Last weekend, I successfully completed my second 100-mile event at the Rocky Raccoon 100-mile Endurance Run in Huntsville, Texas. Since my first one, I have received a lot of questions about exactly how it works to run 100-miles. So, rather than go through a standard step-by-step race report, I am dedicating this article to providing all of the grueling details of how I personally trained for and completed my second 100-mile run.
Dan Brenden and I at the Rocky Raccoon
Before running my first 100-miler last fall, I did a lot of reading about the various physiological issues with going beyond the marathon distance. I had a plan that ultimately carried me to the finish. However, even the most scientific plan must be tailored for each individual’s specific physical and emotional makeup. This is why the best ultra-runners are usually the ones with the most experience. Below is how I personally approached the Rocky Raccoon run, but with more than 250 people in the race, I guarantee that there were more than 250 different strategies. Here’s mine.
Race Planning
One of the things I enjoy most about ultra-running is the planning involved. To be successful on race day, you must have a solid nutrition and hydration plan, a good pacing plan, a plan for running at night, a plan for dealing with the weather, and also a plan for all of the unexpected things might happen along the way (and yes, unexpected things WILL happen). During a short running event, the difference between a good day and bad day could be just a few seconds or minutes. At a 100-mile run, the difference could be several hours or a DNF (did not finish). At Rocky, 1 of every 3 people dropped out before the finish. The dreaded DNF looms over every race.
Drop Bags
We were allowed 2 drop bags at the Rocky Raccoon. The course consisted of a 20-mile loop with some out-and-back sections, so we would have access to one of our drop bags about every 6-7 miles. I have found that deciding what to put into each drop bag is one of the most difficult parts of the planning phase. When will it rain? When will I need my night gear? How many batteries will I need to keep my lights on in the dark? What will the temperature be at 7:00am? What will it be at 2:00pm? At midnight? The best you can do is make an educated guess and then plan for the unexpected. Here is a detailed list of what I put in my drop bags:
- Extra Clothes – 6 shirts, 3 sun hats, 5-pairs of socks, 2-pairs of shoes, 2-pairs of pants
- Weather Gear – 2 warm hats, 3-pairs gloves, 2 hand-warmers, 2 ponchos, 2 jackets
- First Aid – Motrin, ankle brace, athletic tape, sewing kit
- Night Gear – Headlamp, 2 flashlights, extra batteries
- Food – 25 gel packets, 6 sports bars, 6 electrolyte capsules, 2 bags choc espresso beans
- Drinks – 1 gallon Perpetuem, ½ gallon apple juice w/ Super Food supplement
- Other – 6 bandanas, 2 towels, body glide, sunscreen, chapstick, MP3 player, sunglasses
Nutrition and Hydration
Most of the research out there shows that a well-trained runner can store enough glycogen in their muscles to make it about 22-24 miles. Given this, it is critical to take in enough carbohydrates during an event to cover the difference. It is also critical to stay fully-hydrated. Once dehydration sets in, it can be almost impossible to recover and still finish without putting yourself at risk for other serious issues.
I estimate that it takes about 18,000 calories for me to run 100-miles. However, it would be impossible to consume this amount of food while running without becoming seriously nauseous. The nutrition plan becomes a fine balancing act between eating and drinking enough without upsetting your stomach. I have found that I can eat about 250 calories per hour and drink about 20 ounces of fluid per hour.
When it comes to selecting food, I believe that your body is programmed to know what it needs. When arriving at an aid station, food that I would normally find repulsive looks really good, whereas food that I normally love doesn’t look good at all. I try to go with what looks tasty as long as my basic hydration needs are being met. Here is an estimate of what I actually consumed during the Rocky Raccoon run:
- 4.5 gallons of fluid – roughly 20% Perpetuem, 50% Gatorade, and 30% water
- 10 gel packets – usually I take more of these, but they weren’t sitting well this time
- 2 breakfast burritos
- 1 ham and cheese sandwich
- 1 cheese quesadilla
- 4 cups of chicken noodle soup
- 3 baked potatoes, cut up and dipped in salt
- 1 can Pringle’s potato chips
- 6 cups of pretzels
- 8 Oreo cookies
- 1 cup of gummy bears
- 2 cups of animal crackers
- 2 cups of mixed nuts
- 4 cups cantaloupe
- 2 cups honeydew
- 8 strawberries
- 1 cup chocolate-covered espresso beans
Pacing Strategy
Patience is the key to an effective pacing strategy. Like any running race, you must adjust your pace for the distance. Just like you can’t run a marathon as fast as you could run a 10k, you can’t run 100-miles as fast as you can a marathon. The big secret here is that almost no one actually “runs” the entire 100-miles. Most of the pacing strategy revolves around how fast to run and how often and how long to walk.
I enjoy shorter races as much as I do the ultra-distance runs. Thus, I tend to run at a faster pace than most ultra-runners but walk more often. If I were to focus my training on running continuously for 100-miles, my pace would be too slow for me to stay competitive at the shorter distances. At the Rocky Raccoon, my pacing strategy could be summarized as follows:
- Run at a 8-9 minute per mile pace, when possible
- Walk for 10-15 minutes after eating
- Walk the up-hills and run the down-hills and flats
- Walk when dealing with issues such as nausea, blisters, muscle pain, etc.
- Just keep moving forward, no matter what the speed
The key for me is to be in tune with how my body is doing and know when it is okay to run and when I should walk. It’s difficult to set specific parameters beforehand because you go through so many cycles of feeling bad only to be followed up by a period of feeling good. I ran about 80% of the first 40-miles, but then my knee started hurting from an injury I incurred a couple of months ago. I also was becoming quite nauseous and knew that I was starting to get dehydrated. As a result, I power-walked about 70% of the next 45-miles. I was finally able to pull it together and run most of the last 15-miles. Here’s a list of my split times for each 20-mile loop:
- Lap 1 – 3:37:22
- Lap 2 – 4:01:34
- Lap 3 – 4:38:29
- Lap 4 – 5:09:54
- Lap 5 – 4:40:23
I took about a 5-10 minute break between each lap to do things like use the restroom, change socks, and replenish my water bottles. My final finish time was just over 23-hours. I was originally hoping to finish a bit faster than I did, but I believe I did the best I could given my current training level and the weather conditions. It was much more humid than most of us were prepared for, so I wasn’t the only one dealing with nausea issues.
Night Running
Since it is in the middle of winter, daylight is a premium. In addition, the dense forest adds at least 30-minutes of darkness after sunrise and before sunset. More than half of my time on the trail at Rocky Raccoon was spent in the dark. The trail is in relatively good shape, but there are several sections that are full of rocks and/or tree roots.
I have found that I can run most efficiently with two separate light sources hitting the trail each at a different angle. I wear a high-powered LED lamp on my head and carry a high-powered LED flashlight. This provides a sort of stereoscopic vision that makes it easier to determine the exact location and height of each obstacle on the trail. I also carry a small LED flashlight in my pack that I can use as a backup, if necessary.
The night before the race, I purchased a package of extra batteries without giving much thought to how many I would need. About 45-minutes after the race started, both my headlamp and my flashlight went dead. I replaced the batteries to get through the morning and then stashed them in one of my drop bags for me to pick up before dark in the evening.
I found out how long my flashlight lasts when it went dead again after 4-hours in the evening. I replaced the batteries with my final set of spares. I now had a serious issue. I knew that I would be out on the course for 5-6 more hours but only had 4-hours of life on my flashlight. My headlamp was still working, but I had no idea how much longer that would last. In addition, I didn’t know how much life my backup flashlight had in it and I was out of spare batteries for that one also.
Out on the trail, I turned off all my lights for a moment to see what I would be dealing with if all of my lights went dead. It was frightening. Not only could I not see the trail, I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. The forest is dense, there was no moon, and the sky was overcast with clouds. I had to figure out a way to make sure I had at least one working light until I made it to the finish.
I began using only one light at a time in order to stretch as much time out of my 4-hour flashlight that I could. I would use my headlamp whenever I was walking and then switch to my flashlight whenever I would run. Without both lights, I stubbed my toes and got tripped up on the roots several times, but I somehow managed to get by without turning an ankle. Next time, I’m not going to skimp on the extra batteries.
An interesting side note to all of this, when I was unpacking my drop bags today after getting back home, I pulled out a bag full of extra batteries. I now remember packing them, but I certainly didn’t remember it during the race. I’ve read that when your muscles start to become depleted, your body diverts glycogen from your brain. No permanent harm comes from this, but it does make it difficult to think clearly at the time. Perhaps next time I should carry a list of my drop bag contents with me during the race.
Training
I saved the training section for last since it probably makes more sense now that I’ve laid out my particular race-day strategy. In general, I try to run 40-60 miles per week. This includes at least one speed workout, one hill workout, and one long-run of 15-30 miles. In addition, I try to power-walk about 15-20 miles per week.
The biggest change I’ve made in my training program since moving into the ultra-distances is to spend more time power-walking. Even when I’m not able to run during a 100-miler, I can still move forward at a respectable pace while walking. There were even several instances at the Rocky Raccoon when I was “walking” and passed someone else who was “running”.
The longest training run I completed leading up to the Rocky Raccoon was 30-miles. With a family and a job, I simply can’t afford to spend all weekend running. I did a 50-mile trail race about 6-weeks before as a “dry run” to help refine my planning and get some additional distance training. I also tapered my mileage for 3-weeks leading up to the big event.
Recovery
It is quite entertaining to observe all the runners the morning after a 100-mile run. Rather than highly-trained athletes, it looks more like a field trip from the local nursing home. Everyone is shuffling around like they should be wearing a robe and slippers. The best part is during the awards ceremony when a person who just covered 100-miles can barely walk 20-yards to get their prize.
My biggest issue from Rocky Raccoon seems to be some nasty blisters on the bottoms of my feet. I received a great book for Christmas about preventing and dealing with blisters, but I haven’t got around to reading it yet. I read enough yesterday to learn that the reason I got these blisters is because I didn’t properly take care of the ones I earned at my first 100-mile run.
My feet and muscles will probably feel better by the end of this week. However, it can take 6-8 weeks for my endocrine system to fully recover. This means that when I go out for a run, I’ll feel fine, but my body will just be generally sluggish. I’ve heard that this time gets shorter after each event.
During the Rocky Raccoon run, I asked myself several times why I was doing this and swore that I wouldn’t do it again. However, even now as I sit here with my swollen and blistered feet, I’m already thinking about how I can refine my plan and do better for the next one. What’s even stranger is that I guarantee there are 251 other people who started this year’s Rocky Raccoon who are thinking the same thing, especially the 85 who did not finish.
