Scheduling questions

So here are the races I have on the schedule or for which I have entered the lottery:

• January 4, 2025 - Polar Opposite 10-K

• March 2, 2025 - Tokyo Marathon

• April 13, 2025 - Paris Marathon

• June 21, 2025 - Grandma's Marathon

• And the big announcement - Marathon du Mont Blanc - June 29, 2025

• June 26, 2025 - Speedgoat 50K

• September 21, 2025 - Berlin Marathon - Lottery entry with results early December

• October 12, 2025 - Chicago Marathon - Lottery entry with results announced December 12, 2025

The chances of winning a bib for Tokyo or Mont Blanc is less than 10% each. The chances of winning a bib for both is less than 1%. I've been incredibly lucky on that front.

At this point, something has to go.

• Tokyo and Mont Blanc are clearly the must run events.

• Grandma's is clearly out.

• Paris is a definite maybe depending on work commitments and how I feel after Tokyo.

• Speedgoat will depend on how I feel after Mont Blanc.

The fall remains to be determined.

My original goal was to run sub-3:44:43 to set a PR and qualify for Boston 2027. The qualifying window for 2027 is September 2025 to September 2026. I'm fairly certain I can do that even now.

The question is whether I can run a qualifying race under 3:25 by September 2025 to qualify for Boston 2026. I certainly cannot run 3:25 today but my rate of improvement makes me wonder if I can do so by September 2025. With continued dedicated training, I might be able to. I'll register for the Erie Marathon in case I want to give it a try. That race falls in the qualifying window for both 2026 and 2027.

Chances of getting into Chicago or Berlin are probably over 70% so there's a good chance I'll be running one of those. If I get into neither, I'll enter the lottery for New York. Failing that, I'll enter another flat, fast fall race. At some point, I need to get the qualifier for 2027 and I'd like to get that taken care of sooner rather than later to free me up for other adventures.

There are a lot of ways this can all play out and they are all good. I'm eager to see what happens.

One point on the schedule above is that it includes Mont Blanc which is 26.2 miles with 8,000 feet of elevation gain and Speedgoat which is 31 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation gain. If I can do both of those without too much trouble, stepping up to 44 miles and 11,000 feet of gain wouldn't be too much trouble. Are there any notable 44 mile runs with 11,000 feet of gain? I can think of one.