Badlands Update #2: Gmail Templates, Night Owls, and a Mild Sausage Fest. Welcome to 2026!
Hey Badlands runners!
(And friends who found us via the contact form)
In my last email I apologized for not having a flashy email campaign. WELL. Big news. I recently discovered that Gmail has templates. I then learned that I need to pay Google more to access them from this account... so I didn't. You're stuck with me and my basic vanilla communication antics. However I have learned how to use GIF's in an email. See below for proof.
Will this still be uglier than most race emails? Absolutely.
Am I improving? Also yes. Growth.
I’ll keep it informal so expectations stay low...
Now… if you’re anything like me and “training” has been postponed due to life, weather, and general winter vibes — it’s time to stop lying to ourselves.
You can no longer say, “Eh, that’s next year’s race.”
Because surprise — it’s this year now. I'd wager your training has probably been subprime like my own training and mortgages in '08.
It’s officially time to step it up and risk a little frostbite.
Jacob… I’m still waiting on you to respond to my 5:00am “what time are we running?” text.
For everyone else — Jacob is the local Saucony rep. He would very much like you to buy more of his shoes.
SHAMELESS PLUG? Absolutely.
More importantly, Jacob is donating ALL of the GU for the entire race (yes, all of it).
Will it be almost expired by race day? Possibly.
Will we survive? Probably.
On another note...
Huge thanks to our new registrants!
You’ve only missed one email about clothing sizes and food and me unsuccessfully attempting to recruit Courtney Dauwalter to come run our race
She did not respond.
So ladies… that prize purse is still VERY much up for grabs.
Fun stats for those of you planning to actually RACE this thing:
• 60% signed up for the Night 50K
• 30% signed up for the Overnight 100K
• 10% signed up for the Daybreak 50K (Sunday Morning)
Conclusion: this group is aggressively nocturnal as we had hoped! The night race was our shot in the dark (literally) to see if people would be interested in a different race format.
Because of that, we’re brainstorming dumb/fun race-day ideas. One idea currently floating around.... projecting all the MAD MAX movies onto a sand hill at the Oasis aid station for volunteers and our back-of-packers.
Is this necessary? No.
Is it a vibe? Absolutely.
It’s our race and no one has told us we can’t.
(Please don’t tell Warner Brothers.)
Current registration demographics check:
We are at 73% male / 27% female, which means yes — it’s becoming a bit of a sausage fest.
Ladies: tell your friends. Bring the heat. Show these guys how it’s done.
Where you’re all coming from:
• 81.1% Michigan
• 5.4% Ohio
• 5.4% Illinois
• 2.7% New York
• 2.7% Iowa
• 2.7% Wisconsin
We’re pumped you’re here. Training season is officially ON.
More updates (and questionable ideas) coming soon.
A friend reminder to send me your sizing so I know what size tech hoodies to order for you folks!!!!
2026...Bring it on!!!
Finally, please feel free to reach out with any questions you may have. If you'd prefer to be surprised by this stuff on race day or you hate trail running, just let me know, and I can remove you from this mailing list.
That's all for now folks, see you out on the trails!
J
