(Actually 10/16/15)
The Pumpkin
Holler Hunnerd race is hosted near Tahlequah Oklahoma along the Illinois River and
surrounding the Nickel
Family Nature Preserve. Even after a
week it is still surreal and I only know it happened based on pictures on Facebook and the buckle
and shirt sitting on my nightstand.
A person’s first 100 mile run probably doesn’t count. Nobody believes it. Finishing seems like a fluke or a dream. This is my second 100 mile run and it is
becoming a bit more real now.
About the Race:
Words cannot describe this race adequately. Pictures cannot capture the true stories
behind the smiles on runners and volunteers.
The Pumkin Holler race weekend includes 10K, 25K, 50K, 100K, 100 mile
and 135 mile distances. At this race you
can drop to a shorter event even after you start. You won’t get an overall or age group award
but you get the appropriate medal for the distance ran.
This race has aid stations about every four miles filled
with a wide selection of food – including fresh waffles, bacon, barley soup,
beans & cornbread, and whiskey shots.
I didn’t take any pictures this time but I stole a few from Facebook.
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co-Race Director Ken “Trail Zombie” Childress enjoys this weekend more than anyone else (photo by Deanna Thornton, Eurika, KS) |
Fellow ultra runners and world-class people Justin Franklin
and John Nobles know how to take care of runners. Hot food, cold drink and magical feet
treatments.
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(Photo by Lisa McManus) |
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(Photo by David Newman) |
Wes Rupell mans Bath Tub Rocks aid station every year. This year he made several special
energy-packed portable treats including backed macaroni and cheese. (photos
courtesy of Wes Rupell, dirty hippy)
These volunteers stayed awake for 40+ hours to feed and
entertain us along the course. I know
they worked harder than the runners and probably spent as much time as any
runner before the race preparing supplies and after the race cleaning up every
last scrap of trash and putting away supplies for the next event.
About My Race:
I have volunteered and paced someone at this event every
year (including hosting the infamous Waffle Stop). This year was different for me. I ran 100 miles in a row. It is my second 100 mile run and they both
seem like dreams. I never wrote about my
first because it never seemed real. Even
when I look through pictures I think “Jason was there?” or “Where did I get
that corndog?”
This race was an interesting mental challenge for me – well,
a real roller coaster. And the “down”
parts were a much bigger challenge than I could have imagined. In June I turned 50 and had just completed my
first 100 mile run. Previously my
longest distance was a 52 mile race. The
really nice/evil/sadistic/downright ornery people that own a local running
store (RunnersWorld Tulsa) gave
me an entry to the 135 mile distance. I
had four months to train (retrain). I came
up with a schedule and stuck to some of it (well… not really much).
I set out to run 135 miles.
I never really thought about “just running 100 miles”, it was always
135. In the days leading to the race I
became worried about (and focused on) two things – Blisters and Meeting the
cutoff times. I spent a lot of time
creating pace spreadsheets, researching other runner’s splits, and studying any
form of treatment for blisters. I may
have spent more time on spreadsheets and packing (and repacking) than I did
training.
The 135 mile course include an 8 mile out and back (same for
the 100 mile) and 4 loops of about 50K/31.x miles [since the race director is
generous he gives everyone bonus miles each loop]. After consultation with my pacers I had my
pace chart ready.
My 135 mile race started at 10:00 Friday night with 15 other
runners. I was on “spreadsheet pace” for
the 8 mile out and back. I cut all rest
stops as short as possible – including skipping a second waffle that had been
expertly prepared by Jason (it had bacon cooked inside it).
I started the first full loop without any hesitation. Looking back I should have grabbed some
food. The aid stations would not be in
full swing until the remaining racers started Saturday morning at 8:00. There were two roving aid stations manning
the designated stops and checking on us in between. I was never happier to find a dirt-covered
windowless shag-carpeted van in the middle of the woods.
Running in the dark was harder and slower than I
expected. I ran with Coach Kathy and we
tagged along with other people along the way.
I stayed on task - minimized time at aid stations and ran flats and
downhills as much as I could. At the end of the first lap (of four) I was about
2 hours behind my schedule but I thought I could make it up because of some slack
in my spreadsheet schedule. I was hoping
to finish that first loop in time to see the 50K runners take off. I had a few people from my run group sign up for
their first 50K and I wanted to wish them well.
Since I missed them at the start I knew I would not see them unless they
stayed late (really late) after their race.
I had some great pacers for each lap lined up and they were
a lifesaver (well, race saver).
Alecia had signed up for the 50K and took a late start since
she waited for me to finish the first loop.
She kept me awake and moving and made sure I was eating. We walked more than I expected and the steep
hills were slow going. My feet hurt but
it was manageable. The scenery was unbelievable
and there was lots of looking at it. It
got dark before we finished and neither of us had a headlamp. It was also pretty cold. Night walking burned up some extra time and
we finished that loop about 5 hours behind my schedule.
At that point I realized I could not make up the time to
finish 135 miles – but I had plenty of time to finish a total of 100
miles. So, I convinced my 3rd loop pacer
(Tim) that I earned a nap and we agreed to leave at 10:30pm. We left right on
time for our 3rd (and final) lap.
Tim was sort of an ‘accidental’ pacer. With too many pronouns on a group Facebook
discussion there was some confusion on who was pacing who. I had only met Tim a couple of times but we
worked out that he would pace me on the overnight third loop. He would get in a 50K night run and I’d get
some company. He offered lots of advice
before the race on pace, nutrition, supplies, etc. He even provided advice on how we would interact:
It was dark and got pretty cold before dawn. We walked a
lot. I hallucinated for several miles about things on the side of the road. Tim was really interested in what I was seeing. I thought it was a dusty garage sale. He was collection stories for his coworkers. Kathy Hoover was a few miles ahead of us but had given orders to the aid station teams
what I was supposed to eat – and it was a lot. Some of them wouldn’t let me
leave the aid station until I was finished.
The finish line was full of familiar faces. Stormy (co-Race Director), Dana (TaturCakes), Shannon and many others were there all
night and it was great to see them every lap.
Many other runners hang out by the fire and cheer on the remaining
finishers. Since I stated early I also
got to watch many of the 100 mile runners finish and many of those were running
their first.
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I was glad to see these guys at the finish line (and glad to be finished). (Photo by Lauri Biby, Beyond Ordinary Life Photography) |
In the end it took me just over 37 hours to complete the 103
miles. I learned a lot from this race and am glad that I did a few things
right. I had 2-3 small blisters but treated them as often as I could (every
lap). I ate and drank constantly. I probably wasn’t eating enough and my energy
was too low at times. My feet were probably the sorest part of me and I got cramps
for a few nights after the race (never in the daytime though).
There were 16 people that started the 135 mile race and 3
finished. They were all skinny and fast
but looked like drunken train wreck victims at the finish line. I’m glad I did
this race but I’m still considering selling all of my running clothes and
picking a new hobby – like comic books.
I plan to write about some of the lessons learned during training and this race soon. Maybe after another nap.
Thanks for sharing. I look forward to reading your lessons in future posts ... and maybe read about your hallucinations. (Did you want to stop at the garage sale to shop? LOL)
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ReplyDeleteThis Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd race seems great to me. I wish I could go to Tahlequah Oklahoma and can take a part in this race. Thank You for sharing this article.
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