Ben Holmes

Vicki, (my wifely crew) and I flew down to Houston and made the drive up to Huntsville without major problems. She had recently injured her knee and was on crutches. This wasn't a factor on the way down, but turned out to be tough on the way back, when I wasn't walking very well.

We stopped at an Italian place in Conroe, and I had a fantastic veggie pizza at about 4pm. I picked up my packet, but didn't stick around for the race dinner like last year. My goal was to be asleep by 9pm. At 7:30pm, I stopped at a liquor store to buy 1 large microbrewed beer bottle...Arrogant Bastard Ale. When I was going into the store, I spotted a walk that I recognized. "Hey Raul", I said. Raul Flores (of Mission Hills, KS) was there to do the fifty, (after he bought some wine and got some sleep, of course). Quite the coincidence, I thought. Raul won the 100-mile race 9 years ago as his FIRST ultra, with a time of 16:32. He, Lou Joline, and Mike Schupp were my inspiration for originally trying this ultra-crazy sport in the first place.

At the hotel, I realized that I had forgotten my gaiters and water bottles for the race. Thankfully, the ground on the course was of a consistency / moisture level that didn't stir up much dirt/sand. As far as water bottles go, I went to the store and got two gatorade swivel-top sport bottles. Problem solved. I showered, put unscented antiperspirant on my feet & ankles (for the race the next day- I sweat a lot). We

got to sleep at 9pm, as planned. I got up at 4am and performed my morning race-day rituals. At 4:45am we went to the Denny's next door for some breakfast. It took the waitress 20-minutes to get me coffee. I thought that this was a bad omen, so I skipped breakfast and we headed for Huntsville State Park, for the 6am start. I figured I would eat a banana, then start eating PB & J sandwich pieces at the aid stations right away.

It was cold at the start, so I decided to run with my tights on. I ended up leaving them on the whole day and only changing my tops to suit the temperature. The temps were between 27 to 51 degrees F, with no real wind. It was sunny throughout the day.

Course Description: The race consists of five laps of a 20.2 mile loop course, with aid stations about every 4 miles. There are roots that grow on top of the ground in places, but there aren't any sharp rocks. There are (boring) dirt roads and pine needle covered trails, as well. This year it had rained pretty hard the week before, but the park drains well. It was muddy in the usual boggy places, but during sunlit hours it was fairly easy to avoid wet feet. The mud there is not Missouri-type of stick-to-your-shoes-forever mud, but it is a penetrating, sandy mud, which is not good to get on top of the mesh of your shoes. There are no major hills, and the course is very runnable.

Loop #1 I wanted to go out slow on the first loop. I ran at what I thought was a 4 hr, 30 min pace. I got my feet wet in the first 10 minutes of running. I had fun talking and getting to know some of the runners around me. One of them was Dan the Fisherman, from Maine. We were on the backside of the lake, on the single track trail talking about deep subjects, such as: how 100s are more a mental and spiritual journey through a physical means. We got pretty deep into the metaphysics of "Ego-stripping", etc, and then Dan realized that I was not running according to my plan. He said, "what time did you want to hit on your first loop?" I said, "4:30"; then he said, "you're doing more like a 3:30"; to which I thought, *oh chit*, and told him I would have to let him go on ahead. I finished the first 20.2-mile loop in 3:40.

Loop #2 For some reason, on this loop my hamstrings and muscles ached. I felt sluggish and slug-like. Maybe it's because I'm a member of the SLUGS (St Louis Ultrarunners Group). I'd probably have been feeling better if I'd joined the St Louis Ultra Trainers, instead. If you run enough of these, you know that the rough spots will pass, given time. This one did by the end of the loop, and I did it in 4:10 or so.

Loop #3 A fun loop. I always start feeling much better after 40 miles. I kept playing leapfrog with a guy named Joel. He was a strong runner, but tended to spend more time in the aid stations than I did. He was always catching up to and passing me right before each aid station. This went on for the next 40 miles. I was in and out of the aid stations in 30 - 90 seconds max. He took a lot longer. Geez Joel, they're aid stations, not restaurants! It was getting dark by the end of this loop.

Loop #4 This loop was completely in the dark. I felt great during this loop, as well. I ran the single track trail parts very quickly. I think the loop took 4:15 or so. The 1 hour / once per week of night trail running that I've been doing for 15 months, has helped tremendously. I was trying to build up a pad of time for the last loop, so that I could defineitely come in at under 24 hours. I used my IPod music player on this loop and for 1/2 of the next. The music helps inspire me at night, and keeps my mind from being freaked out by armadillos and alligators rustling in the bushes and swamps. I passed 19 runners on this loop, and was only passed by 2 front-runners (on their last loop).

Loop #5 I started this loop at midnight. I felt pretty good, at first. I started feeling lackluster at the aid station that is 7 or 8 miles from the finish. I would try to run all of the flats and downhills, but would start walking after a few tens of yards. It was like I had lost my LSD (long-slow distance) speed. I turned off the music, to focus on my body and the task at hand. At this point I started playing leapfrog with Hans Dieter Weisshaar. Finally, he passed me and he was going pretty fast. I let him go. There was a guy behind me about 1/4 of a mile with a green headlamp. I focused on staying ahead of him at all costs. This was a good thing, because it gave me something else to think about besides feeling like doo-doo. When I got to the last aid station, it was like a convention. Runners were standing around talking. I smiled, passed the aid station and checked-off 4 more notches for the runners that I had passed. The next 2 miles were pretty grueling, but when I got to the part of the trail that is about 1.5 miles from the finish, I decided to put the steam on. To my surprise, that gear worked, and I was cruising along at an 8 to 8:30/minute pace! I passed 6 runners in the last 1.5 miles, and passed them like they were rocks or trees. Very un-slug like, indeed. I never caught Hans, though. He was the only person that had passed me on loop 5, and I had passed 19. 19 - 1 = 18 passed. I'm going to try to run the last 5 or so miles at this pace at my next hundred. I think it felt good because I was using different muscles than the LSD muscles that I had used for twenty- some hours.

The Finish When I got to the last 200 yards or so, I lept into hyperdrive. It felt great finishing 48 minutes ahead of last year's race time, with a time of 23:04:20. Hans was waiting for me at the finish to congratulate me, just like he did last year. What a guy. I went to the car to rouse Vicki, but she was already up and waiting. She always had a sixth sense as to when I would complete each loop. We drove to the park's showers, and I washed up. We tried to sleep in the car until the 10:30am breakfast and festivities started. I had a little trouble walking. I thought I had blisters, but I did'nt. Just traumatized feet and toes. At the awards ceremony, I was 39th out of 148 starters, (with 113 finishers, total). I received my second Rocky Racoon silver belt buckle (for finishing in under 24 hours).

Race Critique The course was marked incredibly well. The glow sticks at night were great for our mileage-diminished minds. The race had incredible food quality. Sandwiches, soup, coffee, potato slices, were always fresh. The aid station volunteers were gracious, knowledgeable, and all-around terrific. The water was great; it was bottled water. The aid station location at the end of the long out-and-back in the sticks was fantastic. The logistics of getting stuff there had to have been tough. The RD (Joe Prusaitis) was everywhere at once and always cheerful, despite having not slept for 40 hours. Again, enough can't be said about the volunteer staff of this event. It was great. My crew was terrific, also. Thanks, Vicki! Website: http://www.hillcountrytrailrunners.com/raceRockyRaccoon.html

Notes What I ate during the race: I drank 2 bottles filled with Clip2 per 20-mile loop, refilled with water during loop. I couldn't stand drinking CLIP2 after 75 miles, so switched to water only. I ate a PB & J sandwich square at every aid station until mile 60. Tried to eat whole wheat breaded PB & J, if available. From mile 60 onward, I ate the potato slices offered (at every other aid station), and had potato soup twice. Potatos have fairly high alkalinity, so I ate sparingly. I also had a total of 3 drink boxes of Silk brand chocolate soy milk, from mile 50 to 90. I took a SUCCEED! (electrolyte) cap every 2 hours. In hot weather it would be more like 1/hr. I like the sodium-to-potassium mix in the SUCCEED-Caps, compared to Edurolyte-Caps. I took 2 Alkaseltzer tablets at mile 50 or so for upset stomach and inflammation control. Alkaseltzer is high in sodium. I took a total of 3 ibuprophen (as Advil) during the race, after 50- miles. I ate 1 Hammergel packet when I was feeling hungry and downtrodden, at about mile 55. I had a total of 3 cups of coffee at 8pm, midnight, and 2am, respectively. I used to drink Starbucks Frappacino, but I don't do well with dairy on 100s. I had some Snickers bars in my drop bags (for an emergency pick-me- up, but I avoided eating them). I ate NOTHING past mile 93 aid station. That's about it, except for the great piece of homemade peach cobbler that I had at the start/finish line at mile 60, which was terrific.

Ben Holmes
Kansas City