I had some downtime at work on Monday afternoon, and, on an impulse, I decided to enter the lottery for the Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 mile endurance run. This technical Virginia race is considered one of the most difficult 100-mile runs in the Eastern United States, and in fact is the only eastern race recognized as a qualifier for Hardrock.
The lottery process is unique, and as someone who normally isn't a fan of lotteries, I've gotta say I like this one. When you register, you are randomly assigned a number between 0 and 999. They publish everyone's name and number on their web site. Then you wait until 4PM EST the day after registration closes - they take a look at the closing price of the DOW Jones Industrial Average and line everyone up behind whatever that number is.
This year, I was assigned the number 039, and the DOW closed at 10285.97. It was a down day, so the first 180 entrants BELOW 597 got in. I was number 244 in this lineup, missing it by 64 spots. I would be likely to get in anyway, via the waiting list.
However, since the lottery gods decided to not rule in my favor (they never do), I might decide to go back to my original plan and run a much more local timed event in North Jersey that weekend. Rick over at the New Jersey Trail Series is hosting 6,12,24, and 48-hour runs in Sussex county. This event, called 3 Days at the Fair, is really intriguing to me as it's close to home and has that 48-hour option. A 48-hour race two months after Umstead definitely would be interesting - but I'm not 100% that it's a good idea.. However, I am definitely doing at least the 24-hour race that weekend, and perhaps the 48. Or maybe Massanutten.. I have time before I decide.
Knee update: (See original post) Better. Still tight. Not running yet. Stretching it a lot. Hopefully will do some short runs later this week to assess its condition.
New entries for Steve's blog are published every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00am NY time and can be seen at http://www.tursi.com
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