I’m starting to think that I’m cursed.
Eagleton 86 was cancelled this weekend due to some sort of issue with the course. This is now the third race that I’ve had cancelled on me in the past 12 months. The first two (Viaduct, Angela Ivory) were weather related and subsequently rescheduled. I was able to run Angela Ivory, but couldn’t make the new Viaduct date. Eagleton did not offer a reschedule option, however they are providing a full refund and did offer the ability to run any of the other Eagleton distances for free. I’m gutted that I won’t be able to run some gnarly trails this weekend, however the race handled this about as well as could be expected.
So Now What?
My son is registered for the Tuesday 24 hour race next week at 3 Days At The Fair. I had been planning to go and crew him in his first attempt at running 100 miles. Part of the reason I chose to do Eagleton was that it would let me be fully present at 3DATF to support him in this as crew. While that would still be the ideal situation, I think I can do a halfway decent job supporting him while running the race. The course is a USATF certified one mile “loop” (it looks more like a mushroom than a circle tbh) so I will always be within 15 minutes of him no matter our paces. If something goes wrong (who am I kidding? when something goes wrong), I’ll be right there to help him trouble shoot. The added benefits of running the race with him is that I’ll be able to provide pacing assistance if that becomes necessary as well as giving him some competition. It’s one thing to race against random strangers, it’s another thing entirely when you’re going against a family member (“wait, you let your dad beat you in a foot race?!?!”).
Given the short leadup to the race, I don’t have well thought out goals. It should go without saying that a hundred miles is the base target. I covered 115 miles in my last 24 hour race so it would be nice to top that. A good stretch goal would be 200k because. . . round numbers, people! Regardless, I’m looking forward to spending time with my son as he tries to run a hundred miles while still a teenager.