Date: Mon, 7 Feb 2000 12:02:45 MST Reply-To: Peter Bakwin Sender: Ultrarunning From: Peter Bakwin Subject: Rocky Racoon race report Some results: The Rocky Racoon trail 100 is widely known as the "easiest" 100 miler. Even so, the times this year were very fast, with 7 runners under 17 hours. Janice Anderson demolished Amanda MacIntosh's 1998 course record by nearly 2.5 hours! I wonder if Janice ran the fastest 100 mile ever on a trail course? Historians? Here's my personal race report: The run is held in Huntsville State Park, about 1 hour north of Houston, Texas. The format is 5 repeats of a 20 mile loop course with 3 out-&-back sections. It is beautiful forest trail and soft dirt road with no traffic. The only major hazard is roots, which were not apparent until after dark. Some years there is mud, but not this year. There are 5 aid stations per lap, and because of the multiple loop format it is easy to run this race without a crew. I did have a crew/pacer, my wife Stephanie Ehret. The aid stations were well stocked with the usual ultra food and drink, and some also had hot soup at night. The weather was outstanding: sunny all day with highs only in the 50's, no wind, and low humidity. Late at night it became quite cold and many runners suffered from that. A flashlight was needed for the 6:00 a.m. start, but was no longer necessary after the first aid station. Somehow I didn't really enjoy the first lap. I wasn't feeling very spunky and got into a bad attitude. The highlight of the lap was running with last year's women's winner, Anong Pustow. She's a very friendly and nice person and chatting with her helped the miles go by. Eventually I decided that Anong's pace was a little fast for me so early in the race and I let her go ahead at an aid station. For many runners the least-favored part of the course is the 5 mile out-&-back between aid stations 2 and 3. I always seemed to run well there, and the trail was nice so I enjoyed that section. The out-&-backs give you a chance to see the other runners and figure out where you stand. After aid station 3 it is 5 miles to aid station #174 (actually the 4th one, located at camp site #174). The trail here is a little rougher and very nice. We ran over several long boardwalks with excellent views of the lake. I saw a heron fishing along the shore, and later I saw a snow-white egret there. From #174 to the start/finish area is only 2.7 miles and always seemed to go by quickly. I ran the first lap in 2:56, a little faster than I had intended, but I figured that was OK since I knew I wasn't feeling great and so wasn't pushing the pace. At this point I was in about 14th place. Jim Garcia already had a commanding lead, followed by Joe Hildebrand, and then (after another big gap) by a diffuse pack of about a dozen runners. An interesting thing about a multiple-loop course is that your outlook often changes dramatically when you start a new loop. Happily, such was the case for me as I headed out again. I began to enjoy running and racing. I stuck to my early pace, shuffling along easily. The winding trails were fun and the woods were lovely in the brilliant morning light. David Jones passed me early in the lap, but I didn't mind figuring it was early yet. On the out-&-back section between aid stations 2 and 3 I saw a bright red bird -- a cardinal. I finished the lap in 2:59, and was still in about 14th place. Stephanie commented that I seemed to be having a lot more fun & indeed I was. One thing I have learned about running ultras is that if you smile and look like you're having a good time you get a lot more positive feedback from the other runners, aid station people, and your crew, and pretty soon you figure if everyone says you are "lookin' good" you must feel good. I had forgotten this on the first lap. It was getting harder, but I figured I might be able to turn in one more 3-hour lap and then would have plenty of time to finish in 17:00-17:30, which was about the best I had figured I could do. I held my pace and began to pass some runners. Sizing up the field on the out-&-backs I figured the race was for 3rd (behind Garcia and Hildebrand), and I thought I had a shot at that. Shortly after aid station 1 I passed John Geasler who was hobbling badly. Janice Anderson continued to run as smoothly and easily as ever, but it seemed like her pace was just too fast. David Jones looked very strong and moved rapidly though the pack, and we usually called out some words of encouragement to each other as we passed. Scott Eppleman and Raul Flores were also ahead of me, and Ed Boggess was not far behind. I caught Anong at aid station 2, and figured that her early fast pace was beginning to catch up with her. A little later I caught Scott and we ran together for a bit. It was nice to have some one to chat with. At some point John Geasler came thundering by us. I commented on his amazing come-back from only an hour ago and he just said "ibuprofen" as he cruised by. Later in the lap Scott and I caught John again and the three of us ran hard to aid station #174. I finished the lap in 3:02, and was just under 9 hours for 60 miles. We heard that Hildebrand had dropped, and I was now in 6th place. Steph joined me for lap 4 and we headed out with Scott and his pacer. John had gotten ahead again. Pretty soon Scott pulled away. I still felt pretty good, but knew I wouldn't get any more 3 hour laps. It was great running with Steph, my companion for over 20 years. I have paced her twice at Leadville, but this was her first time pacing me. With her encouragement I managed to run 3:26 for the 4th lap, finishing just before dark. I held onto 6th place, David had moved into 2nd, followed by Janice, Scott and John. The start of the final lap was another sea-change for me. I started to feel really bad! My legs were very tired, and I had great difficulty to avoid visualizing the entire 20 mile lap -- it being necessary in these situations to break it down into manageable bits ("run to the next tree" as Norm Klein says). But, eventually and inevitably we covered the ground. Along the way we stopped to watch an armadillo rooting among the leaves. We also found that the roots -- no problem during the daytime -- had grown much larger and were thoroughly hidden. Each time I landed face down in the dirt all I could think was how nice it was to just lie there! But, my slave-driver pacer made me get up and continue. At aid station 3 I passed John once more. For the rest of the run I was looking over my shoulder for him. About a mile from the finish there was a light behind us and gaining, so on the last descent I managed to pick up the pace. "I'm not getting passed this late in the race!" I said. And I didn't, finishing the lap in 4:12, for a total time of 16:35, far faster than I had ever dreamed. At the finish we learned that quite a shake-up had occurred on the last lap. Scott Eppleman ran a superbly paced race, and did the final lap in under 3 hours, capturing 2nd place. David Jones had some achilles trouble and had to hold back, leaving Janice to pass him less than 3 miles from the finish. What can you say about Janice's performance other than it was simply unbelievable! The light behind us at the finish was not John Geasler, who pulled in about 15 mins later followed closely by Ed Boggess. Raul Flores rounded out the sub-18 hour group. Jose Wilke, who had been pacing Anong Pustow, told us that both she and her husband Bill had dropped out, Anong having completed 4 laps. The race was over for me & it was time to lie down! After some sleep we returned to the finish line to watch our friends Bob and Robert Rayburn finish. Bob's son Robert, age 16, was running his first 100 miler with his dad, an ultra-veteran. They came in at 28:37, sprinting each other for the finish (I had my money on Robert who runs track in high school), but finishing hand-in-hand. Another 16 year old, Brett Davis, finished about 30 mins later. Any one who claims that running ultras is bad for kids that young should watch these guys crossing the finish line in a 100 mile race! They will have some great stories to tell at school when asked "Did you do anything fun this weekend?" Rocky Racoon is a low-key but also very well organized event. The relaxed atmosphere covers up the incredible efforts of the RD and volunteers. Personally I'm always amazed that anyone would willingly choose to do what they do! The aid stations were great. I missed the pre-race dinner, but there was also a post-race breakfast that provided a great opportunity to exchange stories with the other runners. Thanks a million to RD Mickey Rollins and all the volunteers! If you want to set a 100 mile PR on a nice trail Rocky is the place to go. But, you'll need to get there in the next 3 years as Mickey plans to move the race to a more difficult course near Bandera, Texas.