Mr Trail Safety Speaks!

Listen to the dog. I'm gonna piss on a live wire and talk about why Virtual Ultras Don't Count. Preamblin' Prior to 2020 a virtual ultra was a distant-fringe idea, like "running to the moon", kid you not. Then 'Rona exploded in the USA thanks to criminal incompetence, magical thinking, short-term Trumpian graft and corruption, and demonization of actual science that might've gotten a handle on things. All public sporting events died. Suddenly, we entered the age of Virtual Ultras. This was an understandable response by RD's who's events were suddenly cancelled, and by runners who needed to compete in something, anything. Gary Cantrell's The Virtual Great Race Across Tenn essee was a surprise winner in this category with an estimated 19,000 entrants. Pros & Cons  Virtual ultras enable people who might not have done an ultra, to motivate, train, and bond with others looking to find their way out of a black hole. A real positive example is Ja

My virtual buckle is down there, dammit! 2020 was a burning dumpster fire. Ultras got pounded. In the midst of all that, some events were able to safely proceed, and magic happened. Our friends at Ultrarunning Magazine have the stats . They do that way better than I. Predictions... Really?  The following is a tossed salad of the sober and surreal. You decide which. Marquee races like Western States and Hardrock may or may not happen, depending on how fucked up the 'Rona vaccine rollouts are, combined with Avoidable Dumbfuck Super-Spreader Events. Smaller races are also impacted. Currently LA County is on lockdown. Angeles Crest 100 is listed as happening, but we'll see after the winter storms and Bobcat Fire trail-washouts and tree deadfalls have their way. A huge majority of that course was incinerated this past October. The last word from the USFS was that it was closed for the next several years. There's enough trail work for all entrants and more, as the USFS is perenni