2012 Bear Chase 50 Mile Trail Race - Why?

      Why would anyone register and pay for the opportunity to participate in a race of 50 miles?  That is like running two marathons back to back.  For me it was another chance to test myself.  Can I really run or walk that far in twelve hours?

    At my age I am not going to get much faster.  I run as a way to experience new things.  New trails, new races and meeting new people are what I run for.  Any increase in speed is really a matter of re-discovering limits I had found many years ago.  I am not going to increase my VO2 Max anymore, I am only going to get closer to what I had achieved in high school.

     So if I cannot run faster, can I run farther?  My longest runs in high school were never more than 8 miles.  The races I ran where 3.1 miles or 5 kilometers.  A 10K seemed like a very long distance.  Marathons were for Olympians.  I had never heard of the half marathon.  In 1985, ultra running was a fringe sport no one talked about.  The Leadville 100 mile trail race was only a few years old.  I had never in my wildest imaginings thought of running 50 miles.

    In January of this year I made up my mind to run an ultra this year.  The 50K did not seem crazy enough so I chose the 50 mile.  Go big or go home.  I chose the Bear Chase 50 mile race since I had run the 10K and the half marathon distances in the past.  The race was scheduled for September 30th.  The venue is close to home and the race is one of the best organized events you will find in Colorado.  All I had to do now was wait for registration to open and concentrate on my spring training.