The 13th Annual Sunmart Trail Endurance Run was held at Huntsville State Park this past weekend. Sunmart is one of the biggest ultra races in the country and this year proved to be no exception. Slightly over 1000 runners braved the gaiters and the mud on a gorgeous December day. This was the first Sunmart for the Hill Country Trail Runners Club and the turnout was fantastic. Between the HCTR members and the Austin and Round Rock Fit folks, there was a great showing for the Austin area. What really made the experience even greater was the support of both those who did run and those who didn't.

On Friday morning Kyle Cottington fired up his wife's Grand Caravan and picked up Jim Lindquist, an Austin Fit Coach and one of my Beach to Bay teammates. Jim and Kyle then picked up, El Presidente, Joe Prusaitis and headed for Bastrop. After braving the washed out dirt trail which used to be the road to my house and beating back our killer watch dogs, the boys picked me up from my humble country home. We stuffed that minivan with enough gear to support a Borneo Eco-Challenge and headed for the Texas Grill in Bastrop for breakfast. As we pulled up to the last signal light to turn into the restaurant, I noticed a lime green hybrid Honda in front of us. I recognized it as Holly L'Italien's car. She was chauffeuring James "Boom Boom" Booher, another Austin Fit coach who had run the 50K at Sunmart with me last year. At my encouragement, Kyle laid on the horn and Holly, apparently fearing an encounter with some bona fide Bastropian rednecks, ran the red light and turned into the restaurant! As soon as we parked, Kathy Misiti and Bess Hilpert from Round Rock Fit arrived. Kat and Bess had caravanned with us last year and were headed back for more 50K fun. We also met Teresa Sotomayer (yet another Austin Fit coach who ran the 50K last year and was headed back for more) and her traveling companion, Marie Asbell, a fellow Bastropian who was fresh off the NYC Marathon. We were also joined by Gabe Ayson and Janice Kaczmarek and Janice's fellow Orange Austin Fit coach, Robert Melendez and his wife, Kathy who were going to their first Sunmart. It was to be Janice's first 50K. We got a big table and had our first of several big meals of eggs and pancakes.

We traveled to Huntsville uneventfully and checked into the Holiday Inn Express. The Hotel was pretty much taken over by our crew that weekend. We didn't hang around long before heading down to north Houston and the host hotel. We grabbed our great goodies and met up with Robert and Diana Heynen, Kelly Galloway, Matt Harrington and his friend Dave, Lennie Winkleman (who had run with us at Palo Duro and called me on my cell phone as were stashing our goodies in the van. That was the first that I knew he was running the 50 miler), Rick Gastelum and Mark Lindsey. We also saw Chuck Zeugner who was there supporting Chris Chandler in her 50K. We also saw Gayla, Richard M., Liam Douglass and Mark Raymond just before we left. Joe and Rick got to catch up with their pals from across the country who run these ultras all the time such as Paul Schmidt, Neal Hewitt, Paul Stone and others. After chowing down on pasta, veggies and cherry pie, we decided to skip the speeches and head back to Huntsville for the evening. We made one wrong turn going back, but still managed to navigate the last of the rush hour traffic and make it back.

I then packed and repacked my drop bag/ice chest a couple of times all the while hounding Joe with questions about what I should and shouldn't take or wear. You'd think I had only done this once before! (Oh yeah. That's right. I only had done it once before.) By 8:30 Kyle, James and Jim were nestled snugly in their jammies in bed and watching two TVs at the same time. I continued my interrogation of Joe while we waited to hear from Julie Katzberg who was running the 50K. Joe had picked up Julie's packet along with Ryan's. Doug Giminez and Shan Rooney stopped by the room after arriving in Huntsville for a quick visit before going to their room across the highway at the La Quinta where Robert and Diana were also staying. Julie arrived around 9:45 after a long drive from Austin. She had planned to camp at the park, but Joe persuaded her to stay. Lisa Cronin and her friend Ryan (who was running the 50K) arrived shortly thereafter and accepted our offer to share the room. The lights finally went out at about 10:30 or so.

I woke up about 4:45 after an uncharacteristically sound sleep and woke up Joe. We had noticed the Denny's Restaurant next door and Joe had a hankering for a Grand Slam breakfast as a pre-race meal. We dressed quickly and were at the restaurant by 5:00. Three minutes later we had our breakfasts. I had knocked on Kyle's door, but by the time he got there, Joe and I were done and were paying our tab. By 5:35 after tracking down Jim who had gone to get ice for his beer, we left for the park. Thanks to Dinty Moore, we had a nice awning to put up and Jim had brought a tent. We hauled our stuff to the busy finish line area. Before we started setting up, Chris Matus appeared. He had already gotten to the park and had staked out an excellent spot along the last 100 yards of the course. We merged tents and set up a palatial runners' haven. Then Mark Raymond showed up with a preassembled cover complete with HCTR signs! The 50K folks and the fabulous support crew of Jim L. and Kathy M. attended to making the area a great pit stop while the 50 milers got their timing chips and made final preparations. Joe and I huddled in the car to stay warm until about 15 minutes before the start.

FIRST LOOP

The 200+ runners started the 50 mile race promptly at 7:00. It was just below freezing when we began and I wore a tank top and a long-sleeve shirt along with cotton gloves and a headband for my ears. The pack moved out pretty fast--- no doubt most folks were running to get warm. Mark Raymond pulled up next to me shortly after the start and we quickly began to set a pace together. Mark and I motored along to the jeep road and as we approached aid station #3 at the front of the park, we were surprised to see that we weren't too far behind Joe, Doug, Mark L. and Shan. "Hey, we're going pretty fast!" we said to each other. "We should probably slow down" we both said. We didn't. We endured the hard packed mud of the jeep road and slopped our way through the winding course past the dam on the much prettier single track trail. After tiptoeing across the frost-covered wooden plank bridge and dancing through the muddy section by the lake, we reached the next-to-last aid station. At about 10.5 miles through the first loop, my left ankle rolled over so far that I felt like it went halfway up to my knee. I let out a few loud #@!##*!s and hopped forward a few steps. I told Mark to go on and tried to walk it off. Surprisingly I was able to start running again after a couple of minutes. Mark had taken a brief walking break, no doubt to give me a chance to catch up, which I soon did. We again saw Joe, Doug, Mark and Shan as they headed back out and realized that we had kept up our (for us) fast pace. We came in at 2:08 for the first loop.

SECOND LOOP

With the help of our crack support crew, we made a 7 minute transition. I grabbed a water bottle for the second loop and we took off again. We continued to push the pace as Mark and I took turns on the first single track leading a weaving path through the 50K folks. We hit the jeep road and again saw the Joe/Doug/Mark/Shan pack coming back from AS#3. We also saw Kyle, Kelly, Diana and Robert as we came back down the road who all seemed to be doing well. Diana had a slight lead over Robert and she would get stronger as the day wore on. We saw Chris Chandler, too as she worked her way through the 50K on the jeep road. By the time we approached AS#5 by the dam, my left IT band was starting to tighten up on me. Mark arrived at the aid station first and waited for me. We pressed on and right before we got to the short hill before the dam, I caught a root with my right foot and hit the ground. Mark couldn't score the fall because I was behind him and the following runners only heard me and didn't see it. I did draw a little blood on my right knee so it was at least a 7 on the Joyce Prusaitis Scale (I had already fallen on the first mile of the second loop on the brief stretch of leaf-covered asphalt. That fall had bloodied my left knee.). Mark took a quick photo of me with the dam in the background and we headed for the best part of the trail.The section past the dam and before the wooden plank bridges is a fun rolling section which twists and turns through thick woods. It is a quiet section that you can make time on the downhills and rest on a few inclines. By mile 21 or so my left IT Band was really screaming so I told Mark that I had to walk. He went on and I was able to walk/run through the rest of the loop.

I finished the second loop at 4:43 on the clock. Mark was still getting his bottles ready and I told him not to wait on me. Shan was still in transition and asked me how long I was going to be. I told her it would be awhile. Jim helped me ditch my long-sleeve shirt as I tried to figure out how to go on with my bum leg. Gayla arrived and offered her professional massage services. For the next 15 minutes she worked on my left leg-IT Band, quad and hamstring, trying to get it loosened up. The weather was gorgeous all day long and as I lay back while Gayla worked on my leg, I felt the sun warming me. I finally had to get up because I was afraid that I wouldn't leave if I stayed there on my back much longer.

Did I mention that HCTR had the best pit crew of any trail club and the most supportive members, even those who didn't run? Andrew and Cathy showed up with a couple of four-legged fans as well. I was glad to see them at that point because the way I felt, I thought that a dog-rescue team might be necessary to find me on the later loops. I downed an Ensure and some Coke and stuffed a Red Bull in my bottle belt and trudged off to start the third loop.

THIRD LOOP

Mark was long gone now and I started my favorite strategy of running the downhills and walking the inclines. I encountered another group of slower 50K runners at the beginning of the first single track trail before AS#2. Although they moved to the side as I came careening down the first downhill section, they were tiptoeing around the mud and water in the middle of the trail and I went straight down the middle of the trail. Water and mud flew up on either side of me as I went by them. I mumbled a quiet apology and silently told them that their shoes were going to get muddy anyway so just go for it. I reached the jeep road again and walked most of the way to AS#3. The IT Band was painful, but I could still run some, although nowhere near the pace of the first two loops. The thought of quitting started to infiltrate my brain. Why was I still going? This was no longer fun. One of the disadvantages for me when I am running alone is that I let those negative thoughts creep in on me.

After reaching the split on the jeep road to head for the dam, I caught up with another runner on the first hill. She was running up the hill and I caught up with her at the top. We spoke and I commented that I liked to walk the uphill and run the downs. She was just the opposite. She said she was too scared to run fast on the downhills. Debbie McCorkle was from Tyler and for the rest of the third loop, we took turns pulling each other along. She had me running some of the uphills and I had her trying to keep up as I dashed down the hills------especially after popping the Red Bull past the dam. We also walked a good deal when my leg wouldn't let me run. It was her first 50, although she had paced other runners at 100s out West. We talked a lot about how fast we needed to run to beat the cut-off. Her goal was to go all out for three loops and walk the last one if she had to. We finished the third loop before 3:00.

FOURTH LOOP

At the last transition I was feeling pretty light-headed. My IT Band was just not letting up. I knew I was going to do a lot of walking, so I pulled out my new 7 LED Glow Bug Light and shoved it in the pouch of my bottle belt. I put on a short-sleeve shirt under my tank top and grabbed my "good" running gloves. I drank most of a Coke; packed another Red Bull and walked off with a can of Ensure. Deb met me at the beginning of the trail and we walked the first mile to the single track section. We began running again and Diana caught up with us on one of the hills. I started having a little stomach distress and when we got to AS#2, I stopped at the port-o-potty. By the time I started again, Deb and Diana were both out of sight. I saw Deb again as I neared AS#3 and she said, "you'll catch up soon". I never saw her again. Diana was still at AS#3 when I arrived and I joked that she was taking too long and that I was going to catch her. I didn't catch up with her again either! I looked at the food and drink at AS#3 and nothing appealed to me at all. I turned and walked down the damn jeep road for the last time. My water bottle had sprung a leak and I had to fill it at each AS to keep water in it. As I hobbled down the jeep road for the last time, the thought occurred to me "This isn't supposed to be that EASY, Henry. If it was everybody would be doing it." Somehow I took consolation in that idea and it gave me strength to keep walking on.

I reached the dam AS around 4:45 p.m. as the sun was dipping well below the tree line. I could tell it was going to get cool quickly. I downed a Coke and walked off gratefully with a cup of chicken broth. I had been walking most of the time before then, but had occasionally run the downhill sections. By the time I got to the dam, I hoped that I might still break 11 hours if I could at least run a little. I tried to run on the next single track section, but my IT Band would not relent. I literally couldn't run any more. I tried to keep up a brisk walking pace. I downed the Red Bull as I approached another runner who was also walking. He had developed blisters on his feet. The Red Bull kicked in and I soon left my fellow walker behind. I crossed the wooden plank bridges over the lake as the sun set. At the last aid station, my water bottle was empty and would no longer hold water. The leak was also making my hand cold as the temp began to fall with the gathering darkness. I pulled out my flashlight and began walking the last section. The glow sticks in the trees really helped me find the trail. The green light worked great and illuminated every root (just another of one of the great recommendations Joe has given me over the last 7 months). As I came to the last straight section that parallels the park road, I came upon a runner who was walking along without a flashlight. I offered to walk along with him. As it turned out it was Chris Rampacek, one of the founders of USA FIT. We walked together until the last turn onto the asphalt path that led out of the woods. We started jogging together and then I pulled away once we got to the park road. I think I pulled away because of the roar I heard from the HCTR tent as they either recognized my green light or my staggering gait. It was a great reception however they were able to tell it was me. I sprinted to the finish and crossed at around 11:16. I didn't make it under 11 hours, but it was still a PR by nearly 20 minutes.

The pit crew was great when I arrived. Holly pulled off my nasty, wet shoes and socks, while Jim dashed to the van to get my warm clothes. James ran to get me something warm to drink; and Teresa Ritter (who had been giving post-race massages to some of the HCTR folks and who was wrapped in a blanket of her own to ward off the cold) helped me get on dry socks and shoes. I waited around for Robert for a bit, but then felt the need to get warm. I went to the van and Jim turned on the heat for me. Joe came to check on me as well. Robert came in with just under 10 minutes to spare before 7:00. That left Ava Arzola and Carmen Castillo out on the course. They came in about 25 minutes later and even though it was after 7:00, they still got the finisher's medals.

We had a great celebratory dinner at El Chico's and even got to meet the winner and ultra legend Yiannis Kouros. Shan, Doug, Joe and I had a champagne toast back at the La Quinta hosted by the Heynens.

Austin and HCTR made a great showing at the 13th Sunmart. Even those who didn't finish the 50 miles had the courage to get to the starting line and gained valuable experience for their next attempt. Big Congratulations to all the first-timers: Shan (10:07--5th in her age group), Doug (10:07), Robert (11:51) and Diana H. (10:49--4th in her age group)., Ava (12:31), Carmen (12:31--4th in her age group) and Mark R.(10:51) in the 50 miler and Julie K. (5:34--5th in her age group), Janice K.(who I must have seen about 5 times in the first 3 loops), Holly (6:07) and Robert M. in the 50K. James Booher ran a fabulous 50K in 5:06, a PR by over 1 hour! Sid Subramanian nipped James by a bit at 5:05:51. Theresa Sotomayer (6:23) set a new PR in the 50K as well. Marie also set a PR in her 50K. Richard M. also ran the 50K in 5:39 as did Kathy Misiti in 5:13 and Bess Hilpert in 5:34 and Chris Chandler (6:45). Congratulations to the old hands: Joe P. (8:54), Sam Voltaggio (10:06), Mark L. (10:16), Rick G. (10:47) Lee Topham (10:57), Lennie W.(11:17). Kelly, Liam and Kyle all had good training runs for the next race. HUGE thanks to all of the crack pit crew, particularly Jim Lindquist, Chris Matus, Gayla, Teresa R. and Kathy M. You guys rocked! A note of personal thanks as usual to Joe P. for putting up with all my nagging questions and giving me answers that always help me while I am on the run. Thanks also to Deb from Tyler for getting me through that tough third loop.

p.s.
As I was writing this on a plane to Chicago on Monday after the race, a familiar looking pair sat down one row in front of me. The couple both had on running socks and the woman had on a Mangia running t-shirt. I reached over and tapped her on the shoulder and said: "Were you in Huntsville this weekend?" She said "yes" with a smile and I said "I thought I saw you on a couple of those loops." Turns out it was John and Marcy Beard. Marcy won her age group in the 50 miler at Sunmart this year. They were flying to France where they will be working for the next three years for Motorola. They were sad to be missing Bandera, but hoped to be back to run the Vermont 100 later next year. Small world, huh?

Henry Hobbs