Jackpot 24 hour loop race

On a cold sunny Saturday morning I toed the line just outside of Sin City in Cornerstone park. At first look I thought this course was ugly and it was going to be a long day.  But as the miles passed on, I found the hidden treasure in every corner.  

I have been wanting to get back to loop races for some time.  They are different and you can run as much or little as you want.  You pass the same people again and again.  You get to know some of them and become friends. You help each other through the hard times.  Just a little smile fuels the fire within. That was Meile the super girl, and Mosi my brother from another mothaw for me. I met them early in the race but only got to run with them for brief moments. They were both running the 100 miler on a 1.17 mile loop and my 2.5 mile loop crossed paths here and there.  I would see them from a far and yell at them and they would do the same. They may never know how much they helped me. Miranda also always had a big smile on her face.  

Down to the dirt 

The course is 45% groomed dirt trail, 45 asphalt, 5% grass and 5% bridges. Each lap has 80 ft of ascent/descent. But it felt like more. Over 100 miles you would get 4,000 ft of vert. My favorite part was in the last quarter mile.  You get off the pavement on to a dirt single track with a rocky path next to the lake. Lots of tall plants like a marsh. It made me feel like in a different place close to home in the Rockies.  

I ran the first 2 laps faster than planned to get the speed out of system. Then back it up to a 9-930 pace. My knees hurt off and on for the first few hours.  I have had some problems with patella tendonitis for some time. I started to get down and doubt myself. Threw on some tunes and it gave me a 2nd wind.  I had at least 8 of those throughout the race.  A song by Shine down called Demons did the trick.  There will always be ups and downs in an ultra race. I had plenty of tricks to fight back. Music, high fives or low fives, Mt Dew, cheering others on, complementing others outfits, yelling encouragement to someone far away, and my favorite Mt Dew.  

I ran the first half marathon in 2:01 and marathon in 4:07. Then clicked off the 50k in 4:55 and 50 miles in 8:13. Time was flying by. 100 k in 10:36 and now I am almost half way done with my race. The next mile stone was the big one. I finish 100 miles in 18:05. New PR in the 100 miler for me by 1 hour and 25 mins.  If I running the 100 miler (not the USATF 100 miler) I could have won it and brought home $500.  No money for the 24 or 48 hour. I was there to run as many miles as I could in 24 hours.  

Most of the time my nutrition plan was to.....well I never had a plan.  I just eat what I wanted and drank lots of Mountain Dew. This time things were different.  I have been testing with Maurten gels and 320 drink mix during my last few races. I plan to use the drink mix every 6 hours and gels about every hour. I also grazed at the aid station here and there.  The plan worked great until it didn’t.  Sometime in the middle of the night my gut went bad.  The last 5 hours of the race I fueled on boiled potato chunks, M&M pancakes, and Mt. Dew. The biggest thing I notest about Maurten was that I always had energy.  I was able to keep my leg turn over up throughout the whole race. Yes, my muscles felt sore but had tons of energy and never felt tired.   

With an hour and 10 mins to go I had 5 miles to reach my goal of 130 miles.  Could I make it? I had my doubts but still pushed on.  My new friend Oscar started to push on with me.  I had seen him during the race but never run together.  He ended up taking 2nd in the 24 hour race.  With time running out they gave me a bean bag with my race number on it.  They had buckets set out every half mile along the course. when the horn sounded time was up and I was to drop my bean bag in the nearest bucket.  Other loop races have opened a shorter loop like .25 of mile in the last hour to make every mile count.  I had my wife put on “The Mountain” by Three days grace for my final lap. 

“Every day I’m surviving 

Keep climbing the mountain 

Even when I feel like dying 

Keep climbing the mountain” 

I pushed and pushed every uphill. I gave it my all on every downhill and turn.  Until I had no more to give and I reached the end.  The race director told me “You have 6 more mins left. You have time to run another half mile”. I threw my bean bag down to the ground. Hell no, I'm done.  

I had met my goal of running 130 miles in 24 hours.  I finished first overall by 20 miles.  Set a new PR for 24 hours by 16 miles.  I may have set a new course record, results pending. But I couldn’t have done without my friends and family cheering me on, pushing me on workouts, and supporting me on my crazy dreams. A big thanks goes to Stazza’s Stable for all the help and guidance over the past months.  I have my wife and family to thank the most.  The countless miles I am gone on the weekends. They love me.