In case you don’t know what DNF vs DNS is, it’s Did-Not-Finish vs. Did-Not-Start. So far, in the dozen or so races I’ve run, I’ve been fortunate to always finish the race no matter how long it took. I had one DNS at the Crystal Springs 50K last month. I was at an AYSO coach training session and during scrimmage one of the overzealous parent took out my rib cage (unintentionally of course). Luckily nothing broken, but I couldn’t breathe without pain for a few days and running was definitely out of the question.

DNF vs DNS

There’s a saying in sales that not getting invited to the party is worse than not closing the deal. You’ve got to show up first and with running races, that’s half the challenge. I’ve been so looking forward to the Berkeley Trail Adventure 50K this weekend. With rolling hills and a total elevation gain of ~6,800 feet, it would be the toughest trail race yet (in terms of elevation gain). But I think the ultra gods are pissed at me for some reason. A week ago, one of the straps on my Luna Sandals broke while I was out on a long run. The Luna Monkeys answered quickly and I’ve shipped them my sandals to get brand new ATS (all terrain straps). I’n hoping it arrives before this Friday just so I can break them in for a day.

Just to try out the back up, I ran the Sierra Azul Open Preserve (amazing run) in my busted Luna Originals. Sierra Azul turned out to be a super technical run, but the old Lunas have now given me a couple of blisters on my toes.

The last straw came in last night when I went to take out the trash in the dark and stubbed my toe (hard) to the point there’s a big chunk of skin missing on my big toe with blood all over. All these months of running gnarly terrain without injuries and now I stub my toe right outside my house. My friend’s sage advice when it comes to barefoot running? Don’t take out trash in the dark! Thanks buddy, very helpful. With three days to go, I can’t will my skin to grow any faster. I can duct tape the blisters for sure, but the toes?

So here I am pondering DNF vs DNS. Getting back my Mono’s before Friday will definitely be a good motivation to not DNS. Maybe I’ll just run up to the first aid station and if I’m spraying blood all over the trail, call it a day and DNF instead?

What do you think of DNF vs DNS?