Prologue My desire to see whether I could actually do a 100 mile run has been simmering somewhere inside me for a couple of years. I originally thought that doing the Bandera 100k (62 mile) run and getting the belt buckle there would kill the desire, but it didn’t! Last year I started thinking and training to do the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile run; and one day I mentioned the idea to Mariela, knowing full well that as soon as she heard about it there would be no turning back - and there wasn’t! I got a training schedule from her. She was a constant source of encouragement and kept me accountable for putting in all the training; others that I ran with also encouraged me. There was a lot of training to do, every week somewhere between 30-60 miles, trying out different strategies – what would work, what wouldn’t work – shoes, socks, blister prevention, nutrition, night running, running when tired, when it was cold, when it was wet - my life was slowly but inexorably revolving around my training. The 4D Saturday stands out in my memory – Dawn, Day, Dale and Dusk run – we got in about 23 miles that day! At work they were supportive too, as I was supposed to be assigned to England for an 18+ month project starting January, but they’d agreed that I could start mid February. Everything seemed to be falling into place. The Course The Rocky Raccoon 100 trail mile run takes place in Huntsville State Park and consists of five 20 mile loops, each loop having 5 aid stations, anything from 2.9 miles 5 miles apart. The start and finish is at the Lodge; the aid stations and distances are: - Highway – 4.09 miles - Dam Road – 2.9 miles - Farside – 2.86 miles - Dam Road – 2.86 miles - 174 – 4.42 miles - Lodge – 2.87 miles Drop bags are allowed at the Lodge and Dam Road. The drop bag is limited in size, but not what you can put in it. The trails themselves are mostly single track, with one section of jeep road, but it’s all on soft dirt, pine needles and in many places tree roots that have this uncanny knack of moving and grabbing your ankle to make you trip over. There are two “out and back” sections: the first starts about 11⁄2 miles before the Highway aid station, and the second is from Dam Road to Farside and back again. These make it more interesting in that you see more of the other runners, but also in my opinion more mentally challenging. The race director is Joe P. who always manages to put on an excellent race with good support, and being an ultra runner himself, he really knows what’s needed. The Days Before The race was scheduled to start at 6am on Saturday morning Feb 2nd with a 30 hour time limit. My plan had been completed and I thought all contingencies covered, but as usual I wasn’t quite right. I’ve never been a particularly fast runner and the main goal here was to finish; the time plan was 41⁄2 - 5 hours for the first two loops, 51⁄2 - 6 hours for loops 3 and 4, and 61⁄2 - 7 hours for the last loop. I had 3ozs (375 calories) of Spiz (powdered food to mix with water) set for each time through the Dam Road aid station and at the turnaround at the end of each loop, giving me a good basis of nutrition and calorie intake (750 per loop). I wear a camel back for carrying water and a few other items, as I prefer this to carrying a water bottle. The changes of clothes, shoes, flashlight and battery planning, electrolyte replacement pills, rain and blister contingency, and i-pod music are all included in the plan. Friday evening Karen and I we went to IHOP where I ordered my first ever senior meal, although the butterflies in my stomach had by now grown bat size and I really didn’t feel hungry. It was then back to the park to sleep, with the alarm set for 4:30am, allowing 11⁄2 hours before race start at 6:00am The First Part of Race Yesterday’s butterflies have flown. At 6:00 am with flashlights and headlamps bobbing around in the dark 252 people take off HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/v/piT0lCjo2ek" It’s a very gentle pace near the back where I am – a long way to go and lots of time; and for me with a 41⁄2 hour first loop planned I’m walking up all the inclines and gently jogging the flats and the downs. After 53 minutes I’m into the first aid station, at the end of the first short out and back section, 2 minutes ahead of my minimum/fast pace time. I drop my flashlight here as it’s now light enough to pick out the few puddles and many tree roots that are on the trail. I’ve managed to get the whole “oh my gosh another xx miles to go” approach out of my mind, and I’m just concentrating on running and walking within my planned pace to the next aid station; so many people had told me the toughest distance in running 100 miles is the distance between your two ears! At Dam Road I go through the checklist that’s in my drop bag, fill up a water bottle with the Spiz to carry out with me, leave my gloves, take my electrolyte and move on. I have a pretty strong gag reflex and usually when I take the electrolyte I’ll gag, sometimes it’s pretty amusing as I’ll even gag as I take it out of the packet before it even enters the mouth; this is all pretty amusing to those I run with. I finish the Spiz before getting back to Dam Road, leave the water bottle there, take another electrolyte, grab a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and move on. I’m still a couple of minutes ahead of the minimum planned time. After 4.4 miles, it’s into the 174 aid station, top up the camel back with water, another electrolyte, and I grab another couple of pb&J sandwiches as I move out. Just under 3 miles to the Lodge (start/finish), and although that’ll mean 20 miles and 20% done, I don’t think of that – it’s just one aid station at a time. As I cross the timing mat at the Lodge turnaround I see a time of 4:18 so I’m about 12 minutes ahead of my fastest planned time – no big deal as in every way I feel OK. I go the tent, and through my checklist and change out shirts. It’s now 10:20am the sky is completely blue and it will soon warm up a lot, especially with the southerly wind. Disaster Strikes I head back out on the 2nd loop with my 2nd bottle of Spiz, and on to the Highway aid station again. Spirits are high, weather is dry, and I feel great. I am keeping up the same pace, just under my minimum/fast pace. Into Highway, another gagging electrolyte, refill the camel back with water, a couple of pb&j sandwiches and then out again. There are a few puddles on the course, but all very negotiable and no reason to get the feet wet. It’s still early, but there’s a good routine going, and I’m very relaxed. Into Dam Road and I check my time there; I’m still 15 minutes ahead of minimum/fast pace. Another gagging electrolyte, re-fill the camel-back, re-fill for the Spiz, another couple of pb&j’s and out to Farside. Everything is just going smoothly; at Farside it’s a repeat – take a gagging electrolyte, grab a couple of pb&j’s and out again. Shortly before getting back to the Dam Road aid station, I feel a sharp excruciating pain on the outside of my right knee. I know only too well what this is - the ITB has hit again. Not once have I had this in all my long training runs and races over the last year. I immediately go into a gentle walk and my mind races as to what to do. The Iliotibial Band goes from just below the knee to the hip, and stabilizes the leg whilst running, when inflamed the pain can be felt each time as the knee bends. I decide it has to be drastic action – there is absolutely no way I can do 70 more miles like this. At Dam Road aid station I change out shoes to my more supportive Montrail Hardrocks and take 2 Advil; I’ve never taken Advil during a run, so have no idea what’ll happen. As I leave Dam Road I’m totally depressed; I feel the pain at each step. I’ve gone from an emotional high to the lowest I’ve even been in the span of 1-2 miles. I put on my i-pod and choose the pre-prepared inspirational playlist of Christian music. As I walk down the short, but steep slope adjacent to the dam the pain hits sharply at each step of my right foot. At this stage, anything that may have been left in me also goes, and I start crying – a year of preparation and training down the drain, and with my assignment to England there’s no next year for me either. I have never felt so depressed and down in all of my 20 years running and racing. As I cross the stream, just below the dam, the i-pod starts playing Nickel Creek’s song “When You Come Back Down”; it’s one of my favorite songs, and here are some excerpts: - Chase a dream, one that’s all your own, before it slips away - When you’re flying high take My heart along. - I’ll be on the other end to hear you when you call. - Angel you were born to fly - And if you get too high, I’ll catch you when you fall. and as they sing about the angel falling and being caught, I realize that I am the angel and God will catch me. I say a long, long prayer and put the race completely in His hands as to whether I’ll finish or not. The music carries on and the pain quickly goes away, no doubt helped by the Advil. I’d already put the race into God’s hands, so all I had to do now was listen to the music, follow my plan, and follow through on all the power walking I’d practiced during training. I went through 174 aid station eating the customary pb&j sandwich, take another electrolyte and powered walked into the start/finish turn around. Amazingly I was only a few minutes slower than my minimum/fast time. The Rest of the Race For loop 3, the plan was now to just power walk the whole loop. I was encouraged by the time that I’d managed to do the 2nd half of the 2nd loop. At the turn around at the start of the 3rd loop I tool another Advil. As I picked out the aqua colored pill, Christina says “good choice” – I just smiled. I’d told Karen, Jennifer and Christina about the disaster, but not how bad it really had been; I didn’t need to relive it just yet. I left with another bottle of Spiz and took off to meet them again at The Highway. It was now simple; all I had to do was to just keep power walking, taking electrolytes, Spiz, Pb&j sandwiches and Advil. Through the Dam Road, Farside, Dam Road, 174 aid stations and then back to the Lodge. I finish the 3rd loop in about 51⁄2 hours, and with no more knee pain; this was a huge emotional boost as I knew I could continue this. I’m greeted by Karen, Jennifer and Christina who point out where Mariela is waiting for me. Mariela is my first pacer, her role is to pace, support, encourage and cajole me through the next 24 miles. Another change of clothes and we’re off. I tell Mariela about my ITB disaster; she’s seems sympathetic, but still wants me to run a bit. We go over a mile before there’s a flat board walk where I jog for a while. More words of encouragement from her. I really don’t know what’s going through her mind on how fast she’ll want me to go, but we settle into the same power walk I’d been doing before. Somewhere between the Highway and Dam Road I scream out in pain from my right heel. I think it has to be blister or my protective bandaid coming off. Mariela says “suck it up princess, it’s just a blister bursting, the pain will stop in a couple of minutes”. She’s right about the pain - it just went away. We carry on, it was just that simple! At 11pm we enter Dam Road aid station, I’ve been going now for 17 hours, my stomach really didn’t feel too well. As I sit down next to food table to take another electrolyte once again I gag and the pill just falls back into the cup of water. I know this isn’t going to work and feel more about to come up the throat. I get up and move across the trail, lean against a tree and dry heave, and again, followed by 2 or 3 wet heaves. One of aid station volunteers shouts out “someone help this guy”; poor Mariela thinking I’m just doing the normal customary gag says “don’t worry there’s nothing wrong, he always does that”. As I continue heaving, she realizes what’s going isn’t what I normally do, and immediately comes over to help. After I sit down again, and about a minute later I feel just a whole lot better. We get some food, drink a Sobe energy drink that goes down amazingly well, and again I grab the water bottle full of Spiz and move out of the aid station and down to Farside. I repeatedly tease her and joke about the whole hurling experience, and how she told everyone to just ignore me. The same hurling behavior was repeated more times later on, with me commenting “at least I now know how to get my stomach to settle down and take in more calories”; in fact towards the end I didn’t even stop moving whilst retching! Out to the Farside, back to Dam Road and onto 174 and back to the Lodge. Despite the stomach problems, my mind is totally intact! As it turns out, with all the sit downs, stops and hurling I powered walked the 4th loop in 6 hours and 3 minutes which includes 30 minutes spent at all the aid stations, so am still well within my planned time, and mentally feel great. We leave the Lodge for the last time, with me once again carrying a water bottle full of Spiz. After about 1⁄4 mile I remember we’ve forgotten the can of Sobe. Mariela offers to go back for it – what a trooper! I put my i-pod back on and surge forward. Mariela eventually catches up with me, and we continue on to the Highway aid station. This is where Mariela stops pacing me and Paige takes over. We have an argument about my camelback as we’ve put more water into it and no one at the aid station can get the cap screwed back on properly - it just leaks. Mariela takes control - she takes the camelback, looks at the contents one by one, and either gives them to Paige or puts them aside saying they’re not needed now. They fill my handheld water bottle with water, and I leave with Paige and the handheld – I feel naked without the camelback! I recount the ITB disaster to Paige as we settle into a good walking pace, a little slower than before, but I’m not complaining! Into Dam Road aid station where I down the last Sobe, have my, by now, customary heave, an electrolyte and some ramen noodle soup. On down the trail to Farside, which this time seems to be even further away; the good news though is that in an hour or so it should start getting a bit lighter, so we have plenty of time. An ATV comes down the trail behind us through the dark. Paige and I step to the side to let it pass, and as I step out again the wheel on the trailer, which I never saw, goes over my left foot and the wheel arch runs hits my left calf – I crash to the ground with a loud scream. There’s nothing on the trailer so my Hardrocks saved my foot, however there’s a red bloody gash on the side of my calf about 2 inches long. I’m lucky it’s not deep. As I lay on the ground Paige washes out the wound; she and the ATV driver help me up, he drives off and I walk on. The incident seems to have got some more adrenaline from somewhere and I find myself back to the earlier power walking speed I had with Mariela. As Joe P. is always so concerned with the runner’s safety we decide I should tell him. Paige says I should ask for compensation by requesting a free entry to next year’s race – I decline that idea, in case he agrees! We soon get into Farside where I lather antiseptic cream all over the wound – curiously I’d had some in my camelback, but had left it at the Highway. We about turn and retrace the trail back to Dam Road. The sky now shows a slight lightness to it as dawn approached. We hear thunder in the distance, and I comment “is that thunder or is it just dawn breaking” – Paige laughs loudly at my joke. We move on. At Dam Road I leave my flashlight, so I can now pick up the last bottle of Spiz as we move on to 174. Karen, Jennifer and Christina are waiting at 174; my two daughters join Paige and me for the last 2.87 miles, Karen takes the short cut to the Lodge. Karen takes some more photos as I approach the finish; the others peel off as I cross the finish line in 27 hours 20 minutes. I pick up the belt buckle - my first 100 miler trail run is over. I say a quiet thank you to God. Thank Yous The list of people to thank is enormous, some by name some not: the nameless faces, who do so much for us all on the day and night of the run. In no particular order: Kathryn at the Farside aid station who gave me such an encouraging hug on the first loop – only 4 miles in. Mariela, who I cannot thank enough – from the first moment she learnt of my desire to do this, through her endless encouragement during my training, calming my doubts, and finally for everything she did whilst pacing me. Paige, my second pacer, and her endless help for the last 16 miles, despite having been up forever herself, and in hindsight being very tired too. Miles and Kim for their never ending encouragement, and humor through the week leading up to the race; I’m sure they must have got tired of my e-mails. Larry for his inspiration Mary for being out there for some of those runs at very strange hours when no one else wanted to run, thereby forcing me not to miss them. The volunteers at Dam Road, including skeeter, jlynnbob and others who I saw but don’t really know who they were – an awesome job from all you guys. Joe Prusaitis for being the RD and organizing everything, and NOT giving me a free pass entry for next year the ATV accident My brother-in-law Stephen for the use of his motorhome in the park, and the reassurance that I knew my family were taken care of. Jennifer and Christina, my two daughters, who took photos, videos, saw me off at 6am, encouraged me through the race at multiple aid stations and came in with me from 174 to the finish line on Sunday morning. Karen, my dear sweet wife who continues to support me in all my strange running events – I love you so much. My Lord God who answered my prayers, and gave me such awesome support beyond belief.