JJ72 – Not Your Typical 100 Miler | Ultramarathon #054
It was another Thursday morning where I roll over in bed hit my snooze on my 05:45 alarm on my phone. Bah! I should get up, but drift off again for the 15 minutes till my truly reliable 06:00 alarm does the job and manages to jolt me into the reality of the work day. I get dressed kiss my wife and start my commute to the office in Houston.I was hoping to try and sneak away a tiny bit early from work, but I have just started a new role and everything is new to me so I’m tying to absorb and catch up on a lot of things. By the time I get around to finishing my day up it is nearly 17:00, a full 10 hour work day. On the way home I start thinking about my night and what is to come.
Rewind a bit. I had finished Franklins 200 mi just over 12 full days ago now, but the draw of another Trail Racing Over Texas (TROT) race on the 7IL Ranch was calling my name. I signed up I think on Wednesday (a mere 24 hours before the race was set to begin on Thursday at 09:00). Initially I had the thought of just getting in some miles and having fun out there. In fact, I signed up to volunteer a shift during the race as well.
Arriving back home, Katie and kids were there to greet me like any other Thursday evening. We sat down, had our dinner, and the kids were off to bed. And here is where my usual routine was now deviated. I kissed my wife goodbye, similar to the morning, except now I was making the 1 hour commute out to 7IL Ranch in Cat Spring, TX. I arrived just before 20:00, a full 11 hours after the official start of the 72 hour ultra event. I chatted briefly with Rob Goyen (TROT race director) got my bib assignment, turned on my headlamp and headed down the 0.75 mi dirt road trail towards the pylon cone.
The thing about the Jackalope Jam race is that it is a real party. A simple out & back style course, come and go as you please, to get your miles in type of race. At the end of the trail is a plyon cone termed the “cone of death” where you circle around and run back to the start/finish. Runners and crew alike have all sorts of tents, camps, and cars lined up; their little home bases for the 3 days of running festivities along the first portion of the road.
My goal initially on Thursday night was to knock out a bunch of miles and knock off another ultra distance, so I set off with that mindset. I ran a fairly decent paced ~50 km (32.20 mi) after making 21 trips to the cone and back. I had wrapped up my run just after 01:00, it now being Friday. I packed up and headed back (an hour commute home), hopped into bed and snuggled up like it was any other work night. 4 Hours later my alarm was going again signaling me to get back to the office to finish up the week. 8 full hours at work, and then it was home for the weekly Meding family movie night. I sort of managed to stay awake (don’t ask my wife though) for the Smurfs – my daughters always get to choose the flik. Once the kids were in bed I decisively took a nap for 2 hours.
I arose on Friday evening now rested. I had about 3.5 hours till midnight when my volunteer shift would start back out at Jackalope where I’d help runners through the night. I can’t recall exactly when the idea was sparked but I thought I could get more miles in and see how far I could actually get. Back to the ranch now I raced and got in another 12.25 mi of running before I had to stop to start my volunteering. The night was cold and crisp. It was a chore to stay warm while not running. I was bundled in my puffy jacket and gloves as I poured cups of warm soup, coffee, and hot chocolate for the runners still clicking the miles away – these relentless souls were 36 hours in at this point. The sun finally rose bringing a hint of warmth with it and the end of my 8 hour shift at the aid station.
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| Rounding the "cone of death" out at Jackalope Jam 72 hr at the 7IL Ranch in Cat Spring, TX Photo: JJustis Photography, Trail Racing Over Texas |
I got in touch with my wife and informed her I’d have a nap before deciding when I would head home. Crawled into my passenger seat of my car piled on extra layers and fell asleep for 2 hours of rest. I awoke to a beautiful Saturday morning. The atmosphere on the ranch convinced me to continue running. I messaged my wife and told her I’d be home a little later. Run part iii, included another 3.5 hours of running that got me 20.05 mi more done, a total now of 64.5 mi. I was tired.
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| Volunteer shirt at the aid station from Saturday 00:00-08:00. It was a cold one, I would have rather been running/moving to keep warm. But I had fun helping my fellow runners by providing hot soup, potatoes, and some quesadillas. |
Drove home and was there in time for another family dinner. I tried to be as present as I could with the kids during this time but honestly not sure how alert and successful I was at this, now totaling only 9 hours of sleep since Thursday morning. After getting the kids to bed and a somewhat routine Saturday night I informed Katie that I just had to get back out and chase that 100 mi buckle. She knew I already had my mind made up a day or more earlier – she often knows me better than I do myself at times.
A third commute to the 7IL Ranch and I was there once again lacing up my shoes for yet another night run. I had it in my head it was just another 50 km to go, but clearly the sleep deprivation was causing me to do stupid runner math, even though I wasn’t running when I had this calculation. By this time into the race the 72 hour participants were going on 60 hours and counting. Technically so was I, but in a whole different set of circumstances. I played some podcasts and just kept making the trips to and from the cone of death as the hours ticked by. Eventually I was counting down the final loops needed: 5, 4, 3, 2, and done! A longer night than anticipated I completed my last 38.39 mi in 7h 20m which put my finish right around 04:00. I still had 5 hours left on the race cutoff, but I elected to collect my 100 mi buckle and crawl into my car for a nap.
A quick 1 hour power nap and I was alert enough to safely travel home where I arrived just before sunrise. Hopped into bed waiting for the inevitable wake up from my kids that was to come shortly. Somewhere around this time the official race cutoff was occurring back at 7IL Ranch. But I wouldn’t have it any other way! I got to be home with my family all day Sunday after Katie let me sleep for a few extra hours.
Who says you can’t get in a 100 miler, work, and volunteer at the same time? Well now I know you can if you put the circumstances in your favor. A timed event was just what I needed to get myself another 100 mi buckle.
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| 100 mi buckle - crafted by Elevation Culture. |
Final Stats:
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| Gnatt chart of my weekend timeline. Rounded to nearest hours so not completely accurate but close enough. Who says you can't fit in 2 works shifts, 1 volunteer shift, and 100 miles all within the 72 hour time limit. |
72:00:00 race time | 56:12:17 total time* | 17:33:44 run time**
*time from when I started run1 until I finished run4
**run time as per STRAVA race time which includes the breaks within the 4 runs, but not between the 4 runs
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Thank you for following along.
I inserted this race into my schedule last minute but worked out great training for Chattanooga 100.
I inserted this race into my schedule last minute but worked out great training for Chattanooga 100.
Next up: Chattanooga 100 mi (2020-03-06)
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