2013 Natural Bridge Caverns Half

Retrospective Race Report

I was on a high from finishing the Bandera 100k, and I did not want the season the end.  I signed up for the Natural Bridge Caverns Half.  You started in a cave with stalagmites and stalactites.  I remember thinking it was like cathedral.  In a minute or two you run out of it into the countryside.  

I remember there were some drops I bombed down.  I remember some farmland-type fields. I remember at the end there was a guy dressed in black that passed me, and I didn't have it to catch him.

I finished 2nd in my age group of Male 30-39 and 5th overall out of 107 finishers.  7:51 pace. One of my best races as far as place goes. 

Results

2025 Horse Thief 30 Mile

The Background

My next race was to be the Horse Thief 30 Mile.  It was a new race put on by Trailzen, Joyce & Joe Prusaits and others who were part of Tejas Trails back when I started ultrarunning.  Plus, the race would have many steep hills.

On breaks at work, I did stair repeats.  Plus, I used our gym's Stairmaster.  I tried to get in a greater volume of running.  The Labor Day weekend I did 5-mile runs followed by 100 flights of stairs for 3 days.

Also, I got into David Goggins' videos.  Then, I read the first few chapters of his book Can't  Hurt Me. The second challenge in his book was an accountability mirror.  You set a goal, then break the goal down into steps.  Put the next step on a sticky note and put it on your mirror. My goal was to finish the Canal Corridor 100 Mile and earn a Western States qualifier.  The next step I was: "Run what is runnable at Horse Thief 30 Mile."  I had relied a bit too much on hiking at Habanero 50k, so I thought I would try to force myself to run when I did not want to. Plus, Goggins talks a lot about embracing suffering and callousing the mind, which I hoped would help me not quit at Canal Corridor. 

I had a work party the evening before, so Terri and I went to that and got home a bot before 8pm.  I was supposed to leave by 3:30am, but I woke up and could not sleep. So I left early.  But then I got sleepy on the road and stopped at a gas station.  When I woke up, I realized I would only arrive 30 minutes early, a bit less than I like.  But I got there, and it was all fine.

The Race

When I looked at the weather report a few days before, it said high of 92.  So I wore my long-sleeve USA Fit Marathon shirt to protect me from the sun.  But it was overcast and humid, so the long sleeves were pointless and made me uncomfortable. 

Course Profile

The race is a 10-mile loop with aid stations every 2 miles or so.  The first half mile is the West Fenceline climb.  Then there is a bit that is uphill but runnable, so I ran that. After about 1.25 miles there is a gradual downhill to Party Barn Aid.  

Right after Party Barn Aid there is the Road Hill climb.  Then, there is a drop down Cave Hill to the Valley. Then, you climb up Mustang Hill to the Mustang Aid.

Then, you drop down Arabien Hill, and there is a road section.  This whole section is pretty easy, save the climb up East Fenceline to Shetland Aid.

The next section is the hardest and 2.7 miles long.  You drop down Shetland Hill, and then there is climb up the Clydsdale Loop. There are two more climbs along the way.  Then, you climb back up Shetland Hill to Shetland Aid.

The final section is 1.3 miles.  You drop down the East Fenceline, and it is mostly easy runnable trail back to the start.

On the first loop, I ran all that was runnable of this including some slight uphills. I was slow on the climbs, maybe because I wore myself out running. 

I needed to use the restroom, and I went to my car to change from the long-sleeve shirt to a t-shirt. I lost 10 minutes for this, and starting the 2nd loop it was 2:45 elapsed.

I remembered by accountability mirror step: run what is runnable.  I did that all the way to mile 14 or so.   Then I threw in another burst of running to mile 15.  By that time, I knew the hills were ahead so I hiked a bit to prepare to face them.

Along the way, I saw a runner I know, Nancy, and I said hi.

At some point, I was hiking and another lady ran past me.  I pictured David Goggins yelling at me, "You gonna let her pass you? You said you would run what is runnable! This is runnable!" So I ran for a while to get ahead of her.

I hiked through the hills and ran a bit to finish the 2nd loop. I saw Joe and held up my finger: "One more!" and he cheered.

I hiked up the West Fenceline.  Remembering my accountability mirror step, I forced myself to run up the rest of the incline. 

Then I got a bit low on calories and felt weak.  I tired to move as best as I could.  I could tell I was getting close to my finishing time being 9 hours, and I worked to keep it under that.  

Anything relatively flat, I said, "Give me more of this. Let me move." 

Finally, I approached Shetland Aid.  I told myself to take it one hill at a time.  I also thought I missed the boat by not putting something about hills in my accountability mirror step! I hiked through the hills.

Leaving Shetland Aid, I ran a lot of the last mile.  I finished in 8:46, 8th place out of 14 finishers and 17 starters.

Results

My ultrasignup rating had dipped below 60%, then I got it back up above 60%.  This race looked like it would be about 69%, which would help.  Not that that really matters, but it is something that can motivate me to not take it too easy in races.

Reflections

I love Horse Thief, and I will run it again, God willing. It was great to see many folks from my earliest days of ultrarunning.

The Goggins philosophy  helped me.  I might have been over 9 hours without it.  I did not run everything that was runnable, but I did that a lot. Goggins does stress that this is about progress.

I'm glad I did the stairs.  I had not done enough stairs before Bandera this year.  Still, I wasn't super strong on the climbs, so I need to ramp it up leading into Dinosaur Valley this year.

My pace was 17:32.  That gives me confidence for the flat Canal Corridor 18-minute pace and the hilly Dinosaur Valley 21:17 pace.

Thanks to God, Joe, Joyce, Trailzen, the volunteers, Terri, James, Paloma, friends, and all my family for the support!

2025 Habanero 50k

The Background

After I DNFed Mohican 100 mile, I took six weeks off running.  I had hurt my back falling in the race and gave it some time to heal along with my normal break after a season. I started hiking during our trip to Scotland, especially to the Glasgow Cathedral and up the hill to the Necropolis.

My weight had crept up to 182, so when we got back from Scotland I dieted, getting it down to 165 before the race season began.  Between work stress and low calories, I did not run as much as I hiked, mainly on a mile-long dirt road by my house.  My hiking pace was in the 14- to 15-minute range. Plus, I did some stairs at work on breaks.

Terri and Paloma came with me to 7IL.  I had bought a canopy for them, and after seeing me at the start they went to Brenham for lunch and a visit to a bookstore. 

The Race

The high was 92, 5 degrees cooler than last year. But it was still very hot. For most of the race, my vision was blurry, more so than last year.

I ran much more of loop 1 than I did last year.  I finished the loop in 1:24, versus 1:29 last year.

On loop 2, I did more hiking, but I really pushed the pace, running some and hiking at 14-minute pace at times.  My heartrate was way in the red, but I paid that little mind.  I finished the loop in 1:32, versus 1:38 last year.  So at this point, I was 11 minutes ahead of last year's time.

I hit a mini low after lap 2, but recovered quickly and continued to move fairly well. At some point on loop 3 I think, a line of cows ran across the trail, and I had to wait for them.  It was pretty cool to see!

When I reached the midway aid station at around 15 miles, I hit a major low.  I think I was a bit behind on calories. Last year, I had drank 2 full bottles of Gatorade each loop.  But I lost a bottle at some point, and they had a different electrolyte drink at the start.  Though I did take 2 cups of Gatoritas after finishing loops.  But mainly I think I went out too hard.  I had said earlier to Terri and Paloma that my goal was to beat my time from last year, which as 8:15.  That seemed out the window, so I told myself just to survive and keep moving.

In survival mode.

I struggled on. I finished loop 3 in 1:47, compared to 1:43 last year.  But I took a lot of time after crossing the line to regroup and use the restroom, which would factor in loop 4's time.  Terri and Paloma were back, and it was great to see them!

About to begin loop 4 in survival mode with 2 Gatoritas.

I rebounded on loop 4.  Though the time of the loop was 1:51 (1:44 last year), some of that was at the finish line aid before I started the loop.  I was able to hike 16-minute miles.  My shoes were old, and the soles of my feet hurt from lack of cushioning  and my ankle was skinned from something worn down on the shoe.

I began loop 5 at the exact same time elapsed as last year, unbeknownst to me. I started the loop the wrong way but quickly realized it, which cost me a couple of minutes. I could tell that beating last year's time was possible. So, I hiked as best I could finishing a 16:03 and 16:01 mile.  After I made it to midway aid station, I ran down the hill.  I threw in a few quarter-mile running spurts over the last 3 miles, which was enough to finish in 8:12, 3 minutes faster than last year.

I finished 38th out 79 finishers (top 48%) and 90 starters (top 42%).

Reflections

I traded dieting for running in the training leading up to the race.  Long term for the season, that may be good, but if I had ran more I would have had the strength for more running versus hiking in the race.

15 years on I can still go out too fast!  Probably won't ever master that one.  But I made up for it by fighting on the last loop.  I felt good that I worked to reach the goal of beating last year's time. Doubly good because it was the first race of the season, whereas in 2024 I was better trained. 

Next up is a new race, Horse Thief 30 Mile, which has a lot of hills.  I'll see if I can do some stairs before the race!

 

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!  

2025 Uncommon 6hr

The Background

Originally, I was not to race again until Wildflower 50k.  But then my weekend with the kids switched due to a request.  So with the weekend free, I could race the Uncommon 6hr. It was at the Hippo Social Club, the same location of the Hippo Trail Fest Marathon, and relatively close.  

I had finished the Hippo Trail Fest Marathon in 5:42 last month.  Uncommon would be 3-mile loop, so I would need 27 miles to get a marathon.  Thus, based on the previous time, I would be cutting it close.  I thought about signing up for the 12hr, but I did not have the mental energy to run that long after a hard week.  I could, of course, have simply run 27 miles and stopped, but I also considered the standings.

At the start.

The Race

Although the course still twisted and turned a lot, there was a greater ratio of real trails to mowed fields when compared to Hippo.

I ran at about a 12-minute pace the first 3 loops.

I still ran, but slowed a bit, through mile 17 or so.  Then I hiked for a mile to finish up the 6th loop.

I did some calculations, and I would indeed be cutting to finish the next 9 miles in under 6 hours.  I set out powerhiking.  It was hot, and getting hotter.  At Hippo, I managed a 15-minute hiking pace.  At Uncommon, it was more like a 16-minute pace.

Hiking in the heat.

After finishing loop 8, I calculated that I would have to maintain a 16-minute pace to finish the final loop and make it to 27 miles.  If I didn't make it, I could not add to my marathon total. 

The course would switch to 1-mile loops with 30 minutes to go, but I was ahead of that.  A lady watching the course split asked, "Can you finish the loop in 40 minutes?"  I said, "I don't know!" and headed out on the rest of the 3-mile loop.

I could, of course, run and help my chances.  But I was beat and attempts to run were brief. I told myself to make it a couple of miles into the loop, where the course gets smoother, and then run what I needed to. With anxiety, I hiked those two miles.  I ran about half of the final mile and finished the loop in 5:58.  After crossing the finish line and getting out of the way, I fell on the ground and laid on my back a while.   

I finished in the top half of the field, 10th out of 20 runners.

For some reason, the race was called Uncommon and also Satoshi Trail Run.

Reflections

Putting it all on the line for something you are not sure you can do and then coming through always feels good.

If I do this race again, I should either work to give myself more of a cushion or sign up for the 12hr.

Thanks to God, Chris, the volunteers, Terri, James, Paloma, all my family, and friends for the support!

 

2025 Brazos Bend 50k

The Background

Brazos Bend 50k was to be the first race where I switched over to 100-mile training.  Also, I was not scheduled for another race for 5 weeks after it.  

I had been racing for 4 weeks straight every weekend. So I just ran a couple of 5-milers over the 2 weeks after the last race.

There was a recall on my Coros watch, and a new Coros Apex 2 Pro arrived in the mail.

On the Friday before the race, James and I went to see the Rockets beat the Thunder.  I did not get to bed under 11pm for a 4am wakeup.

On Friday, I had a hard day at work.  I was worried because when my mind is troubled from work, I sometimes let that affect my race performance.

There was a cold front moving in.  The actual weather would not get cold, but there were storms scheduled.

The Race

Whoever made the playlist at the start had good taste: "Mr. Jones" by Counting Crows, "Yellow Ledbetter" by Pearl Jam, "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan, "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen. 

The Start

It was warm and humid, but sometimes a cool breeze would help. I headed out at high-11-minute miles, telling myself I should try for 100-mile pace.

A Few Miles In

After the first aid station, around 7 miles in, depression hit me.  All the work stress kicked in, and I felt overwhelmed.  I did not want to race anymore.  I slowly hiked a couple of miles.  I wanted to drop, not seeing how I could continue feeling so bad.  I am not usually capable of crying, but tears almost came.

I reached a road crossing.  Looking left, I knew I could hike back down the road to the start and drop. Straight ahead, I could cross the road and continue down the trail. I seriously considered dropping.  But I had never dropped a race this short from just lack of will. I had made a goal of no DNFs this year.  Plus, I knew that the depression would just continue if I got in my car.

I crossed the road. Remembering that at races like the Badger 100 I had snapped out of wooziness by running a mile or 2, I started running.  I kept repeating, "Run right now to keep the depression at bay."  It worked, and the depression lifted. 

Fighting the Depression

Nice, Smooth Trail Ahead

At this point, the trail was 3-miles out  to the Sawmill  Aid Station and 3 miles back.  I ran about 5.5 miles of that. At about 14.5 miles, I started hiking again, thinking I would do that for a mile to the start and save up energy for another push on the second loop. 

After crossing back over the road, I passed by the Nature Center Aid Station. I worried I was way off course, but they said I would just pass by the side of it and it was .5 miles to the start.  But that still meant that this loop would be 16.7 miles, 1.2 miles long.  I remembered how Cal had said the course branches off for 50 miles and 50k at some point, and I never saw those signs. At the start, I asked Cal at what point the course splits. He said .5 miles in.  I had followed the pack at the start, and many of us had missed the turn.  I said, "That's okay. It's my own fault."

After taking in some calories, I ran a couple of miles. It had started raining off and on by that point, but not too hard.   At mile 19, I started hiking again. I managed 14- or 15-minute miles on the smooth trails all the way through that same road crossing.  

Heading out to Sawmill Aid Station, I felt weak from lack of calories.  I had nothing left in my pack, so I slowed a bit, but not more than a few seconds per mile. It was hot and humid.

At the aid station, I drank a lot of coke and ate some Cheezits. One the way back, I hiked at a 16-minute pace, and threw in some bursts of running.

Crossing the road the final time, I remembered that I like that sore feeling in my legs after a race, so I ran for some stretches.  I saw a runner behind me, and I made it a point not to get passed.

Pushing Across the Bridge

My new watch was very accurate, and the 32.37 miles matched one long loop and one regular loop.

I finished in 7:47, 66th out of 112 (bottom 42%).

After the finish, I got my medal engraved for free. That was a nice bonus! 

On the Bus Back to the Nature Center

Luckily, I finished when I did, because by the time I started driving home it rained harder. 

Reflections

I was so thankful that I did not drop. The depression of a DNF would have been terrible.  Hopefully, I can use this experience when the temptation to drop happens again. I am proud I kept fighting to the end of the race.

Well, the Mohican 100 Mile is ahead.  I need to do some 20-mile training runs over the next 5 weeks.  Then, there will be the Wildflower 50k. 

At this pace, I would have banked 2:32 off of 32-hour pace for the Mohican 100. But this course was all flat and smooth, so I would have banked less at Mohican.

Thanks to God, Cal, the race organization, the volunteers, friends, Terri, James, Paloma, and all of my family for the support!