Races for 2015?

Time to look back on my racing this past year and then forward to this year. Here are the races I did in 2014 with a comment about each. In general, it was a good year of racing.

2014 Races
March 29	Clinton Lake 30	5:42	personal best for this race
April 26	Illinois Marathon	3:47	easy effort
June 7-8	Run Under the Stars 10-hr	50.5 miles	ran all night
August 9	Howl at Moon 8-Hour	40.48 miles	not very good :-(
Sept 6	Last Man Standing	30 miles	I won!
Oct 11	Illini Mentor Program 5K	20:28	1st 5K in 7 years
Oct 19	St Louis Half-Marathon	1:32	PR!
Nov 15	Tunnel Hill 50M	9:04	PR!
Dec 21	Winter Solstice 30M	5:49	1 of only 2 finishers!

Based on my experiences in 2014, I have a good sense of what races I want to run in 2015. I'll throw in one or two "shorter" (non-ultra) races, but those will be after-thoughts. Here are the main races for the year:

2015 Marathons & Ultra Races
March 1 (?)	Last Man Standing (spring)	Defend my title
March 28	Clinton Lake 30M	The race I founded
April 25	Illinois Marathon	BQ baby!
August 7	Howl at the Moon 8-hr	Try for a PR (48+ miles)
Sept 5 (?)	Last Man Standing (fall)	Continue my fabulous reign?
Sept 19	Barkley Fall Classic 50K	Hardest 50K ever
Nov 14	Tunnel Hill 50M	New PR!
Dec 28	Across the Years	24hr, 48hr, 72hr, 6-day?

Not a bad set of races for this year. The only one that worries me is the Barkley Fall Classic 50K. It's the short version of the "real" Barkley (hardest race in the world). Fortunately, for the 50K, the course is actually marked (sorta) and there are some aid stations. It'll still be the hardest race I've ever done. If I can convince one or two friends to travel down to Tennesee with me this fall, I'm all over this race!

I hope for personal records in the marathon and 50 mile distances. And a new mileage record at the Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race in August. If I'm healthy and injury-free in December, I'll tackle the Across the Years race in Arizona. Not sure which distance: 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, or the BIG ONE...6 days. Wish me well--this is going to be a great year. Hope you have a few fantastic races this year. Dream big, train hard, and win.