My 15th Howl at the Moon 8-Hour Ultra

This Saturday will be my 15th Howl at the Moon 8-Hour ultra. Me and about 350 other ultra runners circling a 3.29-mile loop for 8 hours in the central Illinois heat and humidity. Good stuff! Last year was my worst effort ever (29.61 miles after 6 hours, then a drop). I will not have a great race this weekend, but it will be better than last year. I'm thinking around 35 miles. I'd be surprised if I reach 40 miles in the 8 hours. My best performance has been 47 miles (twice). The weather on Saturday looks "not ideal." Low around 72F, high in the mid-80s, humid, chance of rain and/or thunderstorms.

Here are my lifetime statistics for the Howl race (14 finishes):

Total miles: 580.92
Average miles: 41.49
Best miles: 47.06 (2006, 2008)
Worst miles: 29.61 (2015)
Best placing: 12th (208 finishers, 2005)
Worst placing: 187th (306 finishers, 2015)

I hope this 15th Howl finish is a good one. If nothing else, I should break 600 total Howl miles after this event. I'm still recovering from my marathon on July 31 (10 days ago). So now I recover and taper for Howl. 3 days to go! Coach Jeff says I should do a 5-minute run/5-minute walk strategy from start to finish. I'm not picky. Sounds good to me.

Big thank you to the Kennekuk Runners for putting on a fantastic event every year. This is the 26th annual race. Of the 102 ultra/marathons I've completed, Howl is my favorite. I expect this one to be another wonderful celebration of running.