2024 Texas Switchback Marathon

The Background

I enjoy attending UHD's commencement.  I feel blessed and honored to be there as a faculty member, and it is inspiring to see the students accomplish their goals. However, the spring commencement ended at 6pm. Getting to bed at 8:30pm, I would get 4 hours of sleep before getting up at 1am to drive to the Texas Switchback.  I was really sleepy the first hour of the drive, but it got a bit better.

The Race  

The two-loop-course features some rocky trails, climbs, some smooth, runnable sections, and a really cool section two miles in where you run under a rock wall and through a short tunnel.  

I headed out at a conservative pace, but by half marathon I was tired.  By mile 16, I was feeling, woozy/dizzy/sleepy, like at a 100-miler.  I hiked a bit at this point, telling myself I just needed to survive.  I rallied, running what was runnable from 19 to 21. Again, my vision blurred and I slowed. 

Hitting an aid station at 22, I drank some coke, which revived me.  For a while, I just hiked, wanting to keep in good condition.  At mile 24, I saw a runner ahead, motivating me to run and compete.  I passed 3 folks along this stretch.  I saw another guy ahead running, and chased him down, but he turned out to be a volunteer! I finished 30th out of 35.

Reflections

The beginning of this season has been one of adversity!  First Hachie Marathon cancelled midway due to storms, storms on the way to Wildflower plus 3 extra miles, now a battle with fatigue at Texas Switchback.

Just finishing the race was a victory, given the lack of sleep, early wakeup, and long drive.  I needed marathon #99, so I'm glad I did it.

Also, I fought a bit harder at this race than at Wildflower, running more in the last third.  Even if I'm having a challenging race, I can still compete.

I will try to avoid the logistics of this race in the future.

Well, 99 marathons/ultras done.  Next up is #100 with Mohican Marathon! 

2024 Wildflower Marathon

The Background

I was devastated after the DNF at Rocky Raccoon.  After a great season, to end on a let down was tough.  I took time off - 5 weeks no running and mentally avoiding thinking about races.  By spring break, I started running again.

The first race of the season was to be the Hachie Marathon. Terri and I drove up to the race in a storm.  I kept a sub-5 hour pace to mile 17, then the race organizers stopped the race.

Well, I had Wildflower Marathon scheduled anyway for two weeks later, and I tried to view the miles at Hachie as a good training run.

Terri and I got up early and drove to Bastrop, again in a storm.  I suggested we turn back since I didn't want us to be stranded, but Terri (thankfully) said we should try to press on.  Luckily, the weather cleared up by the time we got there, and we didn't get rained on.

The Race

The race started with a long loop to the lake, 2 medium loops, and 1 short loop.

I kept a 10 or 11-minute pace through mile 12.  Feeling a bit low, I hiked to half marathon, then ran to 15.5.  

At that point, I was on the second loop, and there was sign "2.5 miles to finish."  Doing the math, I realized the course would be long, probably 29 miles.  Checking with other runners confirmed it wasn't just my GPS; the course was long.

My motivation plummeted. I wasn't mentally prepared for 29 miles.  I switched over to powerhiking for the rest of the race, telling myself it was training for the Arkansas Traveller 100. Doing some calculations, I knew I would have to move to beat the 8-hour cutoff.  I knocked out some 17-minute miles, finishing in 7:34.  Weather was a bit hot at the end.

Reflections

If I had kept my cool and kept running, I would have finished in the top half of the field.  I am grateful just for the finish, though.

Well, the advantage of starting off the season with a very slow marathon is there is room for improvement!  I signed up for the Texas Switchback marathon the following weekend to make up for the Hachie Marathon, as I am trying to reach 100 marathons/ultras by the Mohican Marathon in June.

2024 Bandera 100k

The Background

After running the Texas Double - Day 1 Marathon and the Texas Marathon - Kingwood, I was as well trained as possible for the Bandera 100k.  I did one more 9-mile run with Jamie.  I was going to pick up my son James to take him shopping at an outlet mall afterwards, and since he needed more time at the gym, I added a 6-mile hike to the end of that.

I had gained a bit of weight overeating during the holidays, and dieted to get back to racing weight.

I had to work a half day, then drove to Bandera to meet Jamie and family at the RV.  We had to scrape ice off my windshield as we drove to the start.

At the Start

Our goal was to finish, but best case would be in under 17 hours to earn Western States qualifiers.

The Race

The first 5-mile section to Boyles aids station features the big climbs up Cairns Climb and Boyles Bump. I always love running atop the plateaus.  We finished this section in 1:08.

From Boyles to Equestrian is 4 miles and change; the major climb is Sky Island with the little lollipop loop atop it.  Still moving well, we finished the section in 55 minutes, 2:05 elapsed.

Sky Island

At each of the above aid stations, Jamie's wife Carrie and sons Wyatt and Owen cheered for us, which lifted our spirits. There was no parking at Nachos, so we would not see them again until Chapas. The times from this report were taken from Carrie's notes (thanks!), so I will update the time when next she saw us.

From Equestrian to Nachos is 7 miles, and we passed through the Three Sisters and Ice Cream Hill.  Around mile 12, we started to feel beat and decided to hike for a while, trying to stay alive for the second loop.  

After Nachos, most of the course is relatively flat, except for Lucky's Peak in the last section. The split to Chapas is a little under 5 miles. We made it to from Equestrian to Chapas, a total of about 12 miles, in 3 hours, so we were still maintaining about 15-minute miles overall. By this point, we were 20 miles in with 5:07 elapsed.

Making use of the flats, we ran more of the 5 miles and change to the YaYa aid station.  There's a big field loop in this section which we ran, helping the time.

Along the Course

We hiked a bit more on the final 4-mile section back to the Lodge.  Once you go up and down the steep Lucky's Peak, there's about a mile to go.  

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Climbing Lucky's Peak

This year they had multicolor Hoka inflatables lining the two-way section back to the start, and a blue Hoka chute leading up the the finish line.  I loved it!  We made the 10 miles from Chapas to the Lodge in 2:44. 

The first loop took 7:21.  This was pretty good, as we had hit 50k at Wild Hare in just under 7 hours, and Bandera has rocks and hills.  We did learn later that the course measured about 1.5k short.

With the 17-hour goal still in reach, we headed out on the second loop. We took the hills slower this time to Boyles, finishing the section in 1:28, 8:52 elapsed.

It took 1:20 to make it to Equestrian, arriving at 10:13 elapsed.  As the sun soon would set, Carrie brought my hoodie, gloves, and hat.  

Around mile 40, we both started to feel a mini low, probably from not enough calories.  I wasn't staggering or anything, but just felt a little weak.  I questioned whether the 17-hour goal was slipping away. After a while, we started running to shake ourselves out of it.  

After we made it to Nachos, around 46 miles in, we were in survival mode, so it was mostly hiking from this point on.  However, we kept knocking out 16-minute miles.  I calculated that 20-minute miles would get us to the 17-hour goal, and mile after mile we were ahead of that pace.  We made covered the 12 miles from Equestrian to Chapas in 3:27, making it to mile 50ish in 13:40 elapsed.

With 10 miles to go, we could smell the barn and aggressively powerhiked. As one point, our hiking pace kept us up with someone running. Jamie and I both called out the miles and the mile splits from our watches.  The only time we slowed a bit was the last two miles over Lucky's Peak, but at this point we knew we had the Western States qualifiers.  

I said to Jamie, "Well, there's 17 minutes left in this day.  Let's see if we can get it done before midnight." Seeing the Hoka inflatables, we ran it in and beat the clock.

We covered the last 10 miles in 2:44, and finished the race in 16:23.

Reflections  

This race went about as well as we could have hoped, reaching our 17-hour goal.  It's great to have another year of a Western States qualifier. I'll have two tickets in the raffle this year.

I earned my Bandera 500k fleece.  This was my 4th Bandera 100k finish.  Tejas Trails counts dropdowns to 50k as total lifetime miles, so 3 of those bring my total to 550k.  I will definitely go for 1000k!

As always, I was super impressed by Jamie. He faced the Bandera hills and rocks and showed once again how tough he is.

Thanks to God, Chris, the race organization, the volunteers, Luke, Cesar, Terri, my kids, Carrie, Wyatt, and Owen for all the support!

   

2024 Texas Marathon - Kingwood

The Background

9 days before, I had run the Texas Double Day 1, finishing in 4:29.  Originally, I was going to run Texas Marathon - Kingwood at an easy pace, as the main goal was to train for Bandera.  However, as I was running relatively fast for my abilities, I figured why not try to run a good time.

I like Texas Marathon - Kingwood because it is close, it is on a day I am off work, and it is good to start off the year with a marathon.  I used to worry it was too close to Bandera, but it seems like it works out.  After all, I ran Trailway 50k a week before running a good time at Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile.

The race starts at 8am. Since it is New Years Day morning, I told Terri to sleep in and had my kids arrive at the house around 10am.  That way they could maybe see my start the final of 4 loops but not have to get up early.

The Race

I wasn't sure of my game plan going into the race:  go out at sub-9-minute miles like at Texas Double, and try to hold on best I can, or go out slower and hope not to fade as much?

I ended up doing a bit of both.  I did start off the first 3 or 4 miles at a sub-9-minute pace.  But, deciding I did not want to endure such a rough second half as in the Texas Double, I slowed down to 9 or 10-minute miles in the first half.  

I reached half marathon in 2:04, but had to use the restroom which cost me another minute.  This was 6  minutes slower than the Texas Double.  

The second half I did slow to 10 or 11-minute miles, but the split was 2:25, as opposed to 2:31 at Texas Double.  My watch was malfunctioning, so I could not time the miles very well. I fought the temptation to walk.  Seeing Terri, James, and Paloma cheering for me as I started the final loop definitely helped. I ran every step of the race, and was not in as much pain for the second half as Texas Double.

Reflections

The slower first half and faster second half evened out, and I finished in 4:29 like at Texas Double, albeit a few seconds faster.  I definitely appreciated a little less pain.  I finished 26th out of 132 finishers (top 20%).

It was great that my family could be there.

Well, 2024 has begun, so what are some goals?

• Get a Western States qualifier.
• Finish a sub-30-hour 100 miler.
• Finish Mohican 100 mile.
• Get my 500k jacket at Bandera.
• Finish a marathon under 4:29.

We'll see if any of the above happens, God willing. Thanks to God, Terri, my kids, my friends, the race organization, and the volunteers for the support!

Holiday Double Day 1 Marathon

The Background

I was going to run Brazos Bend Marathon in December, but they moved the race to a week before Bandera 100k, a week after my planned run at Texas Marathon - Kingwood.  That did not seem wise when going for a Western States qualifier at Bandera, so I requested a refund.

That, and a work conference that will likely have me defer the Woodlands marathon, dashed my hopes for reaching 100 marathons this season.  That was okay; I'll get there.  But I had been running relatively fast - some sub-9-minute runs in training.  I had made a goal this season of beating my time of 4:47 at Woodlands Marathon 2023.  I thought about getting one more marathon in before Kingwood.

I looked around and there was a race in Fort Worth - the Holiday Double.  Having to be back for family at Christmas eve, I could not run Day 2.  I told myself to run Friday in the neighborhood and see how fast I was.  I ran 5 miles at a sub-9-minute pace.  That convinced me to sign up for Day 1 of the race the next day.

I got up at 1:30am and drove up to Fort Worth.  Making good time, I sat in the car and closed my eyes a few minutes, not sleeping.

The Race

The race was a 3 miles and change out-and-back on sidewalks along the Trinity River, 8 loops of that for the marathon.  It was cool and overcast.

I went out at a sub-9-minute pace and held that to half marathon, reaching that in 1:58.  

Then I started to slow down.  I had planned on this possibility, and figured that if I could just keep running I would still beat my goal finishing time.

Around 14 miles, I felt a twinge in my knee.  I walked about 30 seconds, and then ran again and it was okay.  I repeated that a bit down the course once, then it was fine for the rest of the race.

Moving at 11-minutes plus a mile, I was feeling bad.  There was the temptation to walk, as I could still finish sub-5 hours.  But I first told myself to hold on until 20 miles, as at least I would get in a 20-mile training run.  Reaching that, with less than 2 loops to go, I told myself I could hold on for the rest of it.  I chugged along slowly.

Approaching the finish, a guy was on my heels so I pushed it to not be overtaken.  I finished 8th out of 24 finishers (top 33%) in 4:29.  I also got 1st place in my age group (only two men ran 40-49).

Reflections

I'm proud that I did not give in and walk.

I might have had a better time had a run the first half at a 9:30 pace instead of a 8:50 pace.  Then again, I could have similarly faded and the overall time been slower.  Either way, going out too fast hurts.

Regardless, I reached my goal of beating my previous time of 4:47 and finished in the top third of the field.

Thanks to God, Terri, running friends, my kids, volunteers, and the race organization for the support!

2023 Wild Hare 50 Mile

The Background

I DNFed at Cactus Rose 100, not having any mental energy left after the Arkansas Traveller 100 earlier in the month and a busy work week. Lesson learned: I need to be mentally dialed in for a 100 miler and should probably space them well apart in the calendar.

Back to training, Jamie and I ran a long run two weeks out from the Wild Hare 50 miler.  I did 21 miles, and Jamie did 26.  That, combined with 27 miles I ran at Cactus Rose, meant I was well enough trained for Wild Hare.

I flew to San Diego for a work trip and ran to the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday afternoon, 9 miles.  It was overcast, but at least I saw it.  

I did not get home until around 10pm Friday, then had to get up at 3:20am to drive to Warda for the race. 

The Race

At the start

It was perfect cool weather for the race. Jamie and I started off running at 11 or 12-minute miles.  The first loop was longer, 11.3 miles, with a repeat of the first section.  Then the regular loop was 7.8 miles, with 3.5 to the midway aid station and 4.3 back to the start.  These were bike trails, with a few twists and turns, and the second section featured a big paved drop, which I had fun bombing down.

Jamie's wife and two of his kids came and cheered us on at the aid stations, which was great motivation.

By the time we approached the end of the second loop, I felt a bit tired, and Jamie pulled ahead a bit.  But I recovered after the aid and we stayed together.

On the third loop, I knew I needed some extra time at the aid station coming up, so I told Jamie I would meet him back at the start and ran ahead.  

As Jamie and I headed out on the 4th loop, a marathon in, we were in good shape.  Some time later, looking at my watch, I saw that we could hit 50k in under 7 hours, so we made that a goal.  We made it in 6:58, but my GPS was a mile short, so our actual 50k time was faster.

 33 miles in

A bit further down the trail

Along the way, I said hi to Agatha, a great runner who I have met at many races.  She ended up finishing 2nd female overall for the 50k.  Congratulations, Agatha!

Heading out on the 5th loop, 34 miles in, my watch told me that a sub-12-hour finish was possible.  This was quite heartening since we had only hoped for a 13-hour finish at best.

We had been running consistently throughout the race, and moving forward we kept it up, while trying to take care of ourselves with powerhiking breaks.  We ran from mile 35 to 37, and some more around mile 40, then finished up the loop. 

Starting the final loop at 42.5 miles in, we ran 1.5 miles.  Making it to the final aid station, we ran about half of the last 4.3 miles, including the last mile.  

Now dusk, with finish close, we knew we wouldn't need our headlamps, though we had anticipated running a couple hours at night. We had been passing people now and then, and caught one more guy with a quarter mile to go.

We finished in 11:22, 12th and 13th out of 33 finishers and 40 starters.

Finish 

Reflections

This was a great race.  Jamie and I moved steadily throughout, and never hit a major low.  Finishing in the top half of the field feels great.  Also, I finished my first 50 miler at the 2012 Cactus Rose in 11:36...nice to know I still can run at that pace!  

The weather was great, which definitely helped us.  

As always, I am amazed how tough and focused Jamie is.  Such a great first 50 mile performance! I am very grateful to have such a good friend to run with. Thanks to God, Tejas Trails, PJ, the volunteers, Jamie and his family, Terri, and my kids for all the support!

2023 Arkansas Traveller 100

The Background

This year, I tuned into the livecast of the Western States 100.  The announcers cheered on a man trying to make the finish by the cutoff.  This planted the seed of me trying to get a Western States qualifier.

Running 5-6 times a week 4 or 5 miles minimum had brought me a better level of fitness than in the last few years. The new job at UHD and training with friends strengthened my mental outlook.  I improved my pace between Muleshoe Bend 60k and Trailway 50k, the latter being 1 week before the Arkansas Traveller 100.

I severely watched my budget because of a gap in pay before the new job and some unexpected bills. So when my mind returned to getting a Western States qualifier, at first I thought it was off the table purely for the cost.  But the thought wouldn't go away.  I reasoned the Arkansas Traveller 100 could be done just by paying for the gas and entry fee if I camped.  Everything was against me signing up:  the cost, the fact that I would have to make a 30 hour cutoff, something I had only accomplished once at Rocky Raccoon 2014, the elevation gain.

But the thought of a Western States qualifier won, and I decided to take a gamble. I figured if I went in with the attitude that I am not sure I can do this, but I am going to try anyway, I could be stopped for not making the cutoffs if it happened with a clean conscience.  My running pace, 10 or 11-minute miles running and 16-minute miles powerhiking, suggested a finish was possible.

Another motivating factor was the 2019 DNF at Arkansas.  That was a troubled time in my life and the DNF did not help.  Thanks to God life got better, and going back would be a chance at redemption.

You can't do hill training in Houston, but I did do a few minutes of stair repeats during lunch breaks at UHD.   The Trailway would be the last training run, and I did 50k in 7:38.  If I did that at Arkansas, I would have banked 2+ hours off the 18-minute pace for a 30-hour finish.  Of course, Arkansas is a tougher course than Trailway.  But the Trailway was hot, and the weather forecast for Arkansas was high of 70. 

Luckily, by the time the race came my finances got better after my first check from the new job.  As such, I booked a hotel for after the race. I had to work the morning of the day before the race until noon, so I would have to drive straight through at arrive after dark.  I camped at the race the night before and got about 5 and a half hours of sleep.  Even though I gave myself over an hour before the race, fumbling around with gear, I still was rushed getting to the starting line on time.  I couldn't find my bucket hat, so I bought one at the race merchandise shop.

Race Morning

The Race

I headed out at a 10 or 11-minute pace in the crisp, cool air.  Reaching the Ouachita trail 8.6 miles in, I felt strong.  Last time that trail beat me down and people were passing me; this time I cruised along the singletrack.

On the Ouachita Trail

Returning to the fireroads after Lake Sylvia aid station, I went up the big hill, moving steadily.  At this point, I was still running the flats and downhills, and hiking the uphills.

Along the Trail

As I approached the Electronic Tower, I got dizzy and weak.  My pace slowed to a stagger.  Arriving at the aid station at 24 miles in, I sat in a chair and ate some food.  A volunteer had been alerted to my state by another runner and asked how I was doing.  I didn't sit too long and got moving.

I recovered and kept running, reaching Lake Winona mile 30.9 in 7:57.  This was roughly keeping the same pace as at the Trailway.  I succeeded in banking 2 hours ahead of 30-hour pace.  The question would be, could I hold it? 

Lake Winona

Leaving Lake Winona, I began climbing up towards Pink Flamingo at mile 39.  I started to feel dizzy again, but remembered from the Badger 100 that if I ran, I could shake it off.  I did that on some flats and downhills and it worked.

I felt good running a downhill bit towards Bahama Mama at mile 43. I noticed that from Lake Winona to Bahama Mama the course gains elevation overall, so there would be plenty of downhill on the way back.

At Bahama Mama

After leaving Bahama Mama, I got lost, which cost me about 8 minutes.  Finding my way back, I powerhiked at an easy rate up the grassy section of trail, trying to keep myself in good shape by the halfway point.  Then I ran a couple of miles as I approached Powerline at mile 48.

Leaving Powerline, I assessed my condition.  I was hiking at a 16-minute pace, still with a 2 hour cushion as I made it to mile 50. 

Mile 50

Night soon fell.  It got chilly, so I put on my cap, long sleeve shirt, and gloves.  The cold wasn't a major factor since I kept moving, just a bit uncomfortable.

After leaving Copper Road at mile 52, I felt woozy again and ran to wake myself up.

I made it to the turnaround at mile 57.9 in 14:13 elapsed.  

On the way back, trying to avoid the dizziness, I ran the big downhills from Bahama Mama, Club Flamingo, Pig Trail, to Lake Winona.  My legs held up to the pounding. I passed a lot of people and maintained the 2 hour cushion.  At each aid station, I got coffee to try to avoid sleepiness.  I never got really sleepy, just often woozy.  

I had major low right before Lake Winona, 85 miles in, and had to sit for 5 minutes or so at the aid station, eat some food,  and recover.  Still, the episode only cost about 10 minutes.

It had been mostly downhill for miles, but the next section to Electronic Tower gained in elevation.  

The sun came up around mile 90 as I approached Electronic tower.  I had been wishing for sunrise for hours.  

Sunrise at Mile 91 

By this time I had developed some blisters on my right foot. Still, leaving Electronic Tower at mile 91, I ran the downhills to Pumpkin Patch at 93.7 miles.

The last 6.6 miles were all downhill, but I just powerhiked the rocky trail at first, knowing I had plenty of time. There were a lot of puddles to go around. Then, passing the crossroads with a little over two miles to go, there was a long, smooth downhill section. Looking at my watch, I realized that if I ran two 13-minute miles, I could finish in under 28 hours.  I had been fighting to protect that 2-hour cushion. I knew this was a special race, so I should try to finish strong.  I ran a 11:05 minute mile.  Then, approaching the finish on the park road, I kept looking to see my car ahead, remembering I parked close to the finish line.  I had to walk a slight uphill, and then I saw the car.  I ran to the finish, the last mile being 12:40 pace.  I finished in 27:57.  I was 84th out of 126 finishers.

Approaching the Finish

Finish Line

Reflections

This was the best race I have ever run.  I ran a 3:41 marathon at Houston Marathon in 2012 when everything clicked, finished in the top half of the field at 2013 Bandera 100k, and ran a faster time of 26:01 at 2014 Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile.  But Arkansas was the best performance because I came closest to my potential at the 100-mile distance.  For example, this was a tougher course than Rocky Racoon, and at that race I lost probably 2 hours from sleep deprivation, lying on the ground.  I was a faster runner nearly ten years ago at Rocky, but I ran better to my abilities at Arkansas.  

I did have low points, but I dealt with them and kept moving.  My powerhiking pace was good.  I ran consistently throughout the race, not settling for an endless hike.  I had to...had I stopped running, I likely would have not made 30 hours.

The cool temperatures definitely helped.  Had it been hot, I might just barely made the cutoffs or not finished.

The race wasn't perfect.  I could have ran all of the last 6.6 miles if I had really wanted to and shaved some more time.  Had I been more diligent in my training, like running every step of a few 20 milers, I could have had a bit more endurance and improved the pace.  I did a little speedwork in training; more could have helped.

But overall, this race was like a dream come true: the beautiful Arkansas Traveller buckle, going sub-30 hours for a 100 for only the second time of my career, getting the Western States qualifier.

After the race, I showered, then struggled to drive to the hotel room in Little Rock.  I had major chills and could barely move. I recovered enough to visit the Clinton Presidential Library the next day.

The Clinton Presidential Library

As I write this, I am still on an emotional high from the race.  In ultrarunning, sometimes you fail, sometimes you slog to the finish.  But sometimes you achieve something you weren't sure was possible.     

The Arkansas Traveller 100 is a wonderful race: great course, great aid stations, great people.  Thanks to all who helped me finish: God, race director Stacey Shaver-Matson, the race organization, volunteers, friends Luke, Jamie, Jeremy, and Cesar, my wife Terri, and my kids James and Paloma.