Thursday, August 23, 2012

Bigger Challenge - Accepted

After finishing the KM100 and waiting for the tears to fall and emotions to take over...none of which happened...I declared that I might need a bigger challenge.  Not that KM100 wasn't plenty tough.  EVERY 100 mile race is tough.  It's 100 miles!  Whelp, I found the next challenge.  It is called the HURT100.  I will start this journey on January 19, 2013 at 6 am in the mountains above Honolulu.  100 miles in a semi-tropical rainforest, 24,500 feet of elevation gain, 20 stream crossings, terrain like I've never seen before, and 36 hours to complete this task.  If this doesn't bring me to tears...

Course Photos - here is a link to some photos of the course taken by Robert Smith.

Profiling HURT - here is a link to a video clip from the course

I am not looking to cry just to cry, I could watch Lifetime for that.  I am not looking for the holy hell I hurt so bad I have to cry kind of cry.  I am looking for something big.  Something that that will break me down and build me back up.  Something life changing.  I want it to chew me up and spit out a better version of who I am.  Self-discovery.  We'll see what happens.

In the meantime, I have a little less than 5 months to train.  Plenty of time if I don't procrastinate.  I have watched videos, read tons of race reports, talked to people who have run the race to get perspective and training tips.  Now I just need to put together a plan and execute.

I am extremely lucky, and feel my chances of finishing this beast are increased significantly, to have an amazing pacer and crew come out with me.  Leah will be there to pace me.  Gosh I trust her like nothing else in this role.  She is simply the best!  Tifanie will be there with her calming demeanor and infinite knowledge about everything outdoors to crew.  My dad will be there for his very first running event to crew and help Leah and Tif with whatever they might need.  Words can not express how grateful I am to have these people with me.

Let the training begin!

Elevation Profile

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousAugust 23, 2012 at 10:59 AM

    This is so exciting! I look forward to following your progression on this epic journey! The HURT 100 is one of the first races I ever learned about after peeking my head into the cavern of ultras. After reading about it, I was absolutely terrified, and thought to myself, "SOMEDAY...".

    Well that someday is still a bit off for me, but I am super excited that a fellow flatlander will take on the task. Best of luck!

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    Replies
    1. JenAugust 23, 2012 at 11:54 AM

      Thank you, Jeff! I'm really looking forward to this challenge. It's still sinking in that it's really happening. When your "someday" comes around, and it will, just give a holler if you need a crew / pacer :-)

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