Relentless Romero Blogs

September 28, 2019 (Denver, Colorado) - Blind runner Jason Romero (T13/B3) set two new World Records at the Bear Chase Trail Race for trail running at the 100 kilometer (62 mile) - 11 hours 32 minutes 43 seconds  - and 50 mile (84 kilometer) distances - 8 hours 54 minutes 42 seconds .  So how did this thing unfold, because that run was definitely not what I expected. 8 days before this race, I had ran an easy 50 miles with a friend who is training for a 100 miler. I also had trained hard for my A-race of the year, the Leadville 100 (which was 1 month prior). I was not sure I was going to run this race until the day before the race (September 27). When I went to register for the race, I discovered that registration had closed. I e-mailed and called the race director to see if I could sign up race morning. In the afternoon, I had confirmed that I would be able to sign up for the race on race morning. My late entry meant that I would have to run without a guide. I ha...

This race report has been a long time coming - it has been close to 3 1/2 weeks since I ran the Leadville 100 Trail race. My stats for this race are 6 starts with 5 finishes. This year, I had the lofty goal of trying to finish in under 25 hours to earn the coveted "Big Buckle". Usually, less than 10% of the starters of the race are able to successfully earn a Big Buckle. No blind person has ever earned a Big Buckle, and I'm the only known blind person to have finished the Leadville 100 Trail Run. TRAINING I made the Leadville 100 my "A-Race" for the year - meaning, I wasn't racing multiple 100 milers, or crazy adventuring during the 8 months prior to Leadville.  My plan was to be able to "run" the entire 100 miles - where the terrain was runnable. I incorporated several 50 mile runs every 2 weeks into my training. I also ran a couple 100 mile races early in the year to build a solid base. with 2 months to go, I incorporated mountain and...