My son, me, & Rick GastonThis past weekend was excellent. I spent the weekend with my son, Harrison, and we road tripped to Huntsville, Texas to help out at the Rocky Raccoon 50/100 mile races. The weather couldn’t have been better, at least for those of us volunteering. It wasn’t ideal for the runners, though. With temperatures approaching 80 degrees in the afternoon, it made for some challenging running conditions for many not used to the warmer temperatures often found in this part of the country during Winter. We arrived before noon and I began looking for friends I haven’t seen for many months and, some, since last year’s race.
Eventually, my son and I made our way out to the time checkpoint in the far Northwest section of the park next to the boardwalks. I carried a load of glow sticks, food, cups, and drinks for my friends who would be manning the checkpoint for the entire race. While I helped out with times, my son proceeded to hunt for alligators from the safe vantage point of the boardwalk. From the comfort of our chairs, we monitored bib times for the runners. Some were passing through mile 30, while the leaders were around the halfway point. I, also, was called upon to hang glow sticks on about 6 miles of trail. It sounds easy enough to do, but, there is a general method to how often and where you want to hang them. Especially, near key intersections. The last thing I would want is for a runner, in the middle of the night, to become disoriented because I placed a glow stick in a place where confusion could result. I chatted with a few runners along the way and played leapfrog with a few as I went along. Basically, I would run for a minute and then hang a glow stick. I repeated this process for the short time I was on the trail.
I received a phone call just before I finished hanging glow sticks. It was Joe (RD) telling me Andy Jones-Wilkins (AJW) may need a pacer and he would let me know within an hour. I, immediately, became nervous and excited at the same time. Now, this wasn’t an out of the blue request from Joe. Before my son and I hiked out to the timing checkpoint earlier in the day, I told Joe I would be interested in pacing one of the top runners for their final 20 miles. I, actually, mentioned Andy and Scott when I talked to Joe. Not that I, actually, expected to get the opportunity, but I thought I’d put my name in the hat, nonetheless. I did have one caveat. I needed someone to keep a watchful eye on my son while I paced and I knew pacing one of the faster runners would mean less time out on the course away from him. Just before Andy came in from his fourth loop, I talked to Joe and told him it didn’t look like I was going to be able to pace because there was no one to stay with my son. At the time, Joe happened to be talking with Kevin Sullivan, who won the 50 mile event in 6:05 and was traveling with Andy while they were in Texas. Kevin was very gracious and offered to stay with my son while I was out on the course with Andy.
No one knows this, but while I was hanging out at Forest Hill during 2007 Western States, beginning at 9am, mind you, waiting for my runner whom I paced to the finish, I got to watch all the frontrunners come through the checkpoint. It was, actually, at Forest Hill, where I watched the lead runners pick up their pacers. I kept thinking that, one day, I would like to have the opportunity to pace one of the top runners in a hundred. It was more of a dream that I would have never guessed would become a reality. Nevertheless, I was anxious waiting for Andy at the start/finish line. I had calculated, worst case for me, he would run a 3 hour loop, which is a 9 minute mile. Even though I haven’t done much trail running, since I began training for the marathon, I thought I would be able to handle the task at hand. Regardless, that still didn’t remove the nervousness.
Andy and I set into a good pace and the miles passed quickly. He had me run in front and set the pace. It was a great time and I kept thinking how I wanted to ensure I did everything I could within my power to help AJW stay in front of Scott Jaime, who was close behind. On the long straight-aways, I would sneak peeks behind us with my headlamp light turned off to see if I could see Scott coming. It was awkward for me to do this, because when I’m in races, I don’t look behind me because I consider it a sign one is trying to do just enough to hold position, instead of giving their best effort. There came a point about 6 to 7 miles from the finish when I noticed a light that we weren’t gapping. Eventually, I told Andy that I’d put money on it that it was Scott. That is when we picked up the pace and ran as hard as possible to the finish. AJW put 10 minutes on Scott the last 4+ miles. At one point, near the end of the race, I thought Andy had a great chance of breaking 16 hours. So, I did what I could to keep him holding the great pace he had been running. AJW won the race and, shortly, thereafter, was giving me a hard time, in a joking manner, that I had made up a story about the light behind us to get him to run faster. It wasn’t too long, afterwards, when Scott Jaime crossed the finish line and gave Andy the opportunity to turn his post race banter toward Scott. All in all, it was a great experience. Immediately after we crossed the finish line, I knelt down and told my son that Andy won and asked him, “isn’t that awesome?”. He smiled and agreed. Here is the link to Andy's race report.
Eventually, my son and I made our way over to our tent, which was set up less than a hundred feet from the finish line. We worked on one of his school homework assignments and, then, I stayed with him until he fell asleep. I walked over to the finish line and worked the aid station until past 3am. It was great getting to help out the runners and visit with many who were there to crew and pace. Afterwards, I crawled back into the tent for some great sleep. We got up the next morning and did some more volunteering before enduring the 3-hour drive back to Austin. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend on many levels.
Eventually, my son and I made our way out to the time checkpoint in the far Northwest section of the park next to the boardwalks. I carried a load of glow sticks, food, cups, and drinks for my friends who would be manning the checkpoint for the entire race. While I helped out with times, my son proceeded to hunt for alligators from the safe vantage point of the boardwalk. From the comfort of our chairs, we monitored bib times for the runners. Some were passing through mile 30, while the leaders were around the halfway point. I, also, was called upon to hang glow sticks on about 6 miles of trail. It sounds easy enough to do, but, there is a general method to how often and where you want to hang them. Especially, near key intersections. The last thing I would want is for a runner, in the middle of the night, to become disoriented because I placed a glow stick in a place where confusion could result. I chatted with a few runners along the way and played leapfrog with a few as I went along. Basically, I would run for a minute and then hang a glow stick. I repeated this process for the short time I was on the trail.
I received a phone call just before I finished hanging glow sticks. It was Joe (RD) telling me Andy Jones-Wilkins (AJW) may need a pacer and he would let me know within an hour. I, immediately, became nervous and excited at the same time. Now, this wasn’t an out of the blue request from Joe. Before my son and I hiked out to the timing checkpoint earlier in the day, I told Joe I would be interested in pacing one of the top runners for their final 20 miles. I, actually, mentioned Andy and Scott when I talked to Joe. Not that I, actually, expected to get the opportunity, but I thought I’d put my name in the hat, nonetheless. I did have one caveat. I needed someone to keep a watchful eye on my son while I paced and I knew pacing one of the faster runners would mean less time out on the course away from him. Just before Andy came in from his fourth loop, I talked to Joe and told him it didn’t look like I was going to be able to pace because there was no one to stay with my son. At the time, Joe happened to be talking with Kevin Sullivan, who won the 50 mile event in 6:05 and was traveling with Andy while they were in Texas. Kevin was very gracious and offered to stay with my son while I was out on the course with Andy.
No one knows this, but while I was hanging out at Forest Hill during 2007 Western States, beginning at 9am, mind you, waiting for my runner whom I paced to the finish, I got to watch all the frontrunners come through the checkpoint. It was, actually, at Forest Hill, where I watched the lead runners pick up their pacers. I kept thinking that, one day, I would like to have the opportunity to pace one of the top runners in a hundred. It was more of a dream that I would have never guessed would become a reality. Nevertheless, I was anxious waiting for Andy at the start/finish line. I had calculated, worst case for me, he would run a 3 hour loop, which is a 9 minute mile. Even though I haven’t done much trail running, since I began training for the marathon, I thought I would be able to handle the task at hand. Regardless, that still didn’t remove the nervousness.
Andy and I set into a good pace and the miles passed quickly. He had me run in front and set the pace. It was a great time and I kept thinking how I wanted to ensure I did everything I could within my power to help AJW stay in front of Scott Jaime, who was close behind. On the long straight-aways, I would sneak peeks behind us with my headlamp light turned off to see if I could see Scott coming. It was awkward for me to do this, because when I’m in races, I don’t look behind me because I consider it a sign one is trying to do just enough to hold position, instead of giving their best effort. There came a point about 6 to 7 miles from the finish when I noticed a light that we weren’t gapping. Eventually, I told Andy that I’d put money on it that it was Scott. That is when we picked up the pace and ran as hard as possible to the finish. AJW put 10 minutes on Scott the last 4+ miles. At one point, near the end of the race, I thought Andy had a great chance of breaking 16 hours. So, I did what I could to keep him holding the great pace he had been running. AJW won the race and, shortly, thereafter, was giving me a hard time, in a joking manner, that I had made up a story about the light behind us to get him to run faster. It wasn’t too long, afterwards, when Scott Jaime crossed the finish line and gave Andy the opportunity to turn his post race banter toward Scott. All in all, it was a great experience. Immediately after we crossed the finish line, I knelt down and told my son that Andy won and asked him, “isn’t that awesome?”. He smiled and agreed. Here is the link to Andy's race report.
Eventually, my son and I made our way over to our tent, which was set up less than a hundred feet from the finish line. We worked on one of his school homework assignments and, then, I stayed with him until he fell asleep. I walked over to the finish line and worked the aid station until past 3am. It was great getting to help out the runners and visit with many who were there to crew and pace. Afterwards, I crawled back into the tent for some great sleep. We got up the next morning and did some more volunteering before enduring the 3-hour drive back to Austin. Overall, it was a fantastic weekend on many levels.
6 comments:
Great job pacing Andy to victory. It was awesome to see you.
Way to go Larry, that had to be awesome to bring him home first especially being that close of a finish and also being your FIRST time pacing an elite running makes it even more special.... CONGRATS!!
Where are other pictures, from actual pre-pacing times? Do I need to post them on my blog?
I am glad you got to live one of your dreams, and lived it well. Now, don't you dare hope I'll be running much when you pick me up in Ouray! Oh, and I promise to cry too:)
Great report! It was nice to meet you. Next time when you look back, keep your light on so I know what I'm shooting for....
Way to push Andy to the finish - It was a great race!
Thanks Scott! If I was back there with you and AJW was out front, we would have gone into stealth mode (lights off). That section was really smooth and there was a full moon. Great race. I was happy to be a small part of it.
Larry, thanks for sharing your experience. I would also like to say thanks for volunteering, giving back to the sport. Also, congrats on getting to pace AJW to victory. It was fun seeing you guys come through Dam Road!
Lynn B
Dam Road AS Captain
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