We were warned by the race director, Joe Prusaitis, that the Cactus Rose 100 mile race in Bandera, Texas in early September would be muy caliente (very hot). He was right! The temperature climbed to 95 degrees in the shade Saturday afternoon. Without much shade on the trails and plenty of rocks to reflect the heat, just maintaining proper hydration was a challenge.

I arrived in Bandera, in the hill country west of San Antonio, on Friday afternoon with my two pacers, David Holloway and Ron Dunbar, for the inaugural Cactus Rose 100 Mile Run. I really was looking forward to this run, as a lot of my friends from Austin, Dallas, and Houston would be there. We spent Friday night in a lodge next to the start of the race with about twenty other runners, so we didn’t get a lot of sleep before the race. We also rose early to see Mariela Botella, Kim Pilcher, and David Berdis leave for the early start at 3:00 a.m. This group must not have examined the course map, as it took three attempts before they headed off in the right direction. After a very short rest, I got up with all of the other runners for the official 5:00 a.m. start. The air was cool, the sky was filled with more stars than one could ever see in Houston, and I felt very invigorated!

The runners all started out together as a group at 5:00 a.m. so as not to get lost. We ran through the darkness for about five miles to Boyles, the first aid station. From Boyles, we continued to run as a group, climbing the Three Sisters hills, and eventually reaching the Equestrian aid station (mile 11). I left Equestrian alone planning to pick up the pace. T J Thompson soon caught up with me and we ran together, crossing the Ice Cream hill, and eventually reaching the Nacho aid station (mile 15). It was great to have TJ as company, and his knowledge of the trail saved me a few wrong turns. We ran together through the area where cowboys were camping for the weekend, as there was a big cow parade in the town of Bandera that weekend. After the Equestrian aid station (mile 20), we ran the final 5 miles of the first lap back to where we started at the lodge. It was 11:30 a.m. and very, very hot!

The heat was really taking its toll on the runners. TJ and I started the second lap, despite the heat. We passed Boyles, and on the way to the Equestrian Aid Station, I ran out of water. TJ had a camelback and fortunately had enough water for me to fill one of my bottles. TJ was really started to tire, and by the time I reached the Three Sisters, I had left him behind. I was now running all alone in the intense heat of the afternoon. After going to Ice Cream Hill, then crossing Nachos and heading toward Equestrian, I missed a turn. As I was studying the map, I saw Henry and Letha. They were surprised to see me as I had signed in the last aid station more than half an hour ahead of them. Henry told me I had missed a turn, so I headed back, retracing about a mile of the course. I eventually made it to Equestrian (mile 45). I saw Mariela and Kim resting at Equestrian and found out that had dropped out at mile 35. TJ had also dropped out at mile 35. David and Ron were waiting for me at Equestrian with a delicious Subway sandwich. I ate a small part of the sandwich and saved the rest in the cooler for later in the race. It really helped to elevate my energy and I continued to run. About a quarter mile form the lodge, I was very excited to see three wild turkeys near the trail! Being an avid hunter, the sight of these turkeys made me salivate. I pulled in to the 50 mile point at the lodge around 8:00 p.m.

I had been running alone for much of the second 25 miles, so it was great to have David start pacing me on the third lap. Since we started running the third lap around 8:00 p.m., we ran in the dark. The sky was very cloudy, but for several hours we could see the glow of the moon behind the dark clouds. David and I talked and joked as we put the miles behind us. We kept thinking about the cool, 71 degree temperature of the previous morning when the early trio started running at 3:00 a.m. We were not as lucky, as the temperature never dropped below 83 degrees the entire night. Because it was so warm, we both ran without our shirts in an effort to cool off and to prevent chafing.

As we approached the Three Sisters around 11:00 p.m., we noticed a tent in the clearing. The campers apparently heard us, as a light appeared inside the tent as we passed them. I am sure the campers thought they would be alone in that isolated area. We missed a turn at the top of the first sister and ended up at the bottom of the hill on the other side. We had to climb to the top once again to get back on track. The moon actually helped us to find our way. At the top of the hill, we remembered that the moon was to the left, so that helped us to find our position before making a wrong turn.

At one point during the night, we startled a huge deer that was on the trail. It crashed through the woods as soon as it detected us. We also saw several armadillos. For such small creatures, they can really be noisy.

Between Nacho and Equestrian, we ran near the cowboy camp. It was 3:00 a.m. and a pickup truck approached us on the dirt road, stirring up a huge cloud of dust. We couldn’t see through the dust and missed a turn. Once again we retraced our steps and eventually got back on track, making it to Equestrian.

During the last five miles of the third lap, a very light rain started to fall. The sky was completely black at this time. I kept wishing for more rain so that it would cool off a bit. I got my wish! The closer we got to the lodge, the harder the rain fell. The rain felt great, but the mud stuck to our shoes and made it feel like we were running with bricks strapped to our feet. When we reached the lodge, Janice was outside waiting for us. Janice woke up Ron, who was pacing me the final 25 miles. She also brought me some more noodle soup. Joe and some of the others in the lodge got up at this time. Letha woke up and came to talk to me for awhile; she was worried about me as she knew first-hand what the running conditions were like. I was very surprised to see Letha as I thought she was still out running on the course. Ron and I soon left for the final 25 miles of the race.

I started running with a new pacer, Ron, for the final 25 mile loop. I was feeling sleepy and caught myself running with my eyes closed. I didn’t want to fall, so I decided to run faster in an effort to keep awake. The mud was very heavy on my legs. When we got to Boyles (mile 80), we left our headlights and flashlights as it was now daylight. I was feeling good at this point. There was no more rain, but the sky was overcast. The cloud covering was very welcome. I was hoping that it would remain overcast for the rest of the run so that the sun would not be beating down on us like it did on Saturday. I got to the point that I could not drink anymore Gatorade. The thought of drinking Gatorade even made me feel sick, so from that point to the finish, I only drank water.

My fourth loop was nice and easy. I was unlikely to get lost because after running the loop three times, I felt that I knew the course. After we left Nachos for the fourth and final time, the trails crossed the gravel road and took us to a dry creek. The trail then took us back out to the road where there were no more ribbons marking the spot where we reentered the woods. As we were running down the road look for the trail, we saw Robert and Moogy returning from Nachos after picking up the aid station tent and supplies. They directed us back to the trails. After running about three more miles, I thought that we had passed the turn, so we went back for about a mile. There was no more cloud cover at this point and the sun got very intense. Finally we got back on the trail and made it to the Equestrian Aid Station (mile 95).

Joe, Moogy, Janice and David were at Equestrian offering me encouragement. They started packing up the aid station, and Ron and I left for the final five miles of the race. About an hour from the finish, we could hear people cheering from the lodge. We wondered how the voices could appear so close to us when we had at least another hour to run.

As I approached the finish line, my friends were standing and cheering for me. It felt great to run through the toilet paper winner’s ribbon. I was presented with a very unique, hand-made trophy made of a rock and barbwire. This is one trophy that I truly earned and I will always treasure!