My 10th Howl at the Moon

I've run 9 times at the annual Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race.  Volunteered at the race once.  Tomorrow (Saturday, August 14) will be my 10th run...and the race's 20th anniversary!  Good luck to the Kennekuk Road Runners (best running club in the world)--I'm sure they'll put on another quality event.  Here are my updated Howl at the Moon statistics through the 2009 event:

Total Races: 9
Low: 37.81 miles (2000)
High: 47.06 miles (2006, 2008)
Total Miles: 392.18
Average Miles: 43.58
Best Placing: 12th (2005)
Worst Placing: 44th (2000)

This will be my hottest Howl ever.  The current forecast is a low of 72 and a high of 95 with a chance of thunderstorms.  I anticipate low mileage for everyone.  Not sure I'll break 40 miles.  At least we've had hot temps for a few weeks so many of us could slowly adapt to the heat and humidity.   I hope I don't set a new personal "low" (currently 37.81 miles).  In this heat, it would be fantastic to achieve my "Howl average" (currently 43.57 miles).  I'll start with a goal of 40 miles for the 8 hours.  I have a feeling everyone will struggle, many will stop before 8 hours, and I may end up doing pretty well in terms of overall race PLACING, even with fairly few total miles (maybe 40 miles will place people among the top 20 runners?).  I hate the heat, but seem to persevere and keep slugging out slow miles.

I wish all the runners well tomorrow.  Let's stay cool and run wisely...the slow turtle will beat the fast rabbit in the heat.  Don't forget your sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and ice.  Drink plenty of fluids and take in electrolytes.  It's going to be brutal.