Is This Speed I'm Seeing? Also: SIAC Xtreme for April

For those of you who don't know what I'm trying to do this year, I'm doing a personal thesis of mine, which is, "Can triathlon training ultimately help me in ultramarathons as well as triathlons?"

The past couple of years, I had been relying on huge running volume with just a smattering of swimming and cycling to boost my ultra-running performance. Although I am experienced in triathlon (been doing them since 1990) I am still pretty much a neophyte in ultramarathons. So I've been experimenting for the best way to train for these events.

After last year's failure at Leadville, a very interesting question came to mind. Would triathlon training actually help in ultras also? Can it possibly be that not altering my old training and sticking with the triathlon approach do the trick? It might be possible.

Triathlon training decreases the weekly running volume a bit but significantly bumps up the weekly swimming and cycling volumes. As a result, my overall training volume is significantly higher than in ultra training.

I've always considered triathlon training to be a very balanced form of training, exercising a lot more muscles than just running alone. And since I'm exercising more muscles, my body will not tire as much. And therefore I can up my training time a significant amount more than just running alone.

Anyway, that's the thesis.

Three months into this thesis, I've seen some very interesting effects pop up. And all were good.

The first was my weight. Yes, I have voluntarily changed my diet to a more primal approach. But still, to lose more than 20 pounds in the first 3 months is a monumental achievement, so I can't really attribute it to the change of diet alone.

The second, which is really wondrous, is that my speed has returned for the large part. Thought to have been lost forever, I've tasted some of this speed in my recent races, first in the Cold Feat 10k and now in the Indian Trails 15k road race.

Last year, I finished this race at around 68 minutes. My goal time for this race was around 64 minutes.

I finished in 62 minutes and 37 seconds, a 6:44 mile pace. This is a significant improvement over last year!

It's a nice thing to see in my training. And I hope I can keep it and even build on it in the coming months.

Of course this doesn't help satisfy my thesis that triathlon training is better to prep for ultras, but I'll definitely find out in my first ultra in May, the North Face Endurance Challenge. And if what I am seeing this spring is any indication, I will hopefully be pleased with the results.

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SIAC Xtreme...April is here!

There are 2 key events that fall within the realm of SIAC Xtreme.

Saturday April 21 is the Scholastic Trail run, put on by SIAC itself. This will be in Willowbrook Park and is a great final prep for the High Rock Challenge. There will be a 5k and a 10k trail option for everyone. Applications will be out soon; once available, I'll post it here.

Saturday April 28 is The High Rock Challenge! People will be parking at the JCC and will be bused to the Greenbelt Recreation Center for the start of the race.

SIAC and the Greenbelt Conservancy have teamed up to provide group trail runs to prepare for the High rock Challenge and have drawn HUGE numbers of runners. For this past weekend we had over 20 runners participate in these runs! We will have these runs this weekend as well, leaving the High Rock Parking lot at 8AM this Saturday, so come on down. These runs are easy paced and we will leave nobody behind.

Here is the itinerary off of the Greenbelt Conservancy's website, for your convenience:

Happy trails! And here's to an exciting and muddy spring on those trails! :-)

High Rock Challenge and SIAC - A One Year Accomplishment!

Since I'm finally indoors from all the gorgeous days we've been having this week, several of us at the Staten Island Athletic Club (SIAC) finalized our group preparation trail runs for those who are interested in getting fit for the High Rock Challenge on April 28.

Yes, SEVERAL of us.

Last year was the first full year that I was with SIAC. When putting together these runs last year, there were maybe only two or three of us in SIAC that knew the trails well to lead these runs. I was hard pressed to lead these groups into the Greenbelt on almost all of the runs last year.

What a difference a year makes!

I can safely say that at least 8 of us in SIAC (I know there are more!) who know the trails of the Greenbelt enough to lead these groups now. We have enough people who are willing to lead runs on both Saturdays and Sundays leading up to the race; on those days where there isn't a run, we have a trail race somewhere on Staten Island.

And there's more!

We have people regularly running trails now that haven't been running before. There are people I know who just started running just the past two years that are now ready to tackle an ultramarathon. This is quite an accomplishment!

Thanks to Mark Vogt, the president of SIAC and the rest of the Board, the club has officially recognized trail running as an up-and-coming sport and has accepted us into their fold by forming SIAC Xtreme (siXac), a committee specializing in these events as well as triathlons and obstacle races. And you can't say enough about Matt Lebow and the terrific job he's doing in creating great trail races on Staten Island and putting our area on the map for trail racing. We are starting to receive people from outside of Staten Island who want to run and race on the Greenbelt trails. And lastly, you have to hand it to the folks at the Greenbelt Conservancy who allowed all of these great activities to happen on their home turf.

We came a long way in just one year!

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Speaking of which...here is the final schedule for the Saturday and Sunday runs leading to the High Rock Challenge. Most runs are 4 miles on up. All paces are welcome.

Saturday March 17 - On the Blue Trail at 8AM from the back of Petrides (Staten Island Blvd. off of Ocean Terrace) - Peter Priolo leads.

Sunday March 18 - Meet at High Rock Park (end of Nevada off of Rockland Ave.) at 8AM - Darren Corona leads.

Saturday March 24 - SIAC St Patricks 5K Race at Wolfes Pond Park (great tune up race for HRC).

Sunday March 25 - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Katherine Callan leads.

Saturday March 31 - Wolfes Run 5K/10K Trail Race - Wolfes Pond Park.

Sunday April 1 - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Darren Corona leads.

Saturday April 7 - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Nancy Cofrancesco and Amy Lenza lead.

Sunday April 8 (Easter) - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Katherine Callan leads.

Saturday April 14 - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Nancy Cofrancesco and Amy Lenza lead.

Sunday April 15 - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Darren Corona leads.

Saturday April 21 - SIAC Scholarship Trail Race at Willowbrook Park.

Sunday April 22 - Meet at High Rock Park at 8AM - Darren Corona leads.

Saturday April 28 - High Rock Challenge!!!

My Five Key Races for 2012

My schedule has basically been finalized for 2012. It's probably the most interesting compilation of races I've ever put together in a year. But hey, if I'm going to be extreme, well, I think these races would definitely classify...

1) North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Trail Run at Bear Mountain - May 5

After a couple of years of volunteering in this race, this year I will wind up racing it. This will also serve as a qualifier for the Western States lottery for 2013 at the end of this year; I would love to get the qualifying race over with early this year as opposed to last year where I had to scramble to State College in Pennsylvania in October and finish the Tussey Mountainback to qualify.

This race itself is a very tough course so it will definitely serve as a good training run for the Vermont 100 Miler in July.

2) Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4 Mile Swim - June 10

I won the lottery and decided to register for this race. I've done it for 3 consecutive years in the 1990s and each year, it was a different adventure (conditions were different). The course assures that one needs to have a good, strong swim stroke to finish this race. I'm glad that I'll be revisiting this race after all these years.

Since this race is the same day as the Eagleman Half Ironman, I will probably go down with a group of triathletes doing that race since both races are in the same general area (about an hour drive apart).

3) Ironman 70.3 Syracuse - June 24

I had a pretty interesting choice in what half-ironman triathlon I would be doing this summer. It was narrowed down to 3 choices, the Bassman Triathlon in May, the Quassy Rev3 on June 2, or Syracuse 70.3. Bassman was the cheapest of the 3 but it would get in the way of the North Face 50, so that was out. Quassy was an intriguing choice and was about to enter this race, but winning the Chespeake Bay Swim lottery changed all that. I do not like the prospect of doing a rough 4.4 mile swim only a week after a half-ironman. It just sounded too risky and possibly even dangerous. The Great Chesapeake Bay Swim was to be respected at all costs and that means starting that race as fresh as possible.

So that leaves Syracuse. Syracuse is fully 4 weeks before the Vermont 100, so I should have no problems recovering. And it is safely after the Chesapeake Swim. So it fits very well into the schedule.

All I have to do is pay the steep $250 fee. I figure a couple of nights of panhandling in the subways should help alleviate that problem... ;-)

4) Vermont 100 - July 21-22

Yes, I'm revisiting this race again. It's such a great course, even the parts I was sleepwalking through at night. I have some personal goals for this race and I hope that I have the opportunity to achieve them. Running 100 miles is just too fantastic an achievement and to try again on this course would be exciting to say the least!

5) Survival of the Shawangunks - September 9

The only time I did this I finished 6th overall ahead of the very respected triathlon pro woman Jan Wanklyn. That was when I was in such great shape. Now, about 12 years later I would love to still challenge those in my age group in this race. This is the only triathlon where my strongest discipline, the swim, comes at the last half of the race, so yeah, I'll be making an all out effort to do my best in this race.

That's it with the races. Oh, there are other, smaller races that I'll be doing as well, but these are the 5 that I'll be gunning for. Two ultras, 2 triathlons, and an open water swim. This is definitely going to be an interesting year.

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The NJ Winter Series is coming up January 21 (Saturday). Carpooling would be the way to go so that we can save on tolls and gas. The race has 3 options, the 5 miler, the 10 miler, and the half marathon, all on trails. Let me know if you're interested in carpooling.

The Cold Feat 10k at Latourette Golf Course is now open for registration. For SIAC let's get a strong showing here and support the Greenbelt Conservancy on this great race. You can register here.

Although registration is not open yet, now is the time to start finding a partner for the High Rock Challenge on April 28. Registration opens in February; I'll let you know when it opens.

I am also calling for people who are interested in doing the Ragnar Relay in Pennsylvania on October 5-6. This is a fantastic way to celebrate your fitness with others on your team as you race 24 hours and 200 miles from Lancaster to Mt. Pocono. This is a ROAD race so any of you speed demons who dash like a bullet over the asphalt are also welcome in this race. If we get the full 12 people everyone will do around 10-20 miles over 3 stretches in the 24 hour period. If interested, let me know IMMEDIATELY so that I can put you on the list.

The SIAC Extreme committee is currently looking at tech shirt designs and will let you know which one we like. Anyone from the club can order these shirts once they are made available. Further details will be out soon.

Tonight I'll be running an easy 4 miles on the trails in the rain. Come down to the flagpole at Willowbrook Park for the run if you can. For those who are tentative on coming, I always promise to stay with people when running at night and I've never broken it, so you can put your mind at rest and come on down.

Saturday I'll be running 8 miles on the Greenbelt White Trail. Same place, flagpole at Willowbrook Park at 8AM in the morning.

On to 2012!!!

I hope everyone has had a great holiday season.

In this week between Christmas and New Years, peoples' thoughts tend to shift to the coming year. The past 2 months have been very special since we extreme runners and triathletes now have a committee in a great club like the Staten Island Athletic Club. I owe it all to Mark Vogt, the President, and the SIAC Board to recognize the growth of alternative forms of running and to embrace it.


Off the top of my head there are two other clubs in this area that have a sizable alternative running population inside them. One is the Essex Running Club who have a nice group of people who do a heavy dose of trail running in the NJ area. The other group is the New York Flyers, who have a huge and passionate contingent of trail and ultra runners in its ranks. Both clubs' main bodies are still dedicated to road running (in NJ, the Essex Runners do the USATF-NJ Grand Prix and the NY Flyers do a lot of NYRR races in the big city) but both support and embrace the growing population of those who want to do trails races, ultras and triathlons without any conflicts.

So to those who are still a bit uneasy about having a new committee in the club, you can definitely relax. Both road runners and trail runners can comfortably live with each other under the same banner and these 2 clubs prove it. :-)

As for 2012, our first siXac committee meeting will take place on Wednesday January 4 at 8PM. I think we have a location for this meeting but I'll need to confirm it in the next couple of days. If interested, let me know via my email (ironpete@ironpete.com) and I'll keep you in the loop where it will be. Among the topics of this committee will be setting up a schedule of races to go to as well as picking out which endurance relay we all want to try to get a team for next year. Options for that are several races in the Ragnar Relay Series, the Green Mountain Relay, and the Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire. These are usually 12 person relays, so if you're interested, let me know also.

Even before the meeting we already have a schedule down for January, and some interest in forming a group for the North Face Endurance Challenge in May. The North Face includes a trail marathon, a 50k race, and a 50 mile race as well as a 4 x 10k trail relay for those who want to run shorter and run for a team. From what I hear, the Bear Mountain Lodge is now open (after being closed for renovations last year) and we can stay there overnight before tackling the races the next day. Again, if you're interested in any of these races let me know and I'll keep you in the loop.

One last thing there is an interest in is the two NJ Trail Series races in January. The Watchung Races are coming up quickly (Sat Jan 7) and you have a choice between a 10k, 10 mile, a trail marathon, or a 50k. It's a short trip across the bridge; if you are interested in carpooling to this event, feel free to contact me. The second race is the Winter Series on January 21. Distances are 5k, 10k, or half marathon. We already have a good number of people going; if you want to carpool, let me know.

That's about it for now. Happy Trails, and have a Happy 2012!

Time for the Greenbelt Festival Trail Races

The Willowbrook Carousel, site of the Start/Finish line
So here we are, about 3 days away from the inaugural Greenbelt Festival Trail Races, with the start/finish line held only about a mile away from where I live, in Willowbrook Park. The temps are going to be near freezing for the early part of this race, so I'll need to prep up the appropriate clothing for the race.

I like to thank Matt Lebow and the Greenbelt Conservancy for getting this race launched. Finally, an ultra trail race held in my own backyard!

What I would like to do for people is to try to go through the 25 kilometer course in general and what hazards one might expect when running the this loop (twice if you're doing the 50 km ultra).

If you're in the NYC area, look outside your window today. Ah, it is most definitely raining! Now look at the weather forecast for Saturday morning...about 32 at race start. Yes, that's the temperature for freezing, but it will not be enough to freeze the mud that's on the course. So as a result, expect very sloppy and muddy conditions on Saturday.

OK, the course itself...if you want an overall view of the course, you can go here if you have a Facebook account.

Starting out we will be running around the lake on a path wide enough so that runners can easily seed themselves before hitting the single track trails. This is a good thing. Once we circle the lake we finally leave the Willowbrook Park vicinity and trek south on the Greenbelt White Trail. There will be a small stream crossing at around 2 miles in and then a general uphill climb as we go deeper into the Greenbelt. The paths here are smooth enough but there are some technical areas where there are roots and rocks. For the experienced trail runner, these are nothing, but it might cause a little shock to beginner trail runners. There is not much mud in this stretch; that will be coming soon enough.

At about 3-4 miles you will reach the first road (Forest Hill Road). Cross the road and continue on the White Trail. Right after the road is your first muddy spot and a very slippery turn onto a small footbridge. In my training runs I have wiped out there a number of times so take this section very, very slow. The path stays a bit muddy at times before you hit a section where you'll be on wood planks. IF THE WOOD PLANKS ARE WET, THEY ARE VERY, VERY SLIPPERY!!! Slippery as in you just need a little sideways pressure on your foot to slip off the plank. Be very careful on those wood planks and you'll be fine. The course will still be going uphill at this point.

After the wood planks you'll cross another road (Rockland Avenue). After crossing this road you'll be back on the White Trail with the uphill grade getting noticeably steeper. Watch for embedded rocks on your climb up. With the entire course entirely uphill at this point, you might start to tire a bit, but the end of the uphill grind is in sight...once you get to the top, you will hang a right turn off of the White Trail and head toward the Greenbelt Bikeway that parallels Forest Hill Road.

Greenbelt Bikeway
The Greenbelt Bikeway is the easiest section of the course; there are no rocks and no roots here. It is wide enough to pass slower runners without any problems and its slight downhill grade ensures a nice section to gather your wits before the next nasty section of the course. If you want you can casually glance to your left and watch the golfers tee off on the golf course as you run by.

By about mile 5 you'll hang a left off of the Bikeway onto an adjoining trail and then another immediate left brings you onto the Blue Trail, a very nasty single-track section that hugs the ridge of Snake Hill. The trail itself is tilted which makes for some dangerous sections where you might slip down off the trail. If you can, slow down a bit and make sure your steps are sure and steady so that you safely negotiate this section. There is also one mother of a steep uphill at the end of this section that will bring you onto the boundaries of the golf course (near the driving range). You'll cross Richmond Hill Road at this point and get to your first Aid Station (around mile 6).

One past the first Aid Station, get ready for the mud! And lots of it. The muddiest section is the section between Aid Stations #1 and #2, so get ready for a swim. After the first aid station you'll go for a bit on a path on the golf course before you head back onto the single-track trail (Red Trail). As soon as you hit the single trail, you'll start to hit the mud. Some of the trails here could look like small streams, so it is unavoidable to get your feet wet here. Take it with stride and run down the middle of the puddles since that is where the level ground is. Picking your way around the sloped sides of the path is not very safe as your feet might slip on the mud and take you down with it. The hills are slightly rolling at this point and shouldn't be much of a factor.

You'll spend about 3 or so miles playing in the slop before you finally encounter another road to cross (Lighthouse Hill; Manor Rd. and Rockland Ave). Once you cross, you'll be on the White Trail for another 2-4 minutes until you hit another road; here you'll hang a left and stay on that road. You'll encounter Rockland Ave. again, cross it, and end up onto an unimproved road that leads up to High Rock Park. This starts a pretty hilly section of the course. The unimproved road is generally uphill; once you get to the other side, you'll be hanging a left back into single-track trail and a hard climb. Stay within yourself, walk the hills if necessary and you'll finally wind up on the High Rock Loop Road and Aid Station #2 (around mile 10-11).

One of the hills in High Rock park
After taking in your water and food you'll then meander the trails around High Rock Park as it generally goes a bit downhill. You'll eventually wind up on the Yellow Trail moving toward Moses Mountain. You'll cross another busy road (Manor Rd.). Once across you'll be beginning your climb up to the summit of Moses Mountain. The climb is gradual at first, but it will get very steep as you close in on the top. Once at the top soak in the scenery (it's the best!!!) before you start your descent down the back side of the mountain.

Ahhh, the Scenery from Moses Mountain!!!
The back side of Moses Mountain is where it gets fun. But you HAVE to be careful. The trail turns off to a very, VERY steep downhill. The best way to negotiate this hill is to butt-slide down because any other way will involve a painful face-plant. Forget about speed here; take it real easy getting down, stay safe, and you'll be fine. Once down you can then start running again.

The course again at this point gets muddy in some sections so be careful so that you don't slip. The hills in this section aren't a factor; most of the course is pretty much flat here. At about mile 12 you'll cross Rockland Ave. again and start a tough little climb. At the top of this climb you'll hang a right onto the Nature Trail and eventually wind up that the Greenbelt Nature Center and Aid Station #3.

At this point, you got through most of the real tough sections of the loop and it's time to head back to Willowbrook Park. You'll leave Aid Station #3 and head slightly uphill on the Nature Trail until it intersects with the White Trail. You'll make a sharp right on the White Trail. You might start to recognize where you are since you ran this stretch of White Trail when you started this course. You might also see some of the 50k runners coming the other way as they head out on their second loop. Remember to always yield to the faster runners. If you see one coming the other way, just step aside and let them pass.

You'll cross Rockland Ave, encounter the potentially slippery wood planks, the very slippery muddy section (see above), then Forest Hill Road. You will be running generally downhill and as you progress, the trail will get noticeably nicer to run on. The last 2 miles of this course is a good cruising section. In the blink of an eye you'll wind up at Willowbrook Park and the finish line (or the halfway point, if you're a 50k runner).

Congratulations, you survived the Greenbelt!

Good luck to everyone running this race. I will see you on Saturday and hope that there will be people around cheering me on as I finish the second loop of my 50k race. :-)

Your Endurance Race Guide to Guilt Free Eating this Holiday Season

This is the time of year where we encounter a string of holidays that just derail a lot of people from their noble tasks, a season of holidays that are just focused on the myriad types of gluttony so profound that it takes a steel will to stay on course.



The first challenge is Halloween. It's a good holiday to soften up your will a little for the major league holidays to come. Especially if you have kids or deal with them. With all that candy sitting around, it's not hard to succumb to the temptation of empty calories.

Now we have the second and third challenges coming up...Thanksgiving and Christmas. Ah, holidays dedicated to the gluttony of eating, then spending. With Thanksgiving, isn't it swell to sit down to a 12 course meal with family and friends and just eat to oblivion? But wait, after that, we spend to oblivion soon after as Christmas approaches. What's a decent person to do?

Well, the spending is up to you, but there are ways to balance out that eating part a bit. We have LOTS of endurance races to choose from.

One of the things that I've always liked about the Philadelphia Marathon is its closeness to Thanksgiving. I've done this race 3 times and it was great going into that Thanksgiving dinner knowing that I already burned all those calories ahead of time. It's as guilt free as I can get toward Thanksgiving eating.

The marathon is also a great way to qualify for Boston as the course is very fast. And as tough as Philly is, there are numerous people there that will cheer you on that day. The crowds there in downtown Philly can be quite impressive for that race.

If you're really going to pig out this Thanksgiving, the JFK 50 might be for you. Seriously though, this venerable race in Maryland attracts nearly 1000 people and is the most popular ultramarathon in the US today.

If you don't have the time to travel a bit, there are 2 local races that can help you burn those holiday calories. The inaugural Brooklyn Marathon will be done this Sunday. I believe it will be 8 loops in Prospect Park. Tackling that hill 8 times in one day will definitely help, especially afterwards when you are going for second helping of sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving. The fee is quite reasonable also.

The course is also certified, so you can try to qualify for Boston on this course.

And for those who are just flat broke from all the gift-giving, there is a race for you also, the Thanksgiving Marathon which is part of the Series of Holiday Marathons. It is a no-frills (Fat Ass) event with no timing, no shirts, and minimal aid. The course isn't certified (you cannot qualify for Boston here), but the course in Van Cortlandt Park is awesome. The race is on Thanksgiving morning. You can do one loop (10k), two loops (half marathon), or 4 loops (marathon). Donations are encouraged, of course, but the race is free to enter.

If you really packed on the calories and want to work those off after Thanksgiving, or if you want to get a head start on burning off those calories before your 50,000 calorie Christmas meal, you can come on down to Willowbrook Park on Staten Island for a Day of Trail races done by NYARA on December 10. You can choose the 5k option, the 10k option, the 25k option, and the 50k option. The 50k burns a cool 5000+ calories, good for about 10 glasses of that potent eggnog at your company's Holiday Party (just don't drink them all at once). The course is quite challenging, but it's a testament to our extensive trail system in the Greenbelt here on Staten Island that we can have an ultramarathon here.

So, there's no excuse for you people to gain weight during the holidays. Pick one of these races and you can eat your way to oblivion, guilt free!

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This Saturday's run will NOT be taking place at Willowbrook Park this week due to the 5k Fall Flat race hosted by NYARA. We will resume running next week at Willowbrook Park at 8AM in preparation for the NYARA trail race on December 10.

We have a definite interest in the Ragnar Relay in New England. I haven't seen what the date is, but I'll post as soon as I research the info on it.

Anyone who wants to become a member of the new SIAC Extreme committee please let me know. This will be the committee that will presume over alternative running such as trail runs, ultramarathons, triathlons, obstacle races, and other challenging races in the area.

Shaping My 2012 Season - Some Interesting Twists

Well, it's November, and it's decision time for what races I will be doing in 2012. I have decided that it will be a triathlon year next year. This stems from the fact that after 2 years of ultramarathon training, I do think that triathlon training is a the more rounded way of getting fit and would minimize the chances of injury.

The triathlon I have already registered for is the Survival of the Shawangunks Triathlon in New Paltz, NY next September. The registration had to be done quickly on November 1 at midnight; last year it took only 11 minutes for the field to fill. This is quite a beautiful race, about 13 or so years ago I did this race and finished 6th overall, so I have really fond memories of this race.

Along with the fall triathlon I have 4 options for a half-Ironman in the spring. I can go for an early May race, the Bassman Triathlon, or I can go for any of the 3 June races that are nearby (Rev3 Quassy, Mooseman, and Syracuse 70.3). I am leaning toward the early May race at this point because June might be important for another matter entirely. And that's where the twist comes in...

This past weekend, after mulling it over quite a bit, I've decided to register for the Vermont 100. Yes, this is a triathlon season for me, but this will be interesting that I will enter this race after doing TRIATHLON training instead of the ultra training I did the past 2 years. I happen to believe that the more rounded triathlon training would help get me through this race a lot better than it did a year ago, and I am willing to put that theory to the test. I'll get into that theory in detail in the future.

To twist things a bit further, I'll be entering the Western States 100 lottery this week. I don't expect to win (chances are probably 15%, even with 2 ballots entered), but if by chance lightning does strike and I do happen to get in, the stage might be set to maybe go after the Grand Slam of Ultras. I would already be in 2 races (Western States and Vermont) and would talk to the Grand Slam people to get into Leadville and Wasatch Front 100 for next year. After fully understanding the difficulty of the Leadville race last year, if this situation does come to pass, I will need to seriously cut down on the weight next year. That is already one of my goals, but I seriously think I would need to trim 25-30 more pounds in order to have a serious chance at the Slam.

This is a tall order, but I've met tall orders before.

There is also space to do an Ultra Relay next year. I've talked to many runners and they seem to have interest in creating a team for next year. Again, there are options. There are the overnight relays in Ragnar Relay and the Green Mountain Relay, or there is the shorter option in the River to Sea Relay. Whatever the case, relays are just a great fun way to enjoy the fitness, so it would be great to see if we can get a team next year.

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Next Saturday will NOT be a run at Willowbrook Park at 8AM. There will however be the Fall Flat 5k Trail Race at the same site starting at 10AM. Registration is provided at the link.

There WILL be a long trail run on the following Saturday at 8AM during Thanksgiving Weekend. I would figure after stuffing your face the past couple of days you would have the guilt thing going to come on down and try to burn it off. It would also be the last long run before...

The NYARA Day of Trail Running (5k, 10k, 25k, and 50k) on December 10. Pick your distance and kick some butt! The races are held in the same area as we do our runs, at the Carousel at Willowbrook Park. Registration is provided at the link.

Also, the Staten Island Athletic Club has also created a committee (SIAC Extreme) dedicated to alternate runs and races such as triathlons, trail runs, ultras, and relays. I have been nominated to head this committee. If you are interested, let me know and you can be part of siXac.