Somewhere in spring I was looking for a 100miler I could run in fall. My final two candidates were Arkansas Traveler and Heartland. I was born in Bavaria, so my true love are the mountains, but I also have a thing going for wide open landscapes, which was the reason why I ultimately decided to do the Kansas race. Besides, the run goes through some of the last remaining tallgrass prairie in this country and who knows how long that will be preserved. As a young boy I was reading a lot about Native Americans and the early settlers in the West, and the Flint Hills look exactly how I pictured the landscape from the description in my adventure stories and books. So somehow this run was also bringing back youthful memories.

Training ... or the lack thereof

My plan was to properly prepare for this race but someone forgot to tell my employer. My company kept me so busy that I hardly had time to squeeze in training runs. My weekly mileage is normally somewhere between 30 and 40, but instead of increasing my efforts, my weekly mileage actually had dropped to 15-20 by mid-September. I had signed up for the 50K at Lake Bryan, but after 25K I decided to stop since I didn't want to risk an injury. Luckily my work went back to normal level as did my running. I finished my "training" with a weekly mileage of 40 in the first week of October, and had a smooth transition into the taper phase the week before the Heartland race (I guess it went so smooth because there was not much difference between training and taper :) )

My lofty goal

My main goal is always to have fun - otherwise I wouldn't do these races - but in this case I also wanted to finish in less than 24 hours. I thought this was doable until my training efforts went downhill. The week before the race I was confident that I would finish, but I was not so convinced that I could beat 24.

Preparation - at least one thing I managed

I had researched and evaluated everything from sunrise/sunset to weather forecast to aid station/drop bag locations. Since Heartland is an out-and-back course, I decided that 2 drop backs (4 stops) would be sufficient. Before the trip to Kansas I had my drop bags and gear all packed and ready to go; the only thing that was missing was the race number on the drop bag labels and I even brought a permanent marker for this purpose (I can't help being organized; must be a German thing).

How to save money and have more fun

My original plan was to fly to Kansas City or Wichita, rent a car and drive to Cassoday, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. However a few months before the race Dmitry, who had also decided to run Heartland, asked me whether I was interested in sharing a ride and a hotel room so we could save some money. Well, that's what we did. We left Friday morning, and after a stop at IHOP and 10 hours of driving and listening to good German music (Rammstein, not Polka!) we arrived at the Prairie Hen World Capital (Cassoday, population 99, and probably a lot more prairie hens and cattle). We got our race packages, attended the prerace meeting, had a very good prerace dinner and left for El Dorado (25 miles down the road and the closest town with accommodations) to check in at our motel.

Start your engines!

Race morning and everything goes smooth. We arrive in Cassoday at 5:30, have a last pit stop in the community hall and then proceed to the start area a 1/4 mile down the road. Race starts a 6AM sharp and off we go. It is still dark and the first miles are relatively flat and uneventful. Temperatures are in the 40's, which is really nice and refreshing after the hot and lately also humid days in Austin. After an hour the sun comes up and eventually we hit the first hills.

Kansas ain't flat!

Well, I didn't expect it to be, since the race was advertised to have 6,000 feet of climb.
Most of the course is gently rolling hills, but some of the hills are still impressive, especially when you reach the top with stunning views of the vast expanse of the grassland. The day is beautiful: sunny, blue sky, and a gentle breeze which makes for comfortable temperatures even when they reach mid to upper 70's later in the day. My pace is faster than I want it to be, but I see no reason to slow down, since I am feeling great and enjoying the run. Most of the run is on unpaved farm/ranch roads so you don't have to pay to much attention to the road surface and you can fully enjoy the vista.
Turnaround for the 50-mile runners is half a mile after the Teterville Road aid station and when I see the turnaround signs I briefly ask myself why I didn't sign up for the 50-Miler instead. But then after a couple of minutes I am done with the self pity phase and back in a positive mood.

Are you up for a bull fight?

This is cattle land, and you can see it everywhere: from the cattle guards, to cowpats on the trail, to an occasional cattle truck leaving you in a cloud of dust. Yes, they actually bring cattle into Cassoday from all over the country to graze in the surrounding Flints Hills. Part of the run is through open grassland (meaning no fence) and this is where you get eye to eye with the cattle.
Between Texaco Hill and Ridge Line aid stations I start walking when I pass a larger herd (about 200-300) because they seem very nervous and most of them are watching me cautiously. However there are a few runners maybe half a mile behind me and apparently this is too much for the cattle because they start a mini stampede. The only thing is, the herd is running directly towards me and I am a little bit concerned, to put it this way. While I am still thinking fast and hard what to do, the herd miraculously splits about 100 feet in front of me and is galloping past me left and right. It was probably not such a miracle after all since they are afraid of humans but my adrenaline level nevertheless peaked during this encounter.

Who is moving this tower?

Towers is an unmanned aid station after Matfield Green and the first time you see the tower it is still about 4 miles away. It looks like it is right after the next hill but every time you get over a hill you see that this is not the case. This goes on and on and I start thinking someone is moving this stupid tower. Finally I reach the "moving" tower and from there it is an easy 2.5 miles downhill to the Lone Tree aid station which is the turnaround point. Spirits are up but so is the trail and I walk back most of the uphill stretch to Towers. Between Towers and Matfield Green I have a bit of a motivational low and this is where I meet Dmitry on his way to the turnaround. He said he had some problems early in the race but now he is back on track and he really looks like he is ready to take on the world. I am amazed, because this is already his fourth 100-miler this year and he has an ongoing battle with his IT band, but all this doesn't seem to stop him.

Night time is the right time

At Matfield Green aid station I change from short sleeve to long sleeve running shirt and a running vest, because temperatures are dropping. I get my headlamp and my flashlight because sunset is in about an hour. I also get my MP3 player; this is the first time I am using it during a race. After I pass the Ridge Line, the next aid station, the night sets in and I am alone for most of the last 35 miles but I don't mind. I am a night person and I normally get my second wind when it gets dark. I still feel OK and the music pushes me forward. All I see outside the beam of my headlight is the stars above and occasionally the light of another runner in the distance. This goes on for about 3 hours when things slowly change.

Who cut my oxygen off?

I have a little bit of asthma which is not a big deal unless it gets humid and I exercise. A storm front is coming in and I can feel the increased humidity. I have problems breathing and as a result I struggle to get over the hills (walking!). My running pace has slowed down to fast shuffling even on the down hill sections, but I just keep on moving steadily.

Just when you think things couldn't get worse ...

Did I mention the storm front? Well, around 3 AM it is here and I mean right here where I run. It starts raining but this is not the problem. My concern is the thunderstorm; lightning strikes close by and there is no place to take shelter. This is open range, hardly a tree around, and as a runner you are the tallest object on long stretches of the course. Even a stop at an aid station does not increase safety. So I decide to bite bullet, take my chances and just continue with my "run". After an hour the lightning stops, but there are still showers on and off.

Jingle bells - kind of

Cow bells are what you hear when you get close to the finish and oh what a lovely sound it is. Short before 5AM I finally cross the finish line. I am glad it is over and surprised by my time (22:56); almost an hour faster than Rocky Raccoon this year. I still don't know how this is possible but I guess part of it is that I get more experienced in organizing my ultras and also better in finding the right rhythm and pace for these long runs. I get back to the community center, clean myself up and take a 2 hour nap.
Then I get a complementary massage which feels great and hook up with Dmitry who has also successfully finished the race. At 1PM is awards ceremony and we get nicely designed but "obnoxious"-sized (to quote Dmitry) belt buckles.
The drive back to Austin is going pretty well, even though it is raining most of the time. We are taking turns driving and napping and at midnight we are back home.

Heartland 100: highly recommended

Heartland 100 was everything what I expected and a little bit more. If you like wide open range and something less challenging than a mountain ultra, this is the race for you. The volunteers are doing an outstanding job and the aid stations are extremely well organized. In my opinion this a good race also for first-timers. My special thanks go the Kansas Ultrarunners Society for a job well done.

5 days have gone by, I am pretty much recovered (yesterday I had my first run after the race, 6 miles at an easy pace) and I am already looking forward to my next ultra in 3 weeks: Motherroad 100. I'll get my kicks on Route 66, yessiree bob!