January 19, 2009

2009 Race Calendar

I'm trying to firm up my race schedule so that I can get going on my planning. The 2009 races listed on the right side of my blog are tentative. Very tentative. It includes 2 ultras and possibly 2 marathons, which is a lot for a low mileage runner like moi.

I basically have 3 flagship races this year and have already registered for 2 of them:
Chippewa 50K
Grand Island Marathon
Wild Duluth 50K

The 2 50K races will count towards the Fab Five Fifties series; Grand Island doesn't "count" towards anything other than it's a race I've wanted to do for a long time. I lived in the U.P. for 4 years while going to college at Michigan Tech and drove past the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore I don't know how many times without ever bothering to visit. Funny how you don't appreciate what's in your own back yard until you move away. So, this July I'll hop on a ferry boat to get shuttled to Grand Island out in Lake Superior to run a marathon. Word is that it's a fairly non-technical course with plenty of bear sightings, a couple of beach sections, and a 6 hour time limit.

Since I also signed up for the MN Trail Run Series, I'd like to get at least 6 races in for that. My current schedule has 5, but if I volunteer at Trail Mix I should get points for both the Fab Fives and MN Trail Series.

There are also a few races that I'd like to do just because I like the races: Afton, Moose Mountain, and Surf the Murph come to mind. I've always been interested in Walker, although another marathon this year might put me over the edge. On the other hand, a mid-Sept marathon might be a great long training run for Wild Duluth. I may do either Moose or Walker, but definately not both!

Decisions, decisions....

4 comments:

Mike W. said...

I will look forward to your report on Grand Island, it will definitely be my Michigan marathon unless your report changes my mind. I hope to do it next year. Enjoy it as it looks like a great race.

Carl Gammon said...

Chippewa Morraine is great fun, and I think you'll love it. The nice thing about an out and back course is that you get to see everyone along the way. I'll definitely see you there.

SteveQ said...

We're thinking about a lot of the same races - we may see each other a lot this year!

Wayne said...

I'm behind in my planning, but I know where to come for links to all the good races!! Glad to hear you're getting your training in and are making plans for a great year.