Race Reports

The race is over. No more worries about getting the course marked in time, getting cones laid out, and finding enough volunteers. Phillip and I were able to get all those things done. If success is measured in people having a good time at the race and not getting lost then I think we were successful.

Phillip and I met at the race at 5am. We had all the signs in the back of his truck ready to be put in the ground to show the runners where to turn and how far they have come. Phillip’s friend drove his truck around the course as we put signs in the correct place. This took a little over an hour.

When we got back Bill Dwyer had arrived with the cones. So we loaded those in Phillip’s truck and drove the areas of the course where we needed cones to separate runners from traffic (the city doesn’t shut down the roads for the race). We just sat in the back of the truck and dropped cones down. That didn’t take too long.

When we made it back the volunteers were right where we asked them to be. We had an awesome group that included Karen and her daughter. We had enough volunteers to fill all the spots on the course where it’s vital to have someone directing the runners and vehicle traffic. This allowed us to pair up a couple of the busier areas and make sure that everyone was happy with where they were going. We loaded the volunteers in the truck and got them dropped off.

After that Phillip and I were able to watch the runners take off. We went and got t-shirts for our volunteers to make sure they had some compensation (not enough for the great work they put in!) for their time. We saw some friends finish the 5k and they told us the course was marked well. This made us feel a little better.

Soon we were seeing a variety of 7 Hills Running Club members going through the first loop of the Half Marathon. It was great to see all of them doing so well in the run. After the last couple runners came by we started to get things together to tear down the course. We loaded the truck with the shirts headed out.

Phillip drove the truck as I ran behind it picking up cones. I think I ran about two miles total as I ran each of the roads that had cones. On areas where there weren’t cones I would just sit on the tailgate and wait until we got to an area with a sign of mile marker. As we got to volunteers we picked them up in the truck too. When we got to his friend at mile 19 he took the volunteers in his truck. He would take them back to the start/finish area and drop them off as Phillip and I continued tearing down the course.

All and all, I think it was a great experience to help with the race. We got the course marked as needed and had a great group of volunteers to assist the runners. I hope that this made the race a little better for the runners who did so well.

Prologue:

In the months leading up to the race, I was able to convince my friend Phillip to run the race with me. This 50 mile and 100 mile race is held every February in Huntsville, Texas at the Huntsville State Park. As we both train at Huntsville State Park it’s probably the best place for us to attempt our first 50 mile race. I signed up for the race and the pre-start dinner the day. I went out to the park on Friday to pick up my packet, listen to the race directors pre-race instructions, and chow down on some good food. The weather and everything looked like it would be nearly perfect for the race. Rain had fallen down a few days before which kept the sand at bay, the weather was going to be mid-70s at the high end, and there wasn’t any rain in the forecast.

Act 1 (3 Hours 17 minutes):

I started the race with the goal of finishing it anywhere between 10 to 12 hours. I decided that I would run all the flats and downhills while walking the hills. For the first 10 or so miles I ran with Phillip. We decided to park right off the out and back trail that led to the lodge. That way we could have our drop bags in our truck and just leave the trail for a minute. This allowed us to avoid the crowds at the lodge drop location. We ran the half mile from the lodge to our cars and made our first stop. I shed some layers of clothes, I grabbed some gu, and I headed out. We started out at the very back of the pack because I didn’t want to go fast and then get passed later on. My food plan was to us Nuun in my drink every hour, take two of the Hammer sodium supplements every hour, and take a Gu every hour. Then I would eat a little food that looked good at each aid station. This worked well for the first lap. I had a very easy time and enjoyed saying hello to other runners.

Act 2 (3 Hours 55 minutes):

This is where things started to get bad. About 6 miles into this lap I knew that my stomach wasn’t right. My stomach was sloshing around and I was losing hydration rapidly. I wasn’t right. I tried to adjust things a little but I couldn’t. I had a difficult time keeping my Gu down when I would take it. I couldn’t use the restroom and ultimately I couldn’t run. After about 10 miles into the second lap I came close to throwing up. I stopped the running and walked until I got to the Campsite website. There I talked to a couple of my friends from the 7 Hills Running Club and told them what was happening to me. They guided me a little in what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. They thought I was probably taking too many supplements. When I made it to the Lodge, I told medical about my nausea and asked what to do. The guy helping me asked me to tell him everything that I had taken into my body. I told him and he said to stop the Nuun because of the carbonation. As he said, “You’ve got something brewing in there.” He suggested taking two of the Hammers each hour, a Gu, and alternating water and gatoraide in my final lap.

Act 3 (4 Hours 20 Minutes):

I didn’t want to start this lap. I felt so bad that I was going to drop. I had run by my friend Phillip and he told me he wasn’t feeling good either. He was having problems with his ankles and feet. When I started my third lap I looked to see if his truck was still there, because if it wasn’t I was going to drop. It was. I decided that I would probably end up walking the final lap and only running when I felt like I could. Most of the lap would be walking. I ran a little bit and walked a lot. I followed the advice about supplements and took some of the Hammer. By the time I made it to the Dam Road aid station I was starting to feel better. I ran out to the Far Side with only walks on the hill. My stomach was feeling better as it wasn’t sloshing. This meant that I was beginning to hydrate again. I ran a little harder and found Phillip as he was going back to the Dam Road aid station. He told me he was probably going to walk to the back. I figured that I could probably catch him by the Campsite aid station. I pushed harder and harder after I started my trip to the Campsite. I was finally feeling good again which was cool because I was past the point of running further than I ever have before. I ate a tums at the campsite and ran hard for the last couple miles. As I came to the end I saw Phillip at the finish waiting for me. I pushed hard and crossed the finish line in just over 11 hours and 30 minutes. It was awesome to be able to finish this race and to do it in the goal I had set for myself! What a good race to run.

“There is a port-a-cactus just up the trail” — Paul Stone

Bandera kicked my butt, no doubt. I’m thinking it’s slightly due to all the fantastic peppermint ice cream I’ve been eating this past month, yet it’s almost all due to the killer hills and rough terrain.

I left my house to pick up Debbie for a night in San Antonio. We ended up in SA, TX at about 8pm, had dinner (Mi Tierra), and went to our hotel to sleep. We got up at 4:30 and and left SA for Bandera about 5am. It was dark outside so I didn’t know what the terrain was around me after we were west of SA. I’m glad I didn’t know.

I picked up my packet, used the restroom, and found my way to where the 50K and 25K were starting. Bandera does a good job of having each of the three races start at different points. the 25K had the joy of starting the race with the Lucky hill and ending it with Lucky. The 50K also started with a killer hill but at least it wasn’t Lucky. Meanwhile, the 100K started a little different direction and joined up with the 50K shortly after the start of the race. The race started promptly at 7:30 with a light fog and the sun rising.

The first section of the 50K was probably the most difficult. The initial hill is something unlike any hill I have had the pleasure of running. I walked most of the uphill and tried to run the downhills. Even that was dangerous as it was steep with lots of big and small loose rocks. Even hiking this would give you a major workout.

I ran for awhile with a guy who told me that he had ran quite a few Bandera races and let me know I was in for a day of fun. About a half mile before Nachos, I saw him again as he was hobbling to the aid station with a broken foot. He didn’t want any assistance from runners though. I also ran with and talked to [--updated with name -- John Sharp] who trained out there. He let me know that once I made it to Nachos, I was in the clear. That was about 10 miles into the run, so I had some good news as I passed over those very difficult sections.

Bandera was very well marked. I had thought about carrying a map because I wasn’t sure how it would be. There was a lot of crossing over different trails and changing up the direction. However, the marking was great. They only marked the intersections instead of the entire trail. I think this worked well as you knew once you were going the right way nothing would change.

After Nachos, I was out there with just a few groups of people for much of the race. I did a lot more walking than normal because I wasn’t properly trained for the race. It didn’t help that it was a little over 70 degrees without any clouds. I didn’t get enough sodium, so I was bloated and dehydrated pretty soon into the race. I wasn’t ever able to shake that.

After the Chupas aid station it was onto an area that was more open pasture. I got some delicious Clif Bloks from a guy named Phillip who was out there for fun and to run with his friend through the Nachos section of the race. I also ran with a couple other people for a little while.

Once I made it to the Crossroads aid station, a guy from the Hill Country Trail Runners let me know that I wasn’t taking enough enduralytes with the current temperature. I was taking one an hour and he said I needed at least two, so I grabbed a couple and took them with a bottle of Heed and headed out. This section that went out around the two sisters and came back in was one of the worst for me. I wanted to be done and I was tired of climbing these hills. My calves were completely thrashed, so I had a difficult time climbing.

Once I made it back to the Crossroads a volunteer who had finished the 25K let me know what I was in for with the Lucky section. He said about 2.2 miles was covered and flat with good trail and then 2 miles of lucky was left where it would be brutal. Taking that advice, I ran the 2.2 miles almost the entire way. Then when I got to lucky, I climbed it as quick as I could and descended it slowly so as to not hurt myself.

Once I made it to the Last Chance aid station, I got some gatorade and water and ran the last .5 mile to finish in about 7 hours and 27 minutes.

All and all, this was the most difficult race I have run. I look forward to running the course again as it was a lot of fun. I loved the nature surrounding me even if the hills were pretty rough. Next year I will come more prepared!

In late 2006, I ran my first race that could be considered an ultra. It was the six hour portion of a twenty-four hour run. It is what whet my desire to run more ultras and to prepare for running some 100s.

Last year, I started with some lofty goals in my race schedule, yet met many, though certainly not all, of those challenges.

In February, I ran my first 50K at the East Texas Ultra Run. I loved the course and there was a great group of runners out there. I learned that I should bring some better camping equipment if it’s going to be below freezing at night.

In March, I ran the 25K Lone Star Trail Run after dropping out of the 50K. I decided with how gnarly the course was, I would stop and allow myself to focus more on the Hog’s Hunt in a couple weeks. Later that month, I DNFed at the Hog’s Hunt 50K due to an injury.

After running various 5Ks, I came back in July to run the inaugural El Scorcho 50K. It was a heck of a lot of fun to run a race through the night in Fort Worth, Texas in the middle of July! I ended up running a pretty fast (for me) race.

In October, I finished the fall Lone Star Trail Run 25K in good time. I was happier with the course this time and, as always, very pleased with the volunteers.

In November, I ran the Rocky Raccoon 50K at Huntsville State Park. It was a great race with nice weather and good volunteers. I then finished my racing season with the Ultracentric 24 Hour Run. I didn’t do so well this year but those races are always a great experience with a bunch of die hard runners who are fantastic to talk to.

This weekend was the ultracentric 24 hour run in Grapevine, Texas. Last year I had a difficult time with the 6 hour run. It was the lengthiest amount of time I had ever attempted, and I had a healing stress fracture in my right foot.

This year I felt a lot better about the run. I’ve run three 50Ks this year and I’m continually getting faster while they are getting easier. I also have a sort of lofty opinion of my ability to handle myself on courses.

No mistake about it: I failed.

I went out there with sufficient training to run this thing, but I didn’t prepare for the aspects that really matter. In shorter races it doesn’t matter as much if you start a little fast, if you don’t pace right, if you don’t think about food, and if you ignore the weather.

I typically run with the attitude that I will keep drinking some fluids, get some food in my body, and read some advice that works for others. It almost always works.

This weekend I learned that if I’m going to run some races like 50 milers, 100Ks, and 100 mile races, I really have to respect my own body a little more. Every runner is different and has to think about what works for them and tinker with things. I tried what worked for others and it blew up in my face.

I think that the mistakes came in hydration, food, and pacing. I read someone who said that if you just drink Nuun you will be ok. I think it might have worked but I got tempted by other drinks at the aid stations. I ended up mixing a lot of water, Heed, Cytomax, and Coke at various times. Bad idea.

It was also hot out there. There was little tree cover and the sun was beating down at about 80-82 degrees during the heat of the day. I was smart enough to weigh myself before the race. I weighted myself about ever hour. By hour seven, I had lost almost 7 pounds. Seven. I knew that I had to pull myself from the race.

I also messed up with food. I read that I should just eat whole wheat bread with honey on it. I had it in my tent and tried to do that but it hurt too much to bend down and get the stuff made. I was there alone with nobody crewing me, so I had to do it all myself if I wanted it. I started to eat all kinds of crap at the aid stations: bits of hamburgers, mac and cheese, pretzels, and m&ms are at the top of my mind. There was no method behind those choices. I don’t know what compelled me to try to mix all that food in an already alarmed stomach.

Finally, I messed up with pacing. I know how my body runs. I do best when I run strong at the beginning and then walk/run as my body calls for it. I listened to people who said you should always run 5 and walk one. I tried that and it wore me out more than if I had just run it.

Anyhow, with the body weight loss, I decided that I had to stop for my own health. I wish that I could have stayed out there and walked it or walked with a little running, but I had to finally respect my body after all the disrespect I gave it. I stopped participating at hour 8.

It was a great race put together by a really good group. I’m not sure if I’ll be back because I’m not sure my body is alright with running on pavement on a two mile course for 24 hours. If it were on a trail, I would be a lot happier with the idea.

At least I can say that some good lessons were learned.

Once you start getting into ultra races, you begin to know how different race directors put together their races. I won’t claim to know what the motivations are of various directors, but I will claim to know that some RD’s put on races that I enjoy more than others. Paul Stone always puts on a great race. As he’s the race director for the Hogs Hunt, the East Texas Trail Run in Tyler, Texas, and the Rocky Raccoon 50K, I was happy to sign up for the 2007 RR50.

The Rocky Raccoon is a two lap race held in the beautiful Huntsville State Park. Located in the pineywoods of Huntsville, Texas, this is the same park that hosts the Rocky Raccoon 50 mile and 100 mile race. It also happens to be the park where I do almost all my training runs.

It’s both a blessing and a curse to run in the park where you train. I know the terrain, I know all the trails, and I know what is coming ahead. This means that I don’t trip over the roots like many other people. However, I also know when I’m approaching some of the more difficult hills. It ended up psyching me out a little.

The race couldn’t have been on a more beautiful day. Paul Stone staggered the races so that the 50K would begin one hour before the 25K. This gave us time to get past the point where the 25Kers would cross our path. The 15.5 mile loop featured a couple out and back areas where you could see others. The first mile out to the trail is also the last mile before you get to the start/finish area. After that initial mile there is a path of 1.5 miles where you reach an area called Amy’s Crossing. At Amy’s crossing the runners will make a left and go towards the highway to the first full service aid station. Then you turn back around and go back by Amy’s crossing. At that point you are about 5.5 miles into the loop. Most people would have that done in under an hour.

The paths were cleared of any debris. The weather was a perfect low of about 60 degrees with a high in the mid 70s. The sun was out for almost the entire race. The course was filled with plenty of aid stations to support the runners. There were two water only aid stations. However, there was also 4 aid stations that were fully stocked with Heed, Poweraid, water, bananas, chocolate chip cookies, coke, peanut butter and bread, pretzels, etc. The course also featured many wonderful volunteers who did a good job of keeping everything great for the runners.

As far as my race went I had a great time. I ran the entire first loop without stopping except at some of the aid stations. I talked a little to a guy who wore the same running shirt and similar colored shorts as me. I also said hello to some people who seemed familiar.

I rolled into the start/finish area with one more lap to go. I talked a little to Deb who took some pictures and gave me some more energy gels. Then I took off to someone telling me that I make it look too easy. That was about 2 hours and 30 minutes into the race. I ran until I got to the highway aid station and decided to take a little break.

It was at this point that I realized I was loosing my steam. I ran most of the way to the 7 Hills Running Club aid station. From that aid station there was only about 7 hours left in the race. I did a mixture of running and walking and was only passed by a handful of runners. With about 4.5 miles left into the race I went around this bend and heard a lot of leaves crunching. It was about 12pm and I didn’t think that I would be passed by anyone else. I looked around for the runner who had caught up with me but found a deer staring at me. It was a doe that was about 15 feet from me. I continued to walk until I got to a little creek with two small bridges. The doe walked over to me to the point where she was about 5 feet from me. Then she trotted off. Why was there a deer out at noon? Why was it walking towards me? Was I dreaming this?

Another runner came up and I told her to look at the deer. She saw it so I knew that I wasn’t dreaming. I didn’t want to be passed by her, so I told her that I would run with her the remainder of the race. I quickly became good friends with her as we spent the last few miles running/walking the remainder of the course.

Ultimately, I made it in to the finish in under six hours! Last year, I ran my first 50K in February. I finished that race around 6 and a half hours. Then I ran a race where I finished a little over six hours. My goal was to use this as a training run for my 24 hour race, so I was extremely happy to run it so well!

Thanks to all the volunteers, runners, and the race director for putting on the Rocky Raccoon 50K this year!

This morning I ran the Fall Lone Star Trail Run 25K. I finished third place overall with a decent time of 2:24. I don’t know the exact seconds, so I will wait until the official race results appear.

The weather was perfect, the course was great, and the volunteers did an outstanding job. Expect a full race report soon.

It was my first ultramarathon and I loved every minute of it! Unfortunately, the week before the race, I hurt my foot when I fell off a bridge while mountain biking. Leading up to the race, I did everything that I could to let my foot heal but it wasn’t enough to not feel the pain.

That said, I wasn’t about to let a silly foot injury stop me from my first ultra. I went to the hotel and signed up for it about the time the 48 hour runners were in their sixth hour. It was only appropriate that I sign up for the six hour run and bow in respect to the people running the 48 and 24 hour runs. I would have gone for the 12 hour but my work schedule conflicted with it on Saturday.

Saturday I went to the race site as soon as I was finished working. As I got out of my truck, I met a runner who was also running in his first ultra. As it turned out, he was able to demolish me pretty easily. I think that there were about 15 people who were running the six hour race and we seemed like a happy group as we gathered around the start.

Once I got into the groove of running it was clear that my foot was going to cause some problems, but I resigned myself to the fact that I’d probably have to walk a considerable amount. While the foot was fresh, I pushed myself for about 9 miles so that I could get some quick mileage. The asphalt was a little rough to run on but Grapevine Lake was a refreshing view so the 2.4 mile circuit didn’t become too boring.

It was probably around mile 10 that I really had to slow down my pace because of foot pain. I walked it a little and then would run another mile or two. The foot was the only problem as nutrition and refreshments were plenty. The race was well stocked with all the food and drinks I needed, so I made sure to keep myself pretty refreshed.

By the 5th hour, I was just enjoying the run and had learned how to handle my foot. I enjoyed running with a lot of people who I had either read about or heard about. My overall distance was only 25 miles but it wasn’t too terrible for a first ultra and not having an entirely healthy body. My goal for the next six hour would be to hit about 34 miles.