Rocky Raccoon Race Report

In a sentence, the events of the past weekend were, without a doubt, a good mix of the most stressful yet mesmerizingly awesome times I’ve ever experienced.

I drove down to College Station to stay with an awesome friend, Zach, who was set to do crew for me during the race. We hung out with his friends, had fun, laughed… always a good way to relieve whatever pre-race jitters one might have. Pretty much everything after that started going downhill from there… We got to Huntsville, picked up my packet, had a trail briefing from Joe (race director), and set up the tent to camp, eat, etc. Zach had to leave to let people in his apartment… all at once, it started to pour down rain getting the tent all wet on the inside, Zach’s car broke down, the pit was flooded so we couldn’t cook steaks or pasta. Any runner knows you can’t go without dinner before a huge race. One’s body just can’t go 50 miles without any kind of calories/carbs/nutrition to sustain burning nearly 10-15,000 calories. Panic started, I’m sitting in a wet tent, no dinner, no car, no crew, everything I had prepared for the race was getting wet. None other than my sister and our good friend Alisa came to save the day. Long story short, Zach got a ride back to Huntsville in hail, and Tori came to pick us up and let us sleep in a house.

The following morning, it was nice to see the rain had stopped… for a while. Driving on I-45 to get back to Hunstville, severe weather hit. Ian Sharman (RR100 course record holder) put it this way… “ there were thunder, lightning and possibly the Mayan calendar’s predicted end of the world.” It was bad. Going 20 mph in a 70 just to see the road is a bit nerve racking. Nonetheless we got there just in time to see the 100 milers head out in the downpour with their eery lamps glowing in the darkness of the woods. A great friend, Jason, who was going to run with me (didn’t sign up in time) surprised me by showing up to run with me for a lap or 2. I would not have done nearly as well as I did if he didn’t show up. Conversation was good, which kept my mind off of running and instead enjoying the pine trees, the quiet lake, and the distant cheers of those who had also come from far away to watch people run.

The start seemed effortless. I met a man named Chip who I ran with and talked with for a good 10-20 miles. I guess conversation was good, cause us along with a good dozen people took a wrong turn onto the 100 course. Good thing we did, cause we got to talk to Ian Sharman and Hal Koerner about what the heck we should do to get back on course. We ended up just staying on the 100 course back to Dogwood, which added a good 10 miles to the lap. Directors just told us to run the next one normal and add whatever we needed to reach 50 to the last lap… kind of a way of saying they didn’t do very good at marking the trail, so we were allowed to customize the course to finish an official time.

The rest of the race after the turn went perfectly. The wrong turn hit me hard mentally. Chip and I both commented on how the stress of running without knowing where we were had an immediate deteriorating effect on our bodies. We made it back to Dogwood somewhere around 27 miles, and already Tori, Jason, and Zach were wondering what the heck had happened. I was expected at 3 hours to come into the start/finish… but when you come in a couple hours late, they start to wonder.

Jason and I headed out on a superb loop. I took every advantage at getting my hands on some warm cheese quesadillas, which boosted my spirits a ton. I was feeling hungry, which is a sign up quickly losing calories. I never bonked, which I credit mostly to whomever made those delicious quesadillas. We got Jason initiated into the sinking mud and just had fun, enjoying a bit of conversation, and even taking this loop somewhat fast. He stopped somewhere near Nature Center to wait for me, as I was eventually directed to run there and back to make up for the wrong turn.

I came into Dogwood, grabbed a Gel and refilled my bottle up with water, unloaded everything else that was unnecessary, and headed out with the goal of running the last 10Km in under an hour. Jason found me, ran with me for a bit, and took a short-cut through the woods to be able to see me finish.

I ran into the finish with an array of thoughts/emotions. Sadness, cause I was finally enjoying myself; confusedness, cause with all the frantic trying to find the right direction I had lost the mental mile maker in my head; and extreme excitement, cause I was finishing 50 miles in just over 9 and a half hours!

Overall, the race was everything God needed it to be. I learned a lot about myself, and I learned a lot about life. I was strengthened mentally for the mistakes I made, and rewarded later for having made the decision to press on with endurance towards the ultimate goal of finishing strong.

It’s good to be done. It’s good to be able to relax and know I don’t have anything specific to train for. Just give me a few days/weeks and I’ll change my mind about that really quick.

Unofficial Time : 9:33:46