IT'S THE DEATH RACE

Click Death Race Banner for link

OK, after looking at the course profile and total elevation gain of 17,000 feet this 125KM (77mile) race seems tame compared to other runs I have completed. That said, many runners going into the race with the same attitude have commented that it's a brutal run and much more difficult than they expected. I'll try to stay away from the Labatt's Blue before the run.

The hotels in Grande Cache need to get their act together when it comes to taking reservations. I didn't want to send in my entry to the race until I had a confirmed hotel reservation. I called three hotels that were putting folks on a waiting list to contact in April. I finally called a hotel and forgot to mention that I was participating in the Death Race and lo and behold they took my reservation. Apparently one hotel I spoke with took reservations last year and had a bunch of no-shows. Seems like the hotels could just lock the reservation with a credit card and charge a min. two nights if you no-show. Perhaps Canadian law won't allow this sort of thing.

I'm open to suggestions on where to stay in the Lake Louise area. The Chateau is out with the lowest cost room being $400.00 a night.

We have had a great holiday with our son Web visiting from Oregon and a Christmas Eve celebration at Michelle's cousins home. I think Michelle is trying to dump me. She got me a tent, an insulating pad, a sleeping bag, and bear spray for Christmas. Actually Riley got me the bear spray. All those items should come in handy for staying the night before at the ultras I plan on running this year.

We have a couple of more runs scheduled including the Last Chance Marathon in Bellingham WA on 12/31/07. Last Chance, which I ran for the first time last year, is my second slowest marathon on record 4:11:08. I ran with Steve Styoles and Rob "Rattler" Hester last year and we just sort of rambled along talking about all the runs we were going to be doing in 2007. It was a prolific year with 6 Marathons and 12 Ultras. My DNF at Western States 100 fueled my ambition to complete the Cascade Crest 100. Life is good!

My 82 year old father is undergoing surgery to replace his aortic valve next week. It's a do or die surgery. We will visit him and stay in Bellingham where he lives until he's stable and heading home. Our son Web had minor heart surgery when he was 1 years old. I remember standing near a play area at Children's Hospital in Seattle talking to the Cardiologist who performed Web's surgery. As we talked a little girl about two years old came running across the carpeted floor at full speed. She had staples in her chest from open heart surgery just two days before. She tripped and slid across the rug on her chest, popped up, turned, and ran the other direction. It's a good thing I was with a Cardiologist because I think my heart stopped when I saw her fall. The Cardiologist just smiled and said he wished some of his adult patients could see how active these kids were after surgery. The kids didn't know how serious the surgery was and they felt so much better that it was just time to play. If my dad is anything like me he still has enough "inner child" in him to get moving and start playing again.

Looks like Michelle and I will start the new year out with a 5mile run and Polar Bear Dip up in Bellingham at Lake Padden.

Happy New Year!