2014 ROCKY RACCOON 100 RACE REPORT

.......and so, the reason why I fired this puppy up! This past weekend, I competed in my first 100 miler. Here's the long and the short of my day.....

2014 PrsFit Rocky Raccoon 100 Team

The Rocky Raccoon 100 is a trail race consisting of 5 20-mile loops through Huntsville State Park. [To learn about the race and how it works, check out the race's website at http://www.tejastrails.com/Rocky.html.]

To begin with, I made it a point to get up early on race day. I arrived at the park at 4:15am and breezed in. I found a great parking spot about 50 yards from the start/finish line. The road into the park is a narrow two-lane road with a ranger station requiring a $5 park entry fee (this is not to be confused with the aid stations I talk about later - this ranger station had nothing to do with the race). I have no doubt that traffic backed up on that road as the morning went on but I was glad I did not have to deal with it.  

The race starts promptly at 6am. The start line is a big party - it's festive, there's a ton of laughter, and the air is filled with the nervous energy of the 500 or so hardy folks who are about to take on this monumental endeavor. The start line is also where runners complete each loop. It's a fully stocked aid station called Dogwood (DW). Pacers, crews, friends, family....it's an incredible scene. No one got here alone and seeing the outpouring of support from everyone who came out was nothing short of amazing. I was running this race with 4 of my friends from the Idiots Running Club and my team PrsFit: David Murphy, Dane Liebel, Jeff Jones, and Shane Naugher. After several "good lucks", back slaps, and group pics, the countdown began and it was time to dial in. The race director gave the "GO" and away we all went into the night, a trail of headlamps snaking into the darkness.

Race banner at 5:59 am

One thing I had to do on that first loop was learn the course. Running wise, my plan was to run with Dane and David for the first 3 loops (60 miles). That plan lasted for about 2 miles. We set a great pace initially but something in my head was telling me this was not right. Call it flags, warning sirens, karma...I was not comfortable. A mile or so into the race I had my first fall. I landed on my right side and broke the strap on my handheld water bottle, providing me with a nice bruise on my hip and giving me my first of many "well, sh*t" moments of the day. I hopped back up and got at it but my handheld had now just become a strapless bottle that was more irritating than useful. Fortunately I had a backup that I would swap out later.

A quick aside here about the roots. They're pretty nasty but over the course of the race I adjusted to them. When I reached a more technical section, whether uphill or downhill, I slowed down. I also noticed that the roots seem to grab your ankle when you come firing off of one of the dozens of wooden bridges along the course. Yet there are still several very runnable soft sections of trail where one can relax. I like to think as a converted road-runner this was a perfect course to be introduced to long-distance trail running. There is also just enough elevation change to make it interesting but nothing too severe.

Roots! These become a real treat after dark...

About 3 miles in I reached the first aid station, Nature Center (NC). After running in the dark, coming up to NC is like a little oasis there in the woods. I didn't feel the need to stop here so I pushed on but made a mental note of the location of this aid station.

The next few miles were an exercise in high stepping, taking in my surroundings, managing my nutrition and hydration, and settling in for a long day. I wasn't paying too much attention to my pace and chose to run more by feel. I had set a 1 hour timer on my watch to remind me to eat. I planned on getting around 150-200 calories per hour. My primary source of nutrition would be the Genucan superstarch, supplemented with Hammer gels and some fruit throughout the day as needed. I had also planned on using Genucan as my primary source of electrolytes. 

And now a word from our sponsor.....

The next few miles continued this pattern of mental noting: "there's a bridge here, then a turn there" ... "need to watch out for this little root-covered hill later"... "beware these jagged rocks" and the like. Then I reached a gently downhill-sloping jeep trail that led me to the next stop on my journey. It's like a small city built from tents and folding tables called the Damnation aid station (DN). It's manned by the North Texas Trail Runners. Runners pass through DN twice - the first time just over 6 miles and then again at around 12 miles. (Think of it as an elongated figure 8 - the ENTIRE course is a 20 mile loop, consisting of 2 smaller loops, with Damnation in the middle. Make sense?) Not to in any way short change aid stations in this or any other race, but DN is incredible. You pass through it 10 times (twice per loop) during the race and the folks who are out here are the pros. This is where an extra drop bag will be waiting for you. From the food, drink, support, medical care, and encouragement you get in here, it's absolutely first class. People should enter this race just to get to experience DN. Lynn Ballard and his crew are top notch. My wife and 2 daughters would be working this aid station for the rest of the day. They hadn't made it out there yet, but seeing them on later loops would bring me to tears. 

Damnation in the wee hours. (Borrowed this photo from the internet.)

What friendly folks!

Unfortunately runners don't get to stay at DN. As nice as they are, they'll shuttle you along if you linger. After leaving DN, the course presents a long loop that would become my personal hell for the rest of the day. I don't know if it has an official name but I would refer to it as the Damnation Loop. It's only around 6 miles, but for me it was tedious every time I had to get through there, particularly in loops 2 and 3. To begin with there are a couple of very long, rolling, monotonous stretches of jeep road that seem to go on forever. Then comes a long section of trail that seems to constantly turn back in on itself. Even though I knew I was making progress, it felt like I was just going in circles. After a number of twists and turns the trail opens to beautiful Lake Raven. The scene in the morning was stunningly beautiful - I literally stopped for a few seconds to take it in. The trees, the birds, the sunrise...I regret I did not take a picture but I certainly savored the moment. The DN loop finishes with a few little twists and turns, then a short uphill stretch leading back up to the Damnation aid station again. I made a mental note that once I pass the lake I'm practically back to the aid station. 

I think this is a good time to mention that while I was enjoying this little jog through the woods I was making a monumental mistake. The temperature on race morning was around 70 degrees. The humidity - I am not kidding - was around 90%. I had been hydrating, but only in the same way that I had done during my training. I rarely had a training day between October and race day that went above 70 degrees and almost never in such humid conditions. I had not practiced nor anticipated these conditions and I did not adapt accordingly. I should have at least doubled my electrolyte intake, but in being caught up with the excitement of the race, I was barely keeping pace with what my normal hydration and electrolyte intake would have been on a normal winter day in Texas. I was lucky in that I was able to pull it out, but there were many, many runners - and some very seasoned elites - who had to drop out because of this very reason. It would very nearly end my day. Twice.

But for now: the rest of loop 1 passed without much fanfare. I made more mental notes and chatted with some other runners out on the course. I passed through the final aid station, Park Road (PR), feeling great. This aid station is at around 16 miles into each loop. It's also manned by friendly volunteers and although much smaller than DM was still very festive and hopping.

The road from PR back to DW is littered with roots and hills. It was hard to get into a good running rhythm, and my focus turned to getting back to DW without a twisted ankle or worse. It's not that far, only around 4 1/2 miles, but I was constantly on guard against the ever-present roots. There is a point where I crossed several wooden footbridges consecutively just before reaching the end of the loop. I'd mentally refer to this little stretch as "bridge land" and my spirits would lift on future loops when I'd get to this point. In a 100 mile race, one looks for whatever little things one can find to keep their spirits up....

Upon reaching Dogwood, I checked in with my team and set out for loop 2. I think it was around DN on loop 2 that things started to go a little haywire. I had been drinking my water and taking my genucan as per the "plan" but I started getting a side stitch on my left side. I tried deep breathing, slowing down a bit, drinking some water, but to no avail. I reached DN feeling OK but not quite right. As I left for my second DN loop I had actually slowed down quite a bit. I upped my genucan ration a bit and tried to keep a good face on things. At this point, things got very tough. I was moving but I felt I was really plodding along and the stitch wasn't going away. I made it back around to DN both feeling rough and very disappointed that I was losing so much time. 

When I reached the DN aid station I was overjoyed to see that Michelle and my daughters had settled in as volunteers. I was so glad to see them I forgot my momentary problems. My spirits were sky high as I set out again, but while the spirit was willing the body was very weak.

Catherine filling drink orders!

It didn't take long for Madeline to become an aid station pro!

Michelle makes the gatorade table 100% better looking! 

By the time I finally got back to Dogwood again my midsection was cramping up so badly that I could not stand up straight or even take a breath beyond much of a shallow whimper. I shuffled into DW thinking this isn't good at all, and we're only at 40 miles...I thought I was done.

At this point my crew sprung into action. They sat me down, had me slow my breathing, and hit me with enough electrolytes to stun a charging rhino. Endurolytes, bananas, and even a full glass of pickle juice were thrown at me. Coach Jeff, Ellen, Jon, Ally, David, and Steve were all there offering support - they patched me up and, after what seemed like an eternity stuck in neutral, I shuffled off for lap 3 with specific instructions to take my electrolytes!

Heading out for loop 3 on wobbly legs.....

Teammates David Pittman and Ellen Losew saved me after a tough loop 2!

I cannot believe how quickly I bounced back. By the time I reached NC, the aid station 3 miles into my 3rd loop, I felt like myself again. My friends Tim and Norene had stopped in at NC to check on me which gave me an added boost. On to Damnation - I blew though there on the outbound portion of the loop feeling great and was making great time. And yet through all of this I was making big mistake #2. I was not taking in calories. I had been so obsessed with electrolytes I had not been eating. Shortly after leaving DN for the dreaded DN loop, I crashed harder than anything I experienced before. I had gone from a full-out run to an almost complete stop. I could barely pick my legs up to step over the roots. I had to stop and sit at several of the benches scattered along the course. I knew if I could just make it back to DN I could maybe put things back together, but I was maybe 4 miles out - and at that point it might as well have been 40 miles. Despite my commitment to drinking enough on this loop I still felt severely dehydrated again. I struggled to get to the lake, then I knew I was almost there. It was rough. It may have taken over an hour to go those 4 miles. 

Dragging into DM on loop 3. When Michelle saw me she knew this wasn't going to be good. But she took a picture anyway.

My wife and daughters were there to help and were noticeably concerned, and with good reason. This was my second major crash of the day and felt way worse than crash #1, which I didn't think was possible. I couldn't move. I sat down and just tried to think this through. They gave me some food - some chicken broth, a cup of coke, bananas, orange slices, and very slowly I came around. I was there for at least a half hour. Michelle walked me out of the aid station and walking seemed to be the order of the day from here on out. 
I walked, shuffled, stumbled, and even ran a bit for the rest of that 3rd loop. I made sure to stop again and eat at Park Road, which seemed to help. Fig newtons, boiled potatoes, some chips, coke, oranges and bananas. My energy seemed to be coming back and I jogged it in over the last 2 miles back to Dogwood, relieved to feel somewhat human again. The sun set during this loop as well and the headlamps came out. I think I am in the minority here, but I preferred running at night. There was just something about staying focused on what was in front of you that helped me play the mental game. During the day the course and the distance can get overwhelming but at night you just think about what is right in front of you. 

At the 4th loop I was able to pick up what is called a "pacer". Pacers are option after 60 miles and are basically there to make sure you stay safe on the course after such intense physical exertion. My coach had matched me up with another teammate who saved my day. David McNett was amazing. [Note: We had 3 Davids out there - one running (David Murphy), one crewing & pacing (David Pittman) and my pacer (David McNett).] I didn't know David McNett but he seemed calm, cool and collected. I laid out how I wanted to approach this loop and he did the rest. He ran in Vibram Fivefingers, which I thought was insane at the time, but he made it work. He has the light fast feet that our coach preaches and watching him dance over the roots and rocks was nothing short of hypnotic. We were quiet for most of the loop which was great for me - I just locked in on him and we took off. He knew when to pick it up, when to slow it down, when to walk and when to just go. Back on loop 3 I would not have imagined in my wildest dreams I could have hammered out some of the miles we knocked out on loop 4. I made sure to eat at NC, then we headed off to DN. I was stunned at the turnaround and how good I felt. 

When we arrived at Damnation, I was happy to see Coach Jeff, David Pittman and Ellen there along with Michelle and the girls again. They were all a sight for sore eyes. I assured them I was feeling good. I loaded up on calories, took a few deep breaths, and headed off to tackle what had been the toughest part of the course for me with my new secret weapon, David. We killed the DN loop - made it the entire DN loop in about an hour! When we got back to the DN aid station my daughter commented "hey weren't you just here?" It was great. We didn't linger too long - I ate, we walked for  few minutes to let the food settle, and he was bounding off through the forest with me right behind. If not for that loop I could not have accomplished a sub-24 finish. David was the man.

Made it Damnation - loop 4 feeling pretty good, all things considered.

I came in from loop 4 at midnight. From here, pacing duties went to my friend Chris Barnwell, an ultra grand slammer and a real pro. He knew exactly what we needed to do and was determined to get it done with plenty of time to spare. I was nervous that I may have spent too much energy on loop 4 to have anything left for the finish but I would worry about that later. I was at Dogwood for maybe 5 minutes, grabbed food, shook David's hand and offered what was a very insufficient word of thanks. Then I headed back out with Chris.

Chris and I locked in immediately as well. He knew every root and rock and pointed each one out as we went along. The pace was brisk but not too hard - we didn't want to risk another crash so we ran comfortably and just started banking miles. After a quick bite to eat at NC, we booked it hard to DN - actually about 5 minutes faster than I had made it in my previous loop, which I would have thought impossible given how well David and I did earlier. 

After getting some food, we headed out to face the dreaded (but hopefully exorcised) demons of the DN loop. I mentioned to Chris that this was why he's on the "payroll" - to get me through this loop! He laughed knowingly and away we went. As fate would have it, he ran into a headlamp issue out there but that didn't slow us up too much. Otherwise we cleared that section of the course only a few minutes behind what David and I had done. I had some extra batteries in my drop bag (be prepared!), he fixed his headlamp, and we were off again. We made great time, I was running comfortably, and we were really feeling good. We ran the straight stretches hard, walked the inclines, and bounced along the technical downhills. 

It seemed like no time before we were back at the PR aid station. Chris slowed down but I waved him on and said no more stopping. "Let's finish this." We ran the last 4 miles hard. I don't know what our pace was but we were moving. We still hiked up a few hills but we were booking it coming in. It was great. Chris called out that not only are we going to get sub 24, but we're a lock for a sub 23! We flew over "bridge land" and didn't even bother walking the last several hills. We charged over the last mile and into the finish line in a dead sprint, in what was a thrilling end to an amazing day. Hugs and high fives all around. 

*Note: A quick mention to a fine runner named David Lettieri (I know, another David!) who pushed me hard over the last mile or so and into the finish. He tracked me down to offer his congrats - I was amazed at his tenacity! 

I mentioned to someone that I felt I had experienced every possible human emotion and feeling over those 23 hours. That's a good way to sum it up. I would like to do more ultras - in fact I have another one in just a couple months at Miwok - but like they say, you never forget your first time. It took a lot of work to get here and a lot of great people to help make it happen. 

Chris Barnwell and me. He was a great pacer!

The coveted prize!

Thanks to all my team members who came in to crew - Coach Jeff Kline, Ellen and Steve Losew, Tim and Norene Prososki, Ally Spiers, David Pittman, Jon Wilson. Congrats to my fellow teammates/Idiots David Murphy, Dane, and Jeff who all buckled as well. Props to Shane who suffered through the tough training cycle to get there only to succumb to a very rough day. I have no doubt he'll be back and better than ever. Thanks to my pacers David McNett and Chris Barnwell who saved my day. And thanks to my wife Michelle and my girls who came out to work at Damnation and watch me make a fool out of myself. Without the love and support of my family there's no way this could have happened in a million years.