My Second 200 Mile Race | Ultra #053
Pre Race
I can't exactly recall when I signed up for this years Franklin 200, but I always knew in the back of my mind I would be back once Rob Goyen, TROT Race Director, confirmed there would be a second edition of this limited race. It has been a couple months now since November when I was last in El Paso, but the excitement of returning to the Franklin Mountain State Park was increasing steadily the past few weeks. My build up for this race consisted of a few hard efforts: a
41mi FKT in California,
Bandera 100 km, and then
Running the Rose 108 km.
I was feeling good as preparations were done, stoke was high, and there was only one thing to do: run some North Franklin Mountain summit repeats with a few loops around the mountain range thrown in. My feet were ready for the inevitable pounding and grueling toll of 200 miles on the rocky technical terrain.
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| Tuesday weather in El Paso |
I worked in the office Monday till about 13:00 and took off home as soon as I could to grab my gear I had packed and ready. Saw my family and gave them all some hugs and kisses as I knew it would be a long 5-6 days without them and then hit the road heading west across Texas. I broke the 12 hour drive up with a 5 hour-ish nap in my car in the middle. The last few hours on Tuesday morning I spent out running the sunset as I came into the view of the El Paso city scape on the horizon. Almost 365 days to the minute, when I got into the city the sprinkles from the clouds above began to dot my windshield just like 2019 all over again.
I spent the next little while stretching out in a Starbucks enjoying a warm beverage and catching up on social media postings. By the time mid-day had come around it was much clearer out and I was on the way to the State Park. I couldn't resist running a few miles and getting the blood flowing to my legs. The remainder of the day consisted of packet pickup and the pre-race briefing and a nice catered dinner provided by
Trail Racing Over Texas at the park. I was hotel bound and in my bed before 20:00 as I tried to get as much sleep as I could.
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| Race briefing by RD Rob Goyen |
03:45 alarm goes off and I am awake and anxiously eager to pack the very few remaining items left sitting out. I have everything, sling my
Victory Sportdesign bag over my should and open the hotel door, and to my amazement there was snow coming down, and even a very small dusting of white on the parked vehicles.
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| 2020-02-05 first snow in El Paso for the year. Also this was the first ever official snow start for a Trail Racing Over Texas race. Doesn't bother this Canadian ultrarunner as much as it might the others. |
Off to the park in the dark snowy Texas winter morning and found myself a parking spot in the self-crew area for us 200 mile runners. I'd be using my car as a home base on the loops for clothing changes and any extra gear I may need to grab. I was one of the first few people there, and started to arrange my things and said my hellos to everyone. Race director, Rob Goyen, was running around getting his last minute race prep in order and assistant RD, Amanda Kubeczka, was equally as busy. Then around maybe 04:40 or so I overheard Rob get a phone call and I knew exactly what it was. The park officials had taken away the chance to run the initial chain section of the course, which is exactly what happened last year in the 2019 edition as well. The weather was to blame, the park and TROT have the responsibility to look after runner safety as the total number one priority so there was no blame to be had. Although I was sad we would not get to try out this infamous section as was in Rob's dream race layout to kick off the event. What is a 200 mile if not to through in a little extra adversity, like a modified start (just like the 2019 edition). Nothing left to do now but the final last minute preparations like filling up my water, stuffing my pack, and simply staying warm in the chill of the 29f weather that was upon us. 05:45 Rob gathered us all up in the tent for a quick race briefing to go over the modified start. I knew this speech as it was was like the 2019 year all over again, this time with a lot more snow on the ground. In fact Rob later confirmed this was a first for TROT to start an event in the snow..
Warm-Up (Loop 0) & Loop 1 | Day 1
No time for nerves, time for the excitement to take over. Time to
send it and see what all the months of preparations miles and training runs has got in store for me on this mountain adventure. All of the 200 mi and the 200 km runners were starting together. We were gathered there in the darkness with the wind whipping, snow still falling, and the chill clinging to the morning.
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| And we are off... I headed directly out to the front of the pack with my TROT teammate Jessica Pekari. | Photo: Let's Wander Photography (Jesse Ellis) |
The first few steps with the headlamps were careful placement and slow trekking up the ridge from the start line. With the darkness and the fresh snow fall the trail was slightly harder to spot than it might otherwise be. Right after the start I took to the lead of the pack and lead the runners up this rocky singeltrack trail. I wasn't consciously racing just yet, I just wanted to get a decent pace going for myself, and my own run. After the first 1.5 mi and coming up over the ridge of the Upper Sunset trail I came down towards the pavilion and headed down into the canyon of Lower Sunset trail. There was only a couple runners keeping pace, one of them being my TROT teammate Jessica Pekari, right behind me. We circled back around 4 miles to the main start/finish which it acted as an aid station. I dropped off my headlamp since daylight was now beginning to creep up. I headed up the long windy Mundy's Gap trail which was a slow grade 4 mi climb all the way to the summit. It was like a magical enchanted land at the summit for me as I was the only one up there and the West/South side was clouded over and still snowing lightly below, but in contrast on the East/North side view from the summit it was clearing up and sunlight was peaking out. The 2 sides of this North Franklin Mountain peak offered drastically different views divided by the mountain range itself. Sadly I didn't bring my phone or camera on this morning since it was so cold and didn't want to worry about fumbling around with gadgets, but this image of natural beauty is still cemented into my memory from this race. I didn't spend long up there, just signed the log book as required, grabbed my summit bracelet, and headed back down. About half way down back to the main start/finish I crossed paths with Jesse Ellis (
Let's Wander Photography) who was now out trekking around capturing some great shots of the snowy scenery and the runners' experience of the day 1 morning.
After just over 13 miles and 2:42:35 run time, I arrived back down the mountain and at the start/finish main aid tent. The small warm-up loop was over and now the main 38 mile loops would begin. Only 5 trips around the mountain remained. Before I headed out I made sure to thank Rob for the greeting of the "Canadian sidewalks" out there on the trails. Then I grabbed a single water bottle and was off within less than 3 minutes. The first part of the big loop came back around to the main start/finish tent which broke the big 38 mi loop up into a 9 mi & 29 mi sections. So each time I left on the loop i opted to run without my hydration vest for the first 9 miles. It was a nice break to not wear it, and worked out great logistically.
The first full big loop was scenic as everything was still freshly dusted as the natural landscape was framed by the prior nights snowfall. The ambient temperature however remained cold as I don't think it got above 34f for the entire first 24 hours. I kept on my
rabbit jacket (let 'er zip hoodie) and
rabbit long pants (before and afters) which was perfect for these chilly temperatures. By the time I was hiking up to the summit for my 2nd trip (out of a total of 6) I was surprised by Jesse hiding out on the Cottonwood Trail through a patch of trees. But it made for a good photo.
On my way back down from the summit I passed the runners behind me since this was one of only a couple out and back sections. I was able to see how far away they were. As I as coming down from the summit I passed Jessica Pekari (Team TROT) & John Sharp who were hiking up together at the time. They were nearly 3/4 the way up to the summit when we passed each other. I ran down the snow covered rocky terrain the best I could and enjoyed the ride as I passed a couple more runners on this 2 mi section. Photographer, Jesse Ellis, was back on the trails hiking to the summit now and I passed him prior getting back to Mundy's Gap aid station where I would go over onto the west side of the mountain range. My first full trip around from the east side (Bowen Racnch) all the way back to the west via the North Pass was quite uneventful. I don't recall anything special happening during the loop 1 besides just reacquainting myself to the trail on this side of the mountain range. After 11:05:55 I rolled back into the main tent with still plenty of daylight left (50 mi total | 152 mi to go). Rob Goyen (TROT RD) and Jaime Aparicio (TROT Medical Director) both greeted me and were quick to notify me I was up on John Kelly's pace from last year, and of course my own as well. It was a pleasant surprise since I felt like a ran a conservative loop overall based on my perceived effort. I recall getting a nice warm chicken sandwich during this stop.
Loop 2 | Night 1
The first few miles were completed during the fading daylight, but that soon came to an end. Mile 10 into the loop I was back up the long hike to the summit. The winds were picking up making it extremely wind chilled at the top. I did not spend long there at all, instead spent my time trying to descend safely and get down back into the warmer part of the mountain. After passing Mundy's Gap on the way down I had another 5 miles of downhill trails till I would reach Bowen Ranch aid/sleep station, the very far side of the course. Tiredness started creeping up on me early. As I kept getting closer to Bowen I had decided I would probably lie down for a bit. Mile 70 I arrived at Bowen and the tent was a nice relief from the night breeze. I downed some food and then laid down. I asked the volunteers to wake me up in 30 minutes. That short half hour of rest did its magic. After I got up my body felt energized. I got a few more calories in and headed back out towards the North Pass once again. I made the long haul back over to the start/finish again in just shy of 23 hours (89 mi total | 113 mi to go). It was now right around 05:00 on Thursday.
Loop 3 | Day 2
Only 4 more full loops lie between me and the finish. I still felt tired as my usual low hours hit me around the 03-05:00 time frame. But I knew if I just kept moving eventually the sun would help get me out of my funk. Reports were of a much nicer day in terms of weather too. Half way around the mini 9 mi portion of the start of the loop the sun did it's job. I felt fresh again and a renewed sense of warmth came over me with the sunrise.
Coming back into the main aid start/finish after this first 9 mi (98 mi total | 104 mi to go) I changed some clothes, grabbed some sunglasses (as they were finally going to be of use), and of course ate a bunch of yummy food. I am pretty sure this was the first of many stops where I devoured a bunch of hashbrowns - the volunteers really stepped up their game in the cooking department this race - and I was very thankful for it.
Back on the move again in short order I was headed back up towards Mundy's Gap and another summit - my 3rd of the race. The sun was out now but the wind was equally in its presence at this point in the morning. On the long climb up to the summit I was determined just to keep a solid pace and not stop. Nearly the very top and the last few switchbacks the wind was really picking up - like 30-40 mph+ gusts. I also noticed a couple people ascending as well. By the time we hit the summit there was 3 of us all at the log book at the same time gathering up our summit bands and signing in.
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A little windy on my 3rd summit of the North Franklin Mountain. (L) Rosalba Lara (M) Trevor Meding (R) Lydia Rios
Photo: Rosalba Lara |
Cruising back down the mountain from the summit is always one of the harder parts of the course. It is nearly all downhill on this 7 mi section from the peak all the way down the back of the mountain to the east side where Bowen Ranch resides. A true quad buster of a section which seems easy early in the race but gradually gets harder and harder each time you return to this part of the trail. The wind really took its toll on me and on the way to Bowen Ranch. Along the long windy portion at the base of the east side of the Franklins I started feeling the sleepies sneaking up on me. I really started to slow down and was slowed to a zombie walk at one point. I came around a bend and there was a nice little boulder than looked just like a nice stool to sit on. I laid down in the dirt and put my feet up onto this boulder which propped my feet up nicely. I placed my
Nathan hydration vest behind my head to act as a little pillow and looked at my watch, and then closed my eyes. The sun was warm like a nice hug, and the soothing sound of the breeze was just right. Next thing I know is I open my eyes to the blue sky above and raise my watch over to see how long I'd been napping - 7 minutes - i just took a recharging 7 minute nap! (105 mi total | 97 mi to go). I picked up my hydration vest and started back on the trail headed to finish off the last few miles before Bowen.
I arrived there to a nice feast of fresh pizza - heavenly! It was just the type of food i needed to turn me around at that point. I ate a bunch and downed a bunch of Coke-Cola which is like the magic elixir for me in ultras. The trek around the from east to west over the North Pass was a long slow grind but nice to complete in the daylight again. From the west aid back to the main start/finish I arrived under my time goal and was still averaging under 12 hours per loop. I was 35:09:21 into the race (127 mi total | 75 mi to go).
Loop 4 | Night 2
I made this mistake after Loop 3 of getting it in my head that if I could just have 2 solid loops of 12 hrs I would be able to challenge that elusive 60 hr mark. I set off and completed the first 9 mi section of the course and by the time I got back to the main start/finish I was utterly tired. I felt a strong urge to sleep, having only 37 minutes total thus far. I came into the tent and saw Jaime there and asked him how far behind second place was, after all I was in a race still. Once he got an approximation I decided I would take a 90 minute sleep to recharge myself. At this point I felt that sleep would be better served than if I just kept slogging forward chasing a fast time. After exactly 90 minutes of rest I was woken up by teh volunteers and my alarm alike. I got myself up and ready again but in a much slower fashion than normal, clearly fatigue was lingering still. A few more amazing hashbrowns were consumed before I headed back out into the darkness of my second full night. Since I stopped after the 9 mi section, I headed back out on the starting off with the long summit grind. It was a great way to warm myself back up.
The winds came back out this night and after I came down from the peak it seemed to pick up even more. I trudged on to the Bowen Ranch on the east side of the mountains but it was certainly not my best pace. My immediate goal was just to get into that tent and out of the wind for a few minutes, and get some more warm food. I arrived at the tent leaning into the fierce wind to find the volunteers standing on the edge of the supports trying to keep it from flapping around in the wind even more. The sound of the wind tossing around the tent was loud and chaotic. There were 3 big lumps on the cots in the middle of the tent surrounding a portable propane heater. I had no idea how anyone could sleep or attempt to sleep in these conditions the wind had created. I felt tired still, but the conditions presented no choice (to me) but to continue moving forward. I knew if I could make it through this second night decently the sunrise would help rejuvenate me again for the 3rd day.
I left Bowen aid leaning into the wind with determination to complete the loop before sunrise and hold that potential 60 hr finish time within reach. The weather had different ideas. The wind has gusting and the chill was piercing through my layers but I just kept moving forward: slowly. The North Pass and the section from the west aid back to main tent were long slow miles. I was not able to beat sunset and arrived just after that in 50:56:20 (164 mi total | 38 mi to go).
Loop 5 | Day 3 | The Victory Loop
Daylight was here, sun was out, and finally some Texas warmth had presented itself. With only a "shorter" ultramarathon of 38 mi left I felt like the finish was within sight, as silly as that may seem. I took off some layers and was ready to roll. I was again feeling fresh now nearly 52 hrs into the race.
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Amazing photo. Grinding up a smaller climb (Shaffer Shuffle) on the first 9 mi section.
Photo: Let's Wander Photography (Jesse Ellis) |
My final summit was a nice relief to get it done with. I signed the log book grabbed my 6th summit bracelet and started descending. This was one of the more painful parts as my legs and quads were not having this. I could barely run downhill, and yet I had 7 mi of down till I reached Bowen Ranch aid. It was a long walk/hike till the aid station.
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| Arriving in Bowen Ranch aid station for the last time (184 mi total| 18 mi to go) | Photo: Let's Wander Photography (Jesse Ellis) |
With my pace being severely slowed from all the downhill and my quads not cooperating I was a bit on the depressed side of my thinking, but I knew I had to just keep moving forward. Being through these lows before in long races, my experience taught me that eventually it would turn around. I think I ate 3 or 4 more pieces of pizza here which was such a blessing - perfect ultra fuel (thanks Rob for making this happen!). Jesse Ellis was there capturing some more photos and he took off in front of me as I was about to leave the tent to get some more shots. I warned him I was not moving fast, but naturally he was encouraging. The funny thing about this race is the lack of interaction I had with people. Of course I got to see the volunteers at the aid stations but Jesse was probably one of the people I saw the most, so it was a nice boost when I did see him.
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| On my way up and around the North Pass of the Franklin Mountain range. This is the far norther reach of the course which border New Mexico. | Photo: Let's Wander Photography (Jesse Ellis) |
After attempting to jog for Jesse and the camera on some of these photos I continued my power hike up the gradual climb out of Bowen Ranch. Nearly 40 minutes down the trail I recall something beautiful occurring, my body felt like moving again. So after about 10 miles of walking and hiking since the summit I was now able to run again. Of course it was not blistering pace, but man did it feel good to move at a more upbeat pace again. Sunset was approaching as I crossed over the very tip of the North Pass and descended down into the west aid station. I looked at my watch and I had crossed over that 60 hr run time, but my PR and time from 2019 was still well within reach. I set off on the final section, headlamp on and determined to get to the finish as fast as my legs would carry me. The thoughts of the finish line consumed me this entire section and fueled me on. I glanced at my watch and knew that sub-64 was going to happen. Coming over the ridge of the Upper Sunset Trail for the final time was emotional, as I knew I had done it: I had secured a victory, a 200 mi PR, and yet another ultramarathon finish. I was greeted by the cowbell in the darkness and a few headlamps cheering loudly. I ran into the finish with a large smile. 63:32:17 official finishing time (which is 52 minutes than 2019).
TROT finishing video:
https://www.facebook.com/trailracingovertexas/videos/187040972377354
Gear Used
- Gear Bags: Victory Sportdesign - most of my gear was in my Grizzly bags and it was all neatly organized in the various compartments this bags offer
- Drop bags: Victory Sportdesign Kodiak (Bowen Ranch aid), and the BEAR III (West aid)
- Jackets: rabbit let 'er zip hoodie, vest, and elements light jacket
- Shirts: rabbit long sleeve (multiple), short sleeve (2020 PR edition)
- Pants: rabbit before and afters
- Shorts: rabbit smooth operator 7"
- Shoes: Altra Running TIMP 1.5 (brand new out of the box)
- Socks: Drymax Socks 1 pair (Bittersweet edition)
- Headwear: rabbit (BOCO) beanie and cap, Trail Racing Over Texas trucker hat
- Sunglasses: goodr
- Watch: Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar
- Headlamp: NathanSports Inc Halo Fire (x3)
- Hydration: Nathan Sports Inc VaporKrar 2.0 12L with 20oz soft flasks
- Other: rabbit (BOCO) gloves
- Anti Friction: Trail Toes - applied once at beginning and only 1 reapply which kept me chaff free all race.
Results | Data | Final Thoughts
My full STRAVA data activity is here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/3081068375
Full race results on are UltraSignup here:
https://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=68000
iRunFar.com - This Week In Running:
https://www.irunfar.com/2020/02/this-week-in-running-february-10-2020.html
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| Watch stats on my new Garmin Fenix 6X Pro Solar. I got this new watch just in time for this race. I'm still learning on the features and upgrades but this watch is amazing. |
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| The Franklins 200 elevation profile. Starting at about 4,500 ft you climb to the summit (7,200 ft) x6 times overall. |
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| My personal spreadsheet data on my loop times for data analysis. |
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| I am proud owner of twins! These are my 2 most prized buckles I have earned thus far. TROT worked with Elevation Culture and has crafted these personalized buckles for The Franklins which are are truly unique. (L) 2019 edition I choose to put my last name on there. (R) This year I placed "ultraDad" on there in honor of running for my daughters, which is also why I refer to myself as the #ultrarunningdad (just like my blog name). Thanks to Elevation Culture for these awesome crafts of art. |
I also want to point out that I was 1 of 5 people who have completed the Franklins 200 in both editions of the race. This is a very exclusive club since the race is not to be put on again and only existed for these 2 years. Congratulatory shout out to my four fellow ultrarunners:
- Dustin Sandquist -- 85:34:58 (2020) | 77:18:55 (2019)
- Edward Sousa -- 85:34:55 (2020) | 81:53:32 (2019)
- Joseph Meyer -- 88:33:02 (2020) | 87:13:08 (2019)
- Lydia Rios -- 106:35:20 (2020) | 105:58:10 (2019)
Ultra running can be a very lonely sport at times. I knew going into this race I might have to run a lot of miles by myself, and I had prepared myself for that. In the end I ended up running the entire 200 miles solo, except for the few times I would pass someone out on the trails. I think the fact I prepared mentally for this in advance really helped.
My feet held up really quite well this race. I had a couple hot spots on the pads of my feet but didn't get any crippling blisters or anything of the sorts. After I finished I did notice some rubbing on the outer back on my feet from all the downhill, but those didn't bother much during the run.
I am very happy I accomplished my 2nd 200 mile race and managed to sneak in my PR as well.
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| 1st overall | 63:32:23 | Photo: Tommy Gulch |
People often ask me how I do these longer races. I have thought about that a lot lately and I think I'm boiled it down to a simple sentence I have come up with:
"RUN when you can, HIKE when you should,
WALK if you must, and SLEEP when it comes."
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Thank you for following along . This was ultramarathon #053 for me.
Next up thus far:
Chattanooga 100 mi
