Beautiful weather and a super race organization made this year’s Rocky extra special. Everything from the candlelight banquet on the shore of Lake Raven Friday evening to the breakfast and awards Sunday morning was perfect. The aid stations were great. The volunteers were super. The trails were in great shape. The race itself was as tough as ever – just as tough as you can imagine a 100 mile race – but maybe more so because the perfect conditions were deceiving. The winner missed a World Record by just 50 seconds (13:16). Half the finishers came in under 24 hours but NEARLY HALF OF THE STARTERS NEVER FINISHED. Historically, 70% of the starters finish Rocky. I experienced the difference first hand.

ExxonMobil Tiger Kim (Kimmy) Pilcher and I had planned out our Rocky run to the last detail. I met her and her son Devin in Huntsville State Park on Friday just before sunset. We set up our tent right near the finish line turnaround for the 5 loop course. After making the tent look like home it was time to eat. The banquet was so packed that if I had tried to get to my seat after I ate I would not have been able to squeeze through. The race website showed 45 signed up for the USATF National Championship (including me), 151 in the regular 100 mile and 64 in the 50 mile race held at the same time. Guests and pacers increased the total to probably over 300. The food was great, especially the desserts! After dinner Mariela Botella and I drove into the woods to make sure that Rocky Raccoon did not eat all the brownies at her aid station at mile 4.09. Mariela was in charge of our club-sponsored (Houston Trail Runners Extreme – H-TREX) aid station and all of the pacers, pairing them up with runners who needed them. Before the race started she said that she gotten 2 hours sleep in the last two days. Now she needed to stay up all day and night for the race! Mariela then helped me organize my stuff for the race. Kimmy and I split our gear between the tent and the Dam station at mile 7 and 12.7. That way we could get supplies in three places along the 20 mile course.

We all arrived at the start at 5:00am in the cold and dark. Kimmy and I spent the hour organizing the tent and getting dressed to run. Race Director Joe Prusaitis yelled GO at 6:00 and we ran off with flashlights. Our plan was to run the first loop in 4:15 and add 15 minutes to each loop to finish just under 24 hours. We would walk up all hills and run the flats and downhills at a good pace. Everything worked that first loop. The transition from glycogen burning to fat burning went smooth and we felt strong. We finished the loop in 4:02. The second loop was different. It warmed up and was very pleasant but I felt “wimpy” and my stomach was queasy. I lost it all once and stopped eating so much. That loop was about 4:45, still right on the plan though. Kimmy and I sat in our tent changing our socks. I noticed that my legs were shaking. She said “Mine are too, Bob – we are missing something”.

Chemistry plays a huge role in endurance athletics. Electrolytes, glucose, complex sugars for fuel, hydration – all of these must be in balance for performance to continue. My mind, fuzzy as it was, knew that we would not last another loop in our condition. I took a glucose tablet to no effect at all. We had been taking electrolyte pills (e-caps) every hour and drinking Gatorade. I remembered that e-caps did not contain much sodium and that if Gatorade had the right amount of sodium for complete replacement it would be too salty for the taste. The low sodium condition has a name – hyponatremia. We were both in the early stage of this dangerous condition. At Mariela’s aid station we drank salty broth. Kimmy recovered within a few miles. At the Dam station I tried eating pure salt which made me hurl everything right there. I drank more broth and put salt in my Gatorade and ran after Kimmy. Within a mile I felt absolutely FRESH! It was as if I had not even run and that was after 48 miles! I caught Kimmy and we started really enjoying the day together. We held hands as we ran past the official photographer. At mile 60 I still felt FRESH. Mariela asked me how I was doing at mile 64 and I answered by serenading her and the H-TREX volunteers with a chorus of “It’s a long way to Tipparary”. I was feeling so great! I was passing everyone on the course singing to myself and whistling WWI songs that my grandfather used to sing to me.

"It's a long way to Tipparary
It's a long way I know
It's a long, long way to Tipparary
To the sweetest girl I know.
Goodbye Piccadilly.
I'll be back some day.
It's a long, long way to Tipparary
But my heart can't stay!

Now it was night. Kimmy had picked up her 60-80 mile pacer, Richard. I was not allowed a pacer because of USATF rules. Kimmy told me to “go for it”. I felt like I had a chance for a sub-24 hour time to beat my 2002 record of 23:50. I went on ahead and arrived at the 5th loop at 12:45am Sunday. A man named Rex wanted to run with me to try to get under 24 but I was not dressed for the cold. I had a decision to make – run off dressed as I was and risk hypothermia or change and lose 10-15 minutes. I chose to stay and change, putting on warm, dry clothes. The temperature dipped below freezing, 10 degrees lower than forecast. Others weren’t so prepared. I had passed “Lisa” at mile 73. She was shivering, walking slowly. I gave her a swallow of maple syrup and prayed as I left her. I knew her chances were slim – it was more than an hour to the aid station. It looked like the “Night of the Living Dead” out there. Glassy-eyed zombies moved rigidly without conversation. One by one they dropped out.

As Devin paced Kimmy through the last loop in the wee hours, I began to be bothered by “stones” in my shoes. I must have spent 15 minutes taking them off, shaking them out and putting them back on. Nothing seemed to help. I still felt the stones. I felt blisters too. Sand had accumulated under my feet during the race and I had now worn the ball of both feet raw. It became very painful to run after 85 miles and tough just to walk. After mile 90 I power walked and clenched my teeth with the pain. Still the night was beautiful and it enfolded me like a warm mitten. In the "wilderness" near mile 96 I saw the first hint of dawn. I had given up my sub-24 hour goal hours back but I still wanted to give it my all for a good finish time. I counted down the miles by tenths, and with the finish line finally in sight I sprinted through in 25:22 (7:22am Sunday). Kimmy arrived at 25:53 and we celebrated painfully together. She had a huge blister that the first aid volunteer took care of. Lisa came in just then and thanked me for saving her with that maple syrup!

Well I got my 500 mile jacket and a new belt buckle. I missed placing in the medals with the USATF competition but there will be another chance for that. I kept my promise to my work group that I would be extra careful and I did not fall once. Now it's time to focus on an even greater challenge - the Western States 100 over the Sierra Nevada on June 24/25. I've got to grow horseshoes for that!