Anyone that knows me can tell right away that there is something wrong with the name of this race. You'll find me running with an Angel or running towards an Angel but never running from an Angel.
The main reason I am heading out to Lake Mead National Recreation Area is to attempt a 50 mile PR. It seems every 50 miler I have raced over the years is either a very tough trail course or in the case of the Boogie, in hot humid conditions along with the hills. I learned the hard way after a couple of attempts there that it is not a pr course.( I missed out on the rare cool weather this past year). Due to this, all my previous 50 mile pr's have been in the halfway point of a hundred miler or 24 hour race. Until this year my previous best was halfway through the Rocky Raccoon 100 miler back in 2007, a 10:15. Rocky is still my 100 pr in 23:15. This past year I lowered it to 10:02 halfway through Umstead and then lowered it to 9:57 (50.22 miles) on the track during the Badgerland 24 hour.
It was after that event that I decided to try and find a 50 mile road course where I might have a shot at a 50 mile pr under favorable weather conditions and this race seemed to fit the bill. The average temperature is a low in the upper 30's and highs around 55F. Sounded good to me and at a good time of year for me too. My 50k pr was also set in January. Well, I should have paid a little more attention to the elevation profile. Hmmm, I was hoping it was about the same amount of climbing as the Boogie course but no luck. Boogie has about 2250 ft. RFAA has 4277. Whoops. Thats a little more than the 50 miles at Umstead.
OK, so I set the pr this Spring at Umstead under some miserably warm and humid conditions with rain for the first 35 miles so it should be doable. I am also in much better condition right now compared to the Spring so I am still confident I can set a pr. Just probably not quite as fast as I was hoping.
Oh, and the other reason for entering was so I could make another trip out West and see some beautiful desert scenery. and maybe play a little craps in Vegas (-;
here is the race website.
Stay tuned for the results
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