Hello, my name is Bill and I'm an Ultraholic.

Last week, while cruising the Internet for a bit of running information, I stumbled across a post from a gentleman by the name of Chihping Fu (Ultraholics from left Anil Rao, Chihping, Peter Lubbers, Alan Geraldi and Rajeev Patel at TRT) asking if anyone would be interested in doing all night, mid week Mission Peak (Fremont CA) repeats. To the innocent bystander, I'm sure the thought of running up and down a remote peak, all night, in the dark, with a group of strangers must sound questionable. However, for me, the idea pushed all the right buttons. The Mission Peak Repeater would begin to satisfy several of my prerequisites as I make my way towards the eventual late summer, early fall 100 mile trail ultra. Exact race is still to be determined.

Those buttons - Button 1) Night Run - A chance to practice the use of my lights and help get accustomed to running at night with limited visibility and without the fear of being consumed by a large, hungry cat. Button 2) Elevation Gain/Loss - Each out and back to the top of Mission Peak is about 2500 feet of gain/loss in 6.5 miles. Pretty damn steep.




















And Button 3) New Ultra Friends. My main goal for 2009 is to step out of my comfort zone socially. I have a habit of keeping to myself and avoiding unfamiliar social situations. If I don't know someone, I usually avoid them initially and hope to be introduced sometime down the road. Lame, I know, but that's just the way I'm wired. I'm going to fix that this year and the Mission Peak Repeater will be a big step in the right direction.

I emailed Chihping asking if he thought it would be ok if I joined his group for the run. He replied quickly and told me to figure it. He also invited me to join the Ultraholics! Information on the Ultraholics (taken from their Yahoo Groups website) here:

"The Ultraholics are a loose-knit group of trail runners, ultramarathoners, triathletes and runners. We are based mostly around the San Francisco Bay Area, but our members live all around the country. Many of our members have run competed in some of the hardest ultramarathons and other endurance events such as the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the Badwater 135 Mile Endurance Run, Ironman Triathlons, and ultramarathoning "slam" events. In addition to our Yahoo Groups site, many of our members also publish blogs to update the endurance community on our events, training and lives. We try to get together for social gatherings as well as races and training runs. Many of our members use their love of their sports to help raise money for charities and other worthy causes."

For you East Coasters or Ultra Roadies that are ok with a bit of travel, check this race out. The Keyes 100 is directed by Ultraholic Bob Becker and will be a great way to see the Florida Keyes, support a very worthy cause, and soak up the Florida ultra vibe. On my radar for next season.

So there you go. I have a good feeling about 2009.