Day 1 - Sign up for MMT 100 - 9 a.m.

At 9 a.m. December 1st I logged onto the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club's website and placed my name on the MMT 100 mile run list for the 5th time.  They have a lottery to pick 180 runners and my lucky number is 572.  I will know on December 8th after 4 p.m. if I am in or will I be placed on the waiting list.  If I go on the waiting list I will have to wait for people to drop off and that does happen or I might have to find another race to enter.  What ever happens the training has started for what ever the next adventure will be.  Around 10:30 a.m. I looked at some new papers that came to work today and it was for a new store opening in Front Royal, VA.  That made me smile because the race use to start at the Skyline Ranch Resort in Front Royal, VA and got me more pumped for this event.

Runners/Pacers/Crews from 2010 MMT 100

2007 was my first year and I finished the race in 28 hr./26 min./37 sec. - 23rd place.  In 2008 was my 2nd year and I made it to mile 64.9 mile in 15 hrs./9 min. and had to DNF (did not finish) or the one I like DNS (did nothing stupid).  My right leg behind my knee was very tight and I limped that last 6.8 miles and decided to pull the plug.  It was a smart decision and it let me run the rest of the summer without injury. 2009 was my 3rd year I entered the race but it was not my year and backed out 2 weeks before the start of the race.  It was a hard thing to pull my name off the list but if your not ready for this race move on and pick another one. 2010 was my 4th and I was more focused on consistent training the whole time and knowing that backing off was not an option if I wanted to run well.  I went for it from the start and I finished in 23 hrs./6 min./5 sec. in 7th place.

My MMT 100 Race # from 2010

My first night of training started by heading to Mohnton to run with the Pagoda Pacers for the Wednesday night fun run.  I forgot my headlamp, got stuck in traffic and got there 5 minutes late.  Luckily the group got a late start and I quickly got out of my car an caught up to the pack of at least 25 runners.  There were 5 other runners there that are also on the list to get into MMT so it was great to talk a little about the race.  We took some breaks for everyone to regroup and it was really fun pushing the ups and flying on the down hills.  After the run we headed to a local restaurant for some more laughs and talks about the race.  We have a great group of runners that do all kinds of distances and you can really learn some much from all of them if you listen. It just felt really great to be out running again.  I have been doing a lot of fast hiking lately due to rolling my right ankle back in June and my left ankle in October.  Right now the ankles are fine and are getting stronger I just have to pay more attention to my foot placements.

12-1-2010 - around 5 or 6 miles - 50+ minutes