Hundreds of people apply for the HURT100 but the race permits are limited to less than 150 runners. So, the race organizers conduct an old-school raffle. Hundreds of small sheets of paper, drawn at random, decide a runners entry into the race.

The raffle is conducted live on Youtube, allowing runners from around the world to tune in. Some runners wait for years for their name to be called.

Following the raffle, the remaining runners are ordered onto a waitlist. As selected runners opt-out (due to training, travel, or injury), waitlisted runners move up the list into the open slots.

The 2025 HURT100 Lottery (August 24, 2024) was my second year in the lottery. We hosted a small gathering at my house with friends and eagerly awaited the results.

Unfortunately, my name wasn't drawn.

So, I was added to the waitlist, which was released a few hours after the raffle. I didn't have to look too hard. My name was listed as number three on the waitlist.

Number three!

I received a quick text from my coach, "You’ll be in within a week."

Within 4 days, I received my race confirmation (Subject: "You are selected for the HURT100!"). Enough runners opted-out, moving me into a participant position. My initial reaction was one of excited, immediately followed by an overwhelming sense of fear.

Game on!