Fall Racing

After having a really fun time on the New England Mountain Running Circuit this summer, it's time to gear up for my fall distance running season. Despite a few nagging IT band issues and a nasty cold I got this week, I feel pretty fast -- probably at 93% of my lifetime peak fitness. I've gotten a lot more of a long-distance base into my training than I ever have before, and feel more knowledgeable and mentally prepared. Without further ado, here's some of the races I'm looking forward to this fall:

• Wapack Trail Race, 17.5 miles, August 31 in New Ipswich, NH : This is very nearly home territory for me -- I passed the starting area daily en route to middle school, and hiked the Wapack Trail three years ago. It's some fun terrain, and I'll be taking it very easy. I'm considering staying on my feet to do some all-night dancing at the Brattleboro Dawn Dance followed by the Francestown Five Miler on Labor... but we'll see what's actually possible.
• CHAD Half Marathon, 13.1 miles, September 6th in Hanover, NH : As another return to home turf, this race is intended as a preview of my marathon fitness and fundraiser for CHAD, the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth. (If you'd like to donate, I've apparently been given this handy-dandy fundraising page)
• Clarence DeMar Marathon, 26.2 miles, September 28th in Keene, NH : This will be my attempt to qualify for Boston. I volunteered here a few times when my dad was running it, and am looking forward to finally running it. I'm hoping for a fast time, which will hopefully happen if I run a slightly more disciplined race than I have in previous marathons.
• Applefest Half Marathon, 13.1 miles, October 4th in Hollis, NH : This is a really fun race, with both a beautiful course and delicious apple pie. I had a really miserable race here last year -- I went from running with the lead pack for the first few miles to losing ground for the rest of the race, mainly due to a season-ending chest cold and rather hot weather. I'm hoping for a decent time, a good recovery run after the Clarence, and having fun with friends from the Boston Running Meetup and my hereditary running club.
• Stone Cat Ale 50 Miler, 50 miles, November 8th, trails in Ipswich MA : This is going to be my first ultra, and I'm psyched. I met a lot of people this summer from the trail and ultra community, and they're a bunch of really down-to-earth and fun folks. I've been upping my long run duration in anticipation of this race, and will hopefully get the chance to add a little more in October. I'm not looking for a shockingly fast time here, but am rather more curious about how the distance works, what I should eat, and just how it all will go down in general. It's a 4 loop course in a state park with a couple little hills, so it shouldn't be overly sadistic to me.

Let me know if you're interested in doing any of these races with me -- the more the merrier!