The air/moisture content is so thick, that it easily slides under many layers of clothing and introduces a cold that is unexpected in balmy Texas. The skies are clear and a last quarter moon is showing. It's 41 degrees, the wind is calm, and the humidity is riding high at 85%.
The Rocky Raccoon course circumnavigates the perimeter of a lake that sits in the center of Huntsville State Park. It's a pretty setting, docile and relaxing, with an endless supply of boardwalks across the swampy areas. The 100 mile course is a 20 mile loop that is repeated five times, with aid stations at roughly 3 mile splits. So many in fact, that many runners start with a single water bottle or none at all. The terrain is soft & forgiving, with pine needles and leaves scattered across the length of it. The terrain does roll a bit, but mostly it's the roots that are the demons on this course. It has been raining the last few days, so everything is wet & damp. This area drains well, so there should be no negative impact on the runners, but it makes the Dam Road aid station support very difficult. For a variety of reasons, this course is fast, and a lot of runners will attempt to run it faster than they have trained, so the first loop is typically very quick.
344 100-mile runners check into the Dogwood start area, and we start the 100 mile race at 6:00 AM sharp. An hour later, 296 50-mile runners check into the same start area, and we start the 50 mile race at exactly 7:00 AM.
The 50-mile course is a 16.7 mile loop that is repeated three times, with the same route and aid stations as the 100 milers, except for a shortcut on the Dam Road loop. The 50 milers will merge with the 100 milers on the first loop. There are now 640 runners on the course and my aid stations are getting slammed. Because of the multiple loops and the race participation, each aid station will service 2300 runners and Dam Road 4600 runners. There will not be any breaks from when it starts for at least 24 hours. 1500 gallons of water was hauled up muddy roads these last few days and I expect we may haul even more, along with all the other supplies in food, tables, tents, propane, stoves, chairs, blankets, and endlessly on. Napoleon's army may have looked quite similar in makeup and design.
A handful of runners finished the first 20 mile loop under 2:40, about an 8 min pace, or a projected 13:20 finish time. More packs followed soon after until the Dogwood turn-around was buzzing with the business of running long distance. A few held onto that pace through loop two, but most saw the error of that strategy and backed off. The pack started to stretch out, with only a few minutes separating each runner. Greg Crowther, followed by Ian Sharman, then Tony Clark, and Eric Deshales rolled in and out, leading the men's pack. The women's pack was much the same, except for the surprising Liza Howard, who not only held her own against some talented competition, but also started moving up in the overall field against the men.
Greg lost only a few minutes between loop one and two, and a few more on loop three, but fell off a fair bit on loop four as the miles piled on. Liza Howard, Jamie Donaldson, and Connie Gardner were all within a minute of each other on loop one, and within 3 minutes on loop two, but started to spread out a bit more on loop three. Liza had won the very rugged Cactus Rose 100 miler a few months ago, taking first overall, so I knew how strong she was, but I don't think that anybody outside the area knew who she was. Not only did she not fade, but she started to increase her lead as well. Greg Crowther finished in 14:58:32 and Liza Howard finished soon after in 15:45:03 for 2nd overall. Tony Clark ran a smart race for 2nd male in 16:28:06, with Eric Deshaies 3rd in 16:37:13. Jamie Donaldson was 2nd female in 16:54:14, with Connie Gardner 3rd in 19:04:23. 217 100-mile runners crossed the finish line with 91 of those under 24 hours, for the most finishers, but the lowest finisher's rate in the 18 year history of this 100 mile race... 63%. It was a pretty day, but during the wee hours, temps dropped into the low 30s, and the cold started to nibble away on those who were reduced to a walk.
100 mile splits
2:38:31 2:38:31 / 2:41:41 5:20:12 / 2:48:59 8:09:11 / 3:04:03 11:13:14 / 3:45:18 14:58:32 Greg Crowther
2:39:52 2:39:52 / 2:42:49 5:22:41 / 2:57:10 8:19:51 / 4:37:52 12:57:43 / Ian Sharman
2:41:50 2:41:50 / 2:54:20 5:36:10 / 3:07:56 8:44:06 / 3:31:28 12:15:34 / 4:12:32 16:28:06 Tony Clark
2:48:58 2:48:58 / 2:54:08 5:43:06 / 3:15:03 8:58:09 / 3:29:01 12:27:10 / 4:10:03 16:37:13 Eric Deshaies
2:38:31 2:38:31 / 3:03:14 5:41:45 / 3:23:28 9:05:13 / 3:34:03 12:39:16 / 4:08:31 16:47:47 Paul Hopwood
2:49:58 2:49:58 / 3:07:17 5:57:15 / 3:22:09 9:19:24 / 3:45:27 13:04:51 / 4:03:13 17:08:04 Jonathan Gunderson
3:09:13 3:09:13 / 3:11:46 6:20:59 / 3:15:07 9:36:06 / 3:28:57 13:05:03 / 4:03:59 17:09:02 Jamil Coury
3:07:48 3:07:48 / 3:09:20 6:17:08 / 3:18:58 9:36:06 / 3:28:57 13:05:03 / 4:04:00 17:09:03 Nick Coury
3:06:41 3:06:41 / 3:05:40 6:12:21 / 3:30:40 9:43:01 / 3:30:16 13:13:17 / 4:08:05 17:21:22 Nathan Echols
2:41:58 2:41:58 / 2:59:40 5:41:38 / 3:24:03 9:05:41 / 3:49:06 12:54:47 / 4:35:44 17:30:31 Ryan Loehding
2:51:25 2:51:25 / 3:02:55 5:54:20 / 3:23:40 9:18:00 / 4:01:57 13:19:57 / 4:11:28 17:31:25 Brooks Williams
2:49:10 2:49:10 / 2:57:56 5:47:06 / 2:56:04 8:43:10 / 3:16:09 11:59:19 / 3:45:44 15:45:03 Elizabeth Howard F
2:50:04 2:50:04 / 3:10:22 6:00:26 / 3:11:50 9:12:16 / 3:31:22 12:43:38 / 4:10:36 16:54:14 Jamie Donaldson F
2:50:30 2:50:30 / 3:09:34 6:00:04 / 3:25:57 9:26:01 / 4:01:48 13:27:49 / 5:36:34 19:04:23 Connie Gardner F
In the 50-mile race, only a few runners finished the first 16.7 miler under 2:00, about an 7:11 min pace, or a projected 6 hour finish. Only Lyle Parker ran even or better splits, so the remaining pack spread out and slowed down. Dominic Grossman won in 6:26:05, with Sean Lewis 2nd in 6:48:38, and Ariel Martinez 3rd in 6:53:12. The women's 50 mile race stole most of the attention during the day as Melanie Fryar and Meredith Terranova battled it out from the start. Only minutes apart on loop one, and the same split after loop two, it came down to the final round-about. Melanie sprinted in to set a new women's course record and the win in 6:59:40 with Meredith 2nd in 7:12:42. Rachel Lindner was 3rd in 7:51:12. There were 248 finishers for an 84% finish rate.
50 mile splits
1:58:15 1:58:15 / 2:08:45 4:07:00 / 2:19:05 6:26:05 Dominic Grossman
2:07:22 2:07:22 / 2:16:00 4:23:22 / 2:25:16 6:48:38 Sean Lewis
2:07:45 2:07:45 / 2:18:31 4:26:16 / 2:26:56 6:53:12 Ariel Martinez
1:52:05 1:52:05 / 2:21:07 4:13:12 / 2:43:59 6:57:11 Andrew Bloom
2:11:04 2:11:04 / 2:13:44 4:24:48 / 2:32:52 6:57:40 Kyle Mccoy
2:07:20 2:07:20 / 2:18:58 4:26:18 / 2:32:34 6:58:52 Brad Overturf
2:07:24 2:07:24 / 2:23:23 4:30:47 / 2:55:02 7:25:49 David Brown
2:20:22 2:20:22 / 2:28:43 4:49:05 / 2:42:12 7:31:17 Mark Plucinski
2:40:38 2:40:38 / 2:40:53 5:21:31 / 2:20:43 7:42:14 Lyle Parker
2:27:46 2:27:46 / 2:34:49 5:02:35 / 2:48:22 7:50:57 Charles Corfield
2:09:03 2:09:03 / 2:18:20 4:27:23 / 2:32:17 6:59:40 Melanie Fryar F
2:11:08 2:11:08 / 2:18:32 4:29:40 / 2:43:02 7:12:42 Meredith Terranova F
2:31:10 2:31:10 / 2:33:28 5:04:38 / 2:46:34 7:51:12 Rachel Lindner F
Rocky Raccoon recorded it's largest field ever this year with 640 runners. The limit of 750 was never reached, but I suspect it will next year. There were some concerns that there might be too many people for this course, but I have yet to hear any complaints. I am worried that the 50 mile might outgrow the 100, so I will most likely impose my own limit on the 50 miler next year as well as the park's limit of 750 on the overall participation.
The endurance and stamina of the runners always impresses me, but not nearly as much as it does from the volunteers. There are people behind the scenes who go the extra mile, do that little bit extra every time. If anybody wants a clinic on how an all-star aid station is supposed to run, come on out and study Lynn Ballard's NTTR crew at Dam Road or HTREX's crew at Park Road. I am so very proud of all the volunteers at Rocky Raccoon. They continue to make me look like I know what I am doing. To them - I say THANKS!