I’ve hinted to this race…there are links in my sidebar, it’s come up in online conversations, it’s on my calendar…but let’s make this officially internet official! Last month I registered for the Arizona 200M in June. I spent the months after RRR100 eyeballing races trying to figure out what I wanted to do with 2015.

If I learned anything during RRR100 [aside from the fact the pain eventually stops getting worse] it was that I need something more than just a distance to make a race worth it for me. At RRR100 I had the motivation of it being my first hundred…that I was running exactly one year after my first ultra experience at the same race [crewed RRR100 in 2013 for Nick!]. When things got crappy, that helped. No way was I quitting – I couldn’t recreate this scenario next year, it had to go down THIS year, right now!


You cannot see my face but I promise you would read pain in my eyes – I wanted to drown myself in that stupid puddle!

Run, Rabbit, Run meant something to me, it was more than “just another race”…and that’s what I was searching for when eyeballing races for 2015, something special, something that drew me in. About this time there was a lot of 200 mile talk online. The Lake Tahoe 200M a huge success and that RD was pulling together the Bigfoot 200M, a race from Washington to Oregon that looked stunning. My interest was piqued…

As the weeks went by more 200 mile races popped up, including the Colorado 200M in July and the Arizona 200M in June. While the Bigfoot 200M was along beautiful new-to-me trails and the Colorado 200M was close to home it was the Arizona 200M that sucked me in! I knew the race directors from volunteering at the Silverton Multiday Challenge and loved them. Seriously, they did an incredible job with the organization, the camaraderie, the laidback feel…everything! I know they were experienced with long, unusual ultras and I wholeheartedly trust them to pull off a successful, fun 200M race. So…I signed up!

What exactly does this mean? Well…it means I’m going to be running, a lot. But, on average, not that much more than during my actual RRR100 training [especially if you take into consideration the weeks I took off due to injury]. You can check out my Google Sheets training plan [it’s 110% subject to change]if you’d like – just remember to take it all as a grain of salt, it’s made for me, by me and I’m no expert!

A part of me is really excited for this race – it’s going to be an awesome challenge and I’m going to learn SO much about myself and my body during training and during the race. I’m excited to see what my body can do, but more importantly I’m looking forward to where this race will take my mind. That sounds silly, I know, but it’s true!

IMG_20150102_142524674

Looking out toward Fort Collins from the Horsetooth Rock Trail on a recent do-my-legs-still-work tester run.

I’m also terrified. Absolutely terrified. I am fully aware of how effective a runner’s selective memory is and I know I’m blocking out very important, painful memories from last summer but rather than dig those memories up I’m choosing to focus on the fact I’m a different person and a smarter runner this time around. Hopefully that works out to my advantage, some how.

As for the race itself – I honestly don’t know a lot about it and I knew even less when I registered, that’s how much trust I’m putting in the RD’s – Mark + Sharill! I know it starts in Pine, AZ and finishes in Tusayan, AZ. It covers roughly 219.53 miles with 27,786ft of climbing and 26,486ft of descent. The temperatures could fluctuate anywhere from 28 degrees to 93 degrees, but should average between 50-80 degrees [still a big swing!]. Oh, and while I’ll have crew access throughout the race I won’t actually have a pacer running with me until I cover 100 miles. Somehow I have to cover at least 100 miles by myself, without a pacer handing me food or telling me to drink. In my mind that is, hands down, the most concerning aspect of this race.

Go ahead, read those stats again…then reassure me this is a good decision. It’s okay, you can lie to me. I’ve been lying to myself… [I also plan on getting lost for roughly 0.5 miles, thus the “22 weeks to 220 miles” title of this post.]


Running in snow will definitely prepare me for a summer race in Arizona, right?!

My ultimate goal is to survive…not just the race but also the training. It was the training leading up to RRR100 that screwed me and I’m going to do everything in my power to avoid that disaster again. Over the past few months I’ve put a bit of focus on strength training, cross training and yoga – and I plan to keep that focus as my miles increase. This is precisely why my miles never sky rocket during training. I need strength and endurance, but that doesn’t necessarily mean running 100+ miles on a weekly basis. I learned last summer that my body needs more than just miles, miles, miles on trails – it needs legitimate recovery weeks and I fully intend to embrace them!

Plus, I’m currently rocking at life with the #DonutADay resolution…considering it was definitely the daily ice cream that got me to the RRR100 start line injury free this crazy donut goal of mine is going to work wonders, right?!

All of that said – as readers, what do you want to hear from me in regards to training and preparation for this race? In the past I’ve just recapped scenic runs on the blog, but I do keep track of weekly mileage, have a pile of cross/strength training workouts and other tidbits of information I never shared during my RRR100 training. Would that be of any interest to you, maybe in a monthly recap post?

More importantly – do you have any questions or curious thoughts you’d like answers to? I’ve gotten a lot of questions from people over the past month and, honestly, answer the questions has been extremely helpful to me. Y’all think about things I haven’t fully considered yet…so ask away! I’ll either have a legit answer or I’ll find one!


30 Comments

Colorado Gal · January 5, 2021 at 8:37 am

Hooray! On the bright side, your 100 miler had what, like 20,000 feet of gain? So 27k gain for 200 miles should seem (relatively) easy for you…right?!!

    Logan @ Mountains and Miles · January 5, 2021 at 9:18 am

    Ahhh valid point! That obviously means this is going to be easy peasy for you!

    Excited to follow along (both on here and on the trails!)

      Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 10:56 am

      Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
      Ha. Denial is such a fun state to live in!

    Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 10:56 am

    Ha. Yup — RRR100 was 20,191 up and down [I just checked] so AZ200 will be more runnable. I’m not sure how I feel about runnable, but we’ll find out soon enough! The heat on the other hand… :/

Brenda @ Don't Lose the Trail · January 5, 2021 at 8:28 am

Wow, what a monumental goal to tackle! I can’t wait to follow along with your training for this - I’m training (ostensibly…I’m actually resting, trying to heal a hip flexor strain, and starting to panic about time lost) for my first 50 miler and I can’t even fathom 200M at this point in time. Good luck!

    Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 10:54 am

    Thank you! I have all my fingers crossed for your speedy recovery + successful 50M! Be careful…you’ll be jumping over the dark side before you know it! 😉

Sybil · January 5, 2021 at 11:16 am

Wow, this is amazing! I am excited to read anything you have to write on the topic.

    Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 12:49 pm

    Thank you! Now I just need to actually survive… 🙂

Silvia · January 5, 2021 at 11:39 am

Wow, what a goal! I look forward to read about your experiences in preparation to that race, and of course the race itself. I already checked your progress during RRR100 online!

    Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 10:48 pm

    Awesome — thank you so much for your support! It’s people like you that make this insanity seem like a good idea! 🙂

Beth · January 5, 2021 at 7:31 pm

Wow, you are one crazy lady….and I think that is awesome. I would love to hear more about how you fit all the miles in with a job life etc. and what you eat on the trail specifically. I guess I just want to know all the gritty details and the best CO trails to run. I am hoping to run RRR this summer, fingers crossed. Can’t wait to follow your training adventures!!!

    Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 11:06 pm

    Great ideas — I think I’ll post monthly updates on training/etc and include answers to a few of the questions I’ve been getting [and that I’ve been asking myself, I definitely don’t have this all figured out!].

    RRR100 was an awesome race, depending upon how AZ200 goes [and if it’s not already sold out] I’d definitely consider RRR in the fall!

Cassie @ Rural Running Redhead · January 5, 2021 at 9:27 pm

Whoa. This sounds intense and amazing. I’d love to read training recaps! And if you need a buddy sometimes, let me know; I’d love to take some field trips and run trails with you!

    Heidi Nicole · January 5, 2021 at 11:09 pm

    Field trips it is! Is Fort Collins any closer to you than Denver? Because we can make this happen!

Brooke @ wreckingroutine · January 6, 2021 at 7:00 am

Good luck! You are inspiring/crazy to be taking this on! I loved reading about the gear you packed and how you organized yourself and your crew for RRR100.

    Heidi Nicole · January 6, 2021 at 8:52 am

    I’m sticking with crazy…less responsibility! 🙂

    And thanks — I hope to have more posts like that for this race as well!

Natalie @ Free Range Human · January 6, 2021 at 9:29 am

You are ten different kinds of crazy, and I’m tempted to come to Arizona to watch you rock at life 🙂

    Heidi Nicole · January 6, 2021 at 11:34 am

    Watch?! You can come help make it happen if you’re looking for an excuse to take a road trip to AZ! 😉

      Natalie @ Free Range Human · January 14, 2021 at 10:32 am

      Don’t tempt me-I’ll do it!

        Heidi Nicole · January 14, 2021 at 12:11 pm

        Oooh…I’ll tempt you! And if there is a 13.1-ish mile stretch that can be paced you know you’re getting an email! :p

Jason @ Cook Train Eat Race · January 8, 2021 at 6:11 pm

Lauren turned me on to you, your site and your adventure and I for one will not lie to you but will say: F’N AWESOME!!!

I love it and everything about it.

I am running my second hundo at the end of the month and most likely going back to do the 50 the following weekend.

Next year I am planning on Coldwater Rumble 100 on one weekend the Rocky Raccoon 100 the next and then RR50 the weekend after that.

It is crazy so they say but it is also the only way to get to know what you can really push yourself to do.

    Heidi Nicole · January 12, 2021 at 4:04 pm

    Ha. Thank you!

    What hundred are you chasing this month? Have fun with both races, you’re crazy! [the good kind of crazy, ftr!]

    So far I’m kind of loving the person I discover out on the trails, hopefully that continues!

      Jason @ Cook Train Eat Race · January 12, 2021 at 7:37 pm

      I am running Rocky Raccoon 100 in Huntsville, Texas on January 31st. Just ran Bandera 100k as a good tune-up, test for RR.

      Yeah, you learn a lot about yourself on the trails. I had two mantras this weekend: Relentless Forward Motion and Stubborn Mule.

        Heidi Nicole · January 12, 2021 at 8:45 pm

        Oooh, I hear Bandera was a lot of muddy fun! I had a few friends down there racing! Glad you survived it!

          Jason @ Cook Train Eat Race · January 13, 2021 at 10:11 am

          Yeah it was muddy. I was estimating that at different points there was about 5lbs per shoe extra of mud and grass. Stopped repeatedly to kick it off and that made a huge difference.

          Heidi Nicole · January 14, 2021 at 10:51 am

          That’s insane — gotta love that fun sticky mud! Glad you survived and hopefully you got to channel your inner child while splashing around!

Laura · January 9, 2021 at 12:38 am

HOLY SH*T. 220 miles? You go girl! You’re incredible!
I am interested in reading anything / everything about your training for this megaladon race. Start tellin’!

    Heidi Nicole · January 12, 2021 at 4:05 pm

    I’ve literally lost my mind! And thank you — I’ll do my best to keep the stories interesting along the way!

Currently. // Heidi Kumm · February 5, 2021 at 2:05 pm

[…] …I have logged some serious long mile weekends, which has been encouraging! I just might survive AZ200! […]

Run-muting: Running to Work // Heidi Kumm · February 5, 2021 at 2:46 pm

[…] I guess I should probably start running on a more regular basis, maybe even start officially training. For me this is a special sort of world, a world where I use the term “training” very loosely. […]

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