Racing Schedule for (first half of) 2010

With the Mount Washington lottery opening up in a few days, I thought that I would post about my racing schedule leading up to The Hill on the third Saturday in June. For the past few years, I have planned my racing schedule at the beginning of the year up to The Hill because how I do (or would have done, since I have not raced on The Hill for the past two years) determines the course of the rest of the season. This year is no different, particularly since The Hill will be the site of the national mountain running team selection race and all road, trails, et cetera for me (and many others) lead to Mount Washington. Plus, I have no idea where I will be living next fall. There is also talk of a few new trail races in the Lex this spring and I will certainly be involved in those (if they happen) either as a racer or as a volunteer. I will start the season off with a few local and localish trail and road races some of which are part of the Trail Junkies RNUTS series centered around the Roanoke (VA) area. I would also like to add a few additional cycling events into the mix as well.

March 6th, Explore Your Limits 10km (trail), Explore Park, Roanoke, VA (60 miles)

A low-key trail race in a nice, hilly park. If it is warm enough in early March, I will race, if not, I will probably stay home and train. Last year, I cycled to a race that was in this park and camped out in the area after the race (it was a nighttime race). Right now, it is not looking very good for this race (the race will still be going on but I will probably not be running in it). We still have quite a bit of snow and the Parkway will probably still be closed (it is not plowed).

March 26th or 27th, 10,000m track race at W&L Carnival, Lexington, VA (0 miles away)

With four local races (three in town) this weekend, this is the one that I will probably be doing. As much as running 10k on the track sucks, it will be nice to have a competitive race with no travel this time of the year.

March 27th, 10:00am: Run From The Law 5K (multi terrain), Jordan’s Point Park, Lexington, VA (0 miles)

A very low-key race probably on the standard out and back Woods Creek Trail means up for the first half and down for the second half. A climb of 174 feet in a 5k means a 2.12% grade- certainly not enough for a mountain race but enough to make your 5k time pretty horrible.

March 27th, Montvale 10 Mile Trail Run, Montvale Park, Roanoke (area), VA (39 miles away)

A bit closer and later in the year than the Explore Your Limits 10km- plus a nice distance for this point in the season...

March 28th, 5-kilometer Torch Run for Special Olympics (multi terrain), Jackson Memorial Hall at VMI, Lexington, VA (0 miles away)

"Course: Challenging and scenic, a 5K course run on the pavement and dirt surface of the VMI campus and the Chessie Trail."

April 7th 4:30pm, Afternoon 5K, Jordan’s Point Park, Lexington, VA (0 miles)

A very low-key race probably on the standard out and back Woods Creek Trail see comments above.

April 10th 10:00am, RAOC 5K, Lexington, VA (0 miles away Jordan’s Point Park, Lexington, VA (0 miles)

A very low-key race probably on the standard out and back Woods Creek Trail see comments above.

April 17th, Mill Mountain Mayhem 10k, Mill Mountain Park, Roanoke, VA (52 miles)

This will probably be my first RNUTS race- it is during the break between winter and spring term and will be a nice chance to get out and race. Last year David Cheromei won by several minutes. He beat me at the Into the Darkness 4 Mile Night Trail Run last fall and his continuing presence in the area means that I could win any of the RNUTS races or lose any of them. By a lot.

May 1st Wintergreen Time Trial, (Hill Climb Championship) Wintergreen, VA (40 miles)

There are two races that I really want to do on May 1st and it will probably come down to what my x-training has been like in early 2010. If I have been doing a lot of cycling, I will probably do this race. I have done two other uphill road time trial races on my bike and I really enjoy them...

May 1st 10:00am 35th Annual Lexington Road & River Relay, Lexington, VA (0 miles)

If, on the other hand, I manage to get some time on the river, I would be more inclined to do the Road and River Relay. This is a "quadathlon" consisting of a short road run (4-5 miles), a short road ride (less than an hour), about 30 minutes of paddling, and a second run, this one a very short trail run (~2 miles). It sounds really fun and doing it would be great excuse to get out in a boat this winter.

May 28th Rock2Rock Trail 10k Camp Rockmont, Black Mountain, NC (280 miles)

This race has kicked off the La Sportiva Mountain Cup for the past two years; if it is part of the series this year, I will do it, if not, I will probably pass even though I would like to run it (I have heard nothing be good things about this race). I am still waiting to see if the La Sportiva Mountain Cup will be back again for its third year. I really wanted to run this series for the past two (injured) years and, if I can put together a run that does not create too ridiculous of a carbon footprint and the Mountain Cup is back in 2010, I will probably take a stab at it. With no announcement about the series, I am assuming that it will not be run this year.

June 5th, Trail Nut Half-marathon, Falling Creek Park, Bedford, VA (45 miles)

One more RNUTS race...

June 19th Mount Washington Road Race, Mount Washington, NH (?? miles)

This is the big one... ...and really needs no introduction.

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