He's At It Again!

My brother recently found out that he secured a lottery spot for the 2010 Western States Endurance Run, which is a race that he's been trying to get in to for a few years now. Western States 100 is one of the oldest ultra trail events in the world, and definitely one of the most challenging. The 100-mile rugged trail run winds through California’s Sierra Nevada, beginning in Squaw Valley, and ending in Auburn. The run includes a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles, and a cumulative total of 18,000 feet of climbing and 23,000 feet of descents.

The race begins at 5am on the Saturday of the last weekend in June and runners must finish by 11am the following day in order to be eligible for an award (the coveted bronze belt buckle). The field typically consists of approximately 450 seasoned ultra running veterans.

So Kelly will add yet another ultra endurance race to his impressive and continually growing resume. His next ultra is on February 7—the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile trail run in Huntsville, Texas, which is the race that started his ultra career in 2005. Since the race will be much flatter and faster than many of the other ultras Kelly has competed in, his goal is to run a PR. Can you even imagine trying to run a personal best in a 100-mile trail run? It’s really just hard to grasp the concept of running that far, let alone trying to run it as fast as you can. But that’s my brother. Always making my athletic accomplishments look like small potatoes :)