It's ironic that it was just that Friday morning during race set-up that Diana and I were talking about how MUCH we keep learning about running ultras on EACH run we do. I knew Rocky was not going to be any different because, if for no other reason, those 28 miles beyond 62 for me were uncharted territory! Little did I know how MUCH I would learn on this one!
Well, I thought I had the perfect strategy for breaking 20 hrs--run the first 14-15 hrs just as hard as I ran those 62 miles at Bandera which I guessed might translate to about 80 miles at Rocky, and then have 5-6 hrs to do the last lap. And, if this didn't work, I would still have 4 hrs to break 24 hrs. Besides, I had major support for my plan from not just one, but three, running buddies. Badwater veteran and Tyler running buddy Mark Morris had come down on short notice late Friday to help me keep my pace. And, if I couldn't hold this pace, I had David Townsend from Longview and (Papa) John Ritter from Marshall (and always inspiring Lethal Letha Cruthirds who has had four sub-24 Rocky 100s to her credit) running behind me to pull me to the 24 hr finish! Well, the best laid plans of mice and men....
First off, I forgot to check in until Joe reminded us of it as he was beginning to start the race. So, Mark Morris and I never got teamed up--I ended up chasing him all day. But, in addition to Mark, I soon realized that I had others to key on who were running ahead of me. Early on in the race it became clear that Hans-Dieter Weisshaar (who had never had a sub-20 hr Rocky) had picked up on my intentions to break 20 hrs and was determined to stay well ahead of me, so I was content to hold to my strategy, expecting him to eventually fall back on my pace. Then, later, Hans had caught up to Jeff Heasley, which seemed to be telling me that, with continued patience, my pace might be able to reel them both in! It was not to be.
I think the last thing Diana said to me before that 4th lap at Rocky was, "Could you use a pacer? I think I can find one." Well, at that point, I was still hoping to break 20 hours and expecting to catch David and Papa John who had just started their 4th loop. So I deflected her concern and hit the trail again without the proper attire. I think she must have seen how bad off I already was, even though I didn't know it yet. It only took a couple of miles to realize that my running was not going to bring my peripheral circulation back to warm me up.
If I had just retraced my steps back to the Lodge as soon as I realized what was happening, got my core temperature back up to par, and restarted that 4th lap, I am sure I would have been okay the rest of the night. Instead, I decided that another 16-17 miles of Huntsville chill wouldn't kill me and then I could take all the time I would need to get back up to temperature and be able to do the last lap. After all, how cold could it get so close to the Gulf Coast? Fatal mistake!
When Letha Cruthirds passed me on the jeep road south of the Highway aid station, I knew then that even a sub-24 hr would not be "just a walk in the" Huntsville Park anymore. By the time I left your Far Side aid station, I had slowed to a crawl. Once I realized my mistake, though, I was too far from the Lodge to take a short cut back to the Lodge to recover and, besides, I had promised Mark Morris--who had bonked and was trying to recover at the Dam Road station--that I would be back to check on him. So I opted to make it back to the Dam Road station. But as I made my way back, I kept pondering whether my kidneys were then shutting down. That was it! In the words of AURA's Chrissy Ferguson--it was time to "DO NOTHING FATAL"--DNF! So then I starting thinking about where I could go to get warm and spend the rest of the night.
So once I got a ride back to the lodge with Mark and two others who had dropped out, I decided to drop as well, go home to my own bed and share the sentiments expressed by Scarlet O'Hara (Vivian Leigh) in Gone With The Wind--"Tomorrow is another day!". Morals to this story:
1) always take more clothes than you think you could ever need;
2) send some of the clothes to the Drop Bag sites, whether or not you think you may use them; and
3) do NOT assume you can make good decisions all by yourself in the dark cold!
Thanks, Robert, for the plastic garbage bag you gave me at the Far Side station to wear, but, at that point, I was more like a cold piece of garbage myself!
Regards to Joe, Joyce, Diana, Sammy, Alex, Chris, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. for a great race,
Humbled Herb
(Herb & Peggy Jarrell)
P.S. "The REST of the story":
Both Mark and I thawed out okay; in fact, he enjoyed the race so much before his crash that he immediately registered for Leadville that Sunday and I enjoyed my day at Rocky so much that I registered for the 130K 3 Days of Syllamo Stage Run. Hans did us all proud--he set a course record for his age of 65 (22:26)! Frank Probst also came through for that sub-20 course record for us 62-yr olds (19:51). David Townsend and Papa John finished their first 100 milers under 24 hrs (23:46)!
Rene Villalobos barely missed a sub-24 at 24:13 which gave him 7th place in the Texas Trilogy with a total of 48:31 for 212 miles, and Jeff Heasley hung on for a 24:36. Fellow Bandera mountain goat Jean-Jacques d'Aqui did the 66-yr olds all proud with a 25:19 and Letha Cruthirds came close (still lethal at 25:53) to besting Lou Peyton's long standing course record for the age of 52! Two other people also stood out in my mind in this race. Robert King (44), a perennial supporter, broke 18 hrs (17.57) to take top honors in the Texas Trilogy with a total time of 38:57! Last, but not the least exciting, was Paula Billman, long time supporter, who finished her first (I believe) 50 miler in the early evening!