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/

Badgerland F/X 12 Hour Race - September 2006

I Can Do All Things through Christ Who Strengthens Me. Philippians 4:13

Saturday evening, September 2, 2006 the most improbable thing occurred during the Badgerland F/X 12 and 24 Hour Runs (www.badgerlandstriders.org/1224hour), a new course record was set for the 12 hour run breaking Roy Pirrung’s 1997 total of 77.81 miles. It was amazing to just be a part of the atmosphere and is something I will never forget.

I thought maybe a track run would be a good way to get some miles in for the month of September. Although I prefer trail running, I do most of my running commuting back and forth to work on the streets of Madison. Last month, I logged about 245 miles but never more than 10 or so at one time. Besides a few speed workouts last year training for a marathon, I have spent no time on a track.

Who am I? At best, I am an average ultrarunner. My Marathon PR is only 3:34:06. 50-mile is 9:18:27 and 100-mile is 21:51:00. I run races to finish...never to win. Sometimes life has plans other than what we expect- even in our wildest dreams.

There are 3 different 12 hour runs at the F/X Races: the first runs from 9 AM – 9 PM, the second from noon – midnight, and the third from 8 PM – 8 AM. I chose the evening version because it would mean less time away from home. I felt like a complete imposture toeing the line Saturday night at 8 PM to run laps on the 400 meter track. I had a plan to run 7 laps and then walk one. It was a plan, but I had not practiced it. My goal was to cover about 60 miles. I thought the most mileage I would ever be able to do in 12 hours would be about 70.

Every 3 hours runners change direction on the track to help the muscles. This also breaks a 12 hour race up into 4 equal parts. After the first turn around, I covered a little under 20 miles (80 laps = 19.88 miles)- a little better than 6.6 miles/hour. I thought to myself, WOW – multiply that by 4 and that is roughly 80 miles!

I have often forgotten about the law of diminishing returns. In my first 100 mile attempt in 2004 at Western States I thought a 9:18:27 50-miler should most certainly correlate to a sub 24 hour. I crawled across that finish line with about 15 minutes under the 30 hour cut-off.

The next 3 hours proved to be very similar and at the half way point, I had covered about 40 miles (161 laps = 40.02 miles). I thought, WOW – I am not slowing down. How is that possible? In my mind, I began to jokingly think that maybe 80 miles was obtainable. That is usually a mistake of mine. I start running the numbers in my head before a race is over instead of just enjoying the race itself.

9 hours into the race found me a little slower having covered about 59 miles (239 laps = 59.40 miles)- but still extremely consistent. To put this evening into perspective, I covered 50 miles in roughly 7h30m – nearly 2 hours better than anything I had done previously. At this point, with three hours left in the race, I actually began to believe the unbelievable. Marty Malin (the Race Director) told me I needed 314 laps to break the record. Who am I to think I can break any records?

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9: 24-25

I began to run for the prize. I became a machine. I had set myself up with 9 hours of steady work to make a run for it...to possibly set a new record. With 2 hours left in the race, I had only 50 laps to go to set a new record. I cut walking breaks out all together. 38 out of the last 50 laps were each competed in 2:10 or less with 11 of those in under 2:00. In the end, I covered a little more than 317 laps and 79.038 miles (6.587 miles/hour).

Sometimes, I have a hard time maintains that pace for a 10 miler much less for nearly 80. Even saying that I ran 79 miles in 12 hours sounds unbelievable. Everything just came together for me physically and mentally Saturday night. I would like to personally thank all the volunteers and fellow runners who were out on the course encouraging me to go for it. Paul Braun was a major help throughout the race- thanks for being there. My wife Christina and sons Chase, Cruz, and Dash must have been sending some major positive thought my way – thanks for your continued loving support.

Many more stories took place in Greendale, Wisconsin over the weekend. Below are the results of those adventures. Congratulations to all and thanks for making this so memorable for me.

Ryan Dexter
Madison, WI


Badgerland F/X 12 & 24 Hour Runs Results
24 HOUR RUN
Name Distance (miles)
Kent Roberts 105.882
Mike Harner 101.408
Gerard Prilutski 100.165
Edwin Cook 89.477
Dan Roberdeau 62.386
Constance Karras 61.640
Doug Wielgat 56.420
Barbara Lips 50.704
Robert Wehner 50.455
Terry Hawkins 49.213
Rick George 47.721
Patrick Gorman 40.016
Shelby Roberdeau 35.045

12 HOUR RUN – DAY
Name Distance (miles)
Jeffrey Kin 61.906
Casey Lopez 59.403
Karen Vanrite 57.166
Audrey Drake 56.918
Lorraine Bunk 54.690
Scott Novak 53.958
Brad Drake 43.496
Elizabeth Gionfriddo 38.028

12 HOUR RUN – NOONER
Name Distance (miles)
Kristine Hinrichs 50.207
Jeff Weiss 37.034
Jeff Schultz 32.063
John Rodee 31.566

12 HOUR RUN – NIGHT
Name Distance (miles)
Ryan Dexter 79.038
Paul Braun 61.391
Kevin Magin 47.224
Keith Dunn 31.814


"What Ryan left out of his excellent race report is the classy way he ran the race. As someone who unfortunately was in his way more often than not Ryan was constantly smiling and giving encouragement to every runner out there. It was a real treat to watch such a graceful runner maintain that pace all night long. Congrats Ryan on breaking the record!" - Kent Roberts, IL (the 24 hour winner)

"Congratulations on a magnificent self-surpassing record! Sometimes things just work right. Obviously it was your day."
- Lynn David Newton, AZ

“Thanks for passing along Ryan-that inspires me greatly! Dude, 79+ miles is HUGE!! Great work out there.”
- Dean Karnazes, San Francisco, CA

"I enjoyed your post...congratulations on an amazing run. That is a great record...Roy Pirrung is one of our sports best! You must be thrilled to have had such an amazing day...enjoy the accomplishment.- Suzie Lister, San Ramon, CA

"Nice story on your accomplishment! I'm sure you will inspire many with it. I know you inspired me during the event."
- Marty Malin (The Race Director)

"Never thought I'd enjoy going in circles around a track all night but, let me tell you, watching this man run so strong all night was nothing short of amazing. I've told a number of people about your experience, of which I'm still in awe. You were great, man, and I was glad I could be there to watch. My first all night run; as I look back on it in future years, one of the outstanding memories will be chatting with you, watching you pass me every lap, and our greetings back and forth .Really enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for being.”
- Keith Dunn, VA (12 hour participant)

"Ryan - what can I say but congratulations! I am in absolute awe of what you accomplished last Saturday. As I was explaining to a couple of local running buddies over the last few days, you did three consecutive sub 4:00 hour marathons and then threw in a couple of extra laps - it is so far beyond what I am capable of that it blows my mind."
- Robb Linnemanstons, Milwaukee, WI

"As I was running the track today, I realized (blown away really) how impressive your numbers are. Basically 3 simultaneous marathons with a sub-4 average. I would guess the number of people who have done this in the history of the world number in either hundreds or low thousands. Truly amazing. You were on my mind in the marathon of the Ironman, used your 12 hour run as a motivator"- Dirk Racine, Madison, WI

"I don't know you but way to go. That is so awesome. Congrats on this great accomplishment. It's so inspirational."
- Deborah

“Just the greatest!”
- George, FL

“All I can say is WOW!!!!! Impressive!!!! Congratulations!!! You are a machine!!”
- Melina, CT

"Congratulations on your good run! Doesn't it feel great to turn in a strong performance like that? It's nice to read a post like this every once in a while from a runner who is actually RACING!! Good job."- Brian

“Congrats buddy. Thanks be to God. All things are through him. You are a good example of his strength. Nice Job!”
- Kevin Keyes, WI

"Thanks for sharing this with me!! It's inspirational, to say the least, and you've got my heartfelt congratulations."- David Horne, NC

"Awesome run...Glad to see you get one of Roy's records.... He has too many...CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!!!!"
- Danny Ripka, MN

“You did something amazing - we are all just floored and impressed!”
- Amy Sanborn, WI

“Congratulations on an unbelievable achievement!”
- Eric Olson, WI

“Ryan that is truly amazing. I had to read over your email a couple of times before it sunk in what you were able to do.”
- Jon Anderson, WI

“You are amazing!!! Congrats.”
- Rich Henderson, WI

“Ryan- Congratulations on your excellent run!!”
- Karl King, CA (S! Caps)

“You Are A Machine!! WOW! I know my body would never be able to come even close to that.”
- Tom Carlson, WI

‘Ryan...good run...great story...†”
- Bruce

“If you had gone into the race thinking I am going to do so and so your result may have been different, but you just got into the flow and flew. Nice going”.
- Jim Skophammer, UT

“Ryan, Congrats on an excellent run at the F/X!!!!”
- Mary Gorski, WI

“Amazing, Ryan! Great run!”
- Mark Swanson, CA

“You've demonstrated the awesome power of mind over body- I'm very proud of you!”
- Rick Cashman, FL

Western States 100 - June 26, 2004

To All-

What a day. Never in my mind did I ever think it would take me nearly 30 hours to finish that course. I really did not know what to expect having never run over 50 miles and having never run at that elevation. I totally hit the wall around 50 miles- it was brutal. The course was brutal- I knew there had to be something out there that just sucked time. It was the canyons. There is one section of the course right around the 45-50 mark up to a checkpoint called Devil's Thumb. I died on that part of the course. It contained 37 switchbacks all the way to the top. I would take about 5 steps and stop- lean against the side- rest for about a minute- take another 5 steps. I ran out of water. By the time I hit the top checkpoint I had started to shiver and I was well beyond dehydrated. My plan was to drink a mixture of hammer gel and sustained energy all day. That lasted about 30 miles- I just could not drink it. I stopped peeing about 7 hours into the race. I had the urgency but could not go- so I stopped using the Succeed! tablets. That caused my muscles to ache. I reached Michigan Bluff where my crew was- I think it was mile 52 or something. I was so ready to pack it in. My friend Demah was my first pacer and I would never had finished it without him. He is an African runner with a 1/2 marathon PR of around 1:06. Someone that knew pain and knew how to get me through. Demah probably logged at least 50 miles during this race running around. He just said let us get to Foresthill and we will take care of you and get you ready to finish this. At that point I was behind the 30-hour pace cut-off. I thought how in the hell can I finish this when I have almost half yet to do. My crew (Mike, Erin, Ryan, and Demah) took care of me at Foresthill. They helped massage my legs and get me mentally ready for the journey to come.

This was the slowest 50-miler I have ever done and I felt the worst after it. I always thought that at some point I would zone out and mentally remove myself from the situation, but it never happened. I laid down on a dirt road right after Michigan Bluff and told Demah- "I'm Done". I was not peeing, I was extremely dehydrated and my muscles were burning. This was about 9:30ish at night. I could not even think about continuing. Demah said "What do you want to do?". "I just want to go to bed." Everything said no- stop. We arrived at Foresthill and they started loading me up with fruits- melons, bananas, watermelons. That is what got me through. The Dr. at Foresthill was concerned that I have not peed in so long. He wanted me to pee before I left- which somehow I was able to do. Typically they do not allow pacers to mule for the runners, but the Dr. let Demah bring a bag full of fruits for me which he feed to me throughout the night. This is where we turned to race around- I have no idea how, but we slowly chipped away at the aid station cutoffs. Somehow between the hours of 2 AM and 4 AM we were able to gain an hour. When we reached Rucky Chucky River crossing around 4:30 AM and saw that we were 1 hour over the 30-hour pace mentally I knew we could do it. Up until that point I had determined that I would just keep moving and if I got pulled that was how it was going to be. I was meant to finish this race- the temperatures felt hot to me, but they were very mild compared to most years. I do not think it ever raised above 90.

Around mile 80 we switched pacers and Ryan and I just hiked at a consistent pacer for about 13 miles. The bottoms of my feet were raw from the constant pounding- the terrain was difficult. Rocks everywhere. We had 1-1/2 hours to finish 3 miles in the end. Gordy the guy that started it all let me know that while we were climbing up to the finish at Auburn. My crew was still trying to push me up those hills. It seemed like there were hills everywhere. You went up and over every mountain- it seemed to never end. Gordy says forget those guys and come back here with me- we can cross the line together. While we were walking up the hill into the town Gordy passes me and says you should have taken me up on the offer- to that I responded something like you will still need to beat me. And we went into what seemed like an all-out sprint. Even at mile 99.5 you can shit-talk! That lasted about 10 seconds and Gordy continued on his way. I knew I was going to finish.

Everything said stop don't keep going you are not going to make it. Somehow I got a second wind. I came from death and was reborn during the night. I feel honored to have experienced that- it was hands down much harder than I ever imagined. I always said if I was going to do a hundred I want to do WS. I am now done with 100's- it is just way to far :)

Thanks for the positive thought during the race- I know that helped get me through it. There were a lot of people watching. My wife and mother were up most of the night monitoring the race. I sure did cut it close.

In Christ,

Ryan Dexter