My 2020 Race Calendar and How I’m Going to Finish At Each Race
by Chase Parnell — January 12, 2020
I’m going to say that this schedule is 95% locked in. I’m really feeling like I need to capitalize on the freedoms I’m currently enjoying. I don’t have to be at an office at 8am sharp every weekday morning and despite working really hard on Treeline Journal, I don’t have the same level of work stress that accompanied some of my prior jobs. Also, since I quit drinking I feel like my motivation is staying strong and that good performances are attainable with this new level of focus. Only time will tell if this proves to be a banner year as far as performance goes, but either way, this race calendar has me all jacked up. Lots of new places, new trails, and new adventures. Alright, let’s jump into it.
Los Angeles Marathon (CA) – March 8
I’ve decided to roll my fitness from Cal International Marathon (CIM) into the LA Marathon. I’m going to run 2:29:28. I’m going sub-2:30 — it’s already a done deal. Don’t even bring your doubts at me right now. I’m on track, fitness is improving quickly and I have 8 giant long weeks left to dial in that 5:43 per mile pace that’ll be required. PLENTY of time. I’ll say it again, plenty of time. My mantra going in to CIM was, “On the other side of pain is great joy.” No, no, no. No more of that wishy washy sentimental stuff this time around. My mantra for L.A. is, “Put up or shut up.” Baring injury or 100 degree weather, I’m going to get it done down there. Sub 2:30 or bust. That’s been my lifetime marathon goal for a long time. It’s happening.
Lake Sonoma (CA) – April 11
With my newly minted marathon PR of 2:29:28, I’m going to be feeling pretty damn sassy coming into Sonoma. Competition is going to be super soft — just have to get around Hawkes, Freriks, Reagan, Denucci, Maravilla, Flaharty, and a few others. NBD. No, but seriously, I think if I have a dream race I could break 7 hours, which typically would put you in that 7th-8th-9th place range. If I have a good race, I’d be around 7:30 or so and anything under 8 hours is still a very respectable time for a course with 10,000 feet of gain. So what am I going to run? 6:58:12. It’s going to be just swell.
Cruel Jewel 100 miler (GA) – May 15
I’m running this for three reasons: (1) it’s a 100 miles and no self-proclaiming ultra runner should ever let too much time go in between 100s because you’re going to get soft if you do — my last hundo was the Bear in 2018, (2) I’m intrigued by the race and area: Georgia, deep woods, Appalachia, 33,000 feet of climbing (equals that of UTMB), great suffering in heat and humidity, and (3) it gets me all the points as it’s a qualifier for Western, Hardrock, and UTMB. It’s going to be an expensive trip but who cares really, right? We have one shot at life and this is a big year for us. I’m ready to swing for the fences and I’m excited to throw down and finally close out a good 100. How am I going to finish? Well, in looking at the start list, I don’t know many of the names, with one exception: Ben Bucklin. My gut is telling me he’s the favorite. The guy was 4th at Hardrock. He’s a mountain hundred guy and performs well in hard 100s. My strength is running and descending, not hiking, so I’ll have trouble against a guy like Ben. Beyond that, this is the home turf for a lot of good east coast runners and I’m sure they’ll want to lay the smack down on the westerners coming out to their turf. So for me, I think a top five finish would be phenomenal. Sub 30 hours also seems like a very commendable accomplishment as only 5-15 runners do it each year. Finally, this is one that I very much need to finish and earn those precious qualifying points.
Grossglockner 110k (Austria) – July 24
Soooo, we didn’t get into the Eiger Ultra Trail and we didn’t get into UTMB. Lotteries have not been kind to me over the years. Did I mention I’ll have seven tickets for Western States next year? But let’s be real, the Alps are re-donk-ulous so no need for a pity party. There are no shortage of insanely inspiring courses. Sure, they aren’t as well known as the Eiger or UTMB so they don’t carry the same prestige but they are just as beautiful and just as worthy of excitement. Grossglockner has been on my radar since I watched Dan Whitehead’s YouTube video about his experience there. And the race’s promo video below only bolstered my interest because, well, just watch it!
So beautiful right?! I can’t even imagine running through that terrain. But this dream appears to be coming true! I’m planning to hop in that sucker during our multi-month Europe trip this summer (many more details to come on this soon) and see how I stack up against the Euros. I should have a few weeks to train in the area beforehand so I’ll at least have some acclimatization to the vert and technical trails. I have no idea what the competition will be like and really no context for what sort of time is possible on the course. I want to really soak this one in and enjoy it, so whatever result that brings I’ll be happy with it so long as I have a powerful and memorable experience.
Alright, that’s my race calendar and my semi-outlandish predictions. I’m sharing it with you all because you are my virtual accountability partners. I don’t want to let you guys down so I’m going to train my ass off, get fitter than I’ve ever been, and see what I can do in 2020.
It’s going to be YUGE.
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