I should probably start with a disclaimer that the below race schedule is only possible due to my extensive history. I would not recommend either the quantity or distances for those who are just starting out.
- Angela Ivory Memorial 100M – January 2026 – Registered
- DUC 100K – February 2026 – Volunteer
- Coast to Coaster 232M – April 2026 – Registered
- Massanutten Mountain Trail 100M – May 2026 – Tentative
- Heart of The South 350M – June 2026 – Registered
- Viaduct 100M – July 2026 – Tentative
- Eastern States 100M – August 2026 – Registered
- Virgil Crest 100M – September 2026 – Tentative
- Uwharrie 100M – October 2026 – Tentative
- Devil Dog 100M – December 2026 – Tentative
Races in bold are ones I’m definitely going to do. The others are probably 50/50 propositions at this point. As I’m doing more races each year, I’ve decided to add in more optionality to the schedule. Given how this past year progressed, I have no doubt I can handle the above race schedule. Physically. It’s the mental side of things that give me a slight pause though. I only want to start races that I’m 100% psyched to do and I’m cheap enough that I don’t want to eat an entry fee for a DNS. My solution is to wait to sign up for a handful of B races until I’m recovered from the race before. This costs me a bit by missing out on early registration discounts, but will probably save me money in the long term.
The current schedule only has 2 new races. While it’s great that I’ve done a lot of different races, I’ve basically done all the races within a 5 hour drive by now. I don’t mind driving to races, but I’d rather not hop onto a plane to get there. So if the choice is between flying to a new race (or driving 10+ hours) or doing a race again, I’m likely to pick the race I’ve already done. If 2026 has a theme, then it’s the year of the sequel. Five of the races will be the second time I’ve run them (Angela Ivory, C2C, MMT, Viaduct, Virgil Crest). These are still relatively new to me races so it’s not like I’m bored with them. And I definitely don’t have an issue going back to the same race over and over again as this will be year #8 for ES100.
My big race this year is HOTS. Three hundred and fifty miles is a ridiculous distance to attempt to run. Toss in that this is an uncrewed journey run on open roads where I won’t even know the course until the night before and this will be orders of magnitude harder than the half a handful of 200s that I’ve done so far. There is a great community around HOTS and I’m really looking forward to (mildy terrified of?) this race more than any of others.
Another year and another schedule without anything less than a hundred miler. Excluding the half marathon I ran with my wife in October, I haven’t raced anything less than a hundred since Tussey Mountainback 50M in October 2023. I’ve got a list of sub-100 races on my bucket list (HAT, Bull Run Run, Hellgate, Hyner, Worlds End, Manitou’s Revenge, Shawangunk, etc.), however they never seem to make my schedule. I’m currently passionate about doing hundreds (or longer) so that’s what I schedule. I’ll eventually get around to doing these races. Just not in 2026.
Hope your 2026 schedule is as fun as mine!