Performance of the Year, Male: Trevor, Beer Mile 1st place
Performance of the Year, Female: Lexi, Hellgate 1st place
Rookie of the Year: Nora
Rookie of the Year (ride N tie): Mike
Rookie of the Year (pack burro racing): Sean
Debut of the year: (tie) Nora (first 100 miler, Cascade Crest 100) and Lisa (first ultra, Masochist 50k) and Bjorn (first race, Reston Youth Triathlon)
Redemption of the Year: (tie) Ashley, Manitou’s Revenge and Mike, Richmond start line
New WUS Event of the Year: Presidential Traverse
WUS Scavenger Hunt Winner: Garret (runner up: Andy)
Other notable performances: Heather (3rd, Fat Dog 120), Anthony (6th, Hellbender 100), Garret (Hardrock 100, top-40)
Best performance, keeping a streak alive: Aaron, Hellgate
Best performance, WUS recruitment: Duy
Best performance, extracting $100 from Scott Van Pelt: Jaret
Best performance, equine: Poppy
Best performance, explanation of dating apps: Seb
Worst performance, climbing the stairs at Atomic Billiards: Mike
Worst performance, equal distribution of WUS awards: Martha
WUS Predictions for 2026
- Martha keeps trying to get Blueberry Buddies off the ground but no one cooperates.
- wussies bring home mad prize money out West (rrr, gorges)
- Anthony falls in love with burro racing, adding yet another reason to quit life and become a mountain bum with Sean in Colorado.
Following an award-winning stint as Martha’s running buddy #6, Mike finally gets worn by her heckling and antics and passes the baton to #7.
Garret finally gets his 2025 Scavenger Hunt prize, but not before winning the 2026 edition.
After taking a year off, wussies throng to Silverton for Hardrock. Keith begrudgingly accepts the help of Pacers after a couple rounds of negative self berating.
Scorecard. 10 of my 16 predictions for 2025 came true.
Mass WUS gathering at Hellbender 100. Hellbender became a Hardrock qualifier this year, bringing Anthony, Aaron, Garret and Peter to North Carolina’s crown jewel century. The capable hands of Hellgate RD Carrie Barris (my Ride N Tie friend) managed to pull off the race (with an altered course) even after the ravages of Hurricane Helene.
WUS wedding. Jaret and Lisa get rid of all the children and tie the knot. Lisa and Martha discover a shared fondness for the dance floor, which paved the way for…..
Record number of Wussies attend Mike’s DC rave (but only the early bird 4pm version). Even Heather made it out to twerk at Mike’s “day rave” on U Street, beginning a new WUS summer tradition that appeals to women, speaking of which….
WUS women make a comeback (after their demands are met). For years, women were an endangered species at WUS. Then Barry arrived. In 2025, WUS women not only made a comeback in numbers, but in speed and performance. Speaking of good asses……
Group of intrepid Wussies complete a burro race. Over the years, there has been a lot of talk about doing a Colorado burro race, but not a lot of walk. This all changed in 2025 when Sean finally manned up and lined up some fine Colorado donkeys. Speaking of manning up…..
Another WUS tries ride n tie. Cowboy Mike made his ride n tie debut in bold fashion at the 2025 Ride N Tie World Championship in Cripple Creek, Virginia. On his second day, Mike’s team surprised the field by finishing runner-up in the “Equathon.” Speaking of runner-up…..
Pacers ringer gives Puff a run for his money at the 2024 WUS beer mile. Anthony had talked about his Monday night Pacers run for The Pacers Party Boyz threw everything they had at Beer Mile reigning champ Trevor. Joe (aka Mr November) nipped at Trevor’s heels, but settled for runner-up. But the Pacers overachieved in their commitment to the competition and were warmly welcomed back to future Tuesday nights, primarily for taunting.
- Someone from the Monday night Pacer’s Run joins WUS (once Martha is offered as tribute)
- Aaron runs his 25th consecutive Boston Marathon in April.
- Martha celebrates Aaron’s achievement a week later by throwing a Beer Mile party he doesn’t want in his backyard. In the spirit of “we all make sacrifices,” Martha invites all the WuSsies, even the hot sauce thieves. Because in 2025, everyone gets a shot at redemption.
Better luck next time. Six 2025 Predictions that never came to pass.
- An epic WUS adventure involving HKJ
- Keith makes a WUS comeback
- Seb finally earns a “real” WUS award by completing his first 100km race (thanks to a phenomenal pacing job by Guy).
- New WUS house
- Nora becomes the new occupant of the Bannockburn party house
- Puff Magic runs a sub-20 hour hundred.