Raccoon River Valley Round FKT

With the crisis that has been happening with the COVID-19 pandemic, racing hasn't been something that has been happening for the past few months. Rightfully so, people are just "hungry" to do something. Under a significant amount of pressure, I made the decision a few weeks ago to postpone the 2020 running of the Booneville Backroads Ultra series of races. I didn't want to put my runners or the community in harm even if some feel we could have put it on.

Because of this, Memorial Day weekend freed up...which the race would have started on my birthday...and wanted to do something crazy that I'd been dreaming about for a few years. Run the entire Raccoon River Valley Trail in Central Iowa for an FKT. The FastestKnownTime.com site didn't have one set so why not give it a whirl.

I told my beautiful and supportive wife that I was thinking about doing something wild for my birthday and her response was "please don't say it's 100 miles. I don't want your whole birthday ruined because you're too tired"...my response..."Nope...It's just 72 :)". Her reply "Oh. Ok. That's not so bad then"...she just gets me

I followed all of the requirements as put together by Buzz and Peter on the FKT team, freaked out a little bit when I thought that I needed a live tracker, breathed a little easier when they said I didn't. Panicked a little more when I didn't know if my watch battery would last, forgot that it could charge on the go. Planned the route and remembered that there was a section of about 10 miles that was out because of bridge construction, but rerouted around it by running on gravel (which added about 1.5 miles) and felt good and hit the submit button.

Run morning comes around and I was joined at the start by my wife and one of my daughters (who were going to be on bikes for the first section), along with my buddies Louden and Cooper who were both in to do varying distances on the day and one of my best friends Josh who was there to see us off. Honeslty, I was a little bummed that Josh couldn't join us. He is mentally and physically one of the strongest SOB's I've ever met, but "work" was in his future for the day but I was so excited he was there. We touched the "Freedom Rock" in Adel at 5:00am on May 22 and took off. Strava beacon humming along and Suunto ready to help me keep pace.

The "crew" at the start

The pace started really well. The weather was incredible to start. Little to no wind. Overcast and in the low 60's. We headed east because there is a section between Adel and Waukee that if the wind picked up, I didn't want to have to deal with in the final 7 miles. This section I've run a few hundred times to I knew what to expect and it really just flew by.

Somewhere between Waukee and Dallas Center we met up with my good friend Jason who was out on his own 50k of the day. It was so awesome to see him out there and I am so psyched for him. He's struggled with some health problems over the last few years and it was great to spend just a couple of minutes with him as he went out and got his own 50k done. So incredibly proud of him for continuing to fight!!!

Jason Wulf

When we came to the 10-mile point, my better half and mini-me turned around on their bikes so they could do their homeschooling for the day. I was so proud of my daughter because this was the longest ride she'd ever done. 20 miles in one day!!! She was bummed because I wouldn't let her go the whole way, but there was no way I was going to listen to her complain about her butt hurting at 30 miles :)

Cooper's farthest run ever!!!

We made our way through Dallas Center (which thank you to the community of Dallas Center for having your toilets open along the trail...PHEW that was a close call) and toward Minburn. Cooper, who is a Sophmore in high school, told us when we were heading outside of Dallas Center that he'd never run farther than 13 miles (which I didn't realize until this moment) and he signed up to do 18. He told us that if he felt good at Minburn, which was our next town, he was going to do a little out/back to get 20 miles for the day. For those who don't know Cooper, this is a HUGE deal. Cooper is an incredible athlete. Because of his height, so many kids his age don't see him as a threat in races, but I will tell you that this kid will tear your throat out if you look at him sideways. He is a fierce competitor and gives his running 110% every time. He is calculated and is a monster!!!

The bantering between Dallas Center and Minburn was classic. We all love to give each other a hard time during runs for so many different things and it was great to have that humor early in the morning. It honestly took some of the focus off of what was coming to the rest of the day.

As we came into Minburn (19 miles) we stopped to get some food in our stomachs and so Louden could change his socks for the final 12 miles of his day. As he reaches into his pack...no socks....uh oh...I could tell something was off with him though. He was not having his normal day this far into an event. Something seemed a little off. As we moved out of Minburn, we got to 19.5, and Cooper turned around to meet his grandmother who had shown up to give him a ride home. What a special thing for me to be a part of. I was so honored to be there when he ran his first ever 20 miler.

Oh....I think I lost my change of socks :)

Cooper got 20 miles done!!!

As we moved on, something was wrong with Louden. He wasn't talking and walking a lot more than I thought he would be at this point. He's had issues with hips for a while and told me that his knee was hurting. I knew instantly that it was that bastard IT band. I was carrying KT tape in my pack, looked up some IT band taping techniques, but he made the wise decision that he was going to get to the marathon distance and call it a day. He's got an amazing college career starting in the fall and it was the most educated and grown-up decision I've seen him make on a run. This kid is smart. He is talented. He's a competitor. He's a machine. I didn't want to see him stop, but I knew it was the right decision.

IT band was NOT happy

The "I'm going to kill Brad if he makes me run any farther" face

As we came into Perry, I had some of my friends/co-workers meet me on the trail to bring me some breakfast burritos, water for my pack, and a coke. It was so special to see them. I was in REALLY good spirits. I took a few minutes to sit and do my checklist of items for "aid stations". I filled my UltrAspire Legacy pack with water, filled a bottle with coke, got rid of trash and I was ready to roll. I gave Louden a huge hug and started back on the trail. As I walked away, BOOM!!! FIZZ!!!!!! Yep...my bottle erupted like a coke volcano spewing the sugary goodness all over me....ahhh....what a fun way to exit a town :)

Miles 26-32 we fine just figuring out my pacing strategy. I hadn't done a run longer than 16 miles since September 2019 so I needed to get into my brain a plan. Run 1/2 mile, walk 1/2 mile. Keep drinking, eating, and staying positive. The weather remained beautifully overcast with a slight S-SE breeze.

When I came into Dawson, Louden had already gotten picked up, drove back to my house, gotten my drop bag, and brought it to me so that I could change shoes, grab some more Picky Bars and keep moving. I took this time to charge my phone and watch a little bit while I waited for him. The weather was seriously perfect and getting that 50k done was a great feeling.

I changed shoes into a fresh pair of HOKA Carbon X's and took off. I can't stress enough how great I felt between Dawson and Jamaica. My run/walk plan was working. I felt incredible. I was halfway done and looking forward to grabbing a bite to eat and something to drink as I came into town. I was on pace with where I needed to be for the one bar along the trail to be open. Low and behold...it was not. I was deflated. My plan was to get water, eat a picky bar, grab some coke, and move. When I came up to bar it was like the wind was completely out of my sails...and this is where I made the biggest mistake of the run...

Dad would have loved this sign. Reminds me of his old Harley Davidson lighter

Between Jamaica and Herndon I just felt...blah. Knowing where I was I knew that I shouldn't be feeling like this at this point in the day. My stomach was tight and my head was a little foggy. I was drinking and eating well...why was a feeling so weird. As I came into the tiniest town on the trail, Herndon, I see a bench at the point where I am to turn to head south. I sit down, open my pack and there it was...an extra Picky Bar. I had one more than I was supposed to have. I had forgotten to eat in Jamaica and had officially gone about 8 miles with no fuel. I was in trouble...

I scarfed down a bar and thought about taking a second just to try and catch up, but knew that if I ate too many calories at one time I was going to end up with puke all over the trail. I spent the next 10 miles trying to figure out how in the hell I was going to dig myself out of it...by myself.

When something like this happens, you really have two choices to make. You can call it quits or you can dig deep inside and find a way to just keep moving. Ultrarunning has been a way for me to learn that life is like running an ultra. You are going to have some incredibly high moments and some incredibly low moments. How are you going to respond?

God puts special people and special moments into our lives for a reason. I decided that I wanted to show everyone that I can be vulnerable and have bad moments. I think a lot of times we tend to put ourselves out there on social media as always having it together. I took an opportunity to show people that running is hard. Life is hard. You have to keep moving. I recorded a FB live video in the middle of an incredibly low patch and before I was done with the 60-second video I had some beautiful messages sent to me from friends.

Yale was the next town I encountered and was going to be 6 miles from my family who was waiting for me with pizza. I'd never been to Yale and knew nothing about the town, but the map did state that there were gas stations and food options in town. I didn't realize until I got into the town though how far off they were from the trail and I wasn't willing to add distance to find out that they were closed for some reason. Trudge along.

The section between Herndon and Yale was really tough. The winds out of the south had picked up and I was fighting a headwind of 15mph. There was very little cover and I was reduced completely to a walk. Keep in mind that my walking is still somewhere between 12-13 minutes/mile so I still was moving.

Passing through Yale the trail does close in a little bit and you get some cover which was nice to block the wind. The trail was beautiful too. Lush green everywhere. I kept trying to focus on that. These purple flowers were popping all of the way on the whole route. I kept trying to focus on them. Focus on just continuing to move. Focus on my "3 things" that were positives. Focusing on seeing my wife and kids in Panora. Focusing on whatever I could. My amazing friends Jim and Jen both sent incredible videos of which both made me bawl like a baby. It was tough not having the two of them with me on this adventure because they've been such integral parts of my 100-mile finishes in the past but those 2-minute videos (one featuring a song Jim wrote about pooping in a ditch) were incredible gestures into what our community is.

About 2 miles outside of Panora, I see two people standing on the trail by a vehicle. One began waving their hands. I had no idea who they were. As I got a little closer I recognized the vehicle. Joe and Camille!!! Man was I glad to see some people!!! We chatted for a few minutes. I burst out in some expletives and they just pushed me along. This was a God moment. I was in a dark place and I needed them at that moment. As I walked away, I harnessed my inner David Goggins, hit my head, and yelled "YOU CAN'T HURT ME!!!!" and that primal instinct to finish was back!!!

From here on out, it was beautiful moments of community. I soon saw someone running down the trail banging a cowbell. I thought for a second that I was going crazy to then realize that it was my friend Julie. She'd driven halfway across the state just to be a part of this. Then my friend Chris (we'll call him Chris 1 because I'll be joined by another Chris later) came rolling up. I needed these guys so much at this moment. We've spent so much of our time over the last few months isolated from each other and I needed to be around people again. People from my community. We'd been together for no less than 15 minutes and we started having conversations about pooping on the trail...my people!!!

I was so thankful to round the corner coming into Panora to see my crazy family, one of my best friend Paul, our neighbor boy, and his grandparents there. I bawled. I told my wife how I'd screwed up. She told me to just move on and keep moving. Pizza, coke, stretching out a tight hip flexor, wincing in pain from cramps, change of shirt and socks, hugs, kisses and we were back moving again. This was the longest stop of the journey because I just wanted to see my kids, but 22 miles to go. One step at a time.

Julie mistook me for Bryon Powell of iRunFar the first time I met her :)

Between Panora and Linden, Chris 1, Julie, and I were met by a couple bikers. It was my friends, Dana and Carrie. They'd ridden their bikes in from Adel (our destination town) and rode a couple of miles with us. I updated them on how it was going and had the funniest experience of the day. As we progressed down the trail and were about to cross a road we noticed a deer. It just stood there and looked at us...then as we watched it a little longer Carrie screams "OH LOOK! A BEAVER!" and within seconds Dana veers off to the side of the trail, tries to correct herself and BAM! Down goes Dana. As we helped her up we couldn't stop laughing. She's been riding bikes for years, is a triathlete, and a very accomplished athlete and she falls going 4 miles an hour on the side of the trail. She gets up, bloodied on her knee and hand. I felt really bad for laughing but it slow motion when it happened and gave me a boost of laughter that I needed at the moment. Thanks for that Dana :)

Pre-falling

The deer :)

Julie had to head back to Panora shortly before reaching Linden to go hang out with her aunt. It was so amazing that she'd driven all of the way to meet up with me and I was so honored to have her with for the section that she was on the trail.

Chris 1 and I made our way into Linden to meet Josh and Louden. Josh had been tracking along all day and found us right before Julie left. Linden was a really quick aid station. I refilled water, grabbed another Picky Bar and we kept moving. No drama. No puking. All business.

As I was nearly 60 miles into this endeavor, I feel like Chris 1 could sense that I was starting to fade. He did an incredible job pulling me into a conversation and I am so appreciative of him being there. His story about getting ejected from a broomball game cracked me up...even if I wasn't laughing that much.

The stretch from Linden to Redfield was probably my favorite for how lush the landscape is. The previous 60-ish miles are beautiful but this was where it was at. I kept getting notifications that the rain was on its way and I had stashed my phone away in a waterproof pocket or this would have been where I photographed the most.

During this stretch, we again notice someone coming toward us in the distance. The funniest part of my running background and how many people I've been blessed to be around has given me a very unique ability to recognize people's gaits and the one coming toward me was one that I definitely knew! Fellow ultra runner Matt was coming right toward us. Was he here for me or was he on a training run? Turns out that he'd also been tracking along and wanted in on the "fun". Matt, Chris 1, and I all swapped stories about other ultras we've done, the current state of the weirdness in ultra running, etc.

Approaching another road crossing it was a beautiful moment to see my amazing friends Mike & Carrie. Mike is one of my best friends and, as much as he doesn't want me to say it, an incredible adventure racer, coach and dad. Carrie obviously is the boss in the house, but she is nice enough to let him think he is :) He recognized that I was low on calories. I didn't want to tell him, but I was REALLY low on calories. He noticed that change in my voice and wouldn't let me walk away without me telling him what I wanted to eat. God put these guys here at this moment for a reason. I told him that I really just wanted a burger with pickles. Lots and lots of pickles. They sped off to retrieve one and about a mile later, upon entering Redfield, I snarfed down the greatest burger of my life.

Coming into Redfield was almost a homecoming. Dustin, Tricia & Ashlynn (Louden's family) were waiting at a trail crossing for me with homemade signs and a frosty cold beverage. Mike & Carrie were there with my burger. Wendy was there to pick up Matt. Shelby and a couple of our kids showed up with a change of shoes for me and for me to drop my pack and change to my UltrAspire Speedgoat waistpack. The last 10 miles were going to be tough, but sitting there with all of them made me realize that I was almost home.

Tasted good at the time...not so much later

It was raining pretty good at this point. The radar showed that it wasn't going to last long, but I was definitely starting to get cold. Chris 1 took off and was replaced by Chris Beckwith (who will be known as Chris 2) and Tricia told me that she wanted to run me in. I've talked about the grit of Louden in the past, it was in this section that I figured out where he gets it from.

This was the section of the adventure is where my FKT will more than likely be different from those who follow it. The section of the Raccoon River Trail between Redfield and Adel has been out for the past few months due to the rebuilding of 13 bridges along the trail. I'd heard reports that the construction was nearly complete and the bridges are "passable" but to make sure that I got the full distance covered by my route that I had submitted we hopped on the gravel (which adds about 1.5 miles) and just went. What a fitting way to end this adventure. My gravel ultra race that would have been this weekend was what I was missing at this moment in time and we were going to get this done.

About a mile into hitting the gravel a vehicle approached honking like a crazy person. I was a little foggy so I wasn't 100% certain who it was. As it approached I finally recognized...IT WAS SARA!!!!!! The spitfire who has lit a fire under my ass about a million times in races. The person who couldn't navigate herself out of a paper bag had finally tracked us down!!!! She parked her car and we moved. And she didn't stop talking the entire 5-6 miles that she was with us...AND I LOVED IT!!!!!

CROCs for the win

I'M RUNNING WITH A BABY AND IN LOAFERS!!!

Reservoir Dogs montage

One of my favorite parts of ultra running is the hours you get to spend with people and learn more about them. Chris 2 and I have known each other for years, but I never really knew anything about his background. It was awesome to get to know him on a deeper level and hear that he came from a competitive road cycling background in Long Island and didn't start running until his wife convinced him to sign up for a 5k when he moved to Iowa. This dude is a freaking stud and will grind out a finish with the best of them!!!

The last couple of miles were friend after friend finding us on the gravel roads. Amanda and her rowdy CROC wearing crew. Chad, Lexie, and family were on their way from Omaha and decided to track us down. Dave Mable showed up with a beer for me (which I waited until after the finish for) and walked for a little bit. People driving by and honking. Mini-me and her friends who were supposed to be having a sleepover drove out blaring "Eye of the Tiger". Cooper was back to finish it off. Ashlynn had now joined in. Dustin was driving behind us shining lights on the road blaring terrible disco music. It was the perfect comedy and love that I needed.

As we approached Adel there is the one really big climb that comes into town before you get this really nice downhill push. I'd pushed all day and burned through everything in my stomach. Bars finally didn't sound good and water just wasn't' cutting it. My original plan was to climb that hill and run into the finish. Nearing the middle of the climb I get this tightness in my stomach that was all too familiar from the 22 other ultras that I've completed. HERE IT COMES!!! Hunched over the side of the road I begin to retch...and retch...and retch with nothing coming out. With 1.5 miles to go I was finally having my puking incident of this event. Dustin was next to me in the car and starts giving me crap about how "bullfrogs don't sound like that" and it made me laugh while I was lurching. In my infinite ability to bring humor into difficult situations I said "It's weird how all I taste is lemon" since he was the one who'd given me an NA beer just 8 miles earlier that was lemon flavored. I blame the puking on him :)

Coming into town, in the distance we see the flickering lights and the booming of fireworks that were going off in honor of the high school seniors who were scheduled to have their senior night that evening and it reminded me that these kids, although they got shorted on their senior year of high school, are going to have one of the most amazing stories to tell their kids and grandkids when they get older. A year of parties, sports, dances, and so many other things "taken away" by a virus. A whole lot of stories of heartache, but they have a lifetime of memories ahead of them that will outweigh the absence of some of these things. If there is any senior that has made it this far in this report, just know that you staying positive in the face of disappointment will just make your life so much better into your 30's, 40's, 50's and beyond.

Approaching the final turn to get back on the trail after all of the construction, I thanked all of the people that were with me and said I was ready to run. Grinding. Nothing in my stomach. Legs throbbing. Heart beating out of my chest. I look down at my watch and it reads that we were going a 8:30/mile and I start to hear screams. I see a headlamp in the distance. Cooper says "there is the light. That's where we are going" and we pick up the pace. 7:25/mile. I could see the crowd getting bigger. My youngest daughter starts to run toward me but I was on a mission. I scream "I gotta touch the rock!" and weave through the crowd. I hit the rock and instantly start to cry. 16:31:34 for 73.36 miles and a new FKT!!!!!

I couldn't believe my eyes. The crowd was HUGE!!! People clapping, screaming, and whistling. All for some stupid guy that decided to go for a run before he turned 40. It was beautiful!!!! My best friends. Neighbors. Friends from the community. Running friends. They were all there. It took all of the strength I had left to not bawl my eyes out...OK...so I did a little bit.
Finish Line video (courtesy of Dave Mable)
Post-run (courtesy of Dave Mable)

Adventures like this can't be done on their own without the love and support of your family and community of which I have the best. My wife and kids are amazing. During this whole adventure all I could think about was them. How I hope that when they get older they realize that NOTHING is impossible if you work really hard and that's why I do it. We are in a really weird point in our existence that people don't know what to do with themselves. I do these things to show people to dream big. I've been dreaming about doing this for a couple of years. I was telling someone this weekend that the thought of running this really did scare me. I've run 100 milers in the past that didn't scare me. I've done some pretty awesome things that didn't scare me, but for some reason this scared me and I'm so glad I did it.

To all of the pacers I had along the way, Louden, Cooper, Julie, Chris 1, Chris 2, Dana, Carrie, Matt, Tricia, Sara and any others that I may have forgotten...THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for spending your free time with me. Sorry that it was at a walking pace when all of you showed up to run :)

To anyone who is going to come after me on this, I want you to break the record. The issues that I struggled with made this "soft". I think if I had more training this year (my longest run since September was 16 miles) and if I had not forgotten to eat this was a 12-13 hour endeavor for me. I was forced to dig out of a hole that I didn't see coming. I was drinking REALLY well. I was hydrated and had enough sodium in my system. Overall my physical and mental felt really good. It was that one misstep that just left me with a huge crevice to come out of.

To all of my sponsors, I thank you for believing in me. I've got so many grand adventures in my mind right now that I'd like to get done and can't wait for the planning.
HOKA ONE ONE
UltrAspire
Squirrel's Nut Butter
Picky Bars
Red Dog Coffee Roasters
Fitness Sports
Active Endeavors

Items used during my 73 mile "Fun Run":

HOKA Carbon X (Black 33 miles and white 29 miles)
HOKA Speedgoat 4 Wide (final 11 miles)
Red Dog Coffee Roasters tech shirt
HOKA/Rabbit tech shirt
rabbit FKT 5" Shorts - the name seemed fitting
injinji socks (50 miles)
CEP Compression Calf Sleeves (50 miles)
OS1st Patella Sleeve
Wrightsocks (23 miles)
Squirrels Nut Butter (lube on the feet...and other places)
UltrAspire Legacy vest (62 miles)
UltrAspire Speedgoat 3.0 Waist Pack (11 miles)
Picky Bars (a random variety)
Random GU's that I found around my house and picked up last minute from Fitness Sports