Rocky III – 2015 Rocky Raccoon 100 Race Recap

I typically wait a while before posting a race recap on the blog, especially when it’s a marathon or ultramarathon. However, things didn’t quite go to plan on Saturday, so I’m taking the opportunity to jot some thoughts down online while they’re fresh in my mind. Basically, I had 3 goals going into the 2015 Rocky Raccoon 100:

1. Set a new age-group record for 48 year old men – faster than 16:09:35
2. Beat last year’s finish time – 15:26:25
3. Stretch goal – break 15 hours

How did the race go? Better keep reading to find out…

Short story – I didn’t achieve any of the 3 goals. In fact, I didn’t even finish the race. Almost 2 days have passed since I pulled the plug on what was meant to be my 5th 100 mile finish, and naturally I’m still replaying all the details in my mind. Step by step. Mile by mile.

Longer story – The build up to the race went well; not quite as many miles as the build up to the 2014 running of the race, but enough to give me confidence of a solid showing. The taper week was stress-free and my legs and mind were both well rested and looking forward to another 100 mile adventure. We flew into Houston on Friday morning as we’ve done the previous two years, before driving to the hotel to get checked in before packet pickup and the pre-race brief on Friday afternoon. It was nice to chat with fellow racers James Whipple, Joshua Finger, Chris Oles and a couple of others at the brief, and we were all looking forward to some good weather and a great day of racing on the trails at Huntsville State Park the next day. Dinner was nice and early, and sleep came easy as it typically does the night before a big race.

Saturday morning called for a 3am alarm call so we could snag a prime parking spot at the park as close to the start/finish area as possible. All went to plan, which meant I was able to relax and doze in the car for a while before going over some last minute plans with super-crew and wife Ally as we ambled to the start line. Bang on 6am and Race Director Joe Prusaitis got us underway. The early miles in the dark are always a time to focus on the rooty trail and stay as relaxed as possible. Pacing was good, and the effort level was super easy. Much of the first loop was shared with fellow Masters guy and ultrarunner extraordinaire, Scott Dunlap, and super-talented Shaheen Sattar who snagged an impressive Top 10 finish at the 2014 Western States 100. Conversation was good and the miles ticked by pretty quickly.

I ended the first loop at 2:48:37, side-by-side with Scott and in good spirits. Ally had all my fuel waiting as planned, and after a quick re-tie of the shoelace on my right shoe (I sensed a hot spot was beginning to develop), I was off and running for miles 21-40. 10 yards up the trail I realized the Black Diamond Headlamp was still wrapped around my arm, so I shouted back to Ally and ditched it at the side of the path for her to collect. She’s good like that. 😉 The first 3 miles of the 2nd loop went well – more good pacing and a nice opportunity to exchange cheers and support to the runners closing out their first loop. I stopped briefly at the Nature Center aid station to re-tie the other shoelace before crossing the road and continuing along the trail – no big deal, and better to waste a few seconds here rather than have a blister ruin your race later in the day. I’m not sure why, but shortly after this brief stop things started to go downhill. And I don’t mean the elevation profile.

Despite staying on pace, the 3 miles to the Dam Road aid station were a bit of a slog. Fueling was going to plan, effort level was low, but mentally I just wasn’t in the game. The 6 mile loop back to Dam Road was pretty miserable too, and now thoughts of quitting after 2 x 20 mile loops were already firmly planted in my mind. I tried to shake the negativity, and reassured myself the rough feeling would pass and I’d soon be back on track, especially as I hadn’t fallen off pace and things were generally feeling fine. I quickly topped up water at Dam Road before setting off for the 8 or so miles back to the start/finish area. Frustratingly, the next hour or so was more of the same negativity with only a sprinkling of my usual fighting spirit – I don’t know why, but it was virtually impossible to shake the feeling of despondency, and the thought of having another 3 x 20 loops ahead of me was just too much to bear.

Reaching the Park Road aid station 3 miles later did little to lift my spirits, and somewhere along the Triple C Trail I made up my mind to throw in the towel. My heart wasn’t big enough on the day and I had nothing in me to keep plodding on for another 60 miles. I made it back to the start/finish area in a still-respectable 5:42:47, but blurted out “I think I’m done. I don’t have it in me to keep going.” To be fair, Ally asked all the right questions and made many good suggestions for turning things around, but my mind was set and it was all-too-easy to hand in the timing chip and accept the DNF.

So what went wrong? – In all honesty, I don’t really know. Physically, I was in pretty good shape and had plenty left in the tank. Mentally, I suffered, and that’s the piece of the puzzle I’ll struggle with for a while. I’m usually a gutsy runner who makes up for lack of talent with a positive “anything is possible” attitude. I’ll give 110% and push right through until the job is done. On Saturday, at the 2015 Rocky Raccoon 100, I’m somewhat disappointed to admit my DNF represented “Did Not Fight” rather than the more traditional “Did Not Finish”.

What next? – Thankfully, running only 40 miles on Saturday has left my legs feeling pretty good. Of course, it hurts to not see my name on the list of finishers, but that will pass soon enough, and it only makes me hungrier to do better next time – wherever that may be. I’ve wondered if perhaps I entered into the event a little too complacent, thinking a good race was almost guaranteed, but I’m having a hard time buying that. I’m just not that good of a runner to take things for granted and expect things to happen with limited effort and focus. Anyway, time to regroup, move on and start thinking about the remaining 11 months of 2015. Fortunately, I still have many great memories from the weekend in Texas, and those won’t go away anytime soon. Thanks as always for your support, and please feel free to leave a comment in the message box below.

Photographs – courtesy Ally Speirs

Gear List

• Fuel – Tailwind Nutrition
• Hydration – Ultimate Direction
• Socks – Injinji Performance Toesocks

My Previous Rocky Raccoon 100 Race Recaps

• 2014
• 2013

Other Rocky Raccoon 100 Race Reports

• Rocky 2015: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (and Gear) – Liza Howard
• New 100-Mile PR at the 2015 Rocky Raccoon 100m/USATF Championships – Scott Dunlap
• Rocky Raccoon 100 USATF National Championship 2015 – Ian Sharman
• Rocky Raccoon 100 V – James Elson