Ultracentric 24 Hour - November 2007

The first report is from me and the second is from my friend Darren who went down with me:

1)

Runners-I went down to Dallas ready to race with thoughts of 135+ miles in 24 hours. Within the first two hours I had a few bouts of stomach issues and lost roughly 10 pounds by 5 hours into the race. I was not in good shape but time heals all things and my body came back to life and finished strong.But that is only half the story....

I had e-mailed my friend David Goggins a copy months ago about coming to this race and doing the 24 hour- he responded that he was working. And even last week he told me good luck at the race. My friends Gregg Fielder, Darren Fortney, and myself arrived at the race site a little late do to running a red light :-). There was also a 48 hour event at this race and those runners were about a day into the race when we arrived. Darren said to me there's Goggins. I couldn't believe it - he was planning on coming all along. He was destroying the course covering about 132 miles in the first 24 hours! I went and found Aleeza and said what is he doing, why is he here, 48 hours!!!??! Aleeza summed it all up "David loves pain!".

After one of my trips to the bathroom, I was sitting in my chair and looked down the road and saw David sitting in his with Aleeza. He had torn a muscle in his right leg and had been getting many ice breaks and rub downs trying to get it better. He must have been very high on all that pain that he loves so much. Anyways, I waved at him to get up and come over. I said 200 miles is definitely doable- we just need to keep moving- just a steady walk will do it. So that is what we did.

There was a few times while he iced his leg I snuck away for a quick out and back loop (2 miles), but for the most part we just hung out and enjoyed the day. There were some great people out on the course - very inspirational performances. Hopefully we will hear about some more of them. Roy - you are the man!

At about 6 AM I banged on Gregg's truck and opened the door and told Darren and him to be ready for when we returned from this loop we would hit the 200 mile mark- get the camera ready! After 200, David was going to call it a day. He had a goal of 200 and that was all. (attached is a photo of David and I right after the 200 mile mark). He climbed into his car while it was still dark yesterday morning. I sat in my chair for awhile and although there was almost 2 more hours left in the race, I was thinking about packing it in.

I called Christina (my wife) and told her I was just going to shower and I was taken back by her response- "You are going to do what?" "Are you kidding me? " So I jumper out of my chair and ran a quick one around the loop. At this point it was close to one hour left in the race. For the final hour, you run around a 0.25 mile loop. I just made it out of the start/finish before the hour so I was back out on the 2 mile loop. I knew that there would not be many people on the course and thought man this would be the way to end this race. So I paced by David and Aleeza asleep in their car and turned around and (I guess I like banging on car doors waking people up) woke them up. I said David "get out here and put some gravy on it!". We walked another lap and just enjoyed the new morning.

Once we got on the 0.25 mile loop, I gunned it and even turned in a couple sub 7s. With about 3 minutes left in the race, David and I ran (yes he was running) to finish at an even mileage. I glad I did not read about this performance and that I was able to witness it first hand.

I meet David last year at the McNaughton Park 150M and truly enjoy him and Aleeza. I was glad that Gregg and Darren were able to be there also. It was a great weekend. David told me he would not have been able to do it without me. I am not sure I believe that but maybe that was why I was there.

In Christ,

Ryan Dexter

Verona, WI

Results from the Ultracentric races are available at: www.doitsports.com/results/page.tcl?id=153747

2)

Event was just awesome to be a part of.Ryan was planning on running the 24 hour race and I was going to pace him for hours 6-12 of those 24 and crew for the rest. Ryan was solid for hours 1-2, but then seemed to be having "issues" with his stomach. He had logged a good 7 miles per hour for the first few hours and it seemed like he was strong. After about 2 hours, he was developing a blister on his heel so we went right for the Badwater blister treatment that I learned this summer and addressed it right off the bat.........turns out that treatment held for the full 24 hours.

Anyhow, after about 3-6 hours into his race, we were just trying to keep Ryan moving and battling through the stomach issues. It was also about 80 plus degrees out and the wind made it somewhat deceiving. I had heard that the heat index climbed up over 90 degrees but it did not seem overly hot to me......or Ryan I think. There was not a cloud in the sky the entire day.

About hour 4, Ryan decided that this race was not going to be a record breaker for him, but found a trememdous amount of satisfaction helping out David G (see earlier) reach a monumental goal of 200 miles over 48 hours. Ryan decided to hang with David for nearly the ENTIRE rest of the race. That told me a lot about how unselfish Ryan is and how much respect he has for David G.At Ryan's 6 hour mark, my 6 hour run was about ready to fire up (original plan was for me to run/pace with him those 6 hours). We had decided that I sign up for the 6 hour event so I could "officially" be a pacer for him during the event....pacers were not legally allowed. I left it up to Ryan if he wanted me to continue to work with him (or he and David) those next 6 hours..........or get after it and race the 6 hours.

Ryan seemed to be getting back into his groove slowly but surely but he was unselfishly helping David out versus worrying about his own mileage. David was doing a lot of walking after tearing his leg muscle but he was still moving......and Ryan was right by his side. Anyhow, Ryan encouraged me to "race" the 6 hour event........which I did. I could then join back up with him for the last 1/2 fo the event (remaining 12 hours).I had looked at last years 6 hour distances and decided to hammer it and see if I could win it outright (or come close to winning it). The only problem was that I really have not been training for any distance running and my longest run after Sept Ironman was 11 miles... Not exactly in ultra running form at the moment however I have been running 40-50 miles per week in prep for the Feb marathon in Austin. I really had no idea what I could do considering my lack of training for this event.Anyhow, the race went well and I ended up logging 38.5 hours in 6 hours. I was happy with that considering my lack of any distance running in the past 3 months. I felt decent for the first 26 miles or so, then struggled a bit miles 27-39. I ended up being tied for 2nd place........missed first by a 1/4 mile! (=: Running nearly 40 miles and missing first by only a 1/4 mile was probably the funniest thing that I have experienced in a while........lol. Really, I will get over it eventually......ha!6 hour race results are at: www.doitsports.com/newresults3/client/153747_219909_2007.html

In all, it was a truly amazing day of events.......many stories within stories. I was fortunate to be with my friend Ryan for the weekend in Texas. What a cool event to be a part of. It was a time to remember.By the way, Ryan racked up over 93 miles along the way (he forgot to mention that).........mostly unselfishly helping out his friend David. That showed me a lot about Ryan............. 93 miles put him in the top 3rd overall........even though he did not have his "A" game going. That is impressive!

Darren

Baderland F/X 24 Hour - September 2007

Friends-

This is a hard one to write. I didn't do what I planned at this race. I didn't even finish the race. I didn't even run half of it. But I feel great.

I was on target - actually a little aggressive running a little over 7 miles in the first hour. After about 4 hours (noon), my body starting wondering what was going on. It was hot and the bottom line was I just wasn't having fun anymore. I struggled for the next 4 hours and finally decided to hang it up about 4 PM. I just didn't have it in me to go 16 more hours. This is a hobby and I just didn't feel like doing my hobby anymore on Saturday so I stopped after about 38 miles.

This was the first time I have dropped from a race. The lesson learned is - you gotta have fun. I love running. I just wasn't loving it that day. Saturday night was like a bonus night - man did I sleep well.

Mike Younglove and Kathy Braun both completed 12 hours on the track Saturday night. I am sorry I wasn't there with you.

I ran 13 miles yesterday morning and it was fun again.

The following link is from a Milwaukee newspaper writer Tom Held: http://blogs.jsonline.com/offthecouch/archive/2007/09/04/the-heat-takes-its-toll.aspx

"The high on Saturday reached 76 in Milwaukee, but must have felt a lot hotter on that track away from Lake Michigan. Ryan Dexter, a 31-year-old from Verona, had planned to go after Roy Pirrung's event record of 137.9 miles, but succumbed to the conditions just under 40 miles into the effort. Dexter is no rookie, either. He claimed third place earlier this year in the 150-mile event at the McNaughton Park Trail Runs in Illinois. "

McNaughton Park 150 Miler- April 2007

Friends-

Not sure many of you know about what I did last weekend – did not want to worry many of you. But I do want to share my experience:

I am having trouble putting into words this running adventure. Maybe because I still can’t begin to get my mind around the distance and time it took to complete the 150 mile journey at McNaughton Park in Pekin Illinois. This was a first annual and the longest foot race in the Western Hemisphere.

I’ll be upfront and frank about this – I trained hard for this race. Having logged about 2500 miles since August 2006 (1100 of those miles between Jan. ’07 and March). I ran 425 miles in the month of March. I wanted to win this race. I knew there was going to be serious competition and I thought 30 hours would be a reasonable goal. With that in mind, I pasted four numbers on a small picture of my three sons (Chase, Cruz, and Dash), and laminated it and taped it to my Road ID bracelet. These were my absolute cut-off times for the 4 aid stations along the course based on a 12 min/mile pace or 2 hour 10 mile lap. 30:30 (2.55 miles) for Totempole Aid Station, 1:09:29 (5.79 miles) Heaven’s Gate #1, 1:22:41 (6.89 miles) Heaven’s Gate #2, and 2:00:00 (10.00 miles) Start/Finish. I just reset my watch every time around. In my mind, these created a very large task seem small and doable.

The start of the race was exciting. There were maybe 45 of us toeing the line at 6 PM Friday evening, April 13. I had been communicating with my friend Jerry Davidson (the race Website guy) and he had told me that he would be in Michigan at his son’s track meet until Saturday night probably around midnight. About a minute before the start, Andy Weinberg (the greatest Race Director around) yelled for me- so I left the starting line to see Jerry. Because of the expected weather his son’s meet was canceled.

The local newspaper was there raking photos and actually captured this moment (last photo- number 14 of 14):
http://pjstar.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=255725

Photo 9 of 14 is Paul Stofko who ran a near perfect race- very consistent. He deserved the victory. Paul has now won every race at McNaughton Park (30 mile, 50 mile, 100 mile, and now 150 mile).

Photo 3 of 14 is the start of the 150 mile race.

The newspaper also ran a story on the race if you are interested: http://pjstar.com/stories/041507/TRI_BCUHHL64.049.php

Jerry hung around cheering on runners the entire time – I’m not sure he missed me coming through except for maybe a couple times during the night. Let me begin by saying this was by no means a solo journey. After a day’s reflection, I can truly say that I had the greatest crew that was totally committed to helping me achieve my goal. My friends from work Peggy Pichette and Mike Younglove were meticulous with keeping me hydrated and feed and getting me in and out of the start/finish area. I never stayed there longer than 5 minutes- most of the time I bet it was less than 2. I would drink a protein drink during the first mile or so of the race and they would meet me at the top of the hill and exchange that with GU20.

A group of us that included last year’s 1st and 2nd place 100 mile finishers (Scott Myers and Paul Stofko) ran the first lap fairly fast – around 1:40. But there were still a couple runners in front of us including David Goggins. Because of my quick crew, I got the jump on the other runners and hit the course again for miles 10-20 around 7:40-7:45 PM grabbing my new headlamp that Peggy convinced me to purchase the day before at REI. It is the Myo XP and it did a great job lighting that trail up. I caught up to David who was running about the exact same pace as me around mile 13 or so. We stayed together until mile 91. David Goggins is a stand up guy and it was a pleasure getting to know him over the miles. I truly hope we stay in touch. He is a great ambassador for the sport and is using God’s gift to help others. If you are fortunate enough to have some extra funds, please consider donating to his cause: http://www.specialops.org/. We ran number 1 and 2 for a majority of the race. My friend CJ Werley joined David and I around 1 AM of so and ran the 40-50 mile loop with us. That helped mix things up and made the night not seem so long. Mike Younglove also joined us for the next loop during the night – miles 50-60.

After running all night together, we got a major mental boost when we crossed over the Start/Finish line around 5:40 AM Saturday- 20 minutes before another 200 runners began their quests for 100 or 50 miles. Andy made a load speaker announcement that Ryan Dexter and David Goggins were leading the 150 mile race and were at mile 60. Everyone cheered- it was very cool. That and the addition of some much needed sunlight gave me hope for the day’s trek. The additional runners caused the track to degrade rapidly and the rain muddied the track up so much so that it was almost un-walkable much less runable.

The trails did drain well and the course did dry out a bit. Things could have always been worse. I began to hurt around mile 90 and like I mentioned above David and I went our separate ways at about 91. I lay down in the flat field shortly after leaving the Start/Finish. This was the first point that I got some new pacers since the morning. My friends Keith Feiler and Eric Olson joined us on the loop. I had some great people out there with me. Both Keith and Eric ended up running 30 miles with me at different times. My friend Burt Dehaven ran 40 straight miles with me. My friends Tony Piek, Steve Cabler, Dirk Racine, and Scott Nelson ran 10 miles. These friends help carry my spirit to the finish. I also had friends Al Derus, Mary Langer, Tom Rodenkirch, Tom Grabot, Michael Oftedahl, and Rachel Smith there supporting me. Rachel came all the way from Canada. The rest made the nearly 4 hour trip from Madison.

This was by no means a solo effort. I finished the first 100 in around 22:30. That was about 20 minutes faster than my course PR of 22:52 in 2005. I crossed the 110 mark and yelled to Andy that I was getting my second wind. My race ended a few miles later around mile 116.

The Book of Proverbs reminds us that there is a friend that sticks closer than any brother. In our time of need, Jesus will send angels to protect you. In their wings, you will find refuge. On their wings, you will soar like eagles. If it weren’t for the many angels that my friend Jesus sent my way, I most certainly would not be writing a finisher’s race report. I could probably write a book about the mountain highs and the valley lows that I experienced during those final 40 miles. But in the end, we were still standing. I think I stopped for about 15 minutes one time and tried to warm up around a campfire. But other than that, it was a constant push for a 40:40:45 finish (yes 40+ hours).

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. Three of my friends became ultra-runners this past weekend just to help me achieve my goal. They had nothing invested and nothing to gain. There was no reward for their effort. They did it out of love. Mike and Peggy stayed up as long as I did just to be a part of the journey. I am forever grateful to all of your efforts and the time you committed to this.

My wife was in Phoenix and finished the Ironman Arizona Sunday. I know she was there with me in spirit. She has been a great inspiration for me – taking care of three small boys and still finding time to train. Although she doesn’t understand my deep desire to run, she supports my endeavors. My in-laws watched the boys all weekend for us – I know that was not easy either (thank you). My Mother hung by the phone and Peggy called her EVER lap regardless of the time. My friend Demah called Peggy almost hourly for updates as well. I had a lot of prayers carrying me up and down those hills as well.

The finish line was a great experience. Paul Stofko had showered up and come back to the Start/Finish. David passed me in what seemed like a full out sprint with about a mile to go in the race. That inspired me to run and I think I finished in third place about 5 minutes behind David. There were some pictures taken with Paul, David, and I. It was so extremely cool to be a part of such great runners. David told me that we would get him next time. Next time?

All the Best-

Ryan Dexter
Madison, WI

Results: A little over 40 people started the 150 mile event, 10 finished. - Over 70 people started the 100 mile event, 21 finished. For one of the lowest finishing rates in ultra-running history. Official results will be available sometime soon at: http://www.mcnaughtonparktrailruns.com/