2013 Bandera 100k

Retrospective Race Report

I went into the season not knowing if I would run the Bandera 100k.  I had never finished an ultra at the start, but completing Rough Creek 40 Miler, Cactus Rose 50 Miler, and Texas Endurance Run 50 Miler gave me confidence.  I hoped to earn my first belt buckle and, best case scenario, a Western States qualifier.

Before the race, my family and I stayed at the Flying L Ranch.  A couple of cowboys heard I was running. "Not 100k?" one said.  "Have you every been up in those hills?" one asked.  I mentioned Cactus Rose.

It was muddy in the race, and my shoes were caked in mud bricks, which I tried to scrape off on rocks.

At about 40 miles, I hit a low.  I remember saying to another runner, "My legs are good, but my mind is gone."  I hiked a bit.

But I rebounded at around 50 miles.  I remember it being very exciting running through the hills.  Running atop a plateau, I kept waiting for the drop back to the lodge.  Finally, I made it.

I was in 14:17, I was 55th out of 186 finishers, earning a Western States qualifier.  This was one of the best races I ever ran.  In one sense, it was my peak as a competitive runner.

The high of this race is one reason why Bandera is always special to me.

DNF list

Here is a list where the last time I ran the race, I DNFed.  Could I find redemption at any of these races?

Grasslands 50 Mile (2012)

Bighorn 100 Mile (2014)

Pandora's Box of Rocks Marathon (2017)

Bear 100 Mile (2018)

J&J's 101 Mile (2022) - now Texas Dirt Festival 50k max

Badger 100 Mile (2022)

Cactus Rose 100 Mile (2023)

Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile (2024)

Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile (2024)

Mohican 100 Mile (2025)  

Defunct

Rough Creek 40 Mile (2022)

2011 San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon

Retrospective Race Report

After running the 2011 Frankenthon slower than I had hoped, I decided to run another marathon, the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon.  At this point, I had not begun blocking out full seasons, nor did I really know that I would be racing many marathons a year as a norm. I was making it up as I went.

I remember touring San Antonio, a wax museum and the Alamo, with my family.

I remember some bands on the course.  I remember running up an underpass near the finish, feeling beat.

I remember feeling great that I had done an extra race, even though i did not crack sub-4 hours.  This may have planted the seeds for my preference for running many races a year.

Results

 

2013 Love Run Marathon

Retrospective Race Report

I was on a high after finishing my first Bandera 100k and winning 2nd place in my age group at Natural Bridge Caverns Half Marathon. 

I remember that I got off course a bit and had to backtrack, which cost me some time. This would not be the last time that happened!

I did slow a bit from the previous year, when they called the same race Orphan Hope.  First half was 1:46 and second half was 2:33, not only did the getting lost impact me I must have crashed a bit.

Still, I was 13th our of 44 runners.

Results

Results Splits

2012 Orphan Hope Marathon

Retrospective Race Report

I had run my fastest marathon at Houston Marathon 2012.  I was planning on running my first ultramarathon at Grasslands 50 Miler.  But I had never run a trail race.  

I remember thinking the hills at Huntsville State Park were big.  Little did I know I would race much big hills over the years. Other than that, I do not remember too much.

I was 11th place out of 82 runners.  As of 2025, this was  2nd fastest marathon of my career, even though it was trail.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had kept focusing on the marathon in 2012 and on.  I might have been able to run a few more sub-4 hour races.  Perhaps even qualify for Boston.  But I wouldn't trade the ultras I ran for that.

Results

James and Paloma

 

2012 Houston Marathon

Retrospective Race Report

I had run 4 marathons, never cracking sub-4 hours.  I was still spooked by the crash at my first marathon of going out too fast. 

I had also wanted to run Houston Marathon as my first marathon.  But they had a lottery system in 2011, and I was not selected.  Instead, I ran USA Fit Marathon that year.

They still had a lottery in 2012, but my 2011 Houston Half time of 1:48 got me in.

By this time, I also had read Ultramarathon Man and was planning on my first ultra at Grasslands 50 Miler. So instead of Houston being my focus race, I was running this as one step in that journey.

For some reason, despite my fear of going out too fast, I started off at 8-minute miles.  Somehow, I managed to hold on to that.

I mainly remember getting to Memorial Park around mile 20 and feeling like I could hold the pace.

Then, I remember in the last mile or so pushing it and passing people as I made to to the George R. Brown Convention Center.

As of 2025 when I am writing this, I have never come anywhere close to running as fast for the marathon and it is the only time I broke 4 hours.  It is a highlight of my career.

Paloma at Amy's Ice Cream

James

 

2025 Wildflower 50k

The Background

It had been 4 weeks since my last race. 2 weeks before Wildflower, I ran a 20-mile training run at Kleb Nature Preserve.  I increased the volume of 5-mile runs during the week.

Heading into the Wildflower 50k, my main goal was to see what kind of time cushion I could build by 50k at the Mohican 100 three weeks away. While Wildflower does not have as much elevation, there are some climbs and the trail twists and turns a bit,  so it is more similar to Mohican than Brazos Bend. 

I hoped to build around a 2-hour cushion by 50k.  I knew my main mistake at the 2024 Arkansas 100 was to try to replicate my pace of 2023, so I should not go out too fast.  But Mohican has 2 extra hours for the cutoff, so maybe I could build the  2-hour cushion and still slow down a bit at the start.

So, long story short, a sub-8-hour finish at Wildflower would give me a 2-hour cushion on the pace for Mohican.  Plus, I finished the marathon at Wildflower in 2024 in 7:34 last year.  If I improved my pace, that would be good.

The Race

The race would be two Big Lake Loops and one shorter Harmon Loop.  All of it is pretty much runnable except 3 or 4 short climbs.  There is a climb up to the look-out where you run through a little building about .5 miles from the finish.  I ran all of the first loop between 11- and 13- minute pace, finishing in 2:36.  The pace of the first loop was 12:45. My legs felt pretty strong, and I was glad I had run the 20-mile training run.

About 8 miles in at the lake.

The look-out, about 11 miles in.

At this point, I was 12.25 miles in.  I had to spend about maybe 5 to 8 minutes at the start before heading out again.  I made a goal to run at least halfway to 15.5.  I stretched the running to 17 miles before telling myself it was time to practice my hiking.  

By now it was only 80 degrees probably, but it felt hot. I got a bit woozy for a while. After a few miles I got that under control and was able to knock out 15-minute miles hiking.  I finished the second loop in 3:16.  The second loop was 16:00-minute pace, including that long break at the start.

I asked a lady at the start how long the last loop was.  She said 10k, but it turned out by my watch to be about a half mile longer than that.  Though I slowed a bit, I hiked as a aggressively as I could, still managing some 15-minute miles. It started raining. I ran most of the last mile, passing a couple of folks right before the end.  I finished the last loop in 1:50, 17:04 pace.  My final time was 7:44, 14:54 pace.  I finished 68th out of 93 finishers and 109 starters.

Reflections      

I am happy I increased my pace compared to last year at Wildflower.

To finish the Mohican 100, I need to run at 19:12 pace overall.  If I ran the first 50k the same time as Wildflower, I would have banked 2:11.  But I need to not run as hard as I did at Wildflower to avoid crashing.  Ultimately, I need to run how I feel and not push it.  If I only bank an hour and change by 50k and am still able to knock out 16-minute miles, that is better than banking 2 hours and crashing like I did at Arkansas.

Well, my plan is to run one more 20-mile training run next weekend before Mohican.  Thanks to God, Cal, the volunteers, Terri, James, Paloma, all my family, Jamie, Luke, and friends for the support!