Here is a new post on my top 5 races that I want to complete before I retire from ultra running. What's on your list?
http://robertharem.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-big-5.html
www.robertharem.blogspot.com
Your sig line does not work. <p> ... </p> isn't part of the link.
That top 5 appear to be the Hollywood of ultra-racing.
I actually prefer roads less travelled
* The Bear 100
* Superior Trail 100
Are the only 2 that I can pull off the top of my head - But not a passion or must do, just want to experience some day.
Yes, Yes, I will enter the stupid WS100 lottery, but I really do not care that much if I get picked or not.
Long dead ... But my stench lingers !
Uh oh... now what?
That top 5 appear to be the Hollywood of ultra-racing. I actually prefer roads less travelled
< thread hijack_preapology>
Things come up in conversations about things to run that don't have t-shirts or entry fees or ... stuff.
During a recent 12-hour, David Lygre (almost incredibly old guy and semilegend in PNW ultramarathoning) mentioned he had biked (mountain bike) the Continental Divide Trail. The next several miles centered on the logistics of running it--down the spine of the Rockies from Canada to Mexico, or the other direction.
I will wish forever that I had done a Grand Canyon crossing. We have ran in the Chiricahua National Monument, Death Valley, Bryce, Capital Reef, and other dry region places, but never got around to running the 'Canyon.
Jennifer Pharr Davis' "Becoming Odyssa : Adventures on the Appalachian Trail" make us want to do another long walk. She is an outstanding writer about what she passed through, on the ground and in her heart, mind, and soul.
We did a 40+ miler deep inside the Olympic Peninsula--surprise was snow fields, crossing rivers in the snow fields that gives them birth, a day of no mechanical noises, no con trails, no nothing, just running. I took first overall that day, the best Kathy could do was DFL. She likes to tell of coming in second while I was next to last.
A full moon on solstice and a night run?
< /thread hijack_preapology>
rgot
Comrades
Barkely but not really, i'm not that keen on orienteering. Fun to think about doing it but...
Badwater was on my list till I experienced running running in 115 degree heat during a R2R2R I can't evan fathom 130
Marathon de Sables but probably not, see above, I've heard the Sahara can get hot too.
Spartathlon looks kind of tempting. 153 miles, 36-hour cutoff. Whoa.
Best thing about WS is just the whole vibe at Squaw Valley the couple days before it starts, all the talks etc. Lots of legendary runners there. I'm not in this year, but really looking forward to pacing, and especially voyeuring in Squaw beforehand.
It is very much the Hollywood of ultras but that is why they are my top 5. I love doing low key ultras but I also love these races because of the atmosphere that comes with it. I have done several smaller races that are great races but the pre and post race atmosphere is nothing like these. Leadville was amazing and not because of the race itself but because of the pre race festivities and the award ceremony afterwards and that is what separates it from the other races
Faster Than Your Couch!
Races at the top of my mind are Hardrock, Western States, Leadville.
However, living in the low lands, and knowing of my decreasing performance above 7,000 ft from my mountaineering days, I am pretty sure these races will remain my dreams.
I don't have a list (in the sense that I'm trying to work it off), just some ideas. I am thinking more of runs than races.
The runs I'd like to do most are
R2R2R
Bryce Canyon
Zion Canyon, Arches NP, Yosemite NP trails
Run for fun.
Nice - Most of this seems beyond what I will be able to do, my wife is a non-runner / hiker and to take a bunch of vacation to do some of the adventures you do / want to do is not in the cards.
One thing that is on my list is to spend a week and do the whole Superior Hiking Trail
http://www.shta.org/
Or it may take 2 outings
http://www.superiorhikingshuttle.com/About_Us/index.php
They have a shuttle service up there, so you can park in one spot, get shuttled a good distance away and do a one way day hike instead of an out and back. It would allow me to do 30 miles a day and still have a vacation my wife would appreciate.
< thread hijack_preapology> Things come up in conversations about things to run that don't have t-shirts or entry fees or ... stuff. During a recent 12-hour, David Lygre (almost incredibly old guy and semilegend in PNW ultramarathoning) mentioned he had biked (mountain bike) the Continental Divide Trail. The next several miles centered on the logistics of running it--down the spine of the Rockies from Canada to Mexico, or the other direction. I will wish forever that I had done a Grand Canyon crossing. We have ran in the Chiricahua National Monument, Death Valley, Bryce, Capital Reef, and other dry region places, but never got around to running the 'Canyon. Jennifer Pharr Davis' "Becoming Odyssa : Adventures on the Appalachian Trail" make us want to do another long walk. She is an outstanding writer about what she passed through, on the ground and in her heart, mind, and soul. We did a 40+ miler deep inside the Olympic Peninsula--surprise was snow fields, crossing rivers in the snow fields that gives them birth, a day of no mechanical noises, no con trails, no nothing, just running. I took first overall that day, the best Kathy could do was DFL. She likes to tell of coming in second while I was next to last. A full moon on solstice and a night run? < /thread hijack_preapology>
Nice - Most of this seems beyond what I will be able to do, my wife is a non-runner / hiker and to take a bunch of vacation to do some of the adventures you do / want to do is not in the cards. ...
...
We cheat a lot. Our kids are grown and gone. We both like the outdoors.
There is little planning needed for us. We were very fortunate in all these
years of just going "out there". All our travels were running/walking related.
We are just barely removed from being gypsies.
The car hopping/hiking camping vacation to do the Superior Trail would be
great. We camped along it in '94--ran a few miles, tried to visualize it with
a zillion miles behind you in the dark and a fading flashlight--is a tough
trail in beautiful country.