An Account by Dan Threlkeld
We began in downtown Arcadia at the historic Round Barn at 4am and ran to Stroud.
I was suprised at the huge turnout that all seemed to appear out of nowhere at 3:55am
and all seemed anxious to get started. Brian Hoover, who must sleep with his camera,
had it ready for a quick shot of the group. My wife held up a spotlight I had in my truck
and we took this shot minutes before we headed out on the Mother Road.
The weather was great at 4am our skies had cleared and we dropped to 72-degrees.
My hope was the clouds would move in later that day and hold down the temperatures.
Sadly that never happened. It warmed to 97 by afternoon, but there was a breeze.
Ultra runners are a very diverse and interesting lot and I had a chance early to visit with
many of them. The Mother Road 100 race director, Thomas Hill, was there and we had
a chat about the race and how he cooked up the idea for this one time event. He's smart,
motivated, and a heck of a runner. He ran with the lead dogs the entire day. He did
promise all who enter the race will get some swell stuff in the pick up bag.
The faster runners seperated after a couple of miles. Best I could tell, most of the day we
had 4 groups going. My wife said there were about 2 miles between each of the groups.
I was in the third group with John Hargrove and John Nelson. I learned a lot from visiting
with Hargrove. He's done it all really, Badwater, Western States, Leadville, Pikes Peak,
Traveller, name a race and he's probably run it. I was suprised to see he was doing this
run in racing flats! John doesn't spend much time at the aid stations. Probably 20-30
seconds tops. We would look up and John would be 100 yards down the road.
Lesson learned, tell your war stories later, keep moving. Good tip John.
I love talking to other ultra runners. We can learn so much. Experienced runners can keep
you from making a lot of mistakes. Ask a lot of questions, I've never met an experienced
ultra runner who would not share some wisdom. The stories of the early day of the
ultra sport fascinate me.
Overall I think the time and miles passed pretty fast, we had more traffic than I expected, but most
cars/trucks moved over when they saw you coming. The first half of the race is a bit more hilly
than the 2nd half. I also believe there are more shoulders on the roads the 2nd half.
While we were running I tried to think about what the race was going to be like. Seeing
100+ runners at the start will be amazing. Based on what I saw, the rabbits will soon seperate
from the rest of us. While I don't like the idea of starting the MR100 by running back to the
west for 5 miles and then turning around so that the starting line will also be mile 10, it may be
our only chance to watch the speed demons zip by.
My buddy Stan had only planned on doing 10 so he could get home to his boys, so we didn't
have much of a chance to tell old stories, but it was good swapping lies for a few miles before he
bailed.
Others, had no thoughts of doing the entire run, some wanted to get in 20 or 25 slow miles to see
what the Mother Road experience was like. Don't kid yourself, it's going to be dangerous out there.
Expect most drivers to give you a little road as they pass, but others will not. Be ready to run some
in the weeds when they fly by. Hargrove said to expect "goat head" stickers in November and told
me to wear taller socks. Who am I to argue with John?
We could not have done this run without our crews. Most of the day we had four crews
chasing down the various groups with food and fuel. They provided rides, sympothy, and
encouragement. They saved us.A running tip though: Don't try "broasted chicken" while running.
My wife said, "even those faster runners were nice." I kept asking "just how far ahead of us are they?"
She said, "Oh, they are miles and miles ahead of you." Sometimes you don't want honesty when
you are running.
John Hargrove ran to Chandler then caught a ride home. Alex Eaton
joined John Nelson and I. The younger and much stronger Alex picked up the
pace and Nelson slowed a bit, so Alex and I ran together. A newspaper reporter
from the Bristow newspaper stopped and asked us some questions about what
we were doing and about the race in November. He took our picture
and we were off. Ken Childress had gotten a bad headache and wisely rode with
his wife Dana for a few miles. In the final miles Ken rejoined us and he did great.
Ken is a smart runner who races much more than I and has a wonderful wife, Dana,
who is also into running. You are a lucky man Ken.
In the final couple of miles I could feel the heat. My legs were fine, my feet hadn't
blistered, but I could feel my core temp. rising. Pouring ice water over my head
seemed to refresh me, and I did that a couple of times during the last 10 miles.
I was ready to finish and get into the air conditioner. My pace was faster than I
will do the race, but I know it won't be 97 degrees in November. I pray it will
be cooler.
Not sure if we will do another big organized training run before Nov. 11th.
But what a rush! My thanks to everyone who showed up, to our support crews,
and to every Route 66 driver who give me the extra couple of inches of road
when they passed. It's always good to finish a training run without dying.
Can't wait for November !