Let me tell you upfront, I love this race. This is my second year running it and I'll probably do it every year going forward. It is run on a roughly 1/2 mile loop through the Clark Botanical Gardens outside of Mineral Wells, TX. If you like unique trees, plants, and flowers -- you would be in heaven out here. And yes, there are ducks -- but none chased me. All of the race proceeds go to the National Vietnam War Museum and many of the race volunteers are veterans of the war.
Here is what I really love about this race - it is a loop course and you get to hang out with all of your running buddies all day long. In a regular linear race, I say hello to everyone at the race start and then never see them again (because they are usually so far ahead of me!) In this race, you see everyone over and over as you leap frog each other. You get the chance to spend a moment or two chatting about how things are going, future races, and just catching up with people. It's great. And you get to see the race unfold right in front of you.
RD Tony Mathison puts on a terrific race. He and his daughter run several miles during the race so no one will finish in last place. Tony's energy throughout the day was infectious. He and his daughter did cheers for us, they put up funny signs (which Tony rotated throughout the day), and he learned everyone's name on the course. He's a classy guy.
The lap counters were mostly veterans of the Vietnam War. They sat out in the heat all day long and gave us encouragement with every lap completed. Thank you Jim and Emelia!My race was a more of the usual for me during a hot race. Stomach issues to battle mixed in with a little calf cramping. I finished with less miles than last year and I had to fight hard for every one of them after the fifth hour of this eight hour race. I tried a new fueling plan and ended up taking in too many calories for the first 5 hours of the race. I'm still struggling to find the right fueling mix for me during a hot race. The search continues.
There were several strong runners at this years race. Ryan, Chris, Matt, and Jeff battled it out all day long. It was really cool to watch it all unfold. In the end, Ryan ran something like 54 miles and smashed the record for the race. Very impressive -- he looked smooth all day long.
But my pick for the best race goes to my friend Josh. Josh has been battling serious back issues for the last year or so. He's had major surgery (you should see the scar on his back) and his running career is on hold for now. So he signed up as a walker for this race and did very well. It's amazing how many miles you can cover at a brisk walking pace.
Josh was struggling around hour seven (it was really hot and just about everyone was walking at this point) . He told me he was done and was going to sit down. I saw him head into the shade and sit down. I grabbed a bag of chips from my drop bag and ran with it a loop so I could throw it to him on my way back around. But when I got there, he was gone. He was back on the course. I am so proud of him for battling those demons and getting back on the course to finish it out. Congratulations, Josh!
