All of the hills were runable if you wanted to run this faster, but that wasn’t our plan. Some rocks, some roots, some fire road, some pine needle covered trail, some wooden bridges and almost never anything flat. The terrain, if not for about 8 sections of mud that you hit on the out, and back, was hilly and great
#Rocky racoon 100 updates series#
The loops weren’t really loops, but a series of out and backs. My goal this year is the Leadville trail 100 in August, so this race was all about Jon and getting us to a successful finish. Pacing my friend Jon, an emergency medicine physician in New Orleans and former 2:40s marathoner to his 1st 100 miler was a joy. It was Groundhog Day after all, and, having just finished The Dark Tower series, it felt as if “time is funny ‘round here.” It was this stinking 4.2 mile out and back stretch on the far end of the loop that literally felt like 5 miles the 2nd time, 8 miles the 3rd time and never truly ended the last go around. It wasn’t the fact that I was undertrained for the event with my longest run being 6 hours and 29.5 miles just over 2 weeks before. What made this race uncomfortable wasn’t the mud, there was a lot. The race itself was well organized, terrific vibe and the weather was perfect. I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted a race to end more than this one. Always a challenge and always a blessing. It is such an honor to keep the Rocky Raccoon torch going.Another 100, another buckle. There are so many people and sponsors to thank. It was fun watching delirious finishers try to make their decision as to which buckle they wanted.Īll in all, this event was as beautiful as always, creating more friendships from around the world once again. I brought all the old buckles that Joe had handed off to me from the last 25 years, which included a few design changes. We also offered first-time Rocky Raccoon 100 finishers the option to choose a “Legacy Buckle” if they wanted, to welcome them into our Tejas tribe. We allowed runners to bring me their old buckles and engraved their names onto the back of them. We also started a new tradition by creating new dinner-plate sized buckles, some with “500 miles” and some with “1000 miles” on them. To celebrate the anniversary we brought back the original shirt design with the goofy looking raccoon peering through the race name. We had 10 finishers in the 60+ age range finish the event this year, including Michael Kloppy at 66 years young, with a sub-24 at 23:17:57! Top finishers like Urbanski came back around to cheer on those finishing up in the early morning hours. Joe Prusaitis, crewed by his wife, Joyce Prusaitis, after getting his first Rocky Raccoon finish since 2002. They had owned and directed the race from 2002 until 2015. Many things made this 25th anniversary race extra special, like seeing Joe Prusaitis, crewed by his wife, Joyce Prusaitis, getting his first Rocky Raccoon finish since 2002.
Third place woman was Ashley Truan at 19:22:04, fourth place was Alison Miller at 20:14:40, and fifth woman was Chavet Breslin in 21:36:49. After being sick just days before, Shandra Moore held onto second overall on the women’s side at 18:16:33. Her time of 16:50:01 was good enough for another Rocky 100 win. She crossed the line staring at the ground, obviously (and inspiringly) giving it all she had. She did decide to finish it, but lost the use of her lower back muscles toward the end. But as she came through the main aid station at mile 60, she told us she wasn’t sure if she could go on. On the women’s side, Sabrina Little went out like a tornado blasting through the aid stations and trails. Marcy Beard after checking in the night before the start.
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Fifth place went to Chad Lasater in 15:28:27. Mario Mendoza put together a great race, taking fourth overall and second in the USATF Championships, further proving he’s a force to be reckoned with from fast sub-ultras to 100-milers. Matthew Urbanski wound up in third overall at 14:04:08. Ronnie Delzer found his way into second place, and ended up first for the USATF Champs (13:44:28). Although his lead shrunk and grew a few times, he did hold on for the win in 13:39:13. Not too long after, Mario Macias, who was looking easy and joyful early on, had to throw in the towel.Įventually, James Stewart, representing Glasgow, Scotland, fell into a steady pace and grew his lead. Zach Bitter came in with a swollen ankle without the ability to put any weight on it. On into the race, one runner after another started dropping out. The lead woman went from looking indestructible to almost stopping. The forecast went from hot and rainy to dry, overcast and cool. That seemed to be the only thing that stayed consistent this year. This year was also very special as it was the 25th anniversary of the race. Rocky Raccoon 100, presented by Altra, enjoyed the privilege of hosting the USATF 100-mile National Trail Championships once again.
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