Since timing out at around 83 miles at the 2003 AT 100, I’ve had a monkey hitched to my shoulder. By May of this year, that monkey had grown to near gorilla proportions on my back. I decided I had to get back on the horse and herd that monkey back into the wild.

After getting many warm wishes and expressions of support from HCTR members and friends, Joe Prusaitis and I drove to Arkansas on Thursday afternoon. After spending the night in Benton, Ark., we drove to the Coffee Creek Fish Camp which was to be our home for the next few days. Joe and I weighed in and picked up our packets at 10:00 and then head to Little Rock to pick up Meredith Terranova who was going to crew/pace me. We made it back in time for the pre-race briefing from Chrissy and Stan Ferguson, the race directors. The instructions consisted chiefly of warnings to avoid drunken hunters (who had cross-bows) and how much Arkansas wanted to kick Texas butt in the Team Challenge (which they did). We hung around until after the pre-race pasta meal and then headed back to finish preparing our drop bags. I had pre-packed most of my drop bags, but I still had a few things to add. I had borrowed an extra bag from Joe and decided to put it at the Turnaround Aid Station at mile 58. I stuffed it with all sorts of left over stuff that hadn’t gone into the other bags. This later turned out to be a lifesaver.

START TO BROWN’S CREEK
We were up at 4:00 on Saturday morning and after a banana and a croissant, we headed to the Ouachita National Forest. Meredith and Moogy helped deliver my massive drop bags to the right spots and it was time to sit around waiting for the start. The race started at the Lake Ouachita Camp area. 133 starters meandered up the short uphill driveway to the park road. The race began with a gunshot so loud that I thought the hunters had prematurely opened fire on the whole group of us. The first mile or two of the course is on the paved park road. While I don’t like running on pavement, it allowed for the runners to spread out a little at the beginning and also made it less necessary to have a light. I carried an 89 cent Wal-Mart flashlight that I didn’t really need. By the time we turned off of the pavement onto the first jeep road, it was light enough to see without a flashlight. The first 9 miles of the course wind gradually up this same jeep road. Joe, Moogy and I run together for a short while and then Moogy moves ahead a bit. Joe must know half of the runners in the race which means I get to meet them, too. We slide into the first Aid Station and drop our lights. These folks once again have hot pancakes with tubs of syrup for dipping. Joe and I both dip one in and munch it as we walk out. Talk about delicious!

BROWN’S CREEK TO FLATSIDE PINNACLE
Off we go again down the jeep road. Chrissy Ferguson is running as well as directing the race, determined to “kick Texas butt”. She has a whole entourage with her as she runs and we stay just a little ahead of them. Joe and I visit with Jose Wilkie as we head up the first hill. This is Jose’s 10th AT 100, all of them sub-24hour. I also visit with Gene Trahern from Oregon who had finished ahead of German Collazos at “Where’s Waldo?” back in August. About the same time as I realized what pace we were running, Joe says something like “all these people around us are going to run 22-24 hours for this race.” “Yeah, I know. I’m going too fast.” I reply. Joe tells me to just enjoy it, so I do. I’m feeling good and it is a comfortable pace and I figure I will just “bank” the time and make withdrawals later. This becomes a recurring theme for the rest of the race.

I move ahead with a power walk up the last big hill before the second Aid Station. Joe had fallen back a little as he visits with more runners. We hadn’t really talked about running together. Joe figures that if his Achilles is okay, he could have a good race. If it isn’t okay, he wasn’t sure he would even continue. It didn’t seem to bother him all day. So I just head on up figuring that I would see him somewhere on an out and back or at an Aid Station. As I’m climbing this steep hill, I hear a crashing noise through the brush down the hill to my left. I stop and look down as a big deer with a 10 point rack comes bounding up, crosses the road and scrambles up the embankment and up into the trees. Several of us stopped and said “Wow! Did you see that?” After all the warnings, I half expected to see an arrow or a hunter come flashing past in hot pursuit.

FLATSIDE PINNACLE TO LAKE SYLVIA
At the top of this hill was the next Aid Station. I was carrying a single bottle which was low and I asked for Gatorade. They didn’t have Gatorade. They had HEED. “Okay. How about water?” I asked. “We don’t have any water. Just watered down HEED.” So I filled my bottle with HEED as Chrissy F. came up to the station. She was none too pleased when she found out that there was no water. This station was where the fun of the course starts. We plunge down out of this station onto the Ouachita Trail which is 8+ miles of twisting, plunging single track trail with nasty rocks and tricky footing. It is just the coolest. Think Ken’s Loop at Bull Creek with big hardwood trees and more vegetation. I take off down the trail and Joe is right on my ass. We climb a hill and then hit a summit. Over we go down the trail. I pull over to let Joe by and then chase after him as he flies down the hill. We both whoop and holler through the next few miles as it is just a blast to run. We pass a few runners and no one comes near to catching us. We eventually catch up with Moogy and soon have a three car train heading down back to the Brown Creek Aid Station. We stop for another pancake and some grapes and start a long, nasty rocky climb that lasts about .6 of a mile. Joe lags back a little as Moogy and I walk up with Wayne Coates from Tuscon (who finishes under 24 hours). We chat with Wayne a bit as he is acquainted with fellow club member Linda Hurd from the Old Pueblo race in Arizona. This climb lasts a good while, but we finally hit a ridge and can run again. I let Moogy go and run my own pace, but still ahead of Joe. Somewhere about 14 miles in, Joe catches me and we are running downhill again along the ridge. The footing is a bit trickier here as the rocks stick up out of the grass and nip at your shoes. We have been running for a good amount of time and pass the 15 mile marker. We continue on this downhill angle and (just like last year) I catch a toe. I fling my water bottle ahead at Joe’s feet and break my fall with both palms and my right knee. My hands are only a bit bruised, but I have bloodied my right knee pretty good. We walk for a minute to let me get my legs back and then we are off. We are less than 2 miles now from Lake Sylvia Aid Station which is the first crew station. I look at my watch and it is about 8:40. “Joe, we are going to be there in about 3 hours.” I say. He looks at me and says:”I don’t think I’ve ever done this in less than 3 ½ hours. ‘Oh man!’ I think, I’m going way too fast. I had run this same section last year in about 3:40. But I feel really good and this whole single track section has been a hoot to run. It is always the best part of the course and with my downhill pal Joe to chase after or to try to stay ahead of, it has been a quick journey.

LAKE SYLVIA TO PUMPKIN PATCH
We come off the last hill and down into the Lake Sylvia Aid Station exactly three hours from the start. After slapping hands with Paul Tidmore from Dallas, I spot Meredith who has a chair set up for me. As I sit down, I see Moogy getting ready to head out and give him a wave. I pull off my Montrail Hardrocks which I wore for the first segment and patch two nascent blisters. I then put on my Montrail Masai as Meredith fills my bottle with Gatorade. I eat a little, grab my hat and a fresh bandana and head out in well under 10 minutes. Joe is just ahead of me and I soon catch up with him as we hike up the jeep road. We visit with Liz Walker from Georgia who will be one of the top female finishers in 22:52. We run and walk with Liz for the next couple of miles. We pass her and then she passes us, the usual back and forth in a race like this. We are off the main park road now and onto an abandoned jeep road. This is a hard surface, but it is more like a trail than a road. As a motivation I start running for 5 minutes and walking for 1. Joe hangs with this for a while, but I have soon gotten slightly ahead of him. I run with Gene from Oregon again for a bit as we soon come off this abandoned road and back to a main park service road. The Pumpkin Patch Aid Station at mile 22 is just down the hill so I pick it up and head into it. I get water in my bottle there along with a turkey sandwich. I then walk out with a slice of delicious pumpkin pie.

PUMPKIN PATCH TO ELECTRONIC TOWER
I slowly walk up the hill because Joe has come in to the Aid Station just as I am leaving. I walk along and munch my pie and he soon catches up with me. It is a gradual climb up from PP Aid Station and we watch as Chrissy Ferguson yells at her entourage that “I’m not walking so you can walk. Get up here and start running.” We laugh as they are soon at her heels and then passing us. We are in for a bit of a climb now as the road snakes in long uphills which we take at a steady walking pace. The road here is smooth, but very hard. Like most of the jeep roads at AT 100, it is a mix of packed gravel and rock on top of a bedrock under-layer. In other words it is HARD on your feet.

ELECTRONIC TOWER TO ROCKY GAP
It is only 2.3 miles from the last Aid Station before we arrive at the Electronic Tower Aid Station at mile 24.4. We don’t stay long as the day is starting to get a bit warmer and the next section is runnable. We climb the first short, but steep hill and get to a turn-off the main jeep road. This section is more like trail than jeep road. It is a bit overgrown in spots so you have to watch your footing. But it is mostly downhill with a few rollers so off we go at a good running clip. This is a pretty, shaded area that is along a ridge. A really nice place to run. This 4.2 miles goes rather quickly as we end with a long downhill stretch that takes us to the Rocky Gap Aid Station. (This section will pose more of a challenge on the return trip). We move quickly through this Aid Station as it is only 3.3 miles from here to Lake Winona where we have drop bags.

ROCKY GAP TO LAKE WINONA
After a short rugged climb, we catch a downhill back on the main park jeep road. Despite a pleasant northerly breeze, the day is heating up. We play the back and forth game with a couple of groups or runners that Joe visits with and pretty soon we are down a hill and turning onto the park road that leads to Lake Winona. The dust is bad on this section as the hunters and other truck drivers don’t slow down for us and we are occasionally engulfed in clouds of dust. The road rolls up and down alongside the lake here. We climb one more hill and then it is a long downhill down to the back of the dam. Joe can’t resist the sound of running water below the spillway and we wonder off the road to dunk our heads in the cool stream that flows behind the lake. Again it seems like a never ending climb to get up the twisting hills to the Lake Winona Aid Station. We finally make it and Meredith is waiting for us. We are at mile 32 and I am over an hour ahead of my pace from last year. Indeed we are still on a sub 24 hour pace at this point. We refuel quickly. I had packed two wash cloths in this bag and Meredith puts ice in each of them. Joe and I groan in delight as we rub the ice on our heads and faces. I head out with a little coke and a banana.

LAKE WINONA TO PIGTRAIL
The next section starts with a climb so we hike out. I figure that at some point Joe is going to take off. His Achilles is not bothering him and I know he is in good shape for this course. He has had a few hints of stomach problems, but nothing too bad at this point. The road flattens out pretty soon and I can tell I need to make a potty stop. I see a good place just off the road and go take care of business. I figure Joe will be long gone, but it was nice to hang together for 30+ miles with him. Even though my pace had been quick, I felt good physically. Joe and I continued to talk about “banking” time. We figured we would make some time withdrawals from the account later in the race....and we did. Joe is pretty much out of sight by now so I start running on the flat surface. To my surprise I soon see him up ahead. We again run along together and cruise down into Pigtrail Aid Station. We don’t linger here long as the next aid station is Club Flamingo and it is only 3 miles away. We have drop bags there so we just top of our bottles with water and head out.

PIGTRAIL TO CLUB FLAMINGO
The next section up from Pigtrail isn’t much of a road. It is a rocky rough climb that reminds me of parts of Bull Creek. We hike up it at a reasonable pace until it finally flattens out a bit. There are big trees on either side of the road here and I remember hunters being camped here in 2003. The woods are deserted this year and we start a shuffling run again. We run into Frank Gousman from New Jersey who is running his first 100. Frank had been quizzing both Joe and me at dinner on Friday night. We run with Frank for a bit, but then the jeep road turns into a nice downhill. That is another reason I like this aid station. The last ½ mile or so into it is mostly downhill. We start to barrel down the hill and soon leave Frank behind. The volunteers at this Aid Station have fun with their work. About 1/3 of a mile out, they post signs along the road that the station is coming up. This includes a menu of food and beverages along with a promise of hula girls available for kissing. They don’t tell you that the hula “girls” are male. Before we get to the station, I break out the Desitin and lube up some chafing. The chafing started early on and we have been lubing up about every 5 miles. Joe has been slopping it on his underarms, but mine is a bit lower in location. We get this done and then cruise up the final hill into the Aid Station. It is nice to sit down and root through our drop bags. We have both been fading a bit and struggling. It is now the warmest part of the day. We take our time and try to refuel and recharge before the coming climb up Smith Mountain, the highest point on the course. I drink a Boost and we split an avocado. We pack up and walk out of the Aid Station.

CLUB FLAMINGO TO SMITH MOUNTAIN
Club Flamingo used to be known as “Drop-off Aid Station”. That is because the jeep road plunges down sharply out of the station. We walk this at first because our bellies are full of liquid and food. The road then winds uphill and we hike up as best we can. After a couple of curves in the road it flattens out. This is a fairly high point on the course where you can see in the distance through the tall trees. It is the spot where Thorbjorn Peterson and I took pictures and then parted ways the previous year. There is a long downhill waiting as Joe and I reach this point. Joe’s stomach has been squirrelly much of the day. We stop for a minute and I offer him a pepto-bismol which I have in my med kit. He takes it and says that he is going to take it easy. I say “well, I’ve got to go.” and I take off down the slope. I get up a good head of speed as I have walked enough to be ready to run again. I cruise down quickly and keep going when it flattens out passing several runners. The road continues its downward angle and I don’t stop. It was great to be with Joe for 40 miles, but I knew that I needed to keep going while I still felt good. I also wanted to get to Powerline as soon as I could and I was making really good time. I look back a couple of times and don’t see Joe so I just keep going. In almost no time at all, I see that I have covered the 3+ miles from Club Flamingo and I am on the last sharp downhill into the Smith Mountain Aid Station. I pass a few more runners on this hill and slide into Mickey’s Aid Station. Not wanting to take any chances, I get only ice in my bottle. I tell Mickey that I hear he is giving out foot massages at his station, knowing the kind of response I will get. True to from Mickey grouses loudly, but I also see him smile a bit. I half expected to see Joe pull into the station behind me. But he doesn’t. So I grab a banana and walk on up the road.

SMITH MOUNTAIN TO CHICKEN GAP
There are two runners up ahead and my powerwalk soon narrows the gap between them and me. I pull alongside and find that one of the runners is Joe’s friend, Dianne Seager. She is walking with another runner, but my powerwalk and Diane’s long legs soon leave him behind. We make the turn together off the jeep road and the gnarly climb up Smith Mountain. Smith Mountain is the highest elevation point on the course. The climb is not really that rugged, but it is made difficult by the fact that there are a series of short berms all the way up the mountain and part of the way down the back side. Some of these are a foot tall and some are three feet high. All of them break any real rhythm you get climbing or running down. Diane and I gab the whole time up the mountain. She isn’t walking as fast as I might, but I am grateful for the company so I hang with her. We both sneak an occasional peak back over our shoulders, expecting to see Joe catching us. There is no sign of his tomato red shirt, so on we go. We reach the top and it is a beautiful day. I know that it will be a tough haul down the mountain later tonight, but for now the down slope beckons. I thank Dianne for dragging me up the mountain and start my downward dash toward Chicken Gap Aid Station.

CHICKEN GAP TO POWERLINE
I pull into Chicken Gap Aid Station and I”m smelling Powerline. I top off my bottle with water and head out just as the whole station is cheering for Dianne as she comes in. It is still down hill so I plow ahead. Only two miles to Powerline where I will find my “crew” (Meredith), my drop bag and plenty of fuel. I pass more runners on this section while still checking behind me occasionally to see if Joe has resurfaced. I see no sign of him so I push on up the final short climb and can see the powerline right of way through the trees off to my right. I know I’m almost there and as I make a final right turn, I can seel all the crew cars lining the road. Yee-hah! I careen down the hill and Meredith spots me immediately. It is around 4:45 p.m. and I am nearly an hour ahead of last year’s race pace. This is exactly where I want to be today. I weigh in and I’m still at my starting weight so no worries there. Meredith gets me into a chair quickly and starts the transition. The other crews from NTTR help out and I’m surrounded by a flurry of activity. I have barely gotten my butt in the chair when I see Joe come into the aid station. He weighs and then plops down beside me. Meredith now kicks it into high gear as she tends to both of us at once. I change into my road shoes for this 20 mile stretch of relatively smooth jeep road to Turnaround and back. I drink a Boost and sip some soup as someone fills my bottle with my special Fierce Grape Gatorade. Meredith is so busy that she almost forgets that she had gotten one of the famous chocolate milkshakes from the little burger joint in Russellville for Joe. Joe is nearly orgasmic as he groans about the virtues of this unexpected delight. He shares it with me, although I don’t take much and he gives half of it away to someone else. I grab my headlamp and put my bottle into a fanny pack belt. I slip my gloves into the pack and take a fresh bandana. Joe is ready so we stop briefly for a photo-op (by someone I didn’t recognize, presumably from NTTR) and off we go.

POWERLINE TO CHILE PEPPER
It is barely 5:00 p.m. as we walk out with me sipping a Coke and nibbling on some fruit. I am now a full hour ahead of last year’s time and I feel MUCH better physically than I did a year ago. We walk along for a few minutes as we have after each Aid Station, allowing our stomachs to catch up with the rest of our bodies. This has worked pretty well throughout the day. This is the section of the course that I figured would be most critical to the success of my run. Last year I lost a tremendous amount of time on this part. Because I just couldn’t seem to make my self run, it took me nearly seven hours to cover this 20 miles in 2003. As we make the first turn, I am struck by the downward slope of the smooth jeep road. “I can’t believe I walked this last year: I mumble aloud. Joe grins with a look that says “you ain’t gonna walk it this year, pal.” With the sun just dipping below the tall trees, we take off at a run down the road. For the next nearly 4 miles to Chile Pepper Aid Station, we are pretty much at a dead run down the hills. We occasionally walk on the upslopes and catch our breath, but it is mostly a wild ride down the road. I keep shaking my head as we go DOWN one slope after another. I still can’t fathom that I didn’t attempt to run this last year. At this point in the race last year, I was seeing lots of other runners coming back the other way from Turnaround. This year, not so much. We are clearly not running too bad as we come down into Chile Pepper. Despite offers of margaritas and tequila by some of the clearly inebriated station volunteers, we sit and choke down some tortilla and chicken and push out again.

CHILE PEPPER TO TURNAROUND
Letha Cruthirds from Dallas catches up to us just outside of Chile Pepper. She has been having a rough day, not feeling well at all. Letha is a strong runner (Ultra Grand Slammer in ‘03) and Team Texas usually relies on her to have a solid time for use in the Team Challenge. She still smiles as we run back and forth with her for a good ways toward Turnaround. She has been running with Steve from Atlanta who hooks on to us for part of this section. This is one of the longest segment between Aid Stations (5.8 miles). The sun is sinking quickly as we move on. The grade isn’t sloping down quite so much any more, but there are nonetheless parts that we run. We reach the intersection of jeep roads (#2) that is two miles away from Turnaround. We are now seeing more and more runners going both ways. Joe had hoped to make it to Turnaround by dark, and it looks like it is gong to be close. We hike on as the grade rises and the darkness slowly pushes away the light. After what seems like a long time for two miles, we plod up the last hill and into Turnaround Aid Station. A good thing, too, because it is now dark. Loud rock music blares as we check in. The temp is dropping rapidly as we are warmly greeted by Joyce, the aid station captain. She always has a beer waiting for Joe. We squat down into a couple of chairs and our drop bags appear in front of us. I finally ditch the short sleeve shirt I have worn all day (the mustard yellow HCTR shirt from our Guadalupe trip) and put on my nice white and silver front-zip long-sleeve shirt. I pull the headlamp out of my pack and then refuel. Joe drinks his beer and we rest for just a couple of minutes. All of a sudden my stomach feels queasy and I think I am going to lose it. Joe asks if I’m okay. I shake my head. The queasiness eases up and I realize that I have gotten chilled. “I better get moving” I say.

TURNAROUND TO CHILE PEPPER
What a difference a year makes! As we walk out, it is about 7:30 p.m.. I left this station last year at 9:15! We get no more than 100 yards and my teeth are chattering from the chill. Then I remember that, at the last minute, I had stuffed my Turnaound drop bag with all sorts of spare stuff, including a good running jacket. My frozen brain questions whether or not I should go back and get it. Joe reads my vocalized hesitation and tells me “of course go get it. You can always tie it around you.” I dash back in to the consternation of the aid station volunteers. My bag is already on the pile to be returned to the start/finish. I grab it and yank out the jacket. I shuffle back down the hill to catch up with Joe. Going back for the jacket was one of the smartest things I did all day. It took some time, but I finally warm up. I think that I would have completely frozen if I hadn’t had the jacket.

The joy of having all that down hill out to Turnaround was now tempered by the knowledge that it was mostly UPHILL on the way back to Powerline. We hike on briskly and are now 60 miles into it. Crew cars and hunters drive by and nearly suffocate us with the dust that is kicked up. You can see the clouds of particles in the beam of our headlamps. This section really sucks as we breath in the dirt. Even the runners going the other way out to Turnaround leave small clouds in their wake. I feel my throat start to dry and crack as we go. My stomach is bothering me again so Joe suggests that I take off the fanny pack. That seems to work and for the next 7 miles, I carry it over my right shoulder.

As we walk on I start to feel sleepy. I check my watch and it is only 8:40 p.m.. ‘This can’t be right. I didn’t get sleepy until 2 a.m. last year’ I say to myself. As we go on, the drowsiness seeps in deeper and deeper. Crap! This can’t be happening! My undoing last year was the inability to stay awake once Mike Riggs picked me up to pace me at Powerline. Joe tells me that I have to keep my brain engaged. “Make some noise!” he tells me. I start to talk out loud to myself: Come on, Henry! Get going! Wake up!” I mutter. I try talking for a bit and swing my arms to try and rouse myself. Joe later refers to me as looking and sounding like a wind-up toy gone terribly wrong. I then remember that (and Joe reminds me) that Paul Schmidt sings at night when he runs. What the hell! I’ve tried everything else and it hasn’t worked. On the drive up, Joe had played an oldies CD with some Creedence Clearwater Revival on it. So I start belting out “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” and then “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”. By golly it seems to be working! I wake up and start power walking and soon have Joe working to keep up with me.

CHILE PEPPER TO POWERLINE
We get into Chile Pepper again and things are looking better. I want to sit and rest for a minute, but it is too cool. We refill bottles, drink some soup and head out for Powerline. It isn’t long before I start to droop again. Time for more karaoke! Joe had been talking about a cartoon joke he had gotten via email that had a hippo and a little dog singing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.” There isn’t anyone else around and I figure if Joe doesn’t like my singing, he can always run off and leave me. I’m into it now and after a few verses and a couple of “weem a weps”, I even attempt the high falsetto part: “Weeeeeheeeheee a weeee moh moh moh waaay” I cut loose without inhibition and sing (poorly) at the top of my lungs. There is an immediate response from deep in the woods off to our right....some sort of growling howl in rejoinder to my own screech. I can’t tell if it was a hunting dog, a coyote, the Boggy Creek Monster or perhaps a no-longer-sleeping-lion, but decide that maybe I shouldn’t try that line again. Joe laughs at the reaction and we speed up our hiking pace. We are getting closer now, though our pace has slowed. A couple of runners pass us which is the first time that has happened in a good while (I remember that last year, I was being reeled in by almost everyone else on the course. Not so today.). I”m anxious to get to Powerline. I’m ready to steal some of Meredith’s energy and to sit and rest, maybe even take a short nap. I keep thinking that we are almost there, but we just seem to keep going and going. Finally we climb the last hill and I can see the crew cars parked along the road. We start jogging again and are greeted by cheers from the Aid Station. We both go to weigh in. I’m actually a couple of pounds over my starting weight, but I figure that it is just the extra clothing and gear. It is around 10:20, nearly two and a half hours sooner than last year. We have covered this critical segment in less than 5 1/2 hours. That is a far cry from the nearly 7 hours it took me last year. Joe seems pleased that we made it back from Turnaround so quickly (less than three hours).

Powerline is one of the most crucial junctures in the race. Most runners who drop out, do it at Turnaround or Powerline. Meredith is so excited she can hardly contain herself. She has been waiting here for hours and is raring to go. Mark Dick from NTTR is bundled up tightly in a chair nearby. He has dropped out because of a stomach bug. He expresses his delight that we are finally there as he refers to Meredith as the “pacer from hell”. “She was about to go look for your guys. Thank God you finally got here!” he says. Apparently Mark has been amusing himself by watching Meredith. I tell her that I really need to close my eyes for 10 minutes and rest. She is patient with me as I have gotten here ahead of schedule and well ahead of last year. But we just keep getting ready. I change back into my Masai shoes and switch jackets. I refuel with Boost and ditch the fanny pack. I give my cassette Walkman to Meredith to stuff into her already crammed full pack. By the time we get this all done, I’m too cold to want to sit there any longer. The three of us head out of the Aid Station. With the two hours of “bank” time, we are on a pace to finish in 26 hours. We leave the Aid Station a full three hours ahead of the cut-off time.

POWERLINE TO CHICKEN GAP
Joe and Meredith stride up the road as I do some minor sort of adjustment. I shuffle to catch up with them, but again we start slow to allow our fuel to settle in our stomachs. We soon hit the downhill and start to shuffle/run down it. We chat as we move along. The moon is high and the sky is clear. There is plenty of light from our handhelds and Mer’s headlamp as we motor down to Chicken Gap. Meredith moves ahead as we come to the Aid Station and calls out our numbers to the staff. We don’t stop here long as we are all three anxious to get up and over Smith Mountain as soon as we can.

CHICKEN GAP TO SMITH MOUNTAIN
Off we go with Meredith and I in the front and Joe in the back. We head up the backside of Smith Mountain. It doesn’t seem too bad as we climb up. The trees are tall here and there are no runners in sight. We seem to have the trail to ourselves. We walk up pretty quickly and are soon at a nasty section where the tall grass has been partially beaten down, but sharp rocks still stick up. As we make our way through the grass, we are nearing the crest of the mountain. Joe keeps jamming his toes against some of the half-hidden rocks. He finally hits the same toe one too many times and a bolt of queasiness strikes him in the gut (the next day the toe is purple, swollen and full of blood). He slows, but Mer and I keep going. We are headed down now with me in front. I’m getting sleepy again, but not as bad as before (or later). With a few snippets of song to rouse me, I start to run down the hill a bit. Meredith hangs with me as we move down briskly over the tricky footing. The berms going down are as aggravating as they are going up, breaking strides and demanding attention. Joe is slipping back, but I heed his advice that “you have to run when you can.” I’m surprised at how quickly we negotiate the dirt berms and make it down to the bottom of the hill. This pumps me up because I know that the jeep road and Mickey’s Aid Station are nearby. Mer and I move quickly now and actually catch and pass another runner on the down slope into the Aid Station.

SMITH MOUNTAIN TO CLUB FLAMINGO
We don’t linger here at all. Meredith fills the water bottle and we walk out quickly. Joe is close behind and catches us at the bottom of the hill past the Aid Station. We stop for just a minute making some minor adjustments. There is a long climb awaiting us so we take our time, all three of us together again. We make it up a long climb and move along. There is a fair amount of “up” in this 3+ mile section to Club Flamingo. I’m power walking it pretty well. By the time we get a mile or so out of Club Flamingo, the road turns downhill. I take off knowing that it is not far and still wanting to “bank” more time while I can still run. Meredith hooks on and hangs right on my shoulder. Joe is still struggling and doesn’t keep pace. I push it a little more and run every bit of this that I can, stopping only occasionally to catch my wind after a long stretch of running. By the time we plunge down the next hill, I know that we are close. Joe catches up with us at the bottom of this hill and we start the final steep climb up to the Aid Station. There are Tiki torches lit guiding the way into the Aid Station. They line both sides of the trail and give a warmth beyond their puny flames’ heat. Drop bags await. We collapse into chairs and refuel here with soup and Boost. We visit with Terry Murphy from Georgia who seems to be making some major leg and foot repairs. Being the good pacer that she is , Meredith won’t let us dally here long.

CLUB FLAMINGO TO PIGTRAIL
The next section is short, but rugged. Terry Murphy latches on to us as we exit Club Flamingo and head toward Pigtrail. The road is okay here at first, although it will narrow and grow more rugged toward the end of this segment. We keep going, but I start to fade a little. Whenever I tell Meredith that “I’m struggling a little”, she knows that I am soon stumbling with my eyes at half-mast. I blame it on Terry. He has drained my energy and now begins to run down the road. I bumble along with Meredith urging me to keep moving. Joe seems content with the pace, but I am a zombie. I even lock arms with Mer for a bit just to stumble along and rest at the same time. I don’t remember if I started singing again or just rallied, but as we keep gong and near the last 3/4 mile of this section, I perk up. Down the hill I go and slide right past Terry Murphy. “Hah! I’ve got my energy back!” I shout as I run down the hill. Meredith is right there with me and Joe isn’t far behind. 79+ miles done.

PIGTRAIL TO LAKE WINONA
We sip some soup and sit down all too briefly here. It is now pretty cold so we don’t hang around long. Lake Winona is calling. Pigtrail was the last Aid Station I made it to last year and I want to get that monkey’s claws all the way off my back. The first stretch out of Pigtrail is up. We climb that slowly and then hit a flat section. We are 80 miles in and the dreaded sandman is again sprinkling me with a heavy dusting. I am again stumbling and staggering as we go ever uphill. The 4.5 miles to Lake Winona seem to take forever. We persevere as the road flattens out. I sense that we are getting close and know that there is a down slope into the Aid Station. My watch alarm goes off telling me that it is 4 a.m. I’ve been up for 24 hours now. Time to wake up. I manage to start a running shuffle and as Meredith and I hit the top of the hill, I take off. Down we go and then we see the lights of the Aid Station. Woo-hoo! We come dashing down as we feel the coolness of the air increase down near the dam and the lake. Joe is right on our heels. We sit down and sip soup while rummaging through our drop bags. Not much here left in the way of fuel. I sip a Coke while Meredith refills my bottle. She ditches her own bottle here. Joe is feeling chilled and takes out from the station while I still sit (We find out later that it got down to 41 degrees that night) . Meredith gets me up and we leave the last station with drop bags.

I am now nearly four full hours ahead of the cut-off time for this Aid Station, but our pace has slowed to about a 26:45 finish time. I now let the thought creep in that I may really finish this 100 miles. I have tried to keep it under mental wraps the whole time as I didn’t want to take anything for granted. I wanted to keep plugging away with that little fear or doubt to keep me working. But with a nearly 4 hour cut-off cushion, 8 hours to cover 16 miles, and legs that still haven’t suffered a single cramp, I’m starting to think that I can crawl the last miles if need be.

LAKE WINONA TO ROCKY GAP
Meredith and I start out from the Aid Station. As we leave I see at least a dozen runners strewn out on a plastic tarp wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags. I assume they are drops, but one steps out as we start down the road. Letha has risen from the dead and despite her illness is going to finish the race. She takes off and is soon out of sight. Joe appears to be long gone. We walk briskly as it is REALLY cold down by the spillway. I hike as quickly as I can to warm up. I’m still bleary-eyed and as we walk, Meredith urges me to drink a Red Bull. “I don’ wanna.” I whine. “It’ll upset my stomach. “ I slur. Meredith persists, but I”m feeling stubborn. I have done a really good job of managing myself all race long. I have rested when I needed to and run as much as I could. I have built up an excellent reserve in my “time” bank account. We keep walking and make the turn to go up and away from the dam. It is warmer up here. I could have sworn that I saw Joe’s green light halfway up the hill, but when I look again, there is only darkness and the light of the moon. As we climb higher, I see a black shape on the ground. As we get closer, I realize that it is Joe!. He’s lying on his back and staring straight up. “Are you okay?” I ask, concerned that his stomach has gotten worse. “It’s just beautiful.” he says. “The moon is gorgeous from here. You should try this, Henry. It feels so good! Even better than that chocolate milkshake at Powerline.” My eyes grow big. I would LOVE to lie down for awhile. Joe is doing it. It MUST be okay. I start to kneel down to lie down next to him. “NO!” yells Meredith as my butt comes within inches of the hard ground. “You are not going to lie down.” she declares firmly. Joe chuckles and says “you’ll never know how beautiful that moon is from here.” “Stop it, Joe!” Mer barks as he slowly rises up. “Drink this Red Bull.” she then says to me. I take a couple of sips, but I’m tired of drinking at this point. We argue about my drinking the Red Bull as I take a couple of more sips (I think I’ve drunk half of it and I really haven’t consumed that much of the can.).

We all start walking up the hill. I’m still stumbling and Joe and Meredith get ahead of me. Joe is telling Meredith that she might want to ease up on me a little. I suspect that is the subject of the conversation, but I stay out of it. I manage to catch up with them as we make our way toward Rocky Gap Aid Station. I’m still half-asleep. When we get to a flat section that leads to a down hill, I ask Meredith to pull out my “secret weapon”. She gets out the cassette Walkman (which had made her snicker earlier at its anachronistic appearance and girth) from her pack. I had made a couple of tapes last year for this race and then forgot to bring it when I left Powerline. Joe was behind us as I fiddled with the ear plugs. I got it all set and then pressed “play”. BANG! I was re-energized. I love music and these were all righteous, rocking, rousing favorites that I knew would stick in my head and get me pumped. I took off like a shot (well, as much as you can take off like a shot after running nearly 85 miles). I was now headed down hill and could tell that I was running WAY too fast. But I didn’t care. Mer caught up with me, leaving Joe to fend for himself. I slowed a little because I could tell from my breathing that I was pushing it too hard. But I was moving again as if by magic. We kept going, stopping occasionally to walk. Joe closed the gap and it wasn’t long before we arrived at Rocky Gap Aid Station (87.2 miles).

ROCKY GAP TO ELECTRONIC TOWER
Rocky Gap was quite strange at this point. There were several fires burning and way too much smoke in the air. I wanted to sit down and rest and Meredith pulled me away from the smoke. One of the volunteers offered me a spot by the fire, but I knew that was a fatal mistake. Joe asked if they had anything hot to drink. They had coffee and hot chocolate. Hot chocolate sounded good to me so I got a cup. It was warm and weak, but better than nothing. We didn’t stay long as it was still quite cold at a little after 5 a.m. and we had a long rough climb ahead to Electronic Tower Aid Station.

Almost as soon as we started again, I got sleepy. I tried the tape player and sing along with the songs, but it didn’t work. Meredith says “Sing without it. You need to use your brain. You’re just singing what you hear.” She was right, of course. I tried to sing a little, but my brain was just dead. I couldn’t remember lyrics or even songs to sing. We walk slowly up the beginning of this almost all uphill 4+ mile hike. Joe is close behind, but quiet. As I am struggling to stay awake and searching for music to sing, I ask Meredith what kind of music she likes, hoping to get some inspiration for songs to sing. She mentions a couple of things and then I ask her if she likes country music. “Willie Nelson is okay and I had one Dixie Chicks CD, but I won’t buy another one of them because of what they did.” “Oh really?” I ask, certain that she is referring to lead singer Natalie Maines’ on-stage lambasting of President Bush and the invasion of Iraq.

And so it goes. We launch into a monumental political discussion covering everything from freedom of speech to the war in Iraq to the presidential candidates. Our debate is spirited, although never heated or hostile. But we are both stoked and the ground starts to fly away under our feet. Both the trail and our conversation careens to the right and to the left and up and down. . As the sky starts to grow lighter, we climb this major hill with vigor that I haven’t had for hours. Joe lags back. I’m not sure if it is because of the volatility of our discussion or if he is wrestling with his own late race demons or if he is simply enjoying the run. I glance back occasionally, but even though I am stopping to pee with maddening frequency, he doesn’t catch us. We come upon David Billman from Dallas and his pacer, Jackie. We motor right past them. By the time we get to the subject of gay marriage, we are at the summit of this climb with only a short drop down to the Aid Station (We find out later that our discussion was heard all over the mountain). We both come running in, happy to make another landmark on the way to the finish. One of the volunteers jokes that he isn’t sure who is the runner and who is the pacer between the two of us. 91.5 miles under my feet and my legs still feel good. We don’t waste much time here and leave the station before Joe catches up to us.

ELECTRONIC TOWER TO PUMPKIN PATCH
Less than 2.5 miles to Pumpkin Patch Aid Station from here, the last one on the course. The course starts off pretty flat and we hike along briskly. We are ahead of Joe, but I’m not waiting. My stomach starts to rebel. We walk some more and there is a lot of light in the sky now. I tell Meredith that I need to make a pit stop and head off into the woods. This was a much needed stop and I feel better. The stop gives Joe a chance to catch up. He has been running with the Finkles from Virginia. The whole group of us runs together at first. As the road starts to wind slightly downhill, I start to run again and it feels great. Meredith takes off with me and we put some distance between us and Joe and the Finkles. Down we go and it isn’t long before we round the corner and spot the Pumpkin Patch Aid Station. My heart and spirit rise as I realize that this is the last stop before the finish. It is 6.3 miles from here to the finish so I ask Mer to fill the bottle one more time. I stay long enough to get a piece of pie as Joe catches up to us.

PUMPKIN PATCH TO FINISH
We walk out and I eat about half of the slice of pie. It is fully light now as we make our way down the jeep road with one more turn ahead. We make a right off the main park road onto an abandoned four wheel road. This is really just a wide trail and goes for a long way before hooking up with the last main park road to the finish. Despite the light it seems to be getting colder. This is the coldest I have been the whole time. Perhaps it is because we are in a very sheltered area and the sun is still well below the tree line. When we hit the mile 95 marker, Meredith asks if we want to run a little. This is one of the very few times that she has had to make the suggestion. Joe and I look at each other. “Nah!” is the consensus. We know that we are going to finish. Meredith knows that if we run a little we can perhaps finish in less than 27 hours. My legs still feel good, but my feet are beat. This course is very hard on your feet. The combination of hard jeep road on top of bedrock and the rocky sections make for a lot of punishment. I would love to run some more, but I just can’t take any more pounding on the bottom of my feet. Meredith accepts this gracefully and we hike on. I am lagging behind now, but Joe doesn’t wait. I’m making frequent pee stops and have to shuffle and power walk to keep up with Joe and Meredith. Once I even call Meredith back to me to get a drink as she has been muleing my bottle for me for miles now. This part takes an excruciating amount of time, but we finally leave the old jeep road and hit the final main road. The problem is that it is still 2 miles to go. Im fading but the end is near. Joe holds me up by the shirt a couple of times as I stumble down the road. We hit the paved road and we know that it isn’t far to the finish. The debate begins as to when we will start running again. We start running less than a 1/4 mile from the finish and make it to the right turn off the road and down into the finish. I’ve already told Mer and Joe that we are going in hand in hand. We make the turn and join hands. I feel a rush as we approach the finish line and can hear the cheers. I spot Moogy clapping for us. He’s been there for nearly 5 hours since he finished waiting for us. We cross as a surge wells up in me. Meredith gives me big hug as I tell her “thanks” for the first of about 100 times. Joe and I shake hands and clasp shoulders.

We don’t hang around. We grab some of our returned drop bags with Moogy’s help and head to the hotel to shower up and get warm clothes on. A warm shower is indescribably pleasurable as is a brushing of teeth. This year I can actually lift my legs into the tub to shower. I dress warmly and we all head back to the start/finish. We cheer on more runners, but many have dropped. 133 starters and only 82 finishers. Joe and I finish with the same time 27:29:23 at a tie for 51st. Moogy has smoked this puppy and finished 12th overall in 22:24.

EPILOGUE
I’m delighted with finishing and pleased with my time. I had guesstimated that I could do it in 28 hours and I easily did that. If I had followed Meredith’s urging, there was a slim chance that I could have broken 27 hours. But that doesn’t matter now. I did what I did. I learned that it was okay to just run when you could run and let everything unfold from there. I ran much faster for the first 50 miles than I would ever have suspected would work. I surprised myself at how good my legs felt throughout the race. Despite the climbs and the relative speed, I managed to never cramp up. As shown by the elevation chart, this was my kind of course...lots of up and down to run and to walk.

I managed myself well (with encouragement and corroboration from Joe) at the Aid Stations, never wasting time, but always taking care of my needs. I learned (again) how valuable a pacer/crew can be. I would never have gotten as far as I did last year without Mike Riggs’ tremendous efforts. Without that experience from last year, I would not have been as well-equipped to deal with this year’s race. I can’t imagine having a more dedicated, enthusiastic, energetic pacer than Meredith Terranova. Meredith worked efficiently at the crew Aid Stations and then helped me stay focused once she began pacing at mile 68. She was unflagging in her efforts to keep me awake and headed toward the finish. All the crew, pacers and runners from NTTR were also helpful to both me and my pacer.

Joe and I never really talked about running this race together. Joe had been feeling pretty strong with his running and if his Achilles held up, he had a good chance to run a fast race. I didn’t have a clue what I would do. I had trained differently this year than last year. My period of training was shorter because I had been hurt during March and April. However, I had stuck to hard, rocky surfaces from Barton Creek (40+miles three weeks before the race with Joe and guest appearances from Julie and Linda R. as “pacers”) to Bandera (both summer camp and the Heynen/German excursion) to Bull Creek’s Ken’s Loop (thanks Mike) to the Guadalupe Mountains (the whole gang of campers) to Town Lake (with Joyce). Mostly I ran the Barton Creek Powerline Loop again and again whether it was solo or with Jim Balthazar, Rick Gastelum, or Mark Raymond or Mark Lindsey or the whole Wednesday evening gang. I eschewed the soft surfaces of Bastrop with the exception of a night time run in late August with Joe and Meredith and a casual run the Sunday before the race. My feet and legs were as tough as I could make them in four months time. I knew that I wanted to run faster earlier in the race than last year to give myself more cushion for the inevitable nighttime slow down. I honestly didn’t think that I would still be with Joe for 40 miles, much less be running AHEAD of him until mile 48+. It was a tremendous lift for me to run the Powerline to Turnaround and return section (miles 48-68) with him. This was the section that had cost me precious hours last year and I was determined to get through that portion much faster and with Joe’s help, that is exactly what I did. It isn’t often that you get to run nearly all of a 100 mile race with your best pal, training buddy and veteran ultra-runner all rolled into one person. It made for a heck of a first 100 mile finish even if I had to call on the Lion that sleeps to pull the Monkey off my back.

HENRY HOBBS 10/10/04