Susan Donnelly

Javelina 100 wasn’t originally on my race calendar.  For months, the schedule was Syllamo 100 on October 24, a nice two-week gap, then Ozark 100 two weeks later on November 7th.  Javelina landed between the two races but the logistics of travelling to three 100s in a row, much less running all three, were too daunting so I originally passed on Javelina.

Then in August, I received an e-mail saying Syllamo 100 was cancelled due to uncleared damage from a February ice storm and within minutes, Rob and I hopped on the Javelina waiting list.

Javelina by itself is not my ultimate course but it’s got one amenity no other course can match – my parents.  They live where the race is held and it’s a great excuse to fit in an extra visit to see them.  Add to that the fact that Rob (amazingly) has never run this race, which is perfect for him since he likes runnable dirt road and heat, and going to this race was an easy decision.

Still, life rarely if ever turns out as expected.  By the time Javelina rolled around, I was just beginning to recover from the work on the Cumberland Trail 50k, a class I taught the following weekend for the University of Tennessee (on ultrarunning, what else?), just beginning to face the mountain of tasks postponed during CT 50k preparation, and sadly out of shape with 0 to 15-mile weeks all the way back to Superior Sawtooth in early September.  To top it off, Rob fell down the stairs at my house the weekend before, ending up with a separated shoulder and severe heel bruise that might keep him from finishing even a course this easy.  In an all-out effort to heal, he hadn’t run all week, and  we wouldn’t even know if he could run until the race started.

Oh, and one other small detail.  There was no longer a two-week break between the 100s.  Ozark 100 started five short days after Javelina ended.

For a race that’s usually a sure finish for me, I was suddenly not at all sure how it would turn out.

Evening Before: Registration and Pre-Race Briefing

Mom, Dad, Rob and I drove over to Javelina Jeadquarters, the main aid station in McDowell Mountain Park, to pick up our race numbers and timing chips and hear the pre-race briefing over a pasta dinner.  As other runners arrived, we got to talk to friends Nattu Nattraj and Karen, David Hughes, Mary Croft, local runner Nicole Strong (returning from injury and only planning to run 100k), her husband Austin, and Tammy Massie and her pacer.

It’s been extremely hot in the day and cold at night in previous years but this weekend looked perfect – high of 80 degrees and lows in the 40s.  As the briefing started, we were all treated to a spectacular desert sunset of golds, pinks and oranges painting a few wispy clouds over the McDowells.  Tomorrow was going to be a good day.

The Start – Lap 1 – Clockwise

Since it was actually Halloween and this was a fun run, I decided for the first time ever to wear a costume during the race – I was going as Cavewoman.  It was warm enough that to start in only the costume, gloves and a wool Buff.

Jamil Coury gave the word and we started off in the dark.  Javelina is 6 x 15.5-mile loops and a last partial loop, all of which could get pretty boring if it wasn’t run washing-machine style, meaning each loop goes in the opposite direction.  The first one was clockwise.

Rob and I started out with Nicole.  The local paper had written a nice article about the race the week before, featuring hometown ultrarunner Nicole.  We chatted about the article as the dawn started to light up the sky, birds began to sing and we turned off our headlamps.  We don’t get to see Nicole that often so it’s always a special treat to spend trail time with her.

We passed two new trail signs early on and Nicole explained how they hooked up to the trails I run when visiting my parents.  The area has a superb, extensive trail network and these new trails looked soooo tempting.  It was hard to stay on the race course and not veer off to explore.  I could wait – they’d just have to be my Christmas present.

I hated to ask but did, and Rob said his heel was already hurting.  About halfway around the first loop, his knee also started hurting.  He was taking meds during the race, which is highly unusual for him in everyday life, much less in a race.  Our mantra for the race was “damage control” – enjoy the course, the people, and my parents and stay healthy enough to finish Ozark the following weekend.  We took it easy.

Still, the miles passed and we turned a corner of the loop, now facing into the morning sun (mental note – get sunglasses out of the drop bag at Jeadquarters aid station).  Four Peaks and the Tonto National Forest faced us and on the hour, the white, wind-blown 560-foot plume of the Fountain Hills fountain appeared over the hills to the right.

We passed the Jackass Junction aid station and were heading toward the main Jeadquarters aid station to complete our first loop when we started seeing runners returning in the opposite direction, starting their second loop.  It was easy to pick out the order at this point and there were lots of costumes this year.  Among others, we saw a cow, greek goddess, turtle, a rabbit, a mouse with whiskers, a devil and angel running together, a variety of winged fairies, a male French maid, a cop, Bob Marley, a scary-looking Rambo, and Tammy Massie dressed as a pink and sparkly hula girl.

People started complimenting my costume, most guessing I was Wilma or Jane.  Not so.  Jane lived in the wrong ecosystem and milennium, Wilma wore “pearls” and would never have run a 100-miler.  I preferred Raquel Welch in One Million Years BC.  One guy said I was going to win costume award.  Hmm…if you can’t be fast, you might as well have fun.

Yay!  Mom and Dad greeted us as we came into the Jeadquarters aid station.  They’d been out yard sale-ing since the race start and had picked up a few treasures but to me, they were the treasure.  As a friend of mine said, having your parents there at the race makes you feel like a million bucks.

We lounged in the aid station with them and chatted.  Rob changed socks and I taped the tender new skin left by peeling Mont Blanc blisters and also the new blister that appeared on the side of my foot, of all places.  Mom and Dad finally shooed us out of the aid station for the next loop.

Lap 2 – Counterclockwise

As we were running out of the aid station, an incoming runner said there was a coyote on the course ahead.  No chance it would stay for us, right?  Wrong.  We rounded a corner and there he was.  He marked his territory right in front of us, clearly unhappy with all the invaders, then glared resentfully at us while I snapped some photos and as we started to run, escorted us out of his kingdom.

The second loop meant same course but new views.  We ran the early part of it with Tammy, who kept us entertained with amusing stories about her Dad and her work.

The sun got higher and so did the temps and the salt on my skin.  I wished I had the Bag Balm I’d left at Mom and Dad’s house.  Rats.

About four hours later, we rolled into Jeadquarters greeted again by Mom and Dad – best sight ever in an aid station.  We ate veggie Subways (no cheese – yes!), Rob changed shoes and socks again, and we talked with Mom and Dad, easily spending 20 minutes hanging out there.  Finally, Mom and Dad, like a good crew, pushed us out of the aid station for another lap.

Lap 3 – Clockwise

This was the hottest lap.  Everyone looked like they were slowing down.  Some of the expressions looked distinctly unhappy.  Still, some guy said I should win the costume award and the group of guys that thought I was Wilma or Jane, got it right this time by greeting me proudly with “cavegirl!”

Rob’s knee was hurting but we did fine.  The dry Arizona heat is so much more tolerable than the sweaty, humid Tennessee heat that we didn’t mind, and besides, the full-on sun was such a relief from months of dark, rainy days we’d had at home.  Time to soak up some Vitamin D.

Coming toward the Jeadquarters aid station, we could see the almost-full moon rising above Four Peaks in front of us.  It was going to be a gorgeous night.

At the Jeadquarters aid station, we picked up headlamps, chowed down on pizza (it smelled so good that I scraped the cheese off and ate some).  We met Jen Vogel from Atlanta, who was injured and here to pace her husband and a friend instead.  We were again shooed out by Mom and Dad, who had to leave to meet a visiting cousin for dinner in town.  It sounded pretty fun.

Lap 4 – Counterclockwise

We left with our headlamps on and almost immediately out of the aid station, my stomach started feeling bad which is unusual for me.  I might have eaten too much at Jeadquarters, maybe ate some cheese with the pizza, who knows.   We took it easy and Rob reluctantly had to lead the pace for a while.

I finally was able to run comfortably but ate only a GU the entire loop.  As night descended and the moon rose, lots of runners chose to forego headlamps.

The trail was freezing cold in the washes, stiflingly warm on the rises above.  You could feel the temperature swing about 20 degrees in a few steps.

Back at Jeadquarters again, Mom and Dad were probably still out with my cousin, her husband and their friends, visiting from Cleveland, Ohio.  The aid station was a bit gloomy without them.  On the somewhat bright side, the buffet was serving freshly-cooked veggie burgers, the perfect thing to perk up my appetite and quiet my growling tummy.  I  drowned one in salty mustard and savored every bite.  Rob changed shoes yet again, since one set of shoes relieved knee problems and the other set relieved his heel bruise pain.  It was chilly and without Mom and Dad there to talk to, there wasn’t a reason to stay.  We ducked out quickly for the next loop.

Lap 5 – Clockwise

Shortly after leaving the aid station, a burning pain spread from the side of my foot toward my ankle.  The darn blister I had taped earlier had decided to pop.  Well…there was nothing to do but keep running.  This too would pass.  And sure enough, the pain eventually eased up.

On the first leg of the loop, we passed David Hughes, who’d been running very well but didn’t think he’d have time to finish, though it sounded like he was going to try.  I hoped so.

No Mom and Dad at Jeadquarters again this time.  I’d kind of hoped they would be here but couldn’t blame them – it was somewhere around 3:00 a.m.  I wasn’t about to call or text them to let them know we had clocked another loop.  They could check the website updates when they woke up in the morning.

Turns out they missed us by about 5 minutes.

Lap 6 – Counterclockwise

My stomach was still bothering me, so my menu was now limited to GU.  Rob’s knee was bothering him enough now that we had to start running uphill and walking down, the opposite of what ultrarunners normally do.  I kept finding myself running downhills, on automatic pilot, leaving Rob behind to hobble down on his own.

Coyote eyes appeared every so often in our headlamp beams.  The huge orange moon finally sank below the hills right in front of us.  Owls hooted softly.  With the option to finish the race at 100k and the usual attrition from drops, the course now felt empty.  It was quiet and still.

The sun rose on us shortly before the remote Coyote Camp aid station.  One of the nice features about this race is getting to enjoy two desert sunrises.  What a treat!

On the way in to the Jeadquarters aid station we saw Karen, smiling and running strong on her last partial loop.  She said Nattu had dropped, bad news.

The guys that thought I was Wilma happily greeted me with “cavegirl!” one last time.

Rob’s whole knee now was hurting and swollen.  We saw Dad’s friend Rand, the park manager, heading out on a “mule”  to pick up runner who had fallen into a cactus.  Ouch!  Rob said his knee felt a little better than that.

Yes!  Mom and Dad were waiting on the way into the aid station.  We told them Rob was limping, we were going slow, and not to expect us at the finish in record speed.

They gave us colored necklaces that signified we were on our last partial loop.  Only one more aid station and a half-lap to go.  A bit more new trail for Rob and welcome trail for me.

Half Lap – Clockwise

Somehow, with the end so tangibly close, all the little nagging injuries either started yelling louder, or we started paying attention to them.  Chafing, swollen knee…  We had plenty of time to finish and took it as easy as we could stand to go.

Still, I wanted to fit in a nap before dinner that evening with my cousin Terri, who I hadn’t seen in 35 years, and her husband and friends.  The sooner we finished, the longer the nap.

We arrived at Coyote Camp aid station for one visit and this time got to take the Tonto Tank Trail straight downhill toward the Jeadquarters aid station and the finish.

The morning sun ahead blinding my eyes, I thought I saw a pink mirage in the dusty trail ahead.  No mirage – it was Tammy.  She had run out almost 3 miles on the trail to pace us in and snap a bazillion photos on the way (cruel to do at the end of a 100).

Tammy made the time fly and the next thing we knew, we were a couple of tenths from the finish.  We picked up the pace and I was surprised to have plenty left in the tank.  That boded well for Ozark the next weekend.

I didn’t see Mom or Dad as we neared the finish but they were probably waiting at the line for us.

We ran into Jeadquarters and across the line one more time, smiling and happy to be done.  Mom and Dad materialized a minute later.  It was so good to see them and to have them there.  Everything was right in the world.

Postscript

Sadly, I didn’t win the costume award but it seemed life might, just might, go on.

We soaked our legs in my parents’ pool to pre-emptively minimize the usual swelling, then had a much-needed nap.  Dinner that evening was a fun get-together at my parents’ house with cousin Terri, her husband John, and friends Bob and Rose.

Rob says he’d do it again.  I love seeing my parents and you can take your time at this race, not trash yourself, and still finish with a decent clock time.  Besides, I’d love to come back when the 20-year drought is finally over, supposedly in a year or two.  There are so many good 100s to choose from this time of year, that coming back might mean foregoing another 100, but it’s still a wonderful problem to have.

My parents have been to several races with me but I never tire of sharing something I love with them.  To share something you love with the people you love…there’s nothing better.  And even though it’s a nice race and pretty course, the best part was still getting to see Mom and Dad in the aid stations.  The time you spend with the people you love is the best time of all.

Posted: Friday, November 6, 2009, 11:23 pm | Tags: Blog | Respond | Trackback