In awe

Halloween can mean a lot of things to different people. Candies yes, lot of them. Staying up, yes. Partying yes. For me, I’m boring, and didn’t do any of that. Instead…yes, it was about racing!

For me one of the most exciting and anticipating things this year and by somewhat an accident too, was signing up for a race on Halloween. No I mean “the race”, the one and only I have been talking about day and night, the MMT.

MMT registration opened on October 30 at 8pm! I wasn’t sure if it would be opened at midnight or in the middle of the day, but by October 31, when I so happened to check, 100 people already signed up.

At first, I said I was not going to sign up, not going to sign up. I didn’t know it was open but something in me kind of prompted me. You know that 6th sense of warning or weird feeling. So I checked the website. Note, I usually don’t keep checking a race website.

MMT scarred me. So there was no reason for me to anticipating it. I received enough of a beating from it this year. My schedule is already full when I finalized it a couple weeks ago. Well it’s kinda of full. Well maybe I could squeeze it in. But I had the other hundred mile lined up for next March. I promised myself only to do one big race a season. OBX one is pretty big. It is on road so it is a bit easier and there are no mountains to climb. So maybe it is time to do step it up and do two one hundred mile in a season! And I was thinking about running the C&O 100 too. Screw the plan. Hey let do 3 100.

But this MMT race is hard! It was super hard and I did not finish it last time. Maybe that was just a fluke you know. I got to try it a second time to be sure. I was so close to finishing it too, so this time I’m sure can tilt it over. I literally know every mile of the course. I will be so much stronger this time and I have been training whole summer already. I will be ready by May next year.

I said even though I am not going to sign up but I am gonna check out the website and see what’s new. I saw this!

What is this!? MMT registration is open! And what’s new this year is it added an extra whole hour to the cut-off — a 36 hour time cut-off! Last year we only had 35 hours. This time it is 36! One whole hour! I have not check the course yet, did they add an extra mountain for us to climb? Last time they shortened the time by removed one one of the mountain (Scothorn on the return trip, we still had to climb Scothorn going out). We worry about that later. I only needed just a bit more time (I was cut at the 34th hour at mile 95). Who know if I sit out next year, they might switch back to the 35 hour limit? Maybe this is the one and only chance I get of having a good shot at finishing this?

(Aside: I spoke with the former race director, Kevin, over the weekend when I ran another of his race Bobcat-11 and he was surprised about the changes! He was asking what time I got at the MMT. I did not want to disappoint him like na-na-na I got to run it on an easier time after he stepped down…so I promised I will finish it in 35 hrs next year, I think I can)

After checking the list of participants, Oh, they are in. My friends, my buddies. The list already had a hundred people! Let me be the 101! I got to sign up right now. FOMO kicking in fast (fear of missing out). I did. Oh and the price is so cheap too. It is two and half dollar for every mile. A bargain! A local fifty miler cost more than that! Money speaks.

Note, I am putting a positive spin on this. Hope y’all enjoy my rationalization. This is how sign up an expensive race ;)…More to come!

I signed up is all that mattered. Running part we will worry later. My readers will hear about MMT for another 6 more months.

what’s next…I didn’t do much over my weekend so nothing to write about. I did the bobcat-11, but it was like a fun run. Next week is the Stone Mill. Hopefully a report will be ready soon after.