18 more days to Georgia Death Race. While that may seem like it’s fast approaching, it feels like a long ways away for me. See I have completed this race before, and I’ve been to the area a few times. Once to pace my friend Gabi at GDR for about 26 miles, and then to pace my friend Minnie for another race called Cruel Jewel 100 that runs on some of the same sections of the trail referred to as the Dragon spine. There is just something about the relentless climbing through the north Georgia mountains that really speaks to me. After a while the constant climbing just becomes more of an ache, and forces you to really figure out a way overcome it .. and that perhaps is what draws me to this particular race. I don’t think it’s the “run” in the running that I enjoy the most. I love moving through the mountains and covering distances on terrain that seem tough for me. I appreciate the work put in by Race Directors to figure out how to connect trails and create unique and challenging courses. It brings an element of creativity and adventure that I can appreciate. I do meet other runners and share some great moments with them at these races. Sometimes you help pull someone else through a tough time, and sometimes you get helped. Most of the times it’s transient, and your thankful and move on. My primary goal is to not necessarily better my performance time from my last attempt. I am not there to make new friends. It’s a bonus if I can make new friends and connect with like minded souls, or get a PR. Honestly, I just want to experience the adventure that lies ahead and see how I address it this time around. To me it’s just part of continuing to see the how my approach to situations has evolved or If I am getting into the same rut again ?!? And of course, I am out there to have some fun! It’s like a fun weekend adventure trip that hopefully ends with me getting a GDR spike, and a hoodie. Yes, love hoodies.

Before I get there I do have a 50K to tackle this coming weekend though 🙂 And, hey I ran on snow free trails for the first time in a while this past weekend. Yay for that !!