Rocky Raccoon 100-mile Run

Being halfway through our one-year vacation living in a van, without a schedule, I wanted to get my 2018 Western States qualifier out of the way without a lot of fuss. I selected Rocky Raccoon 100-mile since we would be visiting Texas anyhow, and figured I still had time to get in adequate training after signing up early December. The race consists of five 20-mile loops – about half is out and backs and there is a seven mile loop within there, with ~5,500’ of climbing for the full 100 miles. The course is known to be ‘runnable’ with the main challenge being rootiness and bigger hills within the 7 mile loop. I planned to run as much as possible and see what happened, figuring if I had to walk a lot at the end, so be it, the main goal was to finish.

Race Day was Saturday, February 4. I woke at 4:00 for the 6:00 start and had my standard pre-race breakfast of coffee, banana, and oats with chia, peanut butter, and honey. We had a short drive to Hunstville State Park, arriving just before 5, not too crowded yet. It was just cool enough to hang out in the van and bundle up a little for venturing out to make a final trip to the bathroom and deliver a drop bag to the start/finish area. The weather was supposed to stay cloudy, about 45F at the start, getting into the low 60s – I opted to start with long sleeves and gloves. We found Michael and got a quick picture about 10 minutes before the start, then moved up until probably 100 of the 400 starters were in front of us. We had a mellow start at a comfortable pace on wider trail

Michael and I excited to get started

Loop 1

I spent the first five miles running and visiting with Michael. The trail was already rooty, but gently rolling and it felt like a good pace with 11-12 minutes/mile. This was a little speedier than Michael intended to start and I kind of took off as daylight came on (he ended up winning his age group with a time under 24 hours!) I noted that the trail was more interesting than expected with little ups and downs and roots. Not terrible, but certainly not isolated to the seven mile mini-loop in the middle of the big loops that I’d heard about. With daylight, I hit the Dam road – a mostly packed gravel road that the course follows for a little less than two miles until the ‘Damnation’ aid station, then the seven mile loop, another stop at the Damnation aid station, then ~2.5 miles on the way back towards the start/finish – where runners get to see the people 7-8 miles ahead of and behind them. No stopping for me at the first two aid stations (the first had been ~3 miles in).

For the Dam loop, I ran with John from Nebraska, and occasionally other little groups. We chatted a lot about my trip and a little about group and club running (he is involved with ‘GOATZ’, a well known club in Omaha). Since I’m normally terrible about being distracted and kicking trail obstacles, I exaggerated high stepping the roots, which was fun, and I didn’t trip like seemingly everyone else was, but maybe too much of something I wasn’t use to doing for miles...After the loop, I left John at the aid station and kept moving. 

Finishing the first Dam Loop

To ‘manage’ my effort, I focused on comfortably breathing through my nose instead of paying attention to what my legs were saying. I was already feeling in my arches, calves, and knees little niggles that came and went, as usual for me during long runs, but the top of my right IT band was unexpectedly threatening to be a problem – something I haven’t had issues with in years!

I downed my first gel (lemonade Gu) on the road ~mile 13/2:20 in, and took advantage of a portapotty at mile 15, not stopping at the aid station about half a mile after. The last couple miles in and out of the start/finish are out and back, a great stretch to see and cheer on so many people. I ate a fig bar ~mile 18/3:10, thinking a snack every five miles would be a good target for the current pace. At the aid station, I just gave Rudy my spent gel packet, and headed back out, having covered the first loop in 3:32.

Loop 2

I enjoyed seeing the first few miles in the daylight – lots of green and swampy scenery. I ate the other fig bar of the twin pack somewhere around mile 23. Still didn’t stop at the first two aid stations of this loop. I ended up running a lot of the Dam loop with a 100-mile first timer – a little quieter than John but still some good company before he pulled ahead – I found out later he is Travis from Montana. A pack of Gu chomps around mile 28, then my first aid station stop at Dam Road approximately mile 32. I picked up a Bearded Brothers bar (mango coconut) and a V-Fuel gel (citrus) for later. I liked both, but struggled with both wrappers! The bar I spaced out during miles 33-35. Towards the end of the loop, I still felt decent, but a little fatigue coming on, and sore spots were mostly coming and going, but the IT was being persistent, so I decided I would back off and walk up hills for the third loop. I had the gel around mile 38. I was surprised to see I was just under 7 hours at 40 miles – second loop in 3:26! I hit up the portapotty while Rudy refilled my water and opened up a packet of Bearded Brothers bar (chocolate something). I ate a few orange slices and grabbed another V-Fuel (vanilla) before heading back out.

Still feeling foolishly good

Loop 3

With the out and back I was able to see Michael, John, and Travis again. The runners were more spread out, and I was spending more time alone. I ran with ‘Andy’ for a mile or so. He was concerned he was going the wrong way, but we soon hit the Dam road and verified all was right. I jogged up hills on the road, but even the shorter hills on the trail I walked, and was trying to run gently on the flats and downs. I consumed the bar around mile 45 and gel around mile 50. I got to see Michael and Amanda starting the dam loop as I finished it – they were looking great! After the mini loop I picked up a blueberry vanilla Bearded Brother bar (opened by Rudy) and another citrus V-Fuel, along with the headlamp out of my drop bag. With walking the ups I really noticed how much downhill is in the final 7.5 miles back to the start/finish, I think I only had two walking breaks and took 90 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised by cheers from someone that got to chat with Rudy while crewing for her boyfriend, who she was now pacing. I was still feeling good and optimistic I could maintain this pace of walking ups, and comfortably running everything else. A quick pause at the start/finish, I think I looked at the aid station food but didn’t get anything, maybe picked up another V-Fuel – I was antsy to get as far as possible before dark. Happy to have a loop of 4:15, even with the walking.

Loop 4

I hit the first aid station at just over 100k in just under 12 hours – best 100k time for me! I had Rudy take the headlamp out of my pack and stow my gloves, which I had been carrying for a couple hours, and told him I’d like a caffeinated gel at the next aid station before continuing on. I was starting to feel the long day and shuffling back up to a jog was getting a little harder with each stop. I probably ate something around mile 65, I don’t remember what, maybe a final chunk of bar, which was now too dry for what my mouth wanted to deal with. I barely made it to the Dam Road before dark, so happily it was fully dark before I really needed the headlamp. At the start of the Dam loop I ate some mashed potatoes at the aid station, got a vanilla Gu from Rudy, and went on my way. I went through a big slow down during the mini loop, the IT band was getting pretty tight, my right arch disconcertingly sore, and I was struggling to jog even the downhills. I got down the Gu somewhere in there. Also a quick pit stop – hydration still OK despite a dry mouth! I was rapidly feeling defeated though.

Rudy refilled my water while I had broth when I finally returned to the aid station. I shuffled back out and made a few attempts at jogging on the road, but that just felt dumb, and I resolved to walk the rest of the loop, looking forward to having Rudy’s company and energy for the final loop, and maybe some recovery would happen so I could resume intermittent jogging. I was content with having to walk the rest of the race, but still hopeful I could rebound. I was cooling off enough that I dug the gloves back out instead of waiting for help at the next aid station. I managed to get down a caramel macchiato Gu and a couple of pieces of candy. I seemed to fall into a vicious cycle of the right hip tightening and my pace slowing – was the slowing causing more tightening? I didn’t know what to do and was maybe a little unreasonably distressed. I just kept moving, but the decline continued. I wasn’t able to lift my right leg the final two miles of the loop, literally picking up my leg with my hands and lifting it up every tiny root, and gasping down any little step. I tried to appreciate that I could be out here at all, tuned into the croaking frogs in February, and hooting owls, and whatever swamp creatures may be out in the dark. But the self-pity kept creeping back in. My knees and feet were pretty sore too, but I thought I could keep walking and tolerate those pains, but this inching along, unable to pick up my foot, was not something I could do another 20 miles. I realized I was going to drop out and started little bouts of blubbering, trying to quiet myself for all the passing runners I was now so envious of. One older guy slowed to talk a few minutes and became offended at my giving up – he made me promise to check in at the medical tent and see what they could do, I had plenty of time to complete the last loop. My mind was pretty set though – I’ve had plenty of crash and burn during ultras and still finished, but this was barely moving and was getting worse by the minute. I eventually hobbled in to the start/finish, having taken 6:15 for the loop, a total of 17:30 for 80 miles. This was still just fine, but I was seriously inching, and shivering hard despite the temperature in the mid 50s. 

I was able to tell Rudy I thought I was done and had to check in with the medical volunteers without breaking down in tears. We hobbled to the tent and after asking about hydration, nutrition, nausea, cramping, and if this was my A-race, the volunteers didn’t offer anything to get me back on the trail beside resting for a while, warming up, and taking in some food. So I was fed mashed potatoes, ramen, and banana chunks and spent over an hour under blankets and heaters with dry clothes before the shivering (almost excruciating with my sore hips and torso) subsided, and obviously nothing loosened up. Another bummer as newbie Travis came in having sprained his ankle and being forced to drop at mile 67 despite everything else going so well. Over two hours after finishing the fourth loop, I officially threw in the towel and limped to the van to shower and get some sleep.

Nutrition Summary:

<150 ounces water

~1800 calories

3 Gu gels

1 pack Gu chomps

3 V-Fuel gels (maybe 4)

3 Bearded Brothers bars

2 fig bars

2 pieces hard candy

1 ginger chew

few orange slices

~1 cup mashed potatoes

~1 cup broth

Some positives:

No cramping

Stomach pretty good

Energy OK

Fun

What went wrong???

My right arch, knee, and hip especially did not hold up and I lost the ability to walk. I’ll have to talk to more veterans, there are just so many possibilities, a few I’ve thought of:

Too fast to start? I’m pretty sure that was a big contributor – the pace was relatively comfortable, but I didn’t respect the distance or the course and ran hills that maybe should have been walked.

Not enough running miles? Longest run since Wasatch was 26 miles/5 hours – likely a significant factor. Also, I avoided technical trail due to the relatively runnable course, but I think the excessive root-hopping early in the race was detrimental.

Lack of supplemental training – weak/tight hips? A pretty common issue for runners, and root of many injuries – definitely would not hurt me to spend more time on stretching and strengthening. I 

also have depended on regular massages the past few years and have not had one during the trip...

Inappropriate shoes? I wore lighter zero drop shoes (Altra Superior 2.0), and have been good with this style for several years, but maybe a need for more support has caught up to me? Particularly for the arch pain.

Too soon after Wasatch (five months)? Maybe, but I’m not convinced that was much of an issue.

Too much walking – did slowing down create tightening? I’m dubious, but maybe?

Should I have tried ibuprofen? I think my problem was more tightness than inflammation/pain, but maybe it would have helped me finish? Although I don’t actually regret not taking it, I was more damaged than I wanted to be anyhow, I do believe if I went another 20 miles serious injury would have occurred.

For next time:

More consistent running, more miles – and get in some training events! At least one 50-mile should happen

Cross Training – I’ve been biking more, but surprisingly, I’ve slacked off on yoga and strength training

Shoes – I’m pretty sure I’ll buckle down and try out some more supportive shoes when running starts up again