Always forward, never back
“Always forward, never back.”
~Blessed Junipero Serra
2020, dang…I’m so glad you’re over. Onward!
A saying I heard recently while binging “The Imposters” with my hubs resonated with me. “Always forward, never back.” I love the ring of it. It’s easy to get bogged down with the past, but I’m so excited for 2021 and what lies ahead. New possibilities, new hopes on the horizon. With many front line workers getting vaccinated, there is a beacon of light ahead. Real progress is happening before our eyes. This brings a smile to my face.
As far as running, we have big goals for 2021. We’ll be venturing on our first ever 200 miler in September, The Tahoe 200. We have 228 days until our toes are on the starting line. Our feet will hopefully take us the 205.5 miles around the beautiful, pristine Lake Tahoe, in California. The unknown is intriguing, daunting, and wonderful. What will it be like to be in nature for 100 hours? How low will my lows be? Will my legs be able to carry me this far? While I’m both scared and overjoyed, I’m most grateful to be running this race with my hubs and sharing this experience with him.
We have the best crew we could ask for.
Guy’s sister Elaine, and her partner, Christine are salt of the earth. Rockstars & Legends in our book. I’m not just saying this because they are family, they are crewing extraordinaries. They have crewed us since the beginning of our ultra days, Elaine even pacing Guy at three Vermont 100’s!
For me, they are a safe place to land. They are calm, witty and organized. Talk me down from my proverbial ledges when I want to throw the towel in. It’s such peace of mind knowing they will be there with us on this adventure. Family is everything.
As far as pacers, we hit the jackpot! Our two friends, Thomas and Maria are so generous to take time out of their busy lives to crew/pace us. They are not only badass runners, they are super kind, calming and knowledgable. People you want around when things get crazy. They will be with us through thick and thin and during our darker moments of the race. My requirements from them is to not let us get eaten by animals in the night and don’t let us fall off a cliff in the dark. I think that’s fair, don’t you?!
All joking aside, training starts now. This year it’s all about the elevation. Tahoe 200 is a single loop mountain trail race with 40,200 feet of climbing. I’ve scoured the web reading race reports, watched documentaries, and am following folks who have done this race in the past. Chatting with friends who have witnessed first hand what it takes to tackle this beast has been awe-inspiring. Thanks to Matt, Nat, Lulu and Astrid who have lended tangible knowledge to us about gear, lodging, the course and much more.
To me, it’s always been about the journey.
The miles and dedication it takes to get to the starting line is the prize, it’s what makes it all worth it. I’m eager to see what the year of training brings.
With our sights set on Tahoe, we will still be partaking in our favorite race of the year, The Vermont 100. So many memories along the trails of this race for me. The early years of cantering along the peaceful trails on my horse with my Mom, to sharing an entire Vermont 100 with Guy, to having the boys crew or pace us at every Vermont 100 we’ve tackled, whether on foot or horse. I wouldn’t miss this race for the world.
If you have an insight about what it takes to run, shuffle, crawl your way through a 200 miler that you want to share with us, we’d love to hear from you. Thanks for following our journey to Tahoe!
See ya on the mountains!
Krista xoxoxo
