You came near when I called you, and you said, “Do not fear.” You, Lord, took up my case; you redeemed my life. – Lamentations 3:57-58

All iced up and feeling good in the heat!
I was disappointed after dropping from the Bear 100 at the end of September. It was the right thing to do as I wrote about in my last post but it’s never easy to get over. Part of what made it especially difficult was that it was the only 100 mile race I planned for in 2018 and as a result, the only opportunity to qualify for Western State 100 in 2019. This is one of the premier events in ultra racing and the only way most people get in is to enter the lottery after running a qualifying event. Each year you don’t get selected for the race, but have run a qualifier, they basically double the number of your lottery tickets. After 4 rejections, I had hoped my lottery ticket count would go from 8 to 16 but it looked like I might have to start the process over in 2020 with 1 ticket.
Immediately after my DNF at the Bear, I took a shower, had a decent meal, and could only relax enough for a short nap. Since I couldn’t sleep, I went online to see if I had any options for another race in 2018. It was then I saw a familiar race that would take place in four weeks, the Javelina 100.
3 Reasons I Signed Up Continue reading