, but for a cause that made it all worth it. And even though it was a run, it was definitely not about running. That's a motto I would revisit a decade later.

In 2008, I stumbled upon George Nelson's Hampton 24 Hour Run for Cancer and wanted to test myself with the challenge of running for 24 straight hours. In short, I failed, and failed miserably at that. I ran for just over four hours and walked another eight for a grand total of 52.5 miles in 12:15. I didn't even match my mileage from the Relay for Life two years earlier. It was a rough humbling day of stomach issues and learning from a lot of rookie mistakes. Little did I know, but it would be a long 8 years until my next run at Sandy Bottom.

Enter 2016. Exactly 10 years after my 70 mile Relay for Life run from 2006.

(Photo credit Dean Wewetzer)

To be honest, I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to be at the 2016 24 Hour Run for Cancer. On top of that, the previous few months of "training" had consisted of modest 40 miles per week of running and 10-15 miles of hiking. Hardly enough to make a solid attempt at a 24 hour run, no less something like an ultra or even marathon. Given that, I decided to make a short term goal of running 71 miles, which would eclipse the 70 I had run 10 years earlier. The additional one mile would be in memory of my grandfather who passed away from cancer in 2008, ironically only four months after my first failed visit to the Hampton 24 Hour Run.

Needless to say the run was a pleasant surprise and it felt great to finally to put in some bigger miles again. It was my longest run in three years and strangely felt quite effortless and relaxed the entire time. I started out fairly slow and gradually picked up the pace to the point where my last 10 miles were the fastest of the day. At three hours in, I don't even think I was in the top 15 runners, but apparently by the time I had completed my 71.25 miles in 11:09 I had climbed to second place by a fairly large margin. Not that any of that was important, but it was nice to finish a run that had a lot of personal meaning feeling incredibly strong.

As far as performance, not that it was about that, but this may have been the best I have ever paced a run. I ran my first 31 miles in 5:00 and my final 31 miles in 4:42. My 50 mile split was 8:00 and my 100k split was 9:49. I also ran a 3:56 marathon split after mile 45, which was a total surprise, but proved that starting very slow really does pay significant dividends. In fact, my projected 100 mile time would have been somewhere between 16:40 and 17:00, which would have been a massive PR, though I still feel Like I was under trained to go for such an attempt. However, I think with a more appropriate training I may have figured out the best way to pace for flatter, longer races.

That said, it was great to spend some time on the trails with friends and run again for a the cause of fighting cancer. Cancer and running have had been almost synonymous and is one of the reasons I had run and survived some of my earliest ultras. I also think that I might be ready to test myself to run the entire 24 hours at the Run for Cancer and see what I can really do. I realize that yes running 71.25 miles was a solid run, but I also know I didn't come close to testing my body and mind the way it would have to run an additional 13 hours like many others did. In addition, though I have "run" for over 24 hours several times, there is something very different and mental about running as much as you can within the fixed time frame of a single day. That is something to think about.

Close, But No Cigars

I've been very fortunate to qualify for several big races in the past year; Western States, the Boston Marathon and Spartathlon. However, with the growing popularity of such races, the demand has now greatly outweighed the supply, which means that qualifying can now only guarantee, at best, a partial chance of gained entry.

The Spartathlon lottery for the 2016 event took place last week and I was not selected. I wasn't even close as I ended up 168th out of 172 on the waitlist. There were 21 slots, out of 390 total, reserved for US runners and nearly all 21 of the slots were filled by people who auto qualified. Automatic qualifiers had to run 20% faster than their qualifying standard to get in, so for me it would have required a sub 8 hour 100k or sub 18 hour 100 miler. It won't get any easier next year as the 100 mile auto qualifier will drop from the already challenging 18 hours to 16:48 for men. While my 8:53 100k from last year was a very strong time, the 20th fastest 100k in the US in 2015, it still missed the automatic entry by a lot. Without an automatic bid, my name, along with 12 others, was randomly selected for the US team's wait list.

That said, the lottery gods weren't very forgiving and I was selected 12th American, which means I am dead last for the US waiting list, and nearly dead last for all wait listed runners. In plain English, I basically have zero chance of running Spartathlon in six months. In the bizarre and highly unrealistic scenario I am moved off the wait list it will be far too close to the race date to make last minute travel arrangements, and of course, actually train. I am certainly not going to train my ass off for a 153 mile race I have 0.001% chance of getting into. On the bright side, I will have an extra ticket for the 2017 lottery, so if I don't auto qualify in 2017, my chances in the lottery will be a little better. The downside is that after 2017, I will need to re-qualify with either another 100k, or 100 miler.

As far as Western States, I don't really care that I didn't get selected for 2016. Qualifying for WS is probably the easiest out of the three big races I was aiming to get into, but it still required finishing a 100k or 100 miler on growing list of qualifying races that caters less and less to us East coast runners. Given that I've already completed the race, it's no longer very high on my bucket list, other than the fact I would love to run it when fully healthy and in shape. Considering I flirted with a sub 24 back in 2011 when I hadn't been running much and was 10 lbs overweight, my only real desire is to go back and see just how fast I can run it at an optimal level of health. Otherwise, Western States can wait.

The most recent race I qualified for was the Boston Marathon. Though I qualified two minutes under my standard, it also looks like I may miss the cut off for accepted entry. This was made even more frustrating by the fact that I recorded 26.53 miles on the course I qualified on. This was by no means an error in course measurement, but rather my inability to run the tangents more efficiently. I am typically used to getting 26.35 to 26.45 miles for most marathon course, even when not running all the tangents, so getting 26.53 miles may have cost me as much as an additional minute. Given that runners had to run 2:28 under their qualifying times to get into the 2016 Boston Marathon, it seems my 2:00 under, which could just have easily been 3:00 under, will likely miss the mark for 2017. If I want to run Boston in 2017 I will probably have to make another attempt at a BQ this spring and run faster than last fall. Personally, I'm not sure if it's worth the time and effort to pour into the training like I did last fall, only to potentially miss the cut-off again.

So, while I'm disappointed to put so much time and energy into qualifying for races I am not going to get to run, it's still just a first world problems level of disappointed. All the running and training has kept me relatively fit, when I otherwise might not be. I can also honestly say I never thought I would be doing the things I am doing athletically, on the verge of turning 35, that I couldn't come close to doing as a 20 year old college student.