Race report on the Lean Horse 100, Hot Springs, SD, August 27-28, 2010
If there was a “state pastime” in South Dakota, it would be biking. No, not Cannondale or Treks. We’re talking Hogs. Fat Boys. Gold Wings. The famous Sturgis motorcycle rally was a couple of weeks earlier and drew an estimated 400,000 bikers. Helmet law? Naaaah (18 and over, that is). The town of Hot Springs, SD is about 90 miles south of Sturgis and is the host city for the Lean Horse Ultramarathons. At least on this weekend, runners were also welcome in South Dakota.
Hot Springs is a small town, with a population is only about 4,100. But even more telling? There’s no Wal-Mart. And no McDonalds. But there are taverns, which reflect the motorcycle influence:
Bikers welcome in this local watering hole.
And this one. I hope my Blue Moon with an orange wasn't too sissy for the local biker crowd.
Even more telling was the first sign I saw when entering the Best Western motel:
Match this, Ritz-Carlton!
On to the race……
Background
The Lean Horse races include a 100 miler, a 50 miler and a 50k. The 100 and 50 mile events each begin at 6 AM on Saturday, work their way though town for a couple of miles, then traverse the hilly, graveled Argyle Road to about the 16 mile mark. The course then picks up the Mickelson Trail, a rails to trails conversion. The 50 mile runners head to the 25 mile marker and reverse course, while the 100 milers head out 34 miles to the 50 mile turnaround. The Mickelson Trail is a nearly ideal running surface of finely crushed rock. Grades are gradual, and the course grinds gently uphill to the 42 mile mark, then descends to the turnaround. Aid stations are roughly every five miles.
Given its friendly terrain, Lean Horse is considered an “easy” 100. However, it is held in South Dakota in late August, and heat was a factor for the second straight year. Runners were greeted on Friday with temperatures hitting 105. Conditions did cool to a high of 95(!) on Saturday. Coincidentally, these were almost identical conditions to those a year ago.
Despite my advanced age (54) my ultra experience is pretty light. This was my seventh 100 started, finishing five of the previous six. I had run my first sub 24 here a year ago with a surprising 21:53….a nearly four hour PR at the time. I subsequently ran Javelina in 23:00 and Rocky in 23:01 before a DNF at Bighorn two months earlier. Until the DNF, I thought I was getting a handle on the demands of the event, from food to pacing to attitude. Bighorn proved that wrong, particularly with the “mental toughness” part. I really did not want a second consecutive DNF here.
My game plan was pretty simple: mix in liberal doses of walking (approximately half, measured by time) from the start, keep moving forward and don’t mess around at aid stations. I even followed the advice of Karl King and Phil Maffetone and walked the first 10 minutes, with the idea of letting the muscles warm up completely. The math sorta works out as follows. Walk five of every 10 minutes at a pace of 13-14 minutes per mile. Run the remaining five minutes at a pace of 9:30 or so per mile. This works out to about 11 minutes per mile. Add in some aid station time, and you get maybe 12 minutes per mile or five miles per hour. This would obviously slow in the later miles and at night.
Last year stomach woes plagued me in this event. Over the last couple of events I thought I had this figured out: fruit. I had begun packing fruit (grapes, oranges, apples) in my drop bags and had not had serious stomach issues in recent events. So I followed the same procedure this year. It would not work this time.
The event starts and ends at the Mueller Center in Hot Springs. The Best Western was literally next door…..I could get ready in my room and walk over for check in.
General milling around and nervousness before the start
The early miles (1-30)
What’s not to like about the first miles of a long run? The weather was pleasant enough for the 6 AM start, with temperatures at around 70 degrees. My slow start placed me well back in the group, but that was fine. We worked our way through town and out to Argyle Road. The first stretch is very pleasant and wanders through South Dakota farm country. The early miles are always fun and relaxed. I spent time talking with a number of runners from all around the country, with a healthy contingent from nearby Midwestern states.
Argyle Road traversing the farm country.
The first sixteen miles heading to the Mickelson Trail passed uneventfully. I did see a guy wearing VFFs on that gravel. He’s one tough hombre! I filled my bandanna with ice, ate some grapes and some solid food, then hit the Mickelson Trail and headed north.
The long, straight Mickelson Trail.
The temperatures did not stay down, of course. The Trail has very little shade and is a gentle grind higher for much of the outbound trip. I generally kept my pace and remained reasonably comfortable even as my stomach was beginning to rebel. I hit the 30 mile aid station in 5:57, right on pace, but wishing some type of food or sports drink would become appealing.
The “diva” miles (30-65)
There’s a Snickers commercial where a guy on a road trip turns into a diva when he’s hungry….cranky, whiney, etc. (The diva is played by Aretha Franklin). All it takes is for the guy to eat a Snickers to quell his hunger, and he’s back to normal. I’m pretty sure that’s an accurate description of me with stomach problems in an ultra. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to find an easy solution. By mile 30, my food consumption was down to some fruit at aid stations and hydration was water.
While known as an easy course, there are some stretches that can be kind of a grind. From Herbach Park (mile 35) to Crazy Horse (mile 42) the trail climbs slowly and relentlessly. For me, this was between about 1 and 2:30 PM, in the relative heat of the day. My lack of nutrition seemed to be taking a toll as my pace slowed into the turnaround, hitting the 50 mile mark in 10:08. I tried a couple of Tums at about the midway point, which seemed to help a little. I was feeling, well, like a diva…..kind of disgusted and sorry for myself. Best that I was running alone, with no crew.
At times the Mickelson Trail feels very rural with no houses or cars in sight. Near the turnaround, a busy highway is a few hundred feet away.
On the way to Crazy Horse.
A road sign informing drivers there's 41 miles to Hot Springs. Actually, there's 48, at a time I preferred not to think about it!
As an out-and-back, the runners retrace their steps from the turnaround, starting with the eight mile climb up to Crazy Horse. When I hit the 60 mile aid station, I saw there was soup available. Maybe some hot chicken noodle soup would help….what could it hurt? I sat in a chair and downed a cup. Instead of helping, as I finished it there was the unmistakable feeling that this wasn’t staying down. I managed to get across the trail from the aid station and barfed up…..well, whatever. I collected myself at the side of the trail for a minute before slithering off towards Herbach Park and the 65 mile mark. I actually felt much better after this episode, nutrition issues aside. Strangely, my thoughts turned to the Seinfeld episode where Jerry’s multi-year non-vomit streak was felled by a bad black and white cookie (the “Farrakahn / David Duke” cookie). My more modest streak (since Javelina 2008) had also ended abruptly.
The night miles (65-100)
The night miles in the latter stages of a hundred can be a fun, quiet, beautiful trip, or it can be a death march. At this point I was guessing the latter.
The next aid station was about when darkness was falling. I grabbed my headlamp, hat, flashlight and iPod Shuffle, changed into a dry shirt and ate a cup of tomato soup. Last year, tomato soup was my salvation from ongoing stomach problems, and I was really hoping it would do the same this year. The weather had become cool and cloudy. The aid station worker said there was a 30% chance of rain, and offered me a poncho provided by the race director. I had a trash bag in a drop bag 12 miles away, so I turned down the offer. Of course, I got a mile outside the aid station and the wind changed and a cold rain started. Man, if this lasted for a couple of hours I was going to get cold.
Instead, the rain stopped and the cool temperatures remained. There was a lightning show for the next couple of hours, but the storms stayed to the east. I worked my way between the aid stations, downing tomato soup and Mountain Dew at each. My pace varied as did my energy levels. By the end of the Mickelson Trail (mile 84) I was feeling pretty good, managing to eat some delicious watermelon before heading off on Argyle Road back towards Hot Springs.
The last 16 miles were downright pretty. A nearly full moon illuminated the starlit sky. The air was crisp and pleasant. There were no runners around me, although one crew vehicle kept leap-frogging me, driving ahead and waiting for their runner. I kept a steady pace on through town and hit the finish at 22:04.
Race director Jerry Dunn provides greetings at my 4 AM finish.
Final ramblings
The gravel on Argyle Road just beat the crap out of my feet. Note to self: wear trail shoes in this event……After all my food woes, I decided to do some “Bizarro World” dining Sunday morning, i.e., stuff I don’t generally eat. So I went to Dales Family Restaurant and had a bacon, egg and cheese omelet, hash browns and a cinnamon roll covered with icing. It was fabulous!………The winner of this event was in my 46-55 age group. Mike Vance, 47, of Omaha NE smoked in with a 15:25, two plus hours ahead of anyone else! I thought my time was respectable at 17th overall, but was only sixth in my age group……Jerry Dunn, the RD, makes a real effort to give Lean Horse a “family” feel, and it works. Jerry is a heckuva nice guy, and I highly recommend the Lean Horse event.
Startslow's Blog 