The Wild Hare 50 mile, 50K, 25K and 10K, formally known as the "Warda Cardiac," was held November 20 in Warda, Texas.
My wife Andreana and I wake up at 4:15 am. Coffee and gear in place, we load our sleeping boys Adrian (8) and Gabriel (6) with their blankets and pillows into our old Subaru wagon, and head into the night for the 90 minute drive to Warda, Texas, located due East from Austin. Our drive takes us on 290 East through extremely dense patches of fog, but as the morning's dawn peaks out while we head south on Highway 77, only a creepy mist remains, no more than 10 feet high hugging the ground and enveloping the trunks of thinly spaced trees. The faint light shows the sky is clear, divining the warm and sunny day ahead. We are officially in the backwoods of Texas, and we turn through the gates of Bluff Creek Ranch, an old cattle ranch, whose owners carved out miles of single track trails to stream revenue from mountain bikers and trail runners. We are directed to park by flashlight-wielding teenagers in heavy coats, and exit our stuffy car into the clear and crisp air of race day.
Typical pre-race activities: packet pick up, fiddling with safety pins on race numbers, gear checking, anxiety, and small talk. Gabriel, having opted not to run will work at the mid-point aid station under the care and firm hand of discipline of Henry Hobbs and Cris Strong. Andreana and Adrian will run the 10k, starting at 8am. My 50k race begins at 7am. The 50 milers had already begun at 6am, and while milling around the starting line minutes before our race, the first of the fastest 50 milers came into view. Holy crap, who are these people busting out a first loop in the mid-40 minutes?!? The race director and my coach, Joe Prusatis, begins yelling: "race is starting in 3 minutes..." Joyce Prusatis calls out two names for missing check in-- no response. "Two minutes..." Last discussions with fellow runners. "One minute..." And suddenly, no pistol shot, buzzer, or electronic timing sound, only an "alright, start.." The 45 of us begin running up a dirt road for several hundred yards to find Diana Heynen, who directs us to make a hard left turn onto the course.
The course consists of a seven mile loop, which for us 50k'ers, means making four rounds. The 50 milers will do seven, the 25k'ers two and the 10k'ers one truncated 6.2 mile version. To get the distance up to 50k, Joe front-ended the race with a mini loop, which consisted mostly of the last mile of the course.
I follow about 5 guys, clearly interested in frontrunning. I recognize Paul Salazar and Josue Stephens among them, runners I know are faster than I. I figure I will hang back and see what kind of pace they will lay down. We enter woods, pass small lakes and turn onto the final stretch-- the course oddly running through the middle of a cement-floored equipment shed-- and we cross the start/ finish line, beginning now the first of four loops proper. I continue my shadowing of the front runner group for two-three miles, they are talking and carrying on. I have set my watch timer to dictate a 20 minute fast pace, four minute active recovery regime, and so after 20 minutes into the race, my watch chimes, and following my plan, I slow down and lose sight of the leaders.
The first loop is wonderful and I feel great. Gabriel is super excited to see me pass through the middle aid station, and he fills my water bottle with Gatorade. The course as people said is fast, lots of flats and only a few minor climbs. The first half is twisty and curvy; the second half has several long, flat stretches through fields. We are in cattle country, but also oil country-- as we pass a massive oil field pump. The second half also has a few short descents and accents up and down the banks of a stagnant river, with a rickety bridge crossing back up the river ravine, signaling about a mile to the finish line. I come up onto the portion of trail of the earlier mini loop and see the 55 25k'ers beginning their "mini loop" extra mile, as it is now just after 8am. I cross the finish line, completing the first loop in 1:08. I briefly refill my water bottle with help from Joyce, Joe admonishes me to "run smart," and I am off again on the second.
Running multiple short loops can be good and bad. It is good because you learn the course fast, but bad for morale, because you always know exactly where you are and how much further you have to finish. I had not run Warda before, and so the first loop involved the usual pleasure of exploring new territory, but once accomplished, every additional loop becomes increasingly about my decline in relation to a very knowable future. Three more loops: "yikes." Two more loops: "oh shit." One more loop: "oh fucking hell, why am I doing this?"
My second loop is strong. I have a good groove and pace. During the first half I start finding 25 and 10k'ers on their first loop, and eventually meet Andreana and Adrian cruising their race. We chat briefly: words of encouragement, what we might have for dinner and so on. On the bridge coming back up from the fields, I pass Olga Varlamova running the 50 miler. We talk briefly, but she yells at me after I pass to "be careful-- pace yourself!!" I return to the finish line, with a split of 1:05, 2:13 total time.
My third loop is less strong. The longest run I had made in the run-up training for this race was 18 miles at Bandera, and I knew that this deficiency would catch up to me. During this loop I feel my energy faltering- tightness throughout my legs and some pain. I force myself to continue a steady pace and imbibe a steady supply of electrolyte capsules, calories and water. At the mid-point aid station, in my drop bag, I have a water bottle with two scoops of Perpetuem ready-made, which I exchange out, hoping this will help. Its effect is minimal. By the time I come around again, finishing the third loop, I am noticeably crapping out. My split is 1:11, total 3:24.
Ok, one more loop, last loop. I refill my water bottle, and head out. Within minutes I experience a sudden increase in leg cramping and stiffness. Running longer strides to stretch out, slowing down, taking one more S-cap, I try different things to feel better, without much luck. It is now time to gut this bad boy out. I concentrate only on the next step, with the small consolation this will be the last time I step on this particular piece of dirt. I roll through Henry's aid station, complaining, and ask if there is a lethal dosage of electrolytes pills, to which Henry replies, "at this stage of the race, no." I down a sample package of four E-caps, and continue moving in a lolloping pain-shuffle. I have set my watch to total run time to monitor my final time. My race goal is to finish under five hours, which would be a 50k PR. Time is ticking. Henry's advice came at 4:10. I know I cannot afford to walk and finish the remaining 3 miles under five hours. Decision time. My body and I, at odds over what to do, negotiate a settlement involving food, beer and a not insignificant sum of money. We continue to run, but slowly. The eventual fourth place finisher of the 50k, Nathan Jackson from Houston, passes me. A guy I think is a 50 miler passes me. Just after the bridge, I meet up with Tejas mate, Stephanie Huie. She is having a tough race day, in pain, on her third loop (she had run a road marathon the weekend before...). We talk, and she says magical words: "wow, you are almost done." Good news and adrenalin immediately take effect, I pick up my pace and grind out the last mileage. I cross the finish line at 4:46, with a split of 1:22. I have a new PR, but I do not know my place. I sink down on the grass, trashed out, and talk with my frequent running partner, Bhavesh Patel, who also PR'ed at 4:58. Joe comes up to me and hands me a small stone and iron ant. 5th Place. My first trail running trophy! The winner of the 50k, David Brown, finished in 3:56. Andreana also has a trophy. Out of 15 10k'ers, she placed 3rd female at 1:04. Adrian placed ninth overall at 1:07. Gabriel received an honorary Wild Hare medal for his aid station volunteer work. Receiving a medal is the sole motivating force behind Gabriel's interest in anything running related. Andreana gets me a hamburger and drives me home. A great day of running for the Haley family.
