12 in 8 update

Of course, the first marathon in this streak is now in the books. The New River Trail 50k was a blast, and I'm completely recovered and it feels great to have this goal streak underway. The strange part is that I have set the goal and started the streak without having registered for all 12 races yet. Normally you don't plan for something like an ironman without actually registering for an ironman. But this is really spread out. By the end of the year I will have decided on all 12 races and registered. So far only 2016 is pretty decided.

I'm starting to stretch things a bit. The new addition to the lineup is actually a 24 hour race called the Raleigh Runaround - 24 hours running around the track at Meredith College, which is about 2 miles from the house. It goes from 10 am New Years Eve until 10 am New Years Day, so I have a strategy. 105 laps around the track is a marathon. So I start at 10 am and record my time at 105 laps for a marathon time on 12/31/2016. Then I leave, back to the house, shower, eat, do NYE stuff with the family. Kiss the wife and kids at midnight, then head back to the track. Do another 105 laps between midnight and 10 am to record another marathon time on 1/1/2017. They are actually giving belt buckles for anyone who hits 100k (245 laps) or 100 miles (400 laps) so I might try for a belt buckle. If I did 120 laps on the first one and 125 laps for the second one I could get home with some cool hardware.

That gets me two marathons in the streak with only one registration fee. And it also counts as another ultra, especially if I hit the 100k or make the second marathon a full 50k. And the race will be cancelled if we don't have at least 25 runners registered by Dec 1, currently only 7 people are signed up. Come out and run some track with me!!!

Also in the name of "stretching the race registration money" I'm adding my pacer duty at the Umstead 100 to the list. Certainly not registered for that one, my results won't show up anywhere, but I already have agreements to pace two people, hopefully for 3 laps. Tammie takes top priority as she is getting her 1000 mile buckle this year finishing her 10th Umstead. That's insane. And Brian (aka Cledawg) is doing Umstead again this year so I get to pace him for at least a lap. We'll work out the specifics of who/when after new years, Tammie is also doing the Raleigh Runaround.  Pacing is miles (38 miles this time) but not officially racing, so it's kind of a stretch to include that in a streak.

So including those "3 races", that gives me 7 already registered. Of the 5 more that I have yet to sign up for, 4 of those are 2017's contributions to the 50 state list. Registration hasn't opened yet for the Trap Pond 50k in Delaware, but I am really looking forward to knocking that state off of my list. The streak ends May 3, 4, and 5 with a triple in the Mainly Marathons Independence series. This will knock off Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey on consecutive days. Run a marathon, drive to the next state, run the next marathon, repeat. Tons of fun. The double at New Years is a warmup to be sure my body can handle the triple in May.

The last choice will involve a family vacation to our Tybee Island house. Either the Hilton Head marathon, then I can do Wrightsville Beach marathon as well, or Skidaway Island Marathon which is the same weekend as Wrightsville Beach. Pros and cons to each side of this, Wrightsville Beach will be my friend Charlotte's 100th marathon and there may be a party afterwards. Skidaway Island is closer to Tybee and it's in March, when the kids are out of school anyway so we get more beach time.

What's not making the cut? I actually really want to do the Myrtle Beach marathon this year. Brian (pacing at Umstead) is doing it, Beth is coming up from Florida too, several other friends are heading down for the weekend. I've done the full twice before, and the half a few times too. Trying for some new adventures here. But with that many people coming in, it's at the top of the reserve list.

Also missing is anything from Upstate Ultras. Matthew has put together an amazing series of races: marathons, ultras, timed races, everything. Most of those are within minutes from my parents house. They are cheap and well run, and really support the charity listed.

So that's that. The streak is underway and the rest of the pieces are starting to fall into place. Next race is the Triple Lakes Trail Marathon on 10/29, followed by my hometown City of Oaks marathon (road) the next weekend 11/6. Run more!

After swim practice the other day, I am ready to run more.