Ultra#049 | Brazos Bend 100
And Then There Was Three.
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| 2017, 2018, 2019. My sub-22 hr BB100 buckle collection. |
The annual Trail Racing Over Texas (TROT) big event every December has come and gone again for the 3rd year in a row for me, ever since we have moved to Texas. This year there was absolutely perfect. No bad weather and no rain for a while now in the area. Contrast that to last year when it rained 4-5" the night before (see 2018 race report here). Rob Goyen also managed to secure Brazos Bend to be the USATF 100 Mile Championships so this was a very big deal and also made the 100 mi entrants list a lot larger than the past years.
03:00
The alarm goes off and my wife and I start creeping out of our warm bed getting ready. This race is great for us as the state park is literally 30 minute drive from out door. That means I got to sleep in my own bed on race night. We gathered the snacks and remainder gear set out and got everything in the van. The kids were all placed in the car one at a time. Buckled up and we were off.
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| A staple fuel station stop in any travel within Texas. Next time your in Texas make sure you stop in one. |
Quick stop for coffee at the small Bucc-ee's located in Richmond, TX conveniently between our house and Brazos Bend State Park. Race day is always better with coffee to start!
04:46
Arrive at the park gate and wait in the line up which was only about 12 vehicles deep at this time. The park was on top of things and had 3 lanes open to accommodate the larger race volume of 100 milers which was the first race distance to start. Thank you to the Brazos Bend State Park officers and workers,, huge kudos to them!
04:58
Drove through the park and found a good parking spot, which is essential at this race in order to be close. For us this is important for my family since we had all 4 daughters there coming to support. The closer to park the better for my crew and the needs of the kids throughout the day. I had setup our mini day tent the day prior at packet pickup so we had a nice spot picked out right beside the trail near the start/finish aid station.
05:56
After gearing up in a long sleeve to start I kissed all 5 of my girls and walked down from our tent towards to arch. Lined up near the front and saw a bunch of my trail friends and a lot of my teammates (Team TROT & Team Victory). Gave Patrick Reagan a first bump and wished him luck (dude is super nice! I met him and hung out/ran with him for a bit at TransRockies Run earlier this summer. He is also my teammate with Victory Sportdesign).
06:00 (Loop #1- 02:13:55)
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| My mini crew members cheering me on passing the 10 km point. (R) black Team TROT shirt - me (L) blue Team TROT shirt - Luis Murillo Photo: Katie Meding. |
station I had lined up beside my other TROT mate Luis Murillo. From there we ended up running the entire loop together. He kept me at a great pace and I enjoyed the chit chat which makes the early miles tick by.
--interloop 00:01:40--
08:15 (Loop #2- 02:21:01)
Quick shirt change into short sleeves and said hi to my crew. The girls were all in good mood and happy. Was great to see them as always gives me a boost in my spirit. Loop #2 went by very solid again, as I kept the same perceived pace. I had not looked at the clock at all (nor my watch - it is covered by a buff during races) until I rolled in back to the start finish. Once I realized my first 2 loops time I had an Oh Shit moment as the realization of 50 km split PR during the start of a 100 mi event is not ideal pacing strategy.
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| My awesome crew! Check out this teamwork. Photo: Texas YETI Runner (Dale Cougot). |
10:42 (Loop #3- 02:51:41)
Purposely slowed down on this loop and aimed for a slower loop. I did not have a walk break until 65 km into the race, but I introduced a few in this loop to slow myself down. The weather was gorgeous and the day was warming up nicely.
--interloop 00:11:22--
13:45 (Loop #4- 03:27:08)
Weather was nearly 70f. The gators were sure to start coming out now I was thinking. I tried keeping a 3 hr loop time in my mind but My hip flexor started bugging me toward the middle of this loop. I blame my fast first 2 loops on this, but I worked through it and just kept moving. There was some gators spotted during this time as it was nearly the heat of the day. Always cool to see them in this park when you run by literally 10-20 feet from them. Just over half way around this loop I heard footsteps behind me gaining at a very significant pace. I knew exactly who it was. I moved over slightly and gave Patrick Reagan a quick word of encouragement as he flew by in he still blazing 7-something min/mi. Patrick was a full loop ahead of me meaning he was nearing 4.5 loops done at this point.
--interloop 00:11:28--
17:23 (Loop #5- 03:43:23)
I kept my stop to a minimum here again. Grabbed some nice warm potatoes and a Red Bull to revive me before heading back out. Marc Henn (Team TROT Ambassador) was there and we chatted a bit as I got my calories in. He was nice enough to help me out and collect my garbage from me. My hips were still a little stiff, but i kept running. I knew eventually they would loosen up, which they did. Finished off loop #5 running but was defiantly slowing down. It was also quite chilly now that the sun had set.
--interloop 00:12:03--
21:19 (Loop #6- 04:04:20)
For only the second time ever I had a pacer. My friend Chad Lasater was there awaiting me after loop #5. I layered up and ate all I could within my self imposed 10 minutes stop. I informed him of my stretch goal of 18 hours finish but I knew I didn't think i could run a 2h45m loop at this point. I instructed him 2 things: keep me motivated & don't break me. We headed out and started shuffling along. My walk breaks were creeping in at more regular intervals but having Chad there was a great way to distract me as we chatted about various things and catching up. The miles kept ticking by. My shuffles became tough as my knee would remind how many miles I had run, but as soon as I could we'd run half a mile or more and go until I had to walk again. My stretch time goal of 18 hours (midnight) was long gone, but I mentioned to Chad I was aiming for sub-19 next and if not sub-19:40 (my 100 PR). The last long out and back each loop in arguably the hardest mental part of the course. Once at the very end, which is Sawmill aid station you turn around and head ~4.5 mi back to the finish arch. I did have to stop here and wolf down some more potatoes, but they gave me a great little lift.
01:23 (Finish)
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| New 100 mi PR 19:23:39. Photo: Katie Meding |
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| BB100 buckle with my 2nd & 4th daughters. Photo: Katie Meding |
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| Finished with my pacer and friend Chad Lasater. Photo: Katie Meding |
- Thank you to my family for coming out to this even and supporting me. My daughters give me a huge boost when I get to see their smiles on this long events.
- Thanks to all my supporters (please check out the friends tab and give them some love).
- Thank you Chad Lasater for the pacing and company of loop #6. you kept me going towards that PR and made the time go by faster.
Gear Used
Gear Bags - Victory Sportdesign #GreatestGearBagEver
Jacket- rabbit elements
Shirts- Team TROT, rabbit
Shorts- rabbit elite FKT
Shoes- Altra Timp 1.5 (this pair now has over 700 mi on them - and still going)
Socks- Drymax
Headwear- Trail Racing Over Texas endurance cap, rabbit (BOCO gear)
Sunglasses- goodr (2019 TransRockies edition)
Watch- Garmin Fenix3 HR
Headlamp- Nathan Sports Halo Fire
Hydration- Nathan VaporKrar waist belt, Nathan Exodraw 18oz Handheld (x2)
Huge congratulations to Patrick Reagan as well for smashing his own PR and lowering the US trail record.
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| Patrick Reagan 100 mi USATF Champion 12:21:43. Photo: Trail Racing Over Texas / JJustisPhotography |
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Thank you for following along on my adventures. This was ultramarathon #049 for me.
Next up for me: Running the Rose 108 km
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