I wrote Greg an e-mail when I didn’t see my name on the list, and he informed me that my application didn’t arrive until 2-3 days after the deadline.  ??? :-(  I found that to be odd, since I mailed it at least a week before — 8+ days for first class mail to go from SoCal to NoCal?  Oh well…now I guess I don’t have to sit on the edge of my seat refreshing my computer screen on the day of the lottery anymore.  Also, it’s going to allow me to do different races next year, since I won’t be able to do the Last Great Race or the Grand Slam again, but doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t do some of those races.  I can tell you though, that Vermont is out, and probably Old Dominion is as well.  I’ll see about Leadville and Wasatch, but AC is a for sure.  Now I’m really hoping I can do Hardrock, but it means I gotta get picked again.  I should have three tickets this year, so my chances are pretty good — I got chosen this year with only 2.  I’m definitely going to send in my app well ahead of time, which can be done after January 1, assuming they keep the same procedure as this year.  The other race I really want to do is TNF Tour du Mont-Blanc, but I need to decide by the 9th of Jan when registration opens, since that fills up very quickly.  Also, that’s gonna be an expensive event with the travel and time off from work, so I will have to probably sacrifice some other out-of-town race(s) as well.  The obvious WS alternative will be Bighorn, so I’ll definitely be considering that one — registration should open on Feb 1.  If I want to do Wasatch again (need to better my DFL), I’ll have to have my entry postmarked between Jan 2-8, and that’s yet another lottery.  So I guess if I get into Hardrock, then it only makes sense to try for the Rocky Mtn Slam — Hardrock and Bear, plus two of these: Bighorn, Leadville, or Wasatch.