obligatory year end 2025-by-the-numbers-and-other-stuff note: chapter 3/tokyo drift

 

(a little context for my new readers this year: for the last couple of years i've been aggregating unused thoughts that didn't make it into my race reports into a year-end catharsis.  most of these are ideas or discussions with myself i had in a potentially-hallucinogenic stupor after hour 20 of staying awake during an event of some sort, but lately some of these are thoughts i had in a sleep-deprived stupor 30h into a volunteer shift. 

the title is also a reference to this.)

race report: this feels oddly familiar

The one thing that totally caught me off guard about my first DNF was how long it took the imposter syndrome to actually wear off.  Sure, there are a fair bunch of y'all that would give their left nut to be able to do 91mi at Hardrock - but it's more painful when my performance was a clear regression of fitness and a stark reminder of my own mortality.  

That being said - I totally signed up for Tunnel Hill prior to running Hardrock fully expecting this scenario to play out.  It definitely helped with scrubbing the imposter syndrome away...but it still hurt like a bitch.

yup, this is how I dress for races now.  nothing to do with kolache intake though.

race report: high climbs and misdemeanors

welp, it had to happen at some point.

i'm just glad it took me 12 years to get here - and that it is not the sad story i thought it'd turn out to be.  

like seriously, i don't need you to feel sorry for me - i'm just glad this is the culmination of one batshit-crazy racing history.  

[so far.]

race report: you are the manufacturer of your own misery

I didn't want to write this one, given how incredibly chaotic it was the six days leading up to the race, plus the race itself.

proudly sponsored by Big Donut

But I figured it would help someone, including myself, in the future, so here we are.  

obligatory year end 2024-by-the-numbers-and-other-stuff note: chapter 2/electric boogaloo

 

(a little context for my new readers this year: for the last couple of years i've been aggregating unused thoughts that didn't make it into my race reports into a year-end catharsis.  most of these are ideas or discussions with myself i had in a potentially-hallucinogenic stupor around hour 26 of staying awake during an event of some sort, but lately some of these are thoughts i had in a sleep-deprived stupor 30h into an aid station shift. 

like 2021 and 2023, it was difficult this year with only one race on the docket....but unlike those years, there were way more hours alone with the thoughts in my head since there are fewer folks that run long down here.)

Race Report: The End [of the Beginning]

Like most things in life, everything is temporary.  
And like it is for most runners, distance running is just a crutch that you don't need forever.

This is the story of the confluence of these two concepts.

obligatory year end 2023-by-the-numbers-and-other-stuff note: "body glitter will give you a second wind, trust me"

(a little context for my new readers this year: for the last couple of years i've been aggregating unused thoughts that didn't make it into my race reports into a year-end catharsis.  most of these are ideas or discussions i had in a potentially-hallucinogenic stupor around mi75, but some of these are thoughts i had in a definitely-drunken stupor 13h into an aid station shift. 

like 2021, it was difficult this year with only one race on the docket....but unlike 2021, so many more crewing hours and way too many aid station shifts outside of Alberta.)

Race Report: 切ない/Setsunai

Full disclosure - this report is long.  

But so was this race, so........🤷

obligatory year end 2022-by-the-numbers-and-other-stuff note: stilettos and broken bottles

can you believe I've never been on Cascade Mountain before?  it's amazing what you can miss when you keep staring off into the distance and trying to escape your present.  or something like that.  (but seriously, i've never seen banff/minnewanka from this perspective and this was trippy as fuck.)

Race Report: "And then fucking taco shorts comes out of nowhere"

Despite dragging my ass around the world on many various adventures throughout the years, I had amazingly never been anywhere in Canada east of Toronto (technically Montreal if we are counting layovers).  Then one day, this scrappy ULCC airline started flying out to St. John's from Calgary for roughly half of what I would pay on a mainline, so I checked with what my bud out there was up to for September long.  He said he was out of town running the Steep 50k in Corner Brook, so I signed up for the 100k of that iteration to tag along with him.  

Yes, you've read this story before.

Me, MEL'NIE! and Tim before the race