Several of my TATUR friends went to Madill, Oklahoma to run in the Dan Man trail run Saturday. This was the 5th year for the race, and my 3rd go at it. My intentions this year were for 50 miles, but since I had not ran long since December at Sunmart, I was set to run what my body allowed. This event is more of an informal run than a race, and whatever distance one decides to run is fine. In turn, the gracious Dan Little and company feeds us like kings and queens....barbecue ribs, brisket, smoked turkey legs, baked beans, and all the other fixins, pancakes for breakfast, hot showers after the race....and this year, he charged absolutely ZERO for the entry fee. I love this man! And shame on me for not having a picture of him!
Before the sun came up, the runners made their way across the hills and prairie to Dan's wonderful country lodge.
Tatur Randy Ellis, normally a regular at Rocky Raccoon in Huntsville, TX held on the same day, prepares to run a fast 50K at Dan Man.
Another Tatur, Michael Adams, poses for a quick pic before the race. Michael usually either wins or finishes near the top of every event he enters, yet is as nice of guy as you would ever meet. Both he and Randy are truly ambassadors for our sport.
Michael and Lisa were running the 1/2 marathon today. Lisa has 2 marathons and a 50K under her belt, yet today was to be her 1st half marathon. Michael was also running the 1/2, and this would be his longest run to date. Both notched a great finish to their belts.
Bobby was running the marathon, which upon finishing, would give him Marathon Maniac status. Chrissy was running her 1st trail race, and ended up running the 1/2 marathon in 1:55! Geeze, I ran what I thought was a super 1/2 marathon time last September on a pancake plat paved course, in 1:52 and change. Chrissy broke 2 hours big time on a very hilly course with lots of loose sand. VERY impressive!
You are awesome!
Jason also finished right with Chrissy. This is the same Jason who has not ran anything long at all since Dallas Whiterock due to a serious case of the ouchies. Today, his intent was to run the 10K, but he felt great and ran a fast half marathon. WTG!
Vicky was running yet another 50K. She waited a long time to jump on the ultra bandwagon, but now seems to add to her resume every month.
I am thinking her coffee had not yet kicked in in this picture.
I ran the 1st 20 miles or so with Deon, who was running his 1st ultra.
Deon has one marathon to his credit, yet ran the 50K with authority, leaving me in the dust after 20 miles.
The course consisted of a 6.2 mile loop, and then a 6.9 loop. Run both of these loops, and you had a half marathon. Run the loops again, and a marathon was in the bag. For those going for 50 miles, there was an extra small loop tagged onto the 6.9 mile track, which made the total circuit 16.66 miles, and 3 times around would come out to exactly 50 miles. For those wanting a 50K distance, they had to run 2 of the 16.66 circuits, and then they ended up with 33.32 miles. But hey who's counting?
When Deon took off (or I slowed down), I got back to the start finish and was a little bummed to have to go the long loop by myself. Funny how running with friends spoils you like that. Then I thought of Bobby and how he was probably running alone, and decided to find him and run with him for the rest of his race. Since I was wearing my Garmin, and because this is a really laid back race and they would probably accept ANY distance I cared to tell them I ran, the fact that I ran backwards on the course really did not matter at all. After 2.2 miles, I caught Bobby, and he was glad to have some company.
Bobby nears the start/finish area. Just one more 6.9 mile loop to go!
Bobby was trying something new in his nutrition, and trying it on race day....a big no-no. He was using Hammer gel, and some Hammer Sustained Energy, along with a powdered drink mix. He actually had very good results with it, and never seemed to feel zapped, just a little tired. (Doh, he ran a marathon!)
While at the start/finish, I commented that his mixed Hammer drink looked like breast milk. BREAST MILK? Lisa and Dana were giving me a hard time about HOW I KNEW what breast milk looked like?? I responded that I had a good memory, and as a wee lad, I liked breast milk a lot and never forgot it. Well, my twisted friends took this and ran with it.
Honestly, I just wanted a sip. Never dreamed they would take my picture!
Then, Bobby, Dana, and I took out for our last lap. Dana had fresh legs and pushed Bobby and I like Sergeant Carter pushed Gomer Pyle. "Move it, move it!!"
I took a lot more pictures of the course during this last loop.
Heading up the hill.
Down the other side.
Along the way, we noticed that Dan had several deer feeders and deer stands throughout the ranch. We also noticed a few large cages.
Turns out, there are wild pigs that roam the area.
Apparently, they are pretty destructive and dangerous, and the most humane way to remedy the problem, is to trap them. Seems that corn is one of their preferred foods, and was used for bait.
I had spent so much time goofing around at the start/finish that I forgot to eat anything, and since corn is also one of MY preferred foods, I saw no harm in borrowing a handful to munch on.
And as luck would have it, I am not much smarter than the average wild boar. Being trapped inside while Bobby and Dana laughed at me....I squealed like a pig!
Later, at the end of a short out-and-back, there was a trash can.
Along this stretch, maybe it was the bad corn, the breast milk, or maybe the heat. I took a quick hurl, and then felt a lot better!
And then we got on with the race. More trails, more hills, and more pictures.
To one with a vivid imagination, the blackened tree branches look like a huge insect emerging from the undergrowth.
Finally, after over 32 miles for me, and over 26 miles for Bobby, we emerged from the woods and saw the wonderful paradise on the prairie....which was also the finish line!
And in typical Tatur fashion, instead of sprinting for the finish, we stopped for a few pictures.
Bobby, just a couple hundred yards away from being a Marathon Maniac.
While we were snapping pictures, Marvin caught up with us. Marvin paced me in the Heartland 100 last year, and we had to drag him into our photo-shoot.
Then, I did in fact hustle on up to the finish line so I could get pictures of my buds as they finished.
Dana finished her 11K run.
Bobby and Marvin waltz across the finish line.
Hey Bobby....wanna go out for one more lap?
Well, that's my story. I am pretty worn out, and have a couple of blisters to show for my efforts. Wanna see??? What would a race report be without some blister pics?
I ran with the RunnersWorld group, and particularly with Lisa (in the green skirt) who was using today's run as a "last chance" long run before the Little Rock Marathon in 2 weeks.
I seldom run this route, but there are a few good views of the Arkansas River, and miles and miles of people's back yards!
There are also a couple of interesting houses along the way. One was this....not sure what the history of this house is, but I think Bilbo Baggins once lived here.
Caption 1.Sad story of a bag lady who lost everything. Caption 2. Home Depot will never find this one. Caption 3. Leroy, can you wheel that carp down to the creek? Might need it to stay alive til tomorrow since as how there's some leftover possum in the Frigidaire.
Lisa stops for a drink. Actually, we hit Quik Trip twice, and the second time through, we were sweaty and worn down enough, and bought a bag of Fritos to share, that we most certainly were mistaken for homeless people.
Eleven miles out, and eleven more to go.
Not sure why I wanted a photo of this sign, but here it is.
A scary tree seen on the way back. Of course, during the daylight, it was not too creepy, but with a little photo-shopping, I think it is Halloween caliber.
I ran with the RunnersWorld group, and particularly with Lisa (in the green skirt) who was using today's run as a "last chance" long run before the Little Rock Marathon in 2 weeks.
I seldom run this route, but there are a few good views of the Arkansas River, and miles and miles of people's back yards!
There are also a couple of interesting houses along the way. One was this....not sure what the history of this house is, but I think Bilbo Baggins once lived here.
Caption 1.Sad story of a bag lady who lost everything. Caption 2. Home Depot will never find this one. Caption 3. Leroy, can you wheel that carp down to the creek? Might need it to stay alive til tomorrow since as how there's some leftover possum in the Frigidaire.
Lisa stops for a drink. Actually, we hit Quik Trip twice, and the second time through, we were sweaty and worn down enough, and bought a bag of Fritos to share, that we most certainly were mistaken for homeless people.
Eleven miles out, and eleven more to go.
Not sure why I wanted a photo of this sign, but here it is.
A scary tree seen on the way back. Of course, during the daylight, it was not too creepy, but with a little photo-shopping, I think it is Halloween caliber.
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