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ATLANTA — The Mega Millions jackpot swelled to an estimated $900 million for the Tuesday, November 11, 2025, drawing after no ticket matched all six numbers in Friday’s game, organizers announced November 10. The annuity prize ranks as the eighth largest in the game’s history, with a cash option of $415.3 million available to a single winner. Tickets cost $2 each, or $3 with the optional Megaplier for multiplied non-jackpot prizes, and sales close at varying times by state, typically around 10 or 11 p.m. Eastern time.
Players select five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 25, or opt for Quick Pick random generation. Odds of winning the grand prize stand at 1 in 302,575,350, reflecting the matrix updated in April 2025 to boost lower-tier payouts while slightly lengthening rolls. Friday’s numbers — white balls 16, 21, 23, 48 and 70, plus Mega Ball 5 — yielded 688,058 winning tickets nationwide, distributing more than $13.8 million in prizes below the jackpot. Sixteen third-tier winners, matching four white balls and the Mega Ball, collected $20,000 to $100,000 depending on their Megaplier: 10 at 2X ($20,000 each in Florida, Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Washington and Wisconsin), three at 3X ($30,000 in California, Ohio and South Carolina), two at 5X ($50,000 in Indiana and Pennsylvania), and one at 10X ($100,000 in Georgia).
This run, now 38 drawings without a jackpot winner since a $348 million prize claimed in Virginia on June 27, has generated nearly $288 million in lower prizes across 12.4 million tickets. It includes 17 second-tier wins of $1 million each (five white balls only), enhanced by the Megaplier in eight cases: 2X in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Virginia; 3X in California (two), Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey and New York; 4X and 5X both in California. Third-tier totals reached 272 tickets in 40 states and territories, from Arizona to Wyoming, underscoring broad participation.

California prizes vary under pari-mutuel rules, where pools divide among winners, differing from fixed national amounts. The April 2025 overhaul raised non-jackpot payouts across 10 tiers — from $2 for matching the Mega Ball alone to $1 million for five white balls — while introducing the Megaplier up to 10X on select drawings. This change, aimed at more frequent mid-level wins, has distributed $1.2 billion in prizes during the current cycle, per Multi-State Lottery Association data.
The jackpot’s ascent traces to Mega Millions’ format since 2002, operated by 45 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets fund education, infrastructure and other state programs; for instance, New York’s lottery allocates 100 percent of sales to schools. Federal taxes withhold 24 percent on winnings over $5,000, with state levies adding 4 to 8.82 percent, leaving a $900 million annuity winner with roughly $450 million after taxes, or $250 million on the lump sum.
Among historic peaks, this $900 million trails the record $1.602 billion claimed in Florida on August 8, 2023, by an anonymous trust; $1.128 billion to a New Jersey ticket on March 26, 2024; and $1.269 billion in California on December 27, 2024. Earlier 2025 jackpots included $112 million in Arizona on January 17, $349 million in Illinois on March 25, $112 million in Ohio on April 18, and the Virginia win. The game’s largest ever, $1.602 billion, equated to $794.2 million cash, paid over 30 graduated installments.
Drawings occur Tuesdays and Fridays at 11 p.m. Eastern from WSB-TV studios in Atlanta, broadcast live on select affiliates. Security measures include randomized ball sets and independent audits by the Multi-State Lottery Association. Winners have 180 days to claim in most states, with identities public except in Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and South Carolina. Unclaimed prizes revert to the jackpot after six months to a year, depending on jurisdiction.
Ticket volume surges with jackpots over $500 million, often doubling baseline sales of 50 million per drawing. Retailers earn commissions up to 6 percent, plus bonuses for big winners. The April matrix shift, lowering the Mega Ball pool from 1-25 to maintain odds while inflating prizes, has shortened average rolls to 18 drawings from 25 pre-change, increasing revenue for lotteries.
As the prize nears $1 billion — a threshold crossed four times since 2018 — experts anticipate 200 million tickets sold for Tuesday. Past billion-dollar hauls drew international attention, with non-residents buying via trusts. The Virginia winner, for example, opted for cash, netting $163.8 million after taxes. Organizers urge responsible play, with resources like the National Council on Problem Gambling’s helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Mega Millions, launched April 22, 1992, as The Big Game among six states, expanded nationally in 2002. It joined Powerball in fueling a $100 billion annual U.S. lottery market, with jackpots funding $30 billion in state education yearly. Tuesday’s drawing, at the Georgia Lottery’s studio, promises another shot at life-altering odds, with results posted immediately online.

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David M. Higgins II is an award-winning journalist passionate about uncovering the truth and telling compelling stories. Born in Baltimore and raised in Southern Maryland, he has lived in several East… More by David M. Higgins II, Publisher/Editor
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The Texas Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 10, 2025, results for each game:
06-28-44-48-58, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
The next Powerball drawing is on Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 10:12 p.m.
01-03-16-31-44-45
Check Lotto Texas payouts and previous drawings here.
Morning: 9-4-4, FIREBALL: 3
Day: 7-9-1, FIREBALL: 8
Evening: 6-1-8, FIREBALL: 7
Night: 5-8-6, FIREBALL: 0
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Morning: 8-2-2-3, FIREBALL: 5
Day: 0-1-3-6, FIREBALL: 5
Evening: 6-3-1-8, FIREBALL: 0
Night: 0-8-3-3, FIREBALL: 2
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Morning: 01-02-03-06-09-11-12-14-15-17-19-21
Day: 01-02-04-06-07-13-15-16-18-19-21-22
Evening: 01-02-04-05-06-08-10-11-16-19-20-24
Night: 01-05-06-09-10-11-15-18-19-20-22-24
Check All or Nothing payouts and previous drawings here.
01-11-28-29-32
Check Cash Five payouts and previous drawings here.
06-10-22-24, Bonus: 19
Check Texas Two Step payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Texas editor. You can send feedback using this form.

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              <a class="link-author" href="https://www.pockettactics.com/author/quinn-collins" rel="author" target="_blank">                      Quinn Collins                </a>              <br>                <span>Published:</span> <time class="updated" datetime="2025-11-08T14:25:26+00:00">Nov 8, 2025</time>            <br>Our <strong>Super Snail codes </strong>are your fast track to free rewards, and we've got loads of them. In this mobile game, you control a snail, one with a higher calling as people from a dystopian future. You know, pretty standard snail stuff right? Well, if you need free rewards to use in-game, we've plenty readily available.<br>This fun <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/free-mobile-games">free mobile game</a> will keep you on your toes as you fight your way through realms and smash those Apostles to the ground. Stuck? Well, never fear, for these codes will be sure to get you out of a pinch so you can augment, upgrade, and unlock your way to the top.<br><strong>Active codes:</strong><br><strong>Expired codes:</strong><br><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/wp-content/sites/pockettactics/2023/08/super-snail-codes-1.jpg" class="gallery"><span class=""></span><img decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-64283 size-legion-featured-2022" title="super-snail-codes-1" src="https://www.pockettactics.com/wp-content/sites/pockettactics/2023/08/super-snail-codes-1-550x309.jpg" alt="Super Snail codes - a happy looking snail" width="550" height="309" loading="lazy"></a><br>Super Snail codes can help you to defeat those pesky demon gods, thanks to the developer Qcplay, who tends to add new ones to coincide with events. So, to stay up to date with the latest freebies, you should bookmark this page.<br>To redeem Super Snail codes you need to:<br>Yes, the good news is that there is a Super Snail Discord server. Joining it is very easy, and it's a great place to chat with other players. Simply click on this <a href="https://discord.com/invite/supersnail" target="_blank">Super Snail Discord</a> server, make sure you're logged in, and you're good to go.<br>                  <a class="link-author" href="https://www.pockettactics.com/author/quinn-collins" rel="author">                      Quinn Collins                </a> Before starting at Pocket Tactics, Quinn freelanced articles and taught writing. They have a degree in Politics and another in Writing, a deep longing for the nostalgic days of the Wii’s prime era, and an interest in storytelling. With a taste in gaming described as ‘eclectic’, they’ll play pretty much anything as long as it’s got some soul and fun colors. They particularly love Hades, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and Animal Crossing: New Leaf (the latter even despite losing their 3DS many moons ago). Their biggest gaming guilty pleasure is interactive romance novels, but they frequently need to remind themselves that it’s okay to like things, actually.            <br><br><a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiW0FVX3lxTE5oYnRCMzN6UERsQnBCMlNXRVdxMDh5YVp3TGowU1Nmc3R2SjJVa2dmRFBsdjdzV3FtdFZ2Yzd1WVJRVV9lekQwR3ptUzh2eXJZYnJtNG5uRlVvb3M?oc=5">source</a>

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Published: November 11, 2025 03:10 PM IST Updated: November 11, 2025 04:06 PM IST
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The Kerala State Lottery Department has announced the results of the Sthree Sakthi SS-493 lottery draw. The lucky draw was held at Gorky Bhavan, near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram, at 3 pm on Tuesday. The first prize is ₹1 crore, subject to a 30% tax deduction. The second prize is ₹30 lakh, followed by a third prize of ₹5 lakh.
Check complete results here:
First prize: ₹1 cr – SU 538938
(Cons prize: ₹5,000 for remaining all series)
Second prize: ₹30 lakh – SN 458556
Third prize: ₹5 lakh – SY 131299
Fourth prize: ₹5,000 (20)
1729, 2088, 2345, 2349, 2360, 2762, 3206, 3283, 3429, 3866, 4067, 4097, 5355, 5445, 6043, 6566, 6836, 8303, 9966
Fifth prize: ₹2,000 (6)
1398, 1826, 2371, 3143, 4006, 8368
Sixth prize: ₹1,000 (25)
0043, 0702, 0851, 1190, 1636, 2645, 2776, 2805, 3295, 3454, 4481, 4985, 5381, 6489, 6494, 6695, 6704, 6881, 7527, 7993, 8319, 8433, 8460, 8857, 9127
Seventh prize: ₹500 (76)
0102, 0270, 0637, 0729, 0772, 0890, 1254, 1380, 1680, 1712, 1735, 1890, 2050, 2217, 2235, 2265, 2631, 3343, 3366, 3417, 3515, 3746, 3783, 4009, 4014, 4203, 4335, 4393, 4444, 4644, 4649, 4687, 4931, 4959, 5033, 5080, 5219, 5336, 5578, 6022, 6087, 6100, 6102, 6134, 6353, 6561, 6651, 6873, 6986, 7206, 7345, 7517, 7767, 7952, 8011, 8042, 8138, 8147, 8370, 8384, 8395, 8423, 8549, 8595, 8644, 8685, 8698, 8805, 9067, 9300, 9382, 9404, 9438, 9492, 9516, 9747
Eighth prize: ₹200 (90)
0104, 0145, 0307, 0373, 0421, 0738, 1048, 1243, 1455, 1710, 1756, 1803, 2159, 2302, 2352, 2453, 2524, 2561, 2840, 2864, 2899, 3025, 3052, 3102, 3463, 3482, 3500, 3554, 3579, 3670, 3715, 3789, 3802, 3894, 3913, 3934, 4085, 4092, 4142, 4347, 4656, 4696, 4778, 4783, 4969, 5000, 5649, 5778, 6032, 6347, 6351, 6514, 6550, 6580, 6745, 6775, 6842, 6983, 7041, 7045, 7097, 7147, 7302, 7328, 7620, 7697, 7832, 7971, 8062, 8268, 8510, 8589, 8666, 8775, 8789, 8821, 9070, 9090, 9360, 9445, 9561, 9605, 9607, 9665, 9683, 9740, 9795, 9846, 9885, 9892
Ninth prize: ₹100
0054, 0087, 0107, 0197, 0327, 0378, 0410, 0434, 0453, 0457, 0507, 0664, 0679, 0747, 0787, 0826, 0917, 1018, 1043, 1088, 1101, 1157, 1355, 1362, 1450, 1469, 1593, 1632, 1651, 1763, 1840, 1928, 2170, 2282, 2348, 2441, 2479, 2505, 2514, 2572, 2635, 2705, 2719, 2761, 2913, 2949, 3003, 3015, 3142, 3213, 3335, 3407, 3413, 3526, 3637, 3642, 3710, 3749, 3756, 3812, 3902, 4037, 4039, 4232, 4245, 4253, 4395, 4404, 4423, 4539, 4567, 4576, 4613, 4627, 4628, 4670, 4827, 4948, 4994, 5206, 5341, 5360, 5415, 5542, 5558, 5589, 5614, 5626, 5651, 5823, 5991, 6000, 6001, 6165, 6185, 6205, 6232, 6335, 6451, 6567, 6606, 6620, 6675, 6855, 6957, 7025, 7091, 7232, 7253, 7259, 7329, 7583, 7624, 7631, 7683, 7888, 7939, 8106, 8108, 8323, 8350, 8361, 8379, 8397, 8422, 8446, 8567, 8679, 8709, 8812, 8814, 8819, 8855, 8885, 8979, 8994, 9001, 9018, 9072, 9075, 9119, 9229, 9287, 9379, 9472, 9519, 9604, 9640, 9793, 9838
Kerala lottery result yesterday: Bhagyathara BT-28 result 10.11.2025
Winners in the Kerala state lottery must verify their ticket numbers against the results published in the official Kerala Government Gazette. According to the Kerala State Lotteries Department, prize claims must be submitted within 30 days of the draw date.
Winners of the first and second prizes are required to surrender their tickets either in person or via insured registered post to the Director of State Lotteries. Alternatively, claims can be submitted through nationalised, scheduled, state, or district co-operative banks, along with the necessary documents.
Claimants must also provide valid identification, such as an Aadhaar or PAN card, when submitting their winning ticket.
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A group of eight mostly moderate Senate Democrats defected from the party line and struck a deal with Republicans on Sunday to set in motion a likely end to the federal government shutdown. MSNBC reports that the emerging deal “mirrors what Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., floated weeks ago during an interview with MSNBC: Reopen the government now, and Republicans will later give Democrats a vote on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.”
This isn’t a good deal for Democrats. The point of the shutdown was not to force a symbolic vote on extending ACA subsidies, but to get Republicans to agree to support a real extension. There are other elements of the deal as well, including back pay for furloughed federal workers and the rehiring of laid-off workers, but those provisions are mostly cleanup after the shutdown and don’t relate to the premise for triggering it in the first place.
Trump has observed that enough Democrats will crack under enough pressure.
Democrats appear to have achieved the worst of all possible worlds with this conclusion. Their refusal to vote to fund the government set off the longest government shutdown in history, and they held the line long enough that the slowdown of government operations and services became extremely visible. Air traffic dipped due to staffing shortages, and Trump refused to appropriately distribute emergency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), colloquially known as food stamps, to tens of millions of poor Americans. Yet now Democrats have basically nothing to show for it — and have infuriated the parts of the base eager for a sustained fight with President Donald Trump.
Marisa Kabas, an independent reporter, posted on social media that a SNAP recipient wrote in an email to her: “We’ve been put through hell for weeks, constantly having our ability to simply feed ourselves dangled in front of our faces, our survival used as a bargaining chip, told it was for a reason. Our suffering would prevent even more suffering and that it would be temporary and worth it to save healthcare for millions. And now it’s all for nothing.”
Attempting a government shutdown was always risky business — usually the party that tries to leverage the government’s closure for a policy win loses the battle of public opinion.
The argument for Democrats staying the course was that it looked like Democrats were bucking that trend: Several recent polls showed that Republicans were getting more blame for the shutdown and that, by historical standards, Democrats were receiving unusually high levels of support for their role in the shutdown, in part because their cause — health care access — seemed worthwhile.
The argument for ending the standoff was that Trump, by attempting to use reduction of food stamps as a political weapon, had demonstrated a cold willingness to cause more harm than Democrats would ever be able to stomach. “Waiting another week, or another month, wouldn’t deliver a better outcome,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H, said, explaining why she moved toward making a deal with Republicans. “It would only mean more harm for families in New Hampshire and all across the country.”
Regardless of where you come down on what Democrats should have done, this was a difficult position for the party to be in. The ethics in this situation are blurry — the cause of protecting health care access is noble, but so is the cause of protecting hungry Americans. And while the Dems were faring a bit better than Republicans politically, this fight was always going to get ugly, and it’s possible that Shaheen is right that this concession would ultimately have come no matter what, but after a lot more suffering. Everyone with a conscience has their limits when participating in activist measures to secure a win.
Worst of all for Democrats, strategically speaking, is that this likely rules out the possibility that the party will be able to leverage a government shutdown to try to secure a policy extraction ever again during Trump’s presidency. Trump has observed that enough Democrats will crack under enough pressure. And he’s demonstrated, as plain as day, an indifference to Americans’ suffering, even if it costs him in approval ratings, in order to secure a political win.
Zeeshan Aleem is a writer and editor for MSNBC Daily. Previously, he worked at Vox, HuffPost and Politico, and he has also been published in, among other places, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, and The Intercept. You can sign up for his free politics newsletter here.
© 2025 MSNBC Cable, L.L.C.

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By Deivis Centeno
November 11, 2025 4:07 am
General Motors’ SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) joint venture in China has just announced that the Wuling Bingo family of vehicles has surpassed 600,000 units sold.

The successful fully electric Wuling Bingo lineup marks a new milestone as the company’s best-selling brand in China. This new sales achievement further solidifies Wuling’s leadership in the “A0” category of new energy vehicles in the Chinese market.

The Wuling Bingo family is a line of subcompact zero-emission vehicles comprised of three different models: the Bingo hatchback five-door, the bigger Bingo Plus, and the all-new Bingo S crossover. This product range marked Wuling’s first foray into the small passenger vehicle segment, and the standard EV quickly became the best-selling model in its class.

The Wuling Bingo lineup reached the milestone of 600,000 units in cumulative sales earlier this month, driven by the strong sales performance of the all-new Bingo S, launched in late September. SGMW stated that more than 24,000 units of Wuling’s small EV crossover were sold in October 2025, its first full month of sales in China.

First introduced in early 2023, the Wuling Bingo family of vehicles has achieved significant commercial appeal and an excellent reputation among users for its outstanding, technologically advanced, and affordable product proposition tailored to customer demand. In 2024, the Bingo line topped the Chinese new energy vehicle user satisfaction survey in the small electric car segment.

The Wuling Bingo continues to increase its sales and popularity in the Chinese automotive market, with the hatchback leading its category and the S crossover achieving instant success in its first month on the market. SGWM expects demand for the all-electric subcompact lineup to continue growing even faster in the coming months in the Chinese market and plans to replicate its success in international markets.
By Deivis Centeno
Deivis is an engineer with a passion for cars and the global auto business. He is constantly investigating about GM’s future products.
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A leading mathematician has revealed the series of numbers you should never pick in the lottery as they are “too common”.
One lucky Brit is now richer than Adele and Harry Styles after winning a staggering £177 million in the Euromillions last week.
In total, the National Lottery has paid out £92 billion over the years, yet the possibility of winning remains approximately 1 in 45 million.
And while Dr Lassina Dembele, who specialises in number theory, says there is “no number luckier than the other,” there are some which are picked more than others.
The King’s College lecturer told the Daily Express: “There is no number luckier than the other or mathematical basis when it comes to playing the lottery.
Don’t miss: Pensioner forced to use food banks after Euromillions ‘win’ isn’t paid out
“It is just a game of probability, and just because a person plays often does not mean your chances of winning increase; each game is a new game.”
But when asked what could potentially increase your chances of winning, Dr Dembele quipped: “Buying all the tickets.”
He added: “Birthdays and special dates are too common to win. If I played, it would just be for fun because I like certain numbers because of their properties, not because I’ll have better chances.”
Despite this, there are some numbers that have come up more frequently than others, which can be found on the National Lottery website.
The numbers 11 and 39 have only been drawn six times, while number 15 has been called just seven times, followed by numbers 21 and 47, which have been drawn eight times.
Don’t miss: National Lottery most overdue numbers as experts explain top tips to win
Don’t miss: The National Lottery’s biggest winners – and those who blew the lot
Don’t miss: I won £58m on the National Lottery and it saved my husband’s life
Mathematician Skip Garibaldi told Wired: “You are not going to increase your chances of winning by some strategy about how you pick the exact numbers that you choose.”
When it comes to playing the big lottery draws, he advises “You’d like to pick unpopular numbers” and adds, “Don’t pick dates; a lot of people gamble based on dates.”
Recently, ticket holders were urged to check their numbers a second time after an error led to the wrong winning numbers being published online. A correction was later issued after it emerged that an additional number had been added by mistake.
The actual winning numbers were 07, 11, 25, 31, and 40, with lucky numbers 09 and 12.
A UK ticket holder ended up winning the incredible sum, making them the third biggest National Lottery winner of all time.
The winner, who remains anonymous, now joins the ranks of previous massive payouts, including the UK ticket-holder from July 19, 2022, who bagged an eye-watering £195 million while keeping their identity hidden.
The latest winner falls just behind Joe and Jess Thwaite from Gloucester, who scooped a record-breaking £184,262,899 with a lucky dip ticket on May 10, 2022.
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(Photo: Luke Webster)
It’s like applying to college all over again. Whether you skip your long run to anxiously watch the results roll in, or you leave your phone at home and take out your jitters on the trails, the same fate awaits nearly us all. That dreaded email:
Thank you for your interest. We’re sorry to inform you…
It’s trail and ultrarunning race lottery season. Some of the big hitters, like Western States and Hardrock, drew the names of the precious few lucky enough to get into the 2025 race last weekend. Others, such as High Lonesome, Zegama, and Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, are right around the corner. And then there are the ultra-exclusive Barkley Marathons of the world which even require you to write an admissions letter.
And like elite college admissions, your chances of getting in grow slimmer with each passing year. Sure, there are some races that come and go in popularity. (Do you remember Way Too Cool, Lake Sonoma, or Miwok? Nah, me neither.) But the staples remain as popular as ever. Well, actually, more popular. Race caps remain the same and entry numbers continue to climb as more runners turn to the trails.
Western States, for example, saw 9,993 applicants apply for a total of 260 lottery slots this year. Thanks to the weighted lottery system, first-year applicants had a whopping 0.4 percent chance of getting in. This ranks somewhere between getting stung to death by bees (0.0016 percent chance) and getting into Harvard (3 percent chance). Just a decade ago the total number of applicants was 2,704. Doing some back-of-the-napkin math, that means your chances of getting in now are roughly less than a third of what they were in 2014, never mind when Western States initiated a lottery in 2000 and just 583 weirdos bit.
While you fight back tears—your dream race, your top bucket list goal, your life’s mission, eluded once again—acquaintances humble-brag about their lottery luck on Strava and Instagram:
“It’s been my dream for five years to run the Hardrock 100, and this year I will be running it just three weeks after Western States and six weeks before UTMB!”
Five years? You think. Try five decades. (Never mind Hardrock was established in 1992, what does it matter when you’ll never get in anyway?) You unfollow that acquaintance. Or worse, you leave a passive aggressive comment, “Congratulations! You are so brave!” 
Maybe your schadenfreude is punishing you. Before you punish yourself even further, overdo it on craft stouts, or do something drastic like sign up for a Hyrox race (just to get into something), we’ve rounded up a few last-ditch methods of salvation.
Let’s face it, ultrarunning is a waste of time at best, a mortal hazard at worst. It’s expensive: so many lightly-used, $250 shoes creating a fire-hazard in your doorway because they rub your Achilles but you can’t bear to part with the sunk cost; yucky energy gels you dutifully deep-throat on your long runs to “practice fueling;” and chiropractor appointments that you pay for out of pocket because the U.S. healthcare system unduly fails to recognize the importance of preventative medicine and self-care.
Ultrarunning is also needlessly extreme. You do not need to run 100 miles to be “healthy,” to feel a “runner’s high,” or to “make friends.” In fact, as physical therapist and 1993 marathon world champion Mark Plaatjes laughed in my face as I lay on the treatment table recently, you don’t need to burn your disposable income on treatments for that calf strain when you just run “for fun.” “You feel great when you run less!”
And ultrarunning is not fun. How many times have you puked your guts out, hobbled into the finish on a sore foot, or fallen asleep on the trail? That’s what I thought. But…maybe that’s precisely what makes it fun. Type II, maybe Type III, fun is all you know. Where some see the 120-degree heat of the Western States canyons as a wish to end up in the hospital, you see an opportunity to prove you are a badass. Whereas others view Hardrock as an old man’s club, you see it as a chance to finally be in the inner circle that’s eluded you since middle school. Where the self-assured think of UTMB as the overly crowded Disneyland of trail running, you see the Instagrammable European vacation of a lifetime.
And who are you without the purpose of a big, hairy, scary goal on the calendar? What will you do if you can’t justify skipping a few stressful hours at family holiday time to get a few peaceful hours to yourself on the trails? How will you manage if your Instagram bio doesn’t say “ultrarunner?” How will you distract yourself at work without the virtual fireworks from your coworkers on Slack after you walk it into the finish of your next race?
If the answer to all of those questions is, I will not survive, then keep reading.
Look, I get it, you only care about getting into Hardrock. Or Western States. Or whatever, they are all miserable in their own ways. But per point number one, you cannot live without a race on the calendar. And you didn’t get into Hardrock/Western States/whatever so, it’s time to find a backup. Plus you need to renew your Hardrock qualifier anyway, remember?
After you spend a run or two going through denial, anger, and grief, it’s time to graduate to acceptance and throw down that credit card number for some more lotteries and race entries. It’s not too late to put your name in the lottery of a few “safeties,” or if you have the means, sign up for a race in another country that doesn’t have as stringent of field caps and hence might be slightly easier to get into.
A good place to start, as you’ve probably realized if you are reading this (but just in case), is with the Western States and Hardrock qualifiers. Many, if not most of these races will sell out—perhaps within hours of race registration opening. But for many it’s not too late. I just did a quick, random perusal of the list, and of all the ones I looked at, Bighorn, Hellbender, Cruel Jewel, and Swiss Alps, they all have spots left. Just register now, reconsider your life choices later. Because let’s face it: If you don’t register while you have the chance, you’ll inevitably regret it once it’s sold out. There’s even a psych term for this—the desire of the unattainable.
If you’re hell-bent on not learning your lesson, or if you just secretly get a kick out of rejection, it’s not too late to enter some more race lotteries. The UTMB lottery, for those with enough “stones,” will be open from December 19 to January 9. (If you’re wondering what a “stone” is, the UTMB qualification process is so convoluted we wrote an entirely separate guide for it.) The Cascade Crest 100 lottery is open from December 9 to January 5. The Vermont 100 lottery is January 1-10. Or ditch the 100-mile bandwagon and enter the Zegama lottery, open January 13-24. (This list is nowhere near exhaustive!)
Ultra-trail running is in this curious era of conglomeration and consolidation. Call it the Industrial Revolution of the sport. While independent races used to hold prestige in their own right (Miwok, Leadville, Way Too Cool), we’re seeing more races swept into race series such as UTMB and Golden Trail and into qualifiers for Western States and Hardrock. This pseudo-monopolization has benefits, such as stiffer competition at the pointy end of the field. It also has a downside. Namely, the death of the local race. Well, my forlorn friends, it’s time to make local, independent, and one-of-a-kind cool again.
I’m going to make a serious prediction, buried here half way down this silly article, that like the rise of couture, indie running brands local racing is going to make a comeback. The proletarian revolution against the bourgeoisie is coming. Be a changemaker and lead the charge!
Where I live in Colorado, Gnar Runners puts on a whole series of races of all types of distances that are exceptionally well-run and have that backyard, community vibe where everyone laughs about their tribulations on the trail over a beer and a hot dog at the finish line. New Hampshire’s 603 Endurance is similar. Let’s make the post-race BBQ cool again.
Here’s the problem with racing: To get the most out of yourself, you have to truly want to be there. If no other races light that fire, then maybe it’s time to look elsewhere. Go after that fastest known time you’ve been afraid of for years, or make up a project of your own. Sign up for a “backyard ultra” or a “fat-ass” event, like this hellishly epic-looking 100-mile non-race through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Or, dare I say it, commit this year to training for a road marathon.
That’s what I decided to do recently, Father Time scared me into realizing that my years to run to my potential on the roads are dwindling. After too much time of slogging it out on the trails, I think it’s going to take me about a year to rekindle a semblance of speed. So I ran my first road half marathon ever, got back on the track for the first time in eight years, and reconnected with old college teammates and new friends for workouts and long runs. Like Lucy falling through the wardrobe into Narnia, I’ve discovered another world right in front of my face. New faces yelling “good job!” on the track, new running routes, and so much more time to do other things since 20 miles on the roads takes about half the time as on the trails. (I haven’t read this many books in years.) It’s reinvigorated my running in a way I didn’t even realize I needed, and it’s reconnected me to my absolutely least favorite term, my “why.” (Ugh.)
Ask yourself: What am I truly seeking by devoting all of my free time (and then some) to this sport? Where can I find it outside of that one race that really doesn’t want to let me in? For many of us, including me, part of that answer at least lies in pushing ourselves in new ways, beyond our own perceived limits. Good news: You can do that with anything from the mile on the track to 200 miles on the trails. Whatever you choose, it will inevitably help you hone a skillset, be it speedwork or problem-solving, that’s beneficial when you enter that lottery again next year. Mixing up the stimulus, I’ve found, releases a whole new level of endorphins and let’s face it that’s one hell of a drug. Maybe by taking on a new challenge, you’ll evolve and that lottery won’t seem quite as important anyway.
Or just sign up for that Hyrox race, and you’ll have an excuse to throw heavy objects multiple times a week.

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