"Brian, Just happy for all the work you do. We have needed something like AURA in Okla for a long time and I am so grateful that you took the bull by the horns to get all these people together. I always thought about it but never acted on it."

Arkansas Traveller 100 Mile Trail Run!

Lake Sylvia Arkansas Saturday October 7th & 8th, 2006
by Overall Winner Tom Brennan

I had never before been so nervous before a race. So many questions were going through my head. What was I doing here? Why was I doing this? Etc. I didn't have answers for these questions and just knew that I had to try to finish. I had to see if I had what it took to make it through the rough times.

My training was very rigorous leading up to this event. I had also run a strong 50 miler in Minnesota in July and that gave me some confidence but it was still TWICE that distance and that was hard enough.

The weather was perfect and that was one thing going for me. Furthermore, I had great support. I have many ultra friends in Arkansas including Darin Hoover who put me up at his house the night before in Little Rock. He and Paul Shoenlaub had gave me good advice about e-caps and nutrition. I also planned to follow Darin's advice on how to run the course as he had completed it twice before (the second time I had paced him).

The plan was to go out slow until 17, pick it up a little to 30. Real slow to 50. Run hard to 70 and then survive to 100. This strategy had a lot to do with course terrain as much as anything.

My goal was to finish, nothing more - but if I was having a good day, I was going to run as hard as I could.

The morning was nice and cold and my fingers were numb the first several miles. Alas, the day broke and the sun came out and it felt nice. The first ten were so easy. The miles over the Ouachita Trail were great. The single path trail was mostly downhill and I loved it and I may have went a little faster than anticipated but that was okay because I was feeling good.

From 17 - 30, I picked it up a little but still was reserved. By this time, the top three or four runners had left and were far ahead. It still was easy and I just kept thinking that when I get to thirty, I will go as slow as I want. Which I did. I really took it easy.

At mile 48, I picked up my pacer Harold Hays, and I picked up the pace as this is a smooth runnable twenty mile section. 50 goes by and then 55 and I am still feeling good. At the turnaround at 58, we see the two runners ahead of me and I feel we will pass them soon. By mile 64 I am in the lead and I am in disbelief. I have run further than I have ever run in my life and I am not hurting at all. All of the miles have been easy. When will I bonk? I keep waiting for signals from my body of a preeminate bonk but nothing comes so I run with it. But when I do bonk, will I be able to handle it? Only time will tell.

Mile 68, I pick up my second pacer Darin Hoover. We take it easy up Smith Mountain to mile 70. I'm still feeling good and I still cannot believe it so I just go with it. Down the mountain we go nearly as fast as I can. Darin is wearing a Nike Time-Distance monitor. I do not want to know my time or how far ahead we are. I checked my watch once at mile 50 and it was 8:40 so I knew I was having a great day (but when will I bonk?) Darin tells me after the race that we hit those miles down smith mtn at a 6:42 pace.

We get to Smith Mtn aid station and I feel some heat on my heal. I check it out and it is rubbing and bleeding pretty good so they bandage it very good and we move on. Mile 80 comes and still no bonk but now the miles get progressively harder. Night came at the bottom of Smith Mtn and I try not to think about how far we still have to go.

I just keep trying to get to Winona Aid Station at mile 84. We move out and I am running hard but getting tired. The hills are getting really tough and I feel like we are really slowing down. I am sure that my friends Greg and Steve must be catching us and I use that to push me up the hills. Strangely enough it becomes easier to jog the hills rather than power walk as I had been doing. There is one particular rocky tough section with a hill that goes on forever. I didn't bonk here but came close. It was sooo tough.

Finally back to runnable forest roads. I run into the aid station at mile 91 and am only there for a few seconds. As I leave I hear a volunteer at the aid station say "Another runner is coming". Holy *#$&! I wanted to cry. Oh well. At least I gave it that good fight. And more importantly, at least I will get a buckle. I knew that if any one caught me it would drop the wind from my sails and I would slow to a crawl. And now here they were right behind me. No way could I challenge another runner after trying to hold them off this long.

But the next aid station is only 2.2 miles ahead and then 6 miles to the finish. I decide to give it one last push. Maybe I can hang on to the lead to mile 94. I run as hard as I can. Fearing that I will be caught at any moment I must be running 8 minute miles. Darin catches up with me near the mile 94 aid station. I tell him about the girl who said another runner was coming. He said I was crazy because he was there for two more minutes and no one came through.

I began to think again that I might have a chance to win. We breezed through that last aid station. I pushed hard and Darin was great support. Up the last hill and then two miles downhill to home. I continued to run hard and the excitement grew with each step. Then mile 99, uh oh, I have to use the bathroom. I asked Darin if he thought I had time to go and he said yes. So I got some toilet paper and went a few feet in the woods to go. Wouldn't that be great, squatting here taking a )&*^& at mile 99 in a 100 mile race and get passed.

But it didn't happen and as I crossed the line it was pure joy and elation that very likely I will never feel again. What a day! I never thought I could do it.

Tom Brennan