My 2015 Race Plans

I am obscenely excited for two things:

1) Ben & Jerry's came out with a new ice cream flavor called Hazed & Confused. I would like to bear witness that this ice cream has been made by angles and delivered directly to Mother Earth from heaven.

2) My 2015 race schedule. Here is what I have on tap for the coming year:

February 14th - Jackpot Ultra Running Festival 100 Miler
I ran this race last year and it was my first experience running a short loop course. It's a 2-mile loop through a conservation area in Las Vegas. A loop course forces you to stay focused, and though it's a bit easier physically, it provides a completely different mental challenge. I got my 100 mile PR of 22 hours and 24 minutes last year.

March 13th - Monument Valley 50 Miler
Monument Valley is the only Ultra Adventures race I haven't done yet. I've been to Monument Valley a few times and it is easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. I CAN NOT wait to run here. Check out this picture of my friend Lisa Henson at last year's race. Wow!

April 10th - Zion 100
I'm proud to be among the few runners who have done the Zion 100 every year of it's existence. I'm so fortunate to live only a few minutes away from the course and do almost all my running here. I think I'd have to say that the Zion 100 is my all time favorite race. (HERE is last year's report.)

May 16th - Grand Canyon 50
I ran the Grand Canyon 100 last year and loved it. I'm tentatively thinking to go for the 50 miler but we'll see. This race has a great variety of scenery, everything from those enormous canyon overlooks to forest trails:

June 6th - Bryce 50
A few years ago I attempted to tackle the Bryce 100 miler.....and earned myself a DNF. It's a difficult race but the scenery is absolutely indescribable. I may switch to the 100 depending on how I'm feeling.

August 1st - Tushars Marathon
This will be the innagural race and it sounds like the marathon distance will be as hard as a 50 miler. It sounds crazy difficult and crazy beautiful.

September 11th - Wasatch 100
I put in for the Wasatch 100 lottery. This is one race that I'm praying I get into and I'm praying I don't get into. Here is a picture from the Wasatch 100 website:

December 2014 - Across The Years
I had such an amazing experience running 205 miles at the 72 hour race a few weeks ago. I want to train specifically for this race and see how many miles I can get in. I'm considering either the 72 hour race or the 6 day race. I've got plenty of time to decide.

There will probably be a few others thrown in along the way but these will be the highlights. Anything here sound interesting? I'd love to share the trail with you at some of these races! What races on your 2015 calendar have you most excited?