Race report on the Lean Horse Hundred, August 27-28, 2011
My mentor.
I’m a relative newbie to ultra running, but I’ve discovered one thing: I don’t do well in hot weather. I’ve run Lean Horse twice before. It was hot both times, I had stomach problems and felt like crap during the day. I signed up again. This exchange from “The Couch” episode from Seinfeld pretty well explains the logic gap:
JERRY: You’re not very bright, are you?
GEORGE: No, I’m not. I would like to be, but I’m not.
More and more I feel like George Costanza–a dim-witted bald man working his way through life (and in my case, through ultra running).
The Lean Horse Hundred is run along the Mickelson Trail starting in Hot Springs, SD. It’s generally considered an “easy” 100, with an ideal running surface and limited / gradual elevation gains and losses. Plus, it’s almost impossible to get lost or make a wrong turn. (“Almost” being the key word.) Race director Jerry Dunn is a really nice guy, and works hard to promote a family atmosphere, as in the “Lean Horse family,” or more broadly the “ultra running family.” There are a lot of first-timers in the event each year.
For those flying to the race, Rapid City is the closest major airport, about an hour north. I selected early flights out of Kansas City, which seem to have a better chance of on-time arrival than those later in the day. As a result, I landed in Rapid City at about 9:30 AM on Friday. Rather than head directly to Hot Springs (a town so small there is no McDonalds or Wal Mart) I hung around Rapid City for a bit, getting some food and last minute supplies. I remembered a very nice neighborhood park from a previous trip, and lounged in the shade before heading to Hot Springs.
The race headquarters is the Mueller Center, kind of an all-purpose facility and the site of check-in, pre-race briefing and the finish line. Jerry provided an update on the course change for 2011. In the past two years, the course had started at the Mueller Center, then headed out of town five miles to Argyle Road for another 11 miles before picking up the Mickelson Trail. That version of the course was a pure out-and-back. This year the start was moved to the Minnekahta trailhead a few miles out of town. This would provide more time on the Trail itself, but would require taking a spur trail in the town of Custer and moving the turnaround to Hill City to achieve the 100 mile distance. The return trip followed the previous version, taking Argyle Road and winding through town. The revised start location would also require buses, scheduled to leave at 5:15 AM.
Jerry’s update was uneventful. He queried how anyone could get lost or make a wrong turn on such a well-marked trail. I almost raised my hand to explain, having sailed past the 95 mile turnoff to Hot Springs two years ago. Hell, it was 3 AM, dark and my mind was fuzzy…..that’s how you make a wrong turn. Jerry also noted that sometimes “shit happens” out on the trail, and you just have to go with it.
Cuisine from “Chez Pizza Hut” for pre-race pasta and an early bedtime marked Friday evening in Hot Springs. I again stayed at the Best Western directly next door to the Mueller Center, very convenient for the start and finish. The first snag in the race occurred pre-start: the buses that were supposed to leave at 5:15 AM didn’t show. This has to be an RD’s worst nightmare. But, as Jerry said, shit happens. We all carpooled to the start. (I believe the buses ultimately arrived at the Mueller Center–apparently there was some confusion over the departure time.)
Runners getting last minute instructions at the Minnekahta trailhead.
The predawn weather was pleasant, but it was apparent it would warm up quickly. As is my current practice, I started out walking for the first 10 minutes, putting me close to the back of the pack in the early going. Out on the trail, pretty scenery, feeling good. Who could ask for more? I was very thankful for the opportunity to participate.
Sunrise on the Mickelson Trail.
An early morning trek through the South Dakota prairie.
I’d opted to use a large capacity Camelbak for the first time during a race. A two-bottle waist belt had been my previous choice, but I got tired of the extra weight around my midsection. Plus I’d run out of water one year between aid stations. To avoid carrying the extra weight of the Camelbak the whole way, I opted for a single handheld in the cool temps until the Pringle aid station (16.3 miles), then picked up the Camelbak. It was already getting warm at 9:15 AM when Pringle arrived.
One more view of the early race scenery.
The course generally grinds upwards until about the 38 mile mark, drops to the turnaround then climbs back up. With the out and back, the peak is at about the 55 mile mark, with the course then gradually dropping to the finish. For me, the toughest part of the course was probably the stretch from Harbach Park (28.7 miles outbound) in Custer to the Mountain aid station (37.2 miles). This portion included the Custer spur trail, and as a result the distance between aid stations was about 9.5 miles (albeit with an unmanned water bottle after the spur trail). At my pace, this stretch was done in about the noon – 2PM time frame. It was hot from the outset, and temperatures continued to rise. At Harbach I’d been able to get some food down, primarily fruit. As the afternoon ground on, the familiar “nothing looks good” feeling was there. My first thoughts of dropping were in this part of the course–I felt that bad and it was still only 2 PM! But I knew that a downhill and cooler temperatures would ultimately arrive, and I kept slogging on. Slowly.
This innocuous looking trail was a hot grind in the early afternoon.
Sure enough, we reached the high point at Crazy Horse and started heading downhill. There’s a bit of shade on this portion of the course, and additionally a cloud cover appeared. Temperatures dropped, and even a few drops of rain fell! I thought we might have caught a break…..but the clouds cleared up and we were back in the sunshine and heat. My aid station stops were limited to ice for my bandana, ice water for the Camelbak and some Coke on ice for refreshments. No sports drink and no food….my stomach was seemingly on strike. I hit the halfway point at about 10:45 elapsed time, about 30 minutes slower than the last couple of years.
Keith Straw of Malvern, PA heading back while I was still outbound. Dude in a pink tutu kicked my butt and finished third overall!
The climb back up towards Crazy Horse and the Mountain aid station was long and warm, with the sun hanging stubbornly in the sky. I covered much of this stretch with Stephanie James, an Auburn grad with multiple graduate level degrees. It’s always fun to talk to other runners, especially when you feel like crap. I kept telling myself it would cool down and I’d feel better. Last year I’d barfed in the Mountain aid station, but this rather seamy exercise marked a turning point when I started feeling better. I was hitting this aid station a bit later in the day this year and was hoping history would repeat itself. I had some noodle soup and Coke….and everything stayed down! What’s the old saying? “Thank God for small favors”?
The Mountain to Harbach Park is the opposite of the outbound route, except it skips the Custer spur. In contrast to the hot slog uphill, this was a very pleasant part of the race. Darkness falling, cooler temps and a gentle downhill. I was preparing for a pleasant evening heading back to Hot Springs.
Darkness beginning to fall, downhill on a gentle surface. Life is good again. Isn't it?
Harbach Park was planned as a major aid station for me. A change of shirts, a band-aid for a blister (one of three on my toes) and exchanging my Camelbak for another handheld. I had a cup of hot tomato soup and was ready to keep going.
The famous ultra saying goes something like, “It never always gets worse…but sometimes it does.” As it turned out, my hopes of a strong finish were not to be. I headed out of Harbach and within a mile felt…..well, rather urgent lower gastrointestinal distress. It was a bit like what happened to George as he described it in the “Chinese Restaurant” episode: “And I begin to perceive this impending… intestinal requirement, whose needs are going to surpass by great lengths anything in the sexual realm. So I know I’m gonna have to stop. And as this is happening I’m thinking, even if I can somehow manage to momentarily…extricate myself from the proceedings and relieve this unstoppable force, I know that that bathroom is not gonna provide me with the privacy that I know I’m going to need…” Fortunately, in my case it was dark by now, there was no one around and plenty of weeds off course. My privacy requirements were met, and I continued on.
Carrol Creek, famous for grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, was the next aid station at 69.4 miles. I rambled in sometime around 10PM and sat in a chair while the nice volunteers provided me with the house specials. It tasted pretty good and went down pretty well until…..that awful feeling that, “this ain’t staying down” hit. I lurched out of the chair to the edge of the aid station and had a rather violent episode of nausea. Embarrassingly, I’ve barfed in a number of aid stations in different races. Most notably, no one even says anything! I guess it’s just part of volunteering in the late miles of an ultra. I had brief thoughts that I might have to drop at 70 miles, which I absolutely did not want to do. I slogged off down the trail, determined to finish and to never run another 100.
The Pringle aid station was next at 76 miles. Water and out. Here I became confused about the next aid station. I knew at the Argyle aid station we would drop off the Mickelson Trail and head down Argyle Road towards Hot Springs. I hit the Lime Kiln aid station convinced in my 80-mile fatigue that this was Argyle. I started to head off on a gravel road, thinking it was Argyle Road. It took three people (one crew member and two runners) to convince me to head back down the Trail. After a couple of miles, it dawned on me the Argyle aid station was still to come. Duh.
Of course, we did (finally) hit Argyle Road. I remembered how hilly the damn thing is. Additionally, we were treated to a lightening show in the middle of the night, although the rain stayed away. This time, I was watching for the 95 mile turnoff. Of course, as slow as I was moving, it would have been hard to miss. I switched off my headlamp and turned on my flashlight for the return trip though Hot Springs.
As noted, Hot Springs is a small town. There is one primary road going through town, which I’ve probably driven 20 times. The official course, however, takes runners along bike paths and sidewalks rather than the road. It’s not terribly well marked, but there are flags and an occasional glow necklace to guide the runners. As I approached the turnoff to the Mueller Center, I saw RD Jerry Dunn. He was heading out to replace some glow sticks, but congratulated me and yelled where to turn off. Somehow, I missed the damn turn. I started roaming around the streets of Hot Springs, but couldn’t find the street with the Mueller Center, finding myself in parking lot of the Black Hills Credit Union instead. Took another pass, and still no luck. Finally, I saw what appeared to be pair of locals stopped at an ATM machine. I ran towards them, hoping to get some help with directions. In my haste, I stumbled over the curb and took a nasty fall in the bank parking lot, skinning my knee and elbow, with my light and water bottle scattering. (I think I also invented some new expletives). But I caught them before they got away, and got directions back to the finish. All in all, kind of a fitting wrap up for the event. Official time was 23:20, town tour included.
The finish of a 100 is always a lovely sight.
Facts and figures.
I finished 23rd out of 75 official finishers. I’m not sure the number of starters, but I believe it was something over 100. According to weather.com, the high in Hot Springs on Saturday was an even 100, although it may have been a bit cooler out on the Trail.
Wrong turns.
I ran with one guy (I didn’t get his name) with a pace pretty consistent with mine. In fact, we left the Custer spur trail about the same time (33 miles or so). The next time I saw him was post-turnaround, when he was a good five miles behind me. After the race, he explained he turned around too early, and didn’t discover it until after the five mile climb back up toward the Mountain aid station. Race officials drove him back down to the spot of his misfortune so he could continue the race…..thus resulting in five bonus miles. Good job to finish!
Final note.
Running 100 miles is really fun. Seriously.
To quote George one more time (from “The Beard”): Jerry, just remember. It’s not a lie… if you believe it.
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