I heard back from the race organizers and it sounded like things were looking good. I’m still pending on my entry to the race and I feel good concerning that, but a reminder that sometimes “shit happens” hit me today.

Some things got shifted around at work and I may not be available to run this 420 mile race anymore. Naturally they landed squarely over the same days, because of course they would. Alternatives are sold out, not nearly as appealing, or most of all: prohibitively expensive. Often the case with races is the longer they are, the more expensive they are though that’s certainly not always the case. I’ve seen half marathons go for the full price of an ultra on occasion, a practice I will probably never be able to rationalize as much as I try. This race – being supported by the runners and their crews – was very sensibly priced so sometimes it can go the other way. As much as I could afford to do a ‘bougie’ race, my good ol’ long distance hiking spending sensibilities hit me and I think it would be more worthwhile to spread that kind of budget over a variety rather than just sinking it all into one super expensive thing.

If things don’t work out I think I’ll settle for a shorter thru-hike this summer likely either on the Colorado Trail or Arizona Trail and finish the fall off with a 100 miler I’ve had my eyes on initially. As a practice it’s always best to hope for the best and do everything you can to make it happen, but having a backup plan softens the blow. I may yet still be able to coax my way out of the “jobligations”, there’s plenty of time to hopefully work something out. In the meantime, the training continues as if I still have a shot… just in case!

I’ll have a write-up on this first week up sometime tomorrow!