Lisa Stranc Bliss

We had perfect weather at Rocky Racoon this year. Though it was quite chilly and damp in the very early morning for us volunteers, it was great weather for the runners.

The 100-mile runners started at 6am, and the 50-milers at 6:30. As soon as the last runners were off, the volunteers at the start-finish aid station were busy at work, preparing the great array of food, separating the "saltys" from the "sweets" and making bins of quartered sandwiches. We fired up the coleman stove and periodically warmed our hands over the boiling potatoes and Mickey's steaming hot extra-spicy chicken noodle soup. By the time the first runners came in for ! their next loop, we were a well-oiled jiffy-lube type station. From weighing in to replenishing fluids and calories, we tried to help the runners quickly through the station and into their next loop.

As dawn turned to midday, the sun warmed the air and cleared the fog from over the lake. The course was generally dry with only a few areas of mud to navigate or run through.

The 100-mile lead was taken early by Serge Arbona and Ann Trason, who was pursued closely by Karen Scott. Unfortunately, Ann had some knee and ankle trouble and took a mean fall on her second 20-mile loop. She continued for another 20 miles, but stopped after the third loop. Serge and Karen pressed on, both securing a first-place win. Chrissy Ferguson came in second.

Unfortunately, I don't have the detailed race results. I only know the details of a few, and who did and did not finish, as I worked the aid station, ran errands, and crewed for my husban! d into the night.

This was my husband David Bliss's first 100-miler, and I wanted to run the last 40 miles with him. When we set out together for the fourth loop, it was starting to get a bit chilly. We put on some layers, and (the wuss that I am) I put hand-warmers in my gloves.

It was awesome to be on the trails again in the night. It always takes a while for your eyes to adapt to the dark and the shadows. The silence of the woods surrounded us, except for the occasional rustling of leaves off the trail from the armadillos, and the howling of the coyotes in the not- too far distance.

The out-and-backs allowed us to share the experience with the other weary but determined runners. I never ceased to be touched by the nighttime mumblings of encouragement from fellow runners...."Good job"..."Keep it up"...."lookin good runner." And then even later into the night when they are completely spent but still pressing on, lone run! ners still muster enough energy to support one another. The simple gracious "'job" that is offered as we pass each other solidifies the bond between runners in the darkness. This is one of the many soul-touching reasons why I run ultras, and it was evident once again on the trails at Rocky.

When David and I reached aid station 2/3, we picked up some supplies and encouragement from Scott Eppelmen and then headed out for the dreaded 2 to 3 out-and-back. As everybody who's run these trails knows, the turn- around sign gets moved further and further back after each loop. Once again, this proved to be true and it felt like hours passed by till we finally came to the tiny little unimportant turn-around sign stuck into the ground. As David and I walked around the sign, so far from any signs of humanity, I was this time overwhelmed by the insanity of the ultra run! It just felt so stupid to voluntarily put your body and mind through such! agony, only to be laughed at by this stupid little hand-written paper plate sign!

However, we pushed on back to 2/3, passed the luring bon-fire with blanketed corpses huddled around it, and wandered through the rooty part of the trail toward 174. Here, we lost the last glimmer of light from our flashlights and had to rely on just one small back-up tech 20 to get us to 174. Being practically night blind myself, I held onto David's arm as we navigated through roots and sections of mud. Some pacer I am! We finally reached Wayne's World at 174 and the Chris, one of the volunteers, let us use his mini mag so we could at least get back to the start/finish to replenish our batteries. We promised to return it on the next (and last) loop.

Back at the start/finish, I dug through our supplies and found my previously-lost LED. I loaded David up with the LED head lamp and plenty of fresh lights to try to compensate for my mistake of not ! having the LED for the previous loop. I sent him out alone because my ankle injury was not liking the uneven terrain. I felt like I had let him down by not running the last loop with him, but on the other hand, I knew he would be just fine. Nothing would keep him from finishing.

I put in a few more hours at the start/finish aid station, then headed to 174 to meet David there. There were five of us and a dog there at the station. Wayne Webb was a pleasure to talk to and we swapped many stories. He obviously takes great pride in his station which was complete with Christmas lights and plenty of hot food for the runners. Here, runners are treated like they are at Western States....all they have to do is show up and the volunteers take care of everything. Your bottle is filled, your food is handed to you, your spirits are lifted, and you are nudged out in the direction of the finish line which is less than 3 miles away.

After ! David came through 174, I drove to the finish to meet him. He ran under the finish sign with a buddy he picked up on the trail. Together, they finished in 25:10, a respectable time for a first 100.

Rocky was also my first 100 a few years back, and it remains one of the best 100s to run as a virgin 100-miler. The 20-mile loop makes it easy to learn the trail before dark, and also makes crew access simple. The trails are beautiful with just enough roots to keep your attention and just enough hills to break up the terrain. The run is staffed with some long-time volunteers who are ultrarunners themselves, and Mickey the RD really does a lot of preparation to make sure the runners are safe, well- fed and hydrated.

That said, as it has been mentioned, this is Mickey's last year as RD of Rocky Racoon. He has put in long hours and days, and has done a wonderful job over the years. Now, he turns his focus to his band and making music.! He'll still be around when Joe Prusaitis takes over next year and will likely still have his guitar with him. Joe spent the entire day on the grounds during the run and knows the scoop. Rocky will be just as great next year.

So, many kudos to Mickey and the vounteers and runners who, together, choreographed yet another wonderful Rocky Racoon 100 Mile Trail Run!

Congrats to the winners Serge Arbona and Karen Scott, to Chrissy Ferguson (2nd place), Kim Sergeant (best-dressed), Pat Gorman (sub-24 even with 2 naps), Ben Holmes (who made David RUN to the finish), Dan Bratches (who finished just in time to run to the airport to catch his flight), Louise Mason (a fellow Chicagoan), Hans Dieter Weisshaar (the German who just completed the HURT 100), Neal Taylor (new friends from Colorado), Bob Metzger (for a great 50-miler), David Bliss (on a excellent first 100), and especially to Michael Jones (the last official finisher with just acouple minute to spare!), and of course, to all those I haven't mentioned. I'm sure results will be posted soon.