Time to fire this up. As always, this thread is for anyone running trails or ultras...5k, 1k, 1 million Ks. Beginners and grizzled vets.

I guess the discussion can start with what do you have on the docket for 2026?

I've only got two races on the calendar at the moment.

- Big Bend 50K. I was supposed to run the 100K but I've had a rough end of the year with multiple minor injuries and then getting sick. I dropped down to the 50K, and even that is going to be interesting with the limited training.
- Angeles Crest 100. Hopefully getting redemption for my DNF in 2024. Race got moved to October, so hopefully the temps will be a bit cooler.

Im hoping to do an adventure run late summer, but we'll see. I might have a big change coming at work in the near future, so Im waiting to see how that shakes out before I try and plan anything else.

I've got 3 days of Syllamo scheduled for March and Sedona 125 in May so far. Probably won't make Syllamo because I've been dealing with a nagging injury.

This is the last year of Loup Garou, so I may go do that 100.

At this point, mostly focusing on the Grand Canyon R3 in mid-May. And for Texas doing Palo Duro Canyon and Dinosaur Valley 25K's

May do an event in Maryland or Idaho late in the year. Also hoping to pick up some pacer duties at TROT or Tejas Trails events.

think I've mentioned/offered before, but I've done r2r2r twice. happy to give advice.

2026 should be my return to being able to run after finally having surgery on my Achilles. PT is going well so far 5 weeks post op, hopeful to be released to run by mid summer.

Bandera 100k.

Thanks! I appreciate it. A friend and I did the R2R last year and had a great time. We had planned to do the R3, but she took a tumble and scraped her knees up pretty good.

So we caught a ride back to the South Rim and vowed to get it in 2026. Our plan, at this point, is to go the first weekend the water is turned on (mid-May).

Thats right! I forgot about that. You have checked on the trail status, right? The fires have a lot of North Kaibab closed. NPS says for the foreseeable future.

I love that Jamil started Burrito League since there was no Chipotle challenge announced.

I'm just here to make sure that I'm an idiot. I run and lift regularly. I'm running 3 half marathons this spring along with the Houston HYROX in March. I'll be sub 1:45 for the half's so pretty solid pace for a 45 year old dude.

I have run a marathon in the past and it was fine, I just don't want to deal with the months of training heavy mileage.

Question- am I crazy to be interested in just maintaining a weekly long run of 10-15 miles and then just yolo a 100k without pushing mileage? I'm looking at the Dinosaur Valley endurance run in November. I'm not in it to compete as much as finish under the 22 hour qualifier.

cadetjay02 said:

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I'm just here to make sure that I'm an idiot. I run and lift regularly. I'm running 3 had marathons this spring along with the Houston HYROX in March. I'll be sub 1:45 for the half's so pretty solid pace for a 45 year old dude.

I have run a marathon in the past and it was fine, I just don't want to deal with the months of training heavy mileage.

Question- am I crazy to be interested in just maintaining a weekly long run of 10-15 miles and then just yolo a 100k without pushing mileage? I'm looking at the Dinosaur Valley endurance run in November. I'm not in it to compete as much as finish under the 22 hour qualifier.

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can you complete it? sure. but at 10-15 miles/week, its going to be a LOOOOONG day. You will suffer. You might end up injured afterwards. You will absolutely want to quit, especially since its a bunch of loops and dropping out is very easy. You'll be walking/hiking the vast majority of it. If you can get past the mental part of wanting to quit to end the pain, you can likely finish it.

AggieOO said:

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cadetjay02 said:

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I'm just here to make sure that I'm an idiot. I run and lift regularly. I'm running 3 had marathons this spring along with the Houston HYROX in March. I'll be sub 1:45 for the half's so pretty solid pace for a 45 year old dude.

I have run a marathon in the past and it was fine, I just don't want to deal with the months of training heavy mileage.

Question- am I crazy to be interested in just maintaining a weekly long run of 10-15 miles and then just yolo a 100k without pushing mileage? I'm looking at the Dinosaur Valley endurance run in November. I'm not in it to compete as much as finish under the 22 hour qualifier.

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can you complete it? sure. but at 10-15 miles/week, its going to be a LOOOOONG day. You will suffer. You might end up injured afterwards. You will absolutely want to quit, especially since its a bunch of loops and dropping out is very easy. You'll be walking/hiking the vast majority of it. If you can get past the mental part of wanting to quit to end the pain, you can likely finish it.

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I agree. It's going to hurt. And hope you get your nutrition right. A marathon doesn't really compare. If you have any major setbacks, it's completely possible to miss 22 hours.

If you don't increase your mileage / time on your feet, I think finishing the 100K at Dino Valley will be a long shot.

I've run the Dino Valley 25K multiple times using a half marathon training plan and it's rough (and took me 2:45, which sounds horribly slow but is actually decent running given my age haha).

There are other courses (Brazos Bend) that would be much better as a first 100k attempt.

22 hours is about as generous you're going to get for a 100k WSER qualifier. I would probably latch onto somebody that is more experienced or have an experienced pacer. I always recommend that regardless of training though.

Definitely good advice. I've been a pacer at Rocky, Habanero, and Dino and have always been amazed/scared to see just how bad the 100K/100Mile folks look on those last few loops.

Which is why I stick to 25K venturing up to 50K sparingly. But my regular running partner and I are only doing one event together this year (hopefully Grand Canyon R3) so I'm looking to add some other things to my calendar.

Going to look into some Tejas Trails, Outlaw and Rise events maybe. And probably something else outside of TX.

Thank you for confirming what I already expected, I'm am in fact stupid and should wait until I'm ready to actually commit to venturing beyond 13.1.

Haha....definitely not stupid. More like overly optimistic and adventurous!!

I did something similar recently.....my regular running partner and I entered a 50K race in Wyoming and did not do much training for it. We are both trail runners and have run that distance in TX, CO, AZ and WY previously, and we assumed we'd be fine.

But we weren't fine. We struggled and fell behind the mandatory cutoff and got pulled from the race. It didn't bother me, but it crushed her. And despite being an avid adventure trail runner, she's basically stopped running (and it's been six months since the race).

You might still be able to complete the 100K at Dino with low mile training, but I think you'd probably either get hurt or absolutely hate trail running as a result.

And the others on this thread are far more qualified than I am to talk trail racing and ultra distances. I just got into trail racing 4 years ago and stick mostly with 25K distance, venturing up to 50K a couple times per year but zero plans to ever do 100K/100M.

Looks like Hans signed with Hoka

that altra contract was quick.

i'll listen to the singletrack podcast on it later.