Good morning Neal, sorry I did not reply to your SB 100 Mile post sooner. For 8 years I hosted the SB 100 from a non-descript day-use campsite location in the Lower Santa Ynez Recreation Area on the north side of the Mtn. range that lacked running water, electricity, and ample parking. While these items were overcome each year with auxiliary means, the deal breaker was the year to year headaches the start/ finish area was subjected due to drought, forest fires, Forest Service budget issues literally the month or two prior to event day. In spring of 2016 I started working to relocate the start/ finish to a location within the city boundary of Santa Barbara that would allow the event to mature with minimal annual alterations and allow the participants and guest to take in a great Santa Barbara experience. Permits and approvals we arranged by October 2016 for SB 100 to be hosted from the high school track & field, subsequently I was informed in February 2017 SB 100 needed to find alternate hosting location due to the stadium, track & field construction project that had been postponed for 4 years due to budget related issues had been miraculously been funded and was now slated to begin construction in July 2017. I then chose to step back and evaluate the merits of pursuing to host the event what with so many obstacles, it was at this time I decided to scale back the 2017 event to the 100k division only so I could have ample opportunity to address numerous aspects of the Santa Barbara 100 event that needed to be revised to improve the athlete experience and finishing rate(s) to allow the event to mature. Those items are (but not limited to) hosting in a period with milder weather, start/ finish near downtown SB, symmetrical Out N Back route, 50 mile turn around location on the front-side of the Mtn. range, affordable option(s) for athletes to stay the night before the run, 5 am Saturday start time, course route that offered easier methods for athletes to utilize guest or crew support, easy accessibility to local restaurants, stores etc., in addition to opportunities to sustain local charities. All that said, Im confident now my wish list for the Santa Barbra 100 has been attained and the Santa Barbara 100 Mile division will return 5am October 14-15, 2018

Thanks Robert! I grew up on a big ranch out in those mountains and am looking forward to the SB100 very soon so I can run some of the same hills I grew up on. Thanks for your hard work! Keep it up.