It was an opportunity to run for the sake of running. No need to withdraw from a race and miss out on whatever it is you miss out on not running a race. No injury ripping you away from a goal, because there were no goals (might have been injuries but even then those seemed reduced). None of that. Truly, I thought it would be okay. Being there for my family and my students and my runners could be enough. It was. At times.

I still put some hope in racing. Heck some start and finish lines even got crossed. The result were okay. It should have been enough. But the full process wasn’t there. Turns out that for running in 2020 to be worth it, I needed something to show for the year. An objective measure of, “yeah, I did that.”

Something a little bit scary, but also realistic. A challenge that could give me some personal bragging rights, but that really no one gives a damn about. A revisit to a runner I was eight years ago. To see if I’ve still got “it”. Whatever the heck that is.

Which led me to the Saltillo Road trailhead for the Homestead Trail in South Lincoln, NE. 50k to the South lay the finish line of this effort in Beatrice, NE. Having run many hilly, trail 50k races this would be a revisit to my first ultra that followed the MoPac trail from Elmwood to Lincoln. That went well result wise but like many things, experience counts for a lot.

A pre-dawn start and the company of a former student-athlete of mine in Kimberly Bailey practicing her incredible photos skills over the course of the next three and a half hours. I knew a marathon away that one of my closest friends, Mitch Bern, would be joining me for the last five or so miles. I also knew it was a beautiful late fall morning and these days don’t happen very often.

The ability to do this kind of thing is something I try to not take for granted. Daring to try is one thing. But having a lifestyle where a challenge of this sort is even possible is incredibly fortunate. Try to not waste it when you are given a shot. Nailing the FKT was nice. So was the unofficial PR. Friends being around was the best.