This is an overdue post, but what the heck.

The weather in Michigan in May was mostly terrific for running, cool with nice breezes. So naturally I went down to Texas, where it was hot and humid, to attempt my next ultra. The High Hope Endurance Run website promised a really good time, so how could I turn that down?

Why? Well, the weekend of May 23 was the last one before my weekends were booked with working events until near the end of August. So if I wanted to run an out-of-state ultra this would be my last opportunity for a while. And with my DNF at Rocky Raccoon last year still bugging me, here was a chance for some redemption by adding Texas to the states where I have completed an ultra. So off to Glen Rose and the High Hope Ranch it was.

Thanks to my in-laws in Frisco who kindly put me up (and put up with me) when I wasn’t out there sweating on the trail!

From left: Me, John (a.k.a. “Guts”), his wife Julia, my nephew Nathan, and his wife Rayleigh.

My brother-in-law John told me a story from his high school swim team days. Following a long practice starting at 5:00 a.m., everyone would enjoy a long, hot shower. But sometimes the coach would come into the room and yell, “GUTS!!!” Which was an invitation to go right back into that pool for more laps. Optional – in theory – but eventually everyone went. That was how you showed you had the guts to push beyond your limits at a meet.

I went out the day before to scope the place. A good thing, because the ranch is big (as are most things in Texas) and it took some time to find my way to the race area. Once oriented and with my bib picked up, I went out for a short tuneup run on the loop. And promptly took a wrong turn, missing a turn arrow. I tried again, and got about a half-mile out before a cow and her calf blocked the path.

Not the actual cow and calf, but close enough. (Photo from this site.)

“You want to turn around here,” Mama told me, “and save your energy for tomorrow.” Arguing with a 1,000 lb. animal with horns is not prudent, so I did as instructed.

Thunderstorms had been expected for race start, but it thoughtfully came early, around 2:00 a.m., dumping instead on the 200K runners who started at midnight. 7:00 a.m. was cool and overcast, perfect start conditions. And off we went.

The 100K consisted of six loops of trails, each with a “Spirit” stage (7 miles) and “Sky” (3.5 miles), each stage starting and ending at the start/finish line. Spirit + Sky = one loop. Each stage began with a mowed cut through prairie grass, followed by descents into forested gullies and the climb back out.

Perfect running conditions! Until they weren’t.

Feeling good, I completed the first loop in under two hours, and the second not much slower. At this rate I was on PR pace! But if I’d learned one thing from last year’s Rocky Raccoon 100 experience, it was not to chase a time goal at the expense of risking a finish.

And starting on loop three, the sun came out, and it began to warm up. Fast. I don’t think it ever got above 85 degrees or so, but that southern sun coupled with the high humidity following the rain, and things got gnarly. On my fourth Spirit segment I had to slow down and walk it in, and spent about fifteen minutes at the start/finish to cool down and hydrate. Then back out onto yonder trail, but at a power hike instead of a run. This proved both sustainable and enjoyable, as I could better appreciate the fields of grasses and flowers, and the standing stone circle the route passed. Turns out this was built as a sacred space and was blessed by a Tibetan monk!

Image from the High Hope Ranch website.

For the next two loops I noticed very few other runners on the course. Had a bunch of them quit? Perhaps some did, but as I learned later, many runners simply retreated into their tents until sundown. With a 48-hour window, there was no reason to push it, if your goal was simply to finish.

Unless you’re me, of course.

So I kept going. And when the sun did go down and things cooled off, I felt good enough to pick it up again. At the start of my final loop, I paid homage to John and yelled, “GUUTTTSSS!!” at the top of my lungs, and took off running.

The back half of the loop has some punishing steep climbs, but thanks to my trainer Skip’s punishment at his gym, my legs were up to the challenge, as they’d been at the Black Bear last year. The worst part of the loop for me was the sight of the tents at the finish line when they were still a couple miles out. Even on my sixth and final loop, I couldn’t help thinking: will I ever get there?

And around 1:00 a.m., I did! And I got to ring the gong signaling I’d successfully completed my 100K. I gave it a good thwack and got a much bigger sound than I’d expected, so to anyone I woke up, I apologize. (Click to see and hear it.)

And pushing through it (carefully) earned me a nice result. My finish time was nothing remarkable for your typical 100K, but it earned me a spot in the top 10! Seventh out of 38 finishers.

P.S. Glen Rose is famous for being, “The Dinosaur Capital of Texas,” which is made obvious miles before you get there, with carved and inflatable dinos lining the road. Attractions there include Dinosaur Valley State Park with lots of fossils, and the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, where one can go on a Jeep tour and feed giraffes and other critters. (There is also a Creation Museum in the area, but hey, that’s Texas for you.)