Subject: Rocky Racoon 100 2001 Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 13:29:25 -0500 From: "David M Bursler" On a nice morning at 6 am with the temperature hovering in the high 30's about 135 runners including myself start out on our journey. Five 20.2 mile loops through Huntsville State Park. The course is basically flat with some rolling hills especially on the second out and back at 2/3 aid station. I started off in the lead pack which eventually was cut to 2 people in the first two miles. I was one of the two people along with John Geesler. We took the lead about 2.5 miles into the run as we were approaching #1 aid station on the first out and back. John and I maintained about an 8 minute per mile pace as we continued in the lead on our way to aid station 2/3. This is the second out and back on the course (2.5 out and 2.5 back to aid station 2/3) and what I thought was the hardest part. It seemed like it was more the 2.5 miles to the turnaround and the footing was a little bad in spots due to some puddles on the trail. There were some other obstacles on this portion also, there was a tree that had fell over but not completely and you had to duck to get under it, if you were not paying attention you would be decapitated. The course was a little hilly here also which did not cause a problem early in the run but I could imagine that by the fourth or fifth loop those hills would seem like mountains. As John and I returned to the aid station after the turnaround it gave us an opportunity to see just how much of a lead we had built as the other runners were now coming toward us. To my surprise there was only one runner with in 30 seconds of us. I did not feel comfortable in the lead but I continued to hang with John anyway. It seemed like every person that ran by us knew John but had no idea who I was and probably figured that it would not be long before I dropped back. We got back to the 2/3 aid station and I had to fill my bottle. I was only carrying one bottle and had to stop at every aid station to refill. John just grabbed a cup and took off and I caught up as quick as I could. I wanted to stay with John as long as I could because I actually thought I had a chance to win this thing and talking with John along the way I found out that he was not a flash in the pan that he has some good times under his belt. It was 5 mile to the next aid station #174, you would think this aid station would be #4 but the aid station is a campsite #174 so it is named. The run from 2/3 to 174 is fairly easy with a couple of miles of tough running because of the roots in the area. It is a flat 5 miles for the most part so all I had to do was concentrate on my footing and hope I did not fall. At this point I started to wonder if maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew because I had never started off in a hundred mile run this fast. I was having trouble keeping positive thoughts in my mind and for some reason or another I became sleepy. With about 3 miles left in the first loop my left shoe came untied so this gave me a reason to let John go and I could run my own race. After tying my shoe I continued on at a slower pace and tried to regroup. I knew it was a long race and far from over so I did not give up hope of winning but I also know that the main goal is to finish and I did not want to die early in the race. I ran the first loop in 2:40 and was the second to finish the first loop after John. After weighing in ,which we had to do after every loop, I started the second loop. My goal for the second loop was about 3:20. I knew I would have no problem doing this and it would give me a chance to recover from the first loop. I went out easy and maintained my place through the first aid station. On my approach to aid station 2/3 Blake Wood caught up to me and we chatted for a while. I talked to him about his training program and was amazed that he only runs 90 miles a week. It wasn't long before he had enough of me and took off looking to catch John. I knew he would have no problem taking the lead with the pace he was running and the ease he was doing it at. I started the out and back at the 2/3 aid station and knew that I would see just how far back from the lead I was. To my amazement when the leader approached me it was not John but Blake in the lead. I knew Blake was running fast but I did not think he would catch John that quick. I was far behind but found out on my return that the runner behind me was not even close to taking over third. I made it through the second loop still in third place and accomplished my goal of running under 3:20 by running it in 3:06. The start of the third loop the temperature was getting close to the 60's and I though about losing some of my clothes but decided against it because there was still a breeze and it was a little cool in the woods. My goal for the third loop was to break 3:30 and try and hit 50 miles around 7:35 while maintaining third place. I felt comfortable and had fallen into a groove where I was running my own pace. At this point I had been running by myself for most of the race so it was easy to run my race. When I ran the out and backs I could see I was losing ground to the leaders and by the second out and back noticed the guy behind me was making up time. I knew it was only a matter of time before I dropped to fourth place. I can not run down hills fast at all and it seems that seems to be the specialty of most ultrarunners. I am a strong up hill climber but I was not running the ups as fast as the guy behind me was running the downs. Sure enough with about 4 miles left in the third loop there he went flying by me. Still early in the race I did not see a reason to try and keep up with him I was happy running my own pace. I finished the third loop in fourth place in 3:30 so I achieved half my goal. Not concerned I started out on the 4th loop with the same goals in mind breaking 3:30 and maintaining my place and also trying to get as far as I could before it got dark. Once again I took it easy and ran a good steady pace but noticed this time out that the small rolling hills were definitely getting bigger and more difficult to traverse. I continued on and once noticed on the first out and back that the runner behind me was making up time on me. I still was not concerned because I felt good and the main goal was to finish anyway not win or place. I headed off to the second out and back at the 2/3 aid station and noticed the leader had about an hour on me and I gave up any hope of catching him now and I just concentrated on trying to maintain my own pace and let things happen as they may. On the way back I noticed the guy behind me was only minutes away and I knew he could pick up some time on this part of the course with the downhills. Sure enough, the same place the last guy passed me here he came trying to get by me. This time, however, I refused to let him get by without a fight. He was flying and seemed to be in real good spirits. He told me that I was keeping him going because his goal was to catch me. I stayed with him letting him take the lead. The conversation seemed to invigorate me. I had been running by myself so long my mind was playing games with me and that was making it harder for me to run. With another runner to talk to it seemed to get me back on track. The guy I was running with was Mark Henderson a runner who had won a number of ultras including Matt Mahoney's monster down there in Florida. One of the reasons Mark was running so fast was that it was getting dark and he had his flashlight at the #174 aid station. We flew in to #174 just as it was getting dark enough for a light. As Mark was getting his light I refilled my bottle and grabbed some aspirin and continued on to finish the fourth loop by myself. I achieved my goal of maintaining my position but my time for the fourth loop was 3:46 a little over my goal time of 3:30. I was happy with my time after all I had just run 80 miles and could not expect to be fresh. I felt good starting the last loop and really wanted to place in the top 5 number 4 if possible. I knew that Mark would be along shortly because I was not breaking any records running by myself. I made to aid station #1 before Mark caught up to me again. I was getting a sweatshirt from my drop bag when Mark made it to the aid station. I hurried so he could not take off on me and we made our way down the road together again. We agreed to run together to the finish and sprint for fourth and fifth. I knew I was going to struggle on the next out and back because it just wears me down not knowing where the turnaround is. It seemed to get further and further each loop and the hills got bigger. We eventually made it through this section and were now heading back to the finish. The next challenge would be getting through the rooty section in the dark without killing ourselves. I was not worried about the footing because the flashlight I use is very bright and I could see very well and I continued to let Mark lead the way. We made it through the tough section and were on our way to the last aid station when Mark's flashlight gave out on him. We were still about a quarter of a mile away from the aid station where Mark had spare batteries so I took the lead and we shared my light. When we reached the aid station Mark went to get his batteries and I took off knowing this was my chance to get 4th place. I ran as fast as I could the last 3 miles or so to the finish at the same time I kept looking behind me to see if I could see Mark's light gaining on me. Mark never could recover and I finished in 4th place finishing the last loop in 4:03 and finishing the race in 17 hours and 9 minutes. Mark finished two minutes later in 17:11, he was a little disappointed because he wanted to break 17 hours but both of our times were personal bests so neither of us could be too unhappy. Rocky Racoon is an excellent race for a first timer because you do not have the challenge of dealing with the mountains and the volunteers do a good job of making sure you are taken care of . The hardest part of the race is the multiple loops because it seems to wear on your mind after a while knowing you have to return to a certain place 3 or 4 more times before you are finished. It is unfortunate that the race is moving to Bandera next year because a lot of people who may have given it a shot may not now. They had a good nine years and hopefully it will continue in Bandera, Texas.