A year of running, sweating, cramping, tapering, failing and succeeding comes down to one last effort, the Across the Years 24 Hour race on December 29  http://www.aravaiparunning.com/acrosstheyears/.

On one hand I don’t fear this race since its 24 hours on an approximate one mile loop, so even when exhausted there aren’t any concerns of hills, roots and rocks.  Just keep moving and add up miles.  On the other hand, I’ve never been moving for more than 54 miles and 13 hours and 45 minutes so the other 10 hours and additional miles are a total unknown that I suspect are going to be much harder than can be imagined.

Mike and I head for Arizona on the 27th, with an extra day for race prep and planning.

As a new experience in ultra running, I am looking forward to this race-  but its also a necessary training tool for the Bear 100 next year.  That race will require mountain training, in addition to time on feet.  This is the first step to time on feet training.

Maybe the most exciting part of this race will be the start of 2013; first for some rest and then getting going with the Bear training.