How do you choose?

What is available in the area plus club champs races, both fell and road. Being in KCAC, the number of races that we can do is massive!!! Done at least 40 this year, from triathlons to London to Bretts night races.

Next year, will have 3 aims, of PPP, ironman and Ben Nevis, then will fit races around the training but aiming for longer races. I know I'm not good enough for some of the ALs so just be sensible to choose what I can do and enjoy, which is the main reason I do it!!

I think you could physically manage more or less any AL if you could do an Ironman - I haven't and I dont think I could but I have done all of the Lakes ALs (except the new one) and I failed to get round the PPP on my one attempt at that - I just didn't have the speed on the long flat sections to stay within the timeouts and had to stop at the pub!

I don't consider myself a fell racer but I am a fell runner so I tend to select races on purely random criteria, either for the particular challenge they throw at you or because of a masochistic desire to keep my eye in. To me its mostly a love of running in the hills and mountains on my own that drives me on, fighting the terrain and weather and just exploring and 'being there'.

Oh, and surviving :).

As for racing, I find short races far too painful as a rule so usually avoid those like the plague and instead end up doing 'far too painful' long ones instead. I also 'collect' certain races and, on an ever so slightly increasing basis year by year, my race portfolio grows. Next year for instance its likely to include the high peak marathon, the edale skyline, the 3 peaks, the fellsman, Borrowdale and maybe (for the third time of trying) the Ben if by some stroke of luck I'm uninjured and/or not suffering from bubonic plague. The anniversary waltz and the half and full tours of pendle might crop up too. LDWA events a good as well if for no other reason that there aren't usually many runners and I can kid myself just how good I am - in case you don't know or have forgotten, I was third place out of the runners doing the 2008 Malhamdale Meander :cool:

Streak races? do you still have to carry full windproof body cover etc in a bumbag?