September 15, 2008

2009 Western States Endurance Run -- I'm In


It is now official. I just submitted my entry to the 2009 Western States 100 mile endurance run. Although I was guaranteed an automatic entry as a 2008 participant, I was required to accept or decline the 2009 automatic entry. I accepted, as I expect 90 percent or more of the other '08 participants will do. Who wouldn't accept after being shut out of this year's race due to fires that rose from freaky dry lighting? What runner would train for six months, create animosity between his spouse, develop lingering and sometimes very painful injuries, become single minded to the detriment of his oh-so-important social graces, concoct visions of grandeur in his minds eye, talk excessively of race day tactics with 100 mile finishers, develop the disgusting yet important habit of stuffing TP in his pocket before embarking on early morning trail runs, grow a portfolio of running shoes to rival any Emelda Marcos poser, watch others stare at him with a look of utter confusion and discontent when they hear of his fixation, find ways to work out in the most miserably hot conditions, refuse to unpack a suitcase for a year, identify with terms like "beware of the chair" and "time on foot", write a blog about the absurdity of it all, only to choose NOT to reenter?
I'm looking forward to the next 10 months! I'll keep you posted....

5 comments:

Frayed Laces said...

You know, this post is timely for me. I can only imagine how much greater your disappointment at not being able to run the WS100 is than my measly little "I didnt BQ at this one particular marathon". Thanks for your kind words!

Unknown said...

Wow, that is really awesome!

You have to keep us updated!

Greg said...

Rock it, mister. I am going to do AC100. Time for me to step up!

kelly said...

Too funny! Great post, everything you said was so true! We ultra runners are crazy! Good luck with your WS training. June will be here before you know it.

Unknown said...

Hey Will,

I recently came across your blog and enjoyed reading through your archives as a fellow runner.

Over the past few months, I've been helping build http://www.ontri.com - a community-based website for marathoners and triathletes. I wanted to let you know about the site, and wondered if you would be interested in posting about it in your blog.

Keep on running,
Josiah
http://www.ontri.com