Remembering Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler

Josh & Denise in Huntsville State Park.

After a successful completion of Western States 100 Miler in June and a great race at the 24 hour Lone Ranger Ultra Marathon in July, it was a challenge to decide what races to commit to in 2010.  It was  difficult end to 2009 for me.  I was starting a new teaching job at Valley Forge Military Academy teaching art and doing yearbook for them and also my dad had heart surgery which ended up giving him a stroke.  This put me and my family under amazing stress so racing in the fall was the furthest thing from my mind. After the dust settled a bit with yearbook and my dad was more or less stable, I sat down and started to pick some races. First on my list was the Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler in Huntsville, Texas.  I had heard good things about the race.  It was flatter than most other trail courses that I had run in the past and I thought since I came out of the fall and winter in so-so condition that it would be a good first race of the year.   My wife Denise and I arrived on a Friday and the race started at 6AM on Saturday morning.  We went to the pre-race packet pick-up and listened to the race director go over the general rules and aid station information. It was a good size field. The race was broken up into to groups of 50 mile runners and 100 mile runners. The meeting room was abuzz with anticipation and excitement at the thought of what was going to happen here on the course the very next morning.  Denise and I went to dinner and went to bed early as we knew we would have to get up early to get to Huntsville state park by the 5:30AM check-in. The next morning was crisp and cold. The sun had not yet risen. Little did we know that Philadelphia was getting hammered by a ton of snow.  Once we got to the start at Huntsville State Park and I finished my pre-race rituals, I felt much better about the day. The gun went off and we were off on our adventure.  The course was comprised of a 20 mile loop that we would need to do 5 times to get our 100 mile buckle at the finish.  The course was full of 2 inch tall roots that tripped me up many times during the early morning.  I did my normal strategy of running for 13 minutes and race walking for 2 minutes. This technique works well for me by preventing to much lactic acid from building up in the muscles and also gives my legs a chance to recover. It is similar to shifting gears in a car.  The first 20 miles were a bit rough because my left hamstring was tight and I had difficulty getting into a rhythm. After the first loop was complete, I talked with one of the race volunteers for help with this issue and he gave me some ointment in a tube. "Here you go" he said, "This stuff will do the trick". With some hesitation, I took the tube and applied some ointment to my leg, thanked the man and went out on my 2nd lap. Within 10 minutes my leg loosened up and I started to find my groove.  Denise met me in 2 different locations to help me with any special gear or food needed during the race. She crews for me at all my races and does an amazing job.  These two locations were close together so I had to rely on the other aid stations for any other help. These aid stations had lots of great stuff. Soups and hot food at night and fruit and a variety of drinks and other stuff during the day.  The 2nd lap was a solid effort on my part. I felt good and the temperature was now in the high 60's. The day was going well. I had the chance to talk with many runners from around the country.  It helps a lot to chat now and then to break up the day.  By this time I was used to the course. For the most part it was soft underfoot. On occasion we would travel over little wooden bridges in swampy parts of the course or over dams. It was a very beautiful park.  After the completion of my third lap, the sun was starting to set.  I met up with Denise and her Aunt Lisa and her husband Rickey, who live in the area, and got a change of shirt, gloves and a hat and grabbed my lights for the night time.  I chatted with them for a bit and then headed on down the trail. I was able to get 67 miles in before the sun was finally set.  Night time on trail in much slower going. Roots and rocks like to come up and bite you when you're not looking.  Night time can get a bit spooky.  They told us at the race meeting that alligators, wild boars and coyotes are in the area and to be aware of them.  I didn't want to run into any one of those things on or off the trail. Once the sun went down most of the 50 milers were finished so the field was much smaller and spread out over the 20 mile loop so people to chat with were hard to come by.  With the sound of coyotes howling in the distance, I was getting a bit freaked out. So the Ipod went on and I tried to drown out the noise. After regaining my focus I was able to enjoy the cold 30 degree weather and the starry skies. On my final lap of the race I was getting cold. Denise was tired and not feeling well after a long day and even the small climbs on the fire roads were wearing me down. One of the check points had a camp fire which was nice to see as a check point.  With my last lap almost complete I saw the camp fire This meant I had about 4 miles to go. I saw Denise one final time and tried to pick it up for a final push to the finish. With my Ipod cranked and some encouraging words from Denise, I was ready to charge to the finish. Once I saw the lights in the distance from the finish line camp I turned it on and sprinted to the finish. With hoots and howls coming from my excitement about finishing I cruised though the finish. The race director and Denise were there to greet me. I finished in 38th place with a time 20:45:46.