Tim Sullivan’s Bandera 100K Race Report – this is the most grueling race I've done, so hard

This is my third ultra, and longest to date. Even though I ran a 50 miler a couple months ago on nearly the same course, this one was harder than any I have done. This ultra also had largest field.

 This is the description from the website –

One of the toughest trail runs in Texas, as well as the oldest 100km.

Max Runners: 900 Total, No more than 400 for any one of the 3 distances

No whiners, wimps, or wusses. 

A trail of rugged and brutal beauty where everything cuts, stings or bites.

Once again, we are proud to be a Western States Golden Ticket race!

Top two men and women in Bandera 100km will be offered an opportunity to register for 2019 Western States

As this race is a golden ticket race, and a Western States qualifier (if you finish under 17 hours), it was a full race with people from all around the country. I met runners from Maine, California, New York, Florida, …. The people I met were all very friendly. It’s very easy to meet new people at ultras, and I typically meet at least one I keep in contact with.

I signed up for this race in my continuing quest to learn how to run Ultras. This race provided me with the most learning of the ultras I have run so far. I think I learned more from this race because 62 miles is much different from 50 miles or shorter distances.

Summary: 100K (62 miles) trail race – about 7,100 ft of elevation gain – super rocky

Total time 16:35 – this is 4:12 longer than my 50-mile race on same course just to cover 12 extra miles (ouch)

Lap 1 – 6:46:28

Lap 2 – 9:48:52

Finished 165th, 7th in my division

This race had about 100 DNFs.

Training:

I had a run streak of 474 days going into this race. Most runs during my streak are easy, but I also have some “fast” runs as well. I focused on trail runs that were similar to the terrain I would face during this race. I generally followed the 50-mile Ultra plan but did not have the time during the day to do the super long back to back runs. What I did instead was to bike really hard for 2-3 hours and then do a long run of about 20 miles. This got me done earlier in the day.

Here are a couple charts. The peaks are before Rattler, my BQ race, the 50-mile Cactus Rose, and this 100k race.

RACE GOALS

My goals for the race were to finish and not fade as much as I did in the 50-miler. My overall plan was to start easier than I did in the 50-mile race. I would take the uphills slow (walk usually), and run conservatively on the runnable sections.

I was also going to drink to thirst (which I always have done), take electrolyte (salt tabs) and make sure I eat something at least every hour.

RACE DAY

The trail race is normally held in Bandera, which is outside of San Antonio. This year, the race got moved about 60 miles further West a week before due to wet conditions. When I saw the email stating the location change, I was thinking to myself “not again, that course is so rocky and hard”. The course is harder and slower than the Bandera course. Lots of up and downs, and lots and lots of rocks.  It’s a great venue for a race, but really hard in my opinion.  Here is a chart showing elevation, HR, and temperature.

The race start was moved to 8AM so I decided to drive the 3 hours from my house in Austin the morning of the race. This worked out well because I like getting up early for races anyway. I woke up at about 3AM and had a smoothie, coffee, and some yogurt. I drove, stopped for more coffee, and I had about an hour before the race when I got to the venue. I had time to walk around and also go to the bathroom.

This race had 900 people running between from 25k to 100k. There were about 400 running the 100k with some pro runners that are insanely fast. I honestly don’t know how they can run as fast as they do on hard terrain.

All the racers running the 100k started together and the other distances started later. I ran with a Nathan vest that had a 2L bladder filled with tailwind supplied by the course. I used tailwind for the entire 16+ hours. I switched to caffeinated tailwind at about the 10-hour mark. The aid stations were about 5-7 miles apart, so I figure I drank about 12-14 liters during the race. At the aid stations, I would eat some PBJ sandwich sections, grab a couple gels, and maybe eat something else like Pringles, or cookies. Between aid stations, I would swallow a SaltStick capsules, and take one gel. I also had Ramen and broth during the evening. All supplied by the course. My nutrition seemed really good for the entire run.

I started off in the middle and stayed in the middle of the pack.  I thought I was being conservative, but in truth I was running too fast for what I am capable of handling over 100k. When I looked at my 25-mile split, I thought to myself “oh no, I am only 10 minutes slower than the 50-mile race, and I have 37 more miles to go!”. The race was a lot of single track that was very rocky (big and small rocks) that made each step challenging. There was more jeep road on this 30-mile loop compared to the 25-mile loop which made it slightly easier. The jeep roads were still very rocky and you had to pay attention.

The race was 2 loops of 30 miles. Each of the 30-mile loops were split into basically 3 mini loops. There was an aid station about every 5-7 miles that had anything you needed. You could leave drop bags. I left a single drop bag at an aid station that you pass a few times during each 30-mile loop. I only accessed it to grab my waist lamp.

The weather started out in the 30s and got to about 84 around 2pm. The sun started setting at around 5pm so I grabbed my light when I was into the second loop at about the 36 mile point.

This race was crowded for about the first 10 or so miles. After that, the course actually became somewhat lonely for sections. For the first 10 miles, I just followed the people in front of me. It seemed slow to me at the time, but looking back now, I should have gone slower. I looked at my Stryd to see my power and I wasn’t too concerned because it was always around my TRP power or even lower. I know better now, a 100k race is NOT the same as a 50 mile or shorter race. Those extra 12 miles REALLY make a difference. My HR also got to the 155-160 range at points, which at the time I didn’t consider too high, but now I do. I was able to keep my HR at around 155 for 12 hours during the 50 mile race, but it wasn’t going to happen for 62 miles.

I felt decent but not great coming into the halfway point at 31 miles. I would have been happy stopping at this point. After all, that would be a decent 31 mile run :) The halfway point was where the spectators were located so it was nice to get back there. I stopped for a about 10 minutes and got some food and drank a cold brew coffee which was really good. I also started the second loop with a runner who I was running a lot of the first loop with. I did not know his name at that point because he was following me most of the time and listening to headphones. I did end up talking with him a bunch on the second loop.

After my rest break, I was off again. I started the second loop much slower than the first loop. I did not really feel like running knowing that I still had 31 miles to go.  I figured, this feeling would change and I would want to run harder later. I may have pushed harder later in the race, but I definitely was NOT running faster. It was really hard convincing myself to run, but I tried to at least get my cadence to a run cadence on the flatter and downhill portions of the course. Even though my pace doesn’t look like I was running, I actually was : ) I felt tired for most of this second loop.

As it started to get dark, I was thinking that it was going to suck to run in the dark. I was wrong. I actually enjoyed it. I couldn’t see the nasty terrain coming my way. I only could focus on the 10 yards in front of me and putting one foot down and then the next.  I didn’t even use headphones at any point of the race. I usually listen for at least a few hours.

I kept thinking to myself just keep moving forward and make your slow miles not super slow. I wanted to finish before 17 hours to qualify to be entered into a lottery for Western States. Running a 100 miles just seems stupid to me at this point, but I will sign up anyway. I am running Leadville later this year, so why not try to get into a second one. Makes sense to me.

Those last 25 miles were tough and slow. Walking and running was hard, so I figured I might as well run (at least have a run cadence) when I could. At mile 59, I decided to walk it in. I tried to run a few times during that stretch, but it just didn’t feel worth the risk of falling or tweaking some muscle to save 15-20 minutes. That was a long hour of walking.  I didn’t even run through the chute. It was a long race overall, but I got a really cool belt buckle which made it all worthwhile. If I got a virtual trophy that would even be better : )

I was very tired after this race and sat in front of a space heater for over an hour, until about 2AM. I ate some Ramen noodles and talked with a few people during this time. I then walked to my van, heated it up, and went to sleep.  I didn’t even change.

Lessons Learned

A 100k race is NOT the same as a 50 miler (at least for me). After the race, several experienced ultra-runners told me that you have to pace a 100k differently from a 50 miler. It seems to make sense to me now. After all, a marathon is much different than a half marathon, and 12 miles after already running 50 miles is significant. So what do I do with this information? Well, my first thoughts are to limit my pace by HR (keep lower than 150) or cap by power. Another option is to get more fit at running super long distances. I don’t see getting more long distance running as reality at this point, so I will stick to the first two options.

At this point, I think I can race a 40 miler and compete and I can fake my way at running hard in a 50 miler.

My nutrition plan works. It’s really simple. Eat stuff every hour even if you don’t want it, drink frequently, take extra salt, and eat a bunch when you get to aid stations.

For my 100 coming up, I need to spend even more time on the trail near me. Instead of running the loop 3 times, I need to run it 6 times during the day. Probably split it into different parts of the day.

I think running after cycling was helpful. I will keep doing that because I do not want to become just a runner. I also think the feeling of running after a hard-cycling session is the same as running on tired legs. I may also do something like riding 100 miles and then running 20 or so miles on a trail in the same day.

Running everyday (even really easy runs) has helped me significantly. One of the most major ways it has helped me is in durability. Even though I am sore after this run, I am not near as sore as after my first IM marathon. I think the daily running as strengthened all the connective muscles and tendons. My shins used to hurt after long runs. Now my legs are just generally sore. That said, I decided to call it quits on my run streak of 476 days. Even though I could have continued the run streak (I felt good enough for a couple really slow miles), I just don’t think it’s going to gain me anything. I will take a few days off from running and then start running again. But probably 5-6 days a week instead of 7. Thanks everyone for the encouragement during the streak.

As a side note, I ran in 2XU lite compression tights. I had no chafing and I think they were helpful for recovery. I have no evidence of this, just my thoughts. I only did a couple runs in tights before this race, but it seemed to work well.

Being on my feet for 16+ hours also had other side effects. I had some slight swelling by my ankles for a few days (still there somewhat). I am also more tired in general. I go from feeling good, to feeling tired for no particular reason.

Here are some data charts

Stryd can't load runs over 8 hours currently, so I couldn't put in the data directly from the Stryd website. These do show power.

Here are some pictures of the run