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Re: [RC] 100s - Truman Prevatt

As someone that wrote 120 of these monthly messages - I can tell you it's no easy feat to come up with a new one every month. Nice column, Jody. The one recurring theme in here and in some of the other comments on this list is the choice to do a 100 is a personal choice. It has to do with satisfying the need to answer a personal fundamental question or fill a personal need - either about your horse or maybe more so yourself or maybe both.

As such it seems as the desire to "incentivize people to do 100's" is bound for failure. Sure it might stimulate some short term enthusiasm - which will fade with time. When the challenge is internal - the rewards are internal not external. You could stop offering 25 and 50's, but some other organization would pop up that did and you would end up with the same number of 100's.

To me part of the 100 mile mystique is going some where. Of my 6 100 mile finishes - 4 were on a course that was a large 50 mile loop. While you repeat the whole loop twice - you only see base camp one time. Once you leave at mid day - when you get back you are finish. There is a sense of "going somewhere." Another one was a 100 mile loop - that is the optimum sense of going somewhere. You are going somewhere it is adventure. The one that was - all checks in camp - I must admit became a chore rather than a challenge. I think Tom expressed the sentiment of "going somewhere" as well as I have heard it.

So for those that talk about doing 100's or dream of it or whatever - stop talking, dreaming, etc. and just go do it. As Julie and Tom said - it's just not "that" hard. For the ride managers - think about putting a little more "going somewhere" in your rides to make them more of an adventure than a chore. In reality I feel the way to get more people riding 100's is to make the riding of the 100 more interesting. Four laps of a 25 mile course with all checks in camp - at least in my mind - is not an adventure. I bet if the sense of adventure were added back into the 100's - those that lust for that sense of adventure and can 't find it doing laps would be standing in line with their entries.

Truman

Jody Rogers-Buttram wrote:

As President of SERA, I have to compose the monthly message for the newsletter. This one was about 100 milers...and I would like to share it with all of you. Oh, scroll down to the cartoon about the 100 miler too....yes, I draw the Ms. Sera cartoon each month. http://www.seraonline.org/newsletters/SERANovember2007.pdf Jody




--

“The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.” Friedrich Nietzsche


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Replies
Re: [RC] 100s, Jody Rogers-Buttram