This is the one where I hit the registration button TWICE in an hour. Where do I begin?

Well, I knew this was the year I wanted to run a 50 mile race, I just wasn’t sure which one I would decide on. It was definitely going to be Fall/Winter because I really wanted to allow time for proper training. I circled several on the map, all local, and decided on the one I initially REALLY wanted to do. THIS ONE:

It’s the North Face Endurance Challenge in the Marin Headlands (just above the Golden Gate Bridge). I’ve run there before and the views are spectacular. Bonus part is, I can actually train on the course, or parts of it. It is not going to be easy, as if 50 milers are a walk in the park. It’s the first weekend in December and here is the elevation:

Yep, that’s what I signed up for. It also gets a 5 out of 5 stars for Overall Difficulty, Elevation Change and Scenery. Yay! That gives me 7 months to turn my legs into steel machines and my soul into rocks. Are those cool Ultra terms? Eh. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not diving into this blind. I’ve run three 50ks before and have one next month. I’m also planning on doing several over the training period. I’ll definitely have some help along the way (and on race day) from my running friends that have run this event before and are avid distance runners (like me).

And just to keep things fun, I also signed up for this:

It’s the Two Cities Marathon in Fresno. I was definitely looking for a FLAT marathon this year. I have run so many hilly races in the past that I really want to see what my legs can do on a flat, fast course. Several twitter runners suggested this race and with it being (reasonably) local and the timing just right, I hit that register button a second time. Check out this elevation:

That’s more like it right? I have super high expectations for this race, but we’ll save that for another post. The race is the first weekend in November and by that time I’ll be 6 months into my 50-mile training schedule. EXCITING.

INKnBURN Giveaway Winners

OK… that’s the good news for me. How about the good news for you? Here are the two winners of the INKnBURN Giveaway. I want to thank everyone that participated and for all the tweets and Facebook postings. And I especially want to thank the INKnBURN family for allowing me the opportunity to run in their gear and donating two AMAZING prizes.

The winner of the INKnBURN 4Arms is Krysten Siba Bishop. You can read more about her on her blog here or follow her on twitter. Here is here winning comment:

And the winner of Griffith Park Trail Half Marathon is Amanda. You can read more about her on her blog here or follow her on twitter. Here is her winning comment (for some reason the time is showing some other time zone, the comment, FB and tweet were all before the deadline):

 

All right, that’s all I got. 

Would love to hear your comments, advice and thoughts on the two races above.