New year, new goal... Western States 2017

     On December 3, 2016, Tim Twietmeyer, for the 63rd time of the day, announced the name of a runner drawn from the lottery to run in the 2017 Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run.  "From Loomis, CA with one ticket in the lottery, Paul Grimes."  I lifted my son over my head, jumped up from my seat, and ran down the aisle to the stage, as if I had been called for The Price is Right.

     Training will ensue.  Once again my goal will be to reach the Placer High School track in Auburn in less than 30 hours.  My stretch/A+ goal will be to get there in less than 24 hours and earn a silver buckle.  I know I'll have to have an exceptional training cycle and race day in order to achieve that and I'm giving myself a 5-10% chance of it happening for me.  Fantastic odds considering I only had a 2% chance of being selected for the race.

     Training is underway.  One week down, 24 weeks to go.  I'll be logging my weekly mileage and elevation here: Paul's 2017 Western States Training Log


     I kicked off my training cycle on January 3, capping the week off with a ~15 mile run on my birthday in a storm that brought torrential rains, high winds, and flooding to much of California.  I'm excited for what 2017 has in store!

2016 Western States Lottery:

No Hands Bridge looked like an infinity pool on Jan 8, 2017!

The Lake Clementine Dam averages maybe 1,000 cubic ft/s.  Today 28,000 CFS was pumping out!

No Hands Bridge

Lake Clementine Dam

Western States Trail, mile ~98

Burrito and Gretchen are ready for it to stop.
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