Date: Tue, 4 Feb 1997 17:47:36 -0800 From: stanj (Stan Jensen) To: ius-l@american.edu, ultra@caligari.dartmouth.edu Subject: RR100 report (XP) PROLOG I went to Huntsville last weekend to avenge myself. Having fun would be nice, but I wanted to make up for my DNF last year. So what if it had been REAL cold? Others had finished and I hadn't, so I went back this time to finish, break 27 hours, and try my first "self-sufficient" 100 miler (i.e. no crew or pacer). It was a good weekend. I arrived in Huntsville around 3:30 on Friday, checked in to the hotel, then drove 5 miles south to the park. When I arrived, I was greeted by RD Mickey Rollins, who seems to remember everyone, and then went through the weigh-in ritual and met list-er Chip Marz, who would be sharing a room with me. I left a small drop bag for the first and last aid stations, and a large one for the middle station which you pass twice. Duplicate stuff in every bag, so I wouldn't need to worry about whether a drop bag had what I needed. I spotted several familiar faces from California (including Avalon winner Ben Hian) and list-er Jay Hodde, who introduced me to Frank Probst. A simple but abundant pasta dinner followed and we headed back to the hotel about 6:30. Chip and I set out our stuff for the morning, drank a beer and turned in by 8:30. Our wake up call came at 4:00 and after a cup of coffee and a bagel, I was heading for the park by 5:00. Such a difference from last year! It was about 45 degrees with no wind, but Mickey was warning people that it would be warm and humid that afternoon. I didn't worry about the heat, but I was wondering what the humidity would do. LAP 1 6:00-9:34am (3:34) We started on time and ran up the road to the start of the trail. I ran without a light and followed Dick Hogan for a while, then ran on past with Phil Wright and Joan Szarfinski from California, since I knew I wanted to run at their pace. By the time we left the trail and turned left on the perimeter road, I was sweating and knew that I'd need to watch my hydration. The three of us ran together, with Evan Groutage and Angie Ransom following close behind. The nice thing about RR is that you get to see everyone over and over again. As we ran toward the first aid station we saw Ben and Matt Toepke leading the pack coming back along the road. A few minutes later we reached the first aid station (mile 3.7) and I stopped to leave my cotton gloves in my duffel bag. Back along the road we went, greeting those that were behind us. A nice section of trail followed by more of the perimeter road and we'd reached aid station #2 (mile 7.6). Here's the tough part: a 5.3 mile out and back stretch on rolling hills that go on forever. The only high point was that we caught Ben and Matt WALKING and it wasn't that steep of a hill! At the turnaround a volunteer took our numbers and we headed back to the same aid station, now called #3 (mile 12.9). From here you return along the perimeter road and turn left to the dam, crossing below the spillway and climbing back up the other side, where you get a great view of Lake Raven. Then it's a long stretch through the woods on single track trails, covered with leaves and needles that hide a ton of roots and other trippy things. When you reach Bridge 16 you cross the north end of the lake and head back along the shore to the last aid station, #174 (mile 17.8). From here it's an easy 2.4 miles back to the start and Joan and I started talking about ditching Phil, who thought he was running too fast (we knew we were). We agreed to let him go and run the next loop together. LAP 2 9:34-1:38pm (4:04) Phil took off while Joan and I refueled. They had great pimento sandwiches and since I'd run out of my Gatorade, I switched to their PowerAde and fortunately had no disastrous consequences. Joan had left before me, but I caught up with her and we ran together, trying to run a little slower than the first loop. We ran some more with Angie, but mostly it was just the two of us. It was odd to me to be in a 100 miler that had only 66 starters (vs. 142 at AC and 370 at WS). At least the out and back sections gave us numerous chances to see familiar faces and to watch Ben go flying by. As we left #174 to finish the second loop, we knew we were still running slightly faster than we wanted, but the conditions were good. We agreed to spend a little extra time refueling before heading out. It was getting warm. LAP 3 1:38-6:34pm (4:56) As you finish each lap, they take your weight and then try to wine 'n' dine you. My weight had dropped four pounds on the first lap (due to being weighed Friday in jeans with a Big Mac in my belly), but I'd gained a pound back during the second lap. Joan was sitting in a chair eating soup and saying that she felt real tired. A thermometer showed about 75 degrees and I wondered about the humidity. We headed out again, a little bit slower, but by the time we reached the perimeter road, Joan was planning to drop at the aid station. She said she was feeling no energy and didn't feel good and I tried to convince her to rest up at the aid station before making that decision, but when I left her, I knew she wouldn't be back. She finished last year in 22:41 at age 57, so I don't think she needs to prove anything! I took off solo, focusing on one aid station at a time and trying to socialize with the other runners. One of them even recognized my new SoCal UGP T-shirt, fresh from list-er Larry Gassan! As I reached the turnaround (50 miles in 10:05, way too fast for me), the volunteer asked "Are you still posting to the lists, Stan?". Turns out that it was ex-lister Wayne Lauritzen. So from then on I called that spot Wayne's World: a little tent on the trail with a vigilant guard to keep us honest! Back to aid station #3, a delectable hot dog and off I went. I left the last aid station at 6:00 without my flashlight, 'cause dusk was at 6:24 and sure enough I made it just when it was getting hard to see obstacles. LAP 4 6:34-12:31am (4:57) I'd known this would be the hard lap, so I changed into a fresh Quad Dipsea T-shirt (a volunteer asked how that compared to RR and I didn't know where to begin) to get motivated. Some hot soup and off I went with my mini-Mag. Mickey's team had already placed an ample supply of green glow sticks, so it was easy to follow the path and the flashlight picked up the yellow ribbons and the plastic pie plates with arrows. As I ran the first trail section, I heard a rustling in the bushes. I cautiously stopped and shown my light on ... an armadillo! Wow, what a neat creature. The poor little thing stopped in the middle of the trail and buried its head in the dirt to hide (kind of like an ostrich, only much shorter and armor plated). I skirted it and stopped paying attention to bush noises. At the first aid station they had their generator running and had the place lit up with Xmas lights and a reindeer. They had a bonfire going and even offered me some crawfish from their dinner. What a party! I declined and headed back down the perimeter road. At night on this stretch you can see for almost a mile and there were no flashlights in sight, just glow sticks. Alone, but not lost. I reached aid station #2 and was sorry to hear that due to a stove problem, they had no coffee. I settled for some root beer and a hamburger and went out to say "Hi" to Wayne. He wasn't in sight, but I wanted to make sure I was recorded, so I yelled at his tent and a sleepy voice said "I've got you, number 309". On the way back I was having problems staying awake, but made it to the aid station, drank some more soda and took off for the long stretch around the lake. Somewhere on that stretch I must have closed my eyes while running (can you actually fall asleep running?), 'cause the next thing I knew I had glanced off a small tree and fallen down onto my left hip. At least nobody saw it happen. The hip bothered me a bit, but at least I was startled enough that I stayed awake to the last aid station, where I had a cup of coffee and headed off to the start. LAP 5 12:31-8:23am (7:52!) Well, if I hadn't been so sleepy/tired, I might have gone on and broken 24 hours, but in my fatigue or haste, and without the alertness of a crew or pacer, I headed out without changing batteries. Soon after I was on the trail, my light faded rapidly and I faced the decision to wait on the trail for the next runner (who knows how long that would be). Instead, I took a glow stick (I'm sorry) and with my hand as a shield I was able to follow the trail, turning on my flashlight for a few seconds to be sure. I made it to the perimeter road and was able to run along it without a light. Another lesson learned, I hope. The volunteers helped me change batteries from my drop bag and tried again to offer me crawfish, but I settled for a PBJ and headed out. By now I was also feeling lightheaded, yet I had been drinking often, hadn't lost any more weight, I'd taken salt w/potatoes and Electrolyte Stamina Tablets, and I was peeing every half hour. I tried eating more real food, simple sugars, and anything else, but it didn't help. I still don't know what it was, but it made progress difficult. On my way to aid station #2, I did see a animal cross the road that didn't look like an armadillo and sure enough, it was the course mascot, a racoon! At the aid station I met Jay, who was heading back to his finish and when I said his name, another runner said "Are you Jay Hodde? I'm Peyton Robinson!". What a strange place to meet a fellow list-er: 3:30 in the middle of the woods. They had a nice fire going, but I knew it was too tempting, so I sat away from it and ate pizza and drank soda in preparation for my last trip to Wayne's World. The volunteers woke up a runner named Dalton (age 19) and he headed out behind me. I swear they kept moving that marker further out each lap, but at last I said goodnight to Wayne and headed back. At the aid station I headed out with Bill Gebbie, who was having trouble staying awake and needed someone to talk to. We stayed together until the last aid station, then he got his legs as the sun came up and headed off. EPILOG A small but loyal group of volunteers cheered me in to my 26:23:07 finish for 36th place. Back of the pack, but I was real happy with it. I grabbed my drop bag, got in my car and was in the hotel bed by 9:00 (guess what I'd been dreaming of?). I got a wake-up call at 11, showered and drove back to the park to catch Chip finishing and looking worse than I did. Mickey gave me my buckle and I got to meet list-ers Bob Marston and the Snyders, Gail and Sid. I congratulated Matt on his 2nd place finish and he told me that he'd taken 440 ounces of fluids, yet still lost 6 pounds! Bob got the first five-year plaque. If you're looking for a great first 100-miler, or want to set a PR, or want to run unassisted, I'd recommend the Rocky Racoon. Mickey and his volunteers do a great job with the markings, the aid stations, and the support. If my calves (not quads) weren't still aching, I'd say that I'll see you there next year! We'll see ... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Stan Jensen, Systems Engineer for "SGI Direct" stanj@sgi.com Silicon Graphics Inc., M/S 120 Phone:(415)933-5822 P.O. Box 7311, 1401 No. Shoreline Blvd. FAX: (415)932-5822 Mt. View, CA 94039-7311 "I (heart) Tonks" "http://www.sgi.com" "http://reality.sgi.com/stanj" ------------------------------------------------------------------------