Rocky Raccoon 100 Mile Race
Huntsville State Park, February 7/8th 2004
Bob Botto

It seems like every time I set out to accomplish something big, there is a big problem that I have to overcome. I've never run a big race perfectly trained, perfectly tapered and perfectly organized - it just never happens! Perfectly trained - what is that? Well, I ran two 50-mile races (JFK 50 mile and Sunmart 50 mile) in November/December and I had run several good long runs (up to 30 miles) before hand. I thought I might be perfectly trained BUT as December crawled into January, and January began to wane I realized that I might just be perfectly messed up. My runs in December after Sunmart felt awful. Even in mid January I still did not have any real energy for running. I thought: "How can I run 100 miles if I'm tired and achy after just 9?" Then there was the hip thing. My left hip was tight in December, painful in January. The week before Rocky I was lifting my leg with my left hand to get into my van. Otherwise, I'd experience a painful twinge in my hip. I thought: "I have to lift this leg 180,000 times to finish Rocky. The pain is just going to get worse and worse." To add to that I had taped my ankle to prevent my Achilles from acting up and when it came time to remove the tape I thought I'd just be "macho" and yank it off. I yanked off a big hunk of skin that has not healed up completely yet and had threatened to become infected. Just two days before the race I just had to get on the treadmill and crank it up and see what happens - the next day I was in worse pain than the previous three weeks! So much for the perfect race taper! I barely survived it!

Maybe it's all in the organization, I thought. I can have a great support crew to help me get through this! This is my fourth Rocky. I should be able to do this perfectly. I'll need a tent with everything organized in it at the Start/Finish station. Rocky is a 5 X 20-mile loop course so you pass through the Start/Finish Station at the end of every loop. I'll need someone to run with who will challenge me, and pacers for the 60-80 mile and 80-100 mile loops to keep me going through the night. Unfortunately my training partner Kelley Espindola had Army that weekend and could not be there. I was not doing well setting all this up for myself but, Mariela Botella was available to run with (if I could keep up) and Mariela found Allison Nadolski to pace me through the last 20 miles. Allison had a friend, Sara, who could come along too. Brigitte Laki volunteered to pace me from 60-80. Carla Rowland volunteered to set up a tent for me so I was all set! My crew and I made a "Rocky practice" night run for two hours along Buffalo Bayou - it went fine except that I was sore and achy the next day. It occured to me that Allison and Sara's ages added together probably did not equal mine. Maybe I'm too old for this?

At the banquet Friday night I met a 73 year-old man who was attempting the race. He was inspiring! I'll be 55 in April - no I'm not too old and I CAN DO THIS. Mariela, however was extremely organized, everything in labeled bags and a special drop bag for Aid Station 2/4. I just had bags full of stuff, no drop bag for 2/4 and too late to improve on that now.

When I emerged from my hotel room at 4:30am Saturday I found thick ice on my van windshield. I had to throw hot water on it to melt it. Wow it was cold! Just before the start I met Carla who was about to set up my tent. My bags were piled under a tree and I asked her to arrange everything in it while I ran. I was bundled up well when Race Director Joe Prusaitis started the 148 runners at 6:00am. The first 40 minutes were run in the dark with flashlights. There were some big mud holes out there - it had rained a couple inches just two days before. Mariela and I ran together with the goal of finishing the first loop in 4:27. She had lost her car keys in the dark and was fussing about it. Our overall plan was to run about 4:30 for the first three loops and then ease back to 5 hours for the last two in the night (total time 23:xx, my last race was 23:50). My hip began to ache after a few miles into the race. Then my Achilles started up and I thought: "Well this is about what I expected - lets see how far I can go." I just kept going and the pain turned into a little tight feeling that gradually faded away. We finished the first loop with minutes to spare. By then I was totally pain free!

I found my tent – it even had a chair and a welcome mat! The next loop started with high spirits but after about 5 miles things went downhill. Both of our stomachs were queasy and our energy dipped. I felt cold. Lack of salt? The "Ensure" we both drank after the first loop? Mariela recovered quickly but I continued to have problems. I took extra salt, more food – it just made the feeling worse. I started to wonder if I could continue. Suddenly Mariela handed me a flask and said: "Try this, it’s pure maple syrup. Your stomach needs glucose to digest food." It tasted great and the effect was almost immediate! My head cleared up, my stomach felt better and I warmed up. "Just keep it and take a little every now and then, Bob." By 35 miles Mariela had surged ahead. I caught up with her at the last Aid Station (174). She was sitting in a chair about to poke a hole in her foot with a kitchen knife! "Mariela, what are you doing?!" "I’ve got a blister with blood in it. There is nothing to poke it with here." I advised her against poking it (I had a big blister at Rocky once, which healed up before the end of the race!), but the pin on her race number made a better tool. "This duct tape works great as a bandage." Ugh!

Our second loop was about 4:40. We were still on the plan though. I felt great in the third loop but I could feel myself tiring, a little more walking, less running. I was sustained by the fact that at the end of this loop I would meet Brigitte and the night would begin. The temperature peaked at about 50 degrees then started to fall sharply as the sun went lower. On tap was another sub-freezing night with perhaps low 20’s in the park’s notorious "Cold Holes". We passed the 50-mile mark at 11:19, still not that far off pace. Mariela surged ahead again but when I met her at Aid Station 2/4 she was poking her foot again and taping it up. I have a general policy not to even look at my feet until the race is over and not to change shoes, if possible. In years past I would call my daughter over after a race, pull off my shoe and say, "Look here, I think some of my toes are loose." Gross Daddy!

Darkness fell while running through the "Wilderness" portion of the third loop. I was prepared with my LED flashlight. My doctor, Dr. Nofal Musfy, ran this section with me. It’s nice to have your doctor running behind you in a race. It’s not good when he pulls ahead of you, and Nofal was on a tear. We ran into Aid Station 174 together (Mile 57). What a wonderful reception I had there! Kelley and Carla greeted me, followed by Allison and Sara. Kelley was dressed in fatigues with combat boots! They had let her out of the Army just long enough to visit me. She took off her boots, put on running shoes and ran a mile with me. I was so pumped up! I ran to the end of the loop (mile 60) and Brigitte was there to meet me. I put on warm clothes and we were off a little behind Mariela and her pacer Homero. It was about 8:00pm.

The key to the night portion of the race is to keep your energy and spirits up and not get injured while moving as quickly as possible. If you lose alertness, it’s easy to trip on the many roots and obstacles. Brigitte and I soon caught up with Mariela and Homero. I told them a weird East Texas legend while we ran. Sixty–five miles were past and I felt great. Mariela had begun to struggle with pain in her feet and she slowed. Unfortunately, at the end of the race I heard that she had to drop at mile 72 from extreme pain. On the other hand Nofal bounded on ahead and finished almost two hours ahead of me! At about 11:00pm I began to feel sleepy – it was my normal bedtime and I knew it would pass. Brigitte and I began to sing to stay alert. World War I songs were running through my mind so we sang "Grand Old Rag", "It’s a Long Way to Tipperary", "Goodbye Broadway, Hello France", "Yankee Doodle" and other great songs of the era. We must have sung for 10 miles and I felt very energetic. The night was gorgeous, a full moon and bright stars. Fatigue and pain were present but I focused on enjoying the night and getting in the miles. While going through the Wilderness it became clear to me that without massive effort I would finish well past the 24-hour mark. My pace had slowed and I was losing the ability to run more than short downhills without recovery. I decided to concentrate on finishing safely. My wife’s comments to me on my leaving were: "You better not hurt yourself – if you do I’ll let you heal up and then I’ll hurt you again!" I knew she meant it lovingly but she was serious – I have to respect that – she sleeps with an M-30 carbine and a P-38 under her side of the bed!

It was after 1:30am when Brigitte and I finished the 4th loop at mile 80. Allison and Sara were ready to go. I put on my warmest clothes and we started. I had envisioned telling lots of stories on this loop, maybe even some rather spooky ones but I found out that Sara was afraid of the dark and slept with a light shining into her room. I chilled. Allison stayed just ahead and Sara close behind me. Now it was almost all walking. Sara had the tough spot because I had developed this incredible case of flatulence – I mean about every minute I sounded off! Talk about fartlek workouts! The extra thrust probably cut minutes off my time though. I started singing again and the girls joined in. We sang "Hard Day's Night". Sara sang the "Cabbage Patch Song" from 2nd grade! She still knew it perfectly. I countered with "Pink Pajamas" from my Boy Scout days:

I wear my pink pajamas in the summer when it's hot

I wear my flannel nighties in the winter when it's not

And sometimes in the summer, and sometimes in the fall

I climb between the covers with nothing on at all!

Glory, glory alleluia, glory, glory what it to ya

Balmy breezes blowing through ya

With nothing on at all!

After that we played Texas trivia. Other runners began to participate when they knew the answers. Allison and Sara were great companions but I told them that despite my enjoyment of their company, I really wanted this to be over. The aid station volunteers did a double take wherever we approached. I called out my number "120" and they expected a number from the ladies but Allison said: "I’m with him" and Sara "I’m with him too." "Two pacers?" "Yes two pacers!"

Dawn came on the long out and back from mile 87 to mile 93. I was really exhausted now, definitely ready to finish. I felt like I was walking as fast as I could but I knew from the time passing it was not too fast. About 8:00am we reached Aid Station 174 at mile 97. I told the girls that I was going to sprint the finish. We finally got there and I did! It felt so good to get it done! My time was 26:43. I stayed up for breakfast at 10:00am and the awards at 11:00am. By noon I was on my way home. Later in the day I took a short nap and went to bed at the usual hour.

In many ways this had been a perfect race for me. I never tripped or hurt myself other than some tape abrasions. I had wonderful help and company. I enjoyed it as much as it’s possible to enjoy such a grueling odyssey. I got my buckle. Next year I want the one that says "Sub 24 hour finish" together with the 500-mile jacket. By then I'll be perfectly trained, tapered and organized - you will see!

p.s. William Hollihan, age 73, from Beaver Dam WI. finished Rocky in 24:57.

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