Chilly Rocky 50 in Huntsville
Plus, Rocky 100 race reports and some instant karma for an aggressive driver.
Hello endurance athletes,
I had a fantastic weekend at Huntsville State Park volunteering at Hoka Rocky 50 and then going for a run on Sunday that was much less than 50 miles or kilometers. Huntsville State Park is just a special place, I did my very first trail run there, my first race, the Gator Bait half marathon, and then Rocky 50 and 100 in successive years. When I’m headed north with a pair of trail shoes, a vest and probably too much nutrition I’m always in a better place. Nothing like making that corner just north of New Waverly and seeing Big Sam at the other end of the highway.
On with the news…
Rocky 50 sees dreamy trails and non-committal weather
The trails this weekend at Rocky were as nice as I’ve seen them, and that helped with some speedy times for athletes. The weather started off nice enough, but a cold front started coming through around 8 a.m. bringing with it cold rain. That made for a day of fighting the conditions to stay warm.
On the men’s side of the 50 miler the winner was Matt Smith in 7:25:41. The 43-year-old San Antonian had a top 10 finish at Rocky 100 miler last year. (Assuming I have the right Matt Smith.)
The top female, Boulder’s Elizabeth Shell put on quite the performance. The 24-year-old dietician came in third overall in 7:58:04, 5 seconds out of second place. Top Texas woman was Mariem Khachane, 37-year-old from Sugar Land finished in 8:28:27.
Over on the 50K side, the winner for the women was Aja Clark of Casper, Wyoming, in 4:19:49, taking the 5th overall position. First Texas woman is a name you might recognize if you’ve been reading this newsletter very long, Regina Massingill. She took 2nd woman and 8th overall in 4:30:34.
For the men, Katy’s Christopher Dunn took the top spot in 3:53:22.
The half marathon runners were a little less concerned about the cold temps with a shorter, harder effort in front of them. Houston’s Peter Muessig went hard from the gun and turned in a 1:27:51. Abigail Blake, in from Austin topped the women’s podium and 5th overall with a 1:39:58.
Again, lots of terrific images from the weekend, here are some of my favorites.
The last photo is the women’s half marathon winner, Abigail Blake is her name in the results.
This guy is an overachiever, his first 50 miler and already has his race video up.
Rocky 100 race report videos
Speaking of race report videos, here are a few that came in since the last newsletter.
Instant karma is going to get you
Nickel Potter, a cyclist from Arkansas was out for a gravel ride when an aggressive driver tried to kick up dust on his small group of riders who were participating in the Rule of Three event in Northwest Arkansas.
To get maximum dust coming off the wheels of her Dodge Ram pickup she had to gun it to spin up some gravel.
Well, that was a mistake.
As the riders came around a corner they saw the truck laying on its side, the woman trapped inside, on the passenger side. (Wear seatbelts folks, especially if you’re going to dumb things.)
Potter says that after checking to make sure she was okay, someone in the group sent emergency services a location pin so she could be rescued. She was still cursing at them, so Potter took the above photo which went viral in the cycling community and beyond.
Bryan’s Patrick Farnsworth, who hosts the excellent Bikes or Death podcast had Potter on for an interview about the whole thing. Definitely worth a listen.
Meme of the Week
Featured Events
Rocky Hill Roundup | MTB Race, youth and adult | Smithville | Feb. 19-20
Austin Marathon | Marathon, half, 10k, 5k | Austin | Feb. 20
Cowtown Marathon | Marathon, half, 10k, 5k, relays | Fort Worth | Feb 25-27
Prison City Gravel Challenge | 60-33 mile gravel grinder | Huntsville | Feb. 26
The Woodlands Marathon | Marathon, half, relays | The Woodlands | March 5
Dos Sendoras | 100K, 50K, 20M, 10M trail run | Johnson City | March 5
XTERRA Bluebonnet Triathlon | Offroad Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon | Burnet | March 26
The Southwest 100 | 104M, 52M, 26.2M 13.1M, 10K, 5K trail runs | Fort Davis | March 26-27
Headwaters of the Frio Trail Marathon | 26.2, 13.1, 12K, 5K trail runs | Leakey | April 2
Brazos Bend 50 | 100K, 50M, 50K, 25K, 10K, 5K trail runs | Brazos Bend State Park | April 9
Snapping Tortuga | OWS 1250M, 2.5K, 5K | Lake Conroe | April 9
Gran Fondo Texas | 88, 67, 31 mile ride | Montgomery | April 9
Ironman 70.3 Texas | 70.3 triathlon | Galveston | April 3
Ironman Texas | 140.6 triathlon | The Woodlands | April 23
Jailbreak 100 / Jailbird 55 Gravel Challenge | Gravel ride 100 or 55 miles | Huntsville | April 23
Cal Tri San Antonio | Variety of multisport events | New Braunfels | April 24
Texas Switchback | 26.2, 13.1, 10K, 5K trail run | Johnson City | May 7
Gravel Locos | 30 - 150 mile gravel grinder | Hico | May 12-14
Media We are Consuming
Raging bull crashes bike race, attacks three riders in wild video (NYPost)
Red Bull Rio Grande Gravel race wings through south Texas’ desert (Bike Rumor)
Chris Froome calls for time trial bike ban in professional cycling (Road.cc)
Study: cushioned shoes won’t ruin your form (Canadian Running)
SheFly Apparel wins an Outdoor Retailer Innovation award for their Go There Pant (Outdoor Industry Assoc.)
PTO price drop: Age-group entry fees cut by 50% after athlete feedback (Tri247)
