The UltraRunning link for U.S.

Arkansas Traveller 100 2000 Report: Dave Bursler

I flew into Little Rock around 10 am on Friday and immediately went
shopping for my supplies.
Since I was unable to check in to my hotel until 3 PM I decided to make my
way to Lake Sylvia
for the weigh in and pre-race meeting.  The ride from Little Rock to
Perryville is about 35 miles
and the road has many twists and turns.  I wanted to keep this in mind
because I planned on
finishing in the dark therefore my trip home could be dangerous.  When I
arrived at the park there
were not a lot of people there yet so I had no problem checking in.  I
weighed in at 136 lbs so I was
allowed to drop 10 lbs according to their standard before being dismissed
from the race. After I
weighed in I waited for the pre-race meeting to start at 2pm.  At  the
meeting Charlie Peyton announced
that this would be his last year directing the race and introduced Chrissy
Ferguson as the new director.
After the meeting I made up my drop bags and set them out then I returned
to the hotel to check in
and call it a night.  The race start time was 6 am so I decided I would
have plenty of time if I got up
at 4:30 and was out the door by 5.  I made a mistake by not eating anything
before leaving so I stopped
at a mini-mart on the way out and lost about 10 minutes. I did not arrive
at Lake Sylvia until 5:45 and I
still had to get my gear together,  check in and walk about 3/4 of a mile
to the start.  I was about 15 yards
from the start when the gun sounded and the first runners took off.  I made
my way the last 15 yards to the
start then turned around  and the race began for me.  This was just the
beginning of my problems.
Less than a mile in to the race my waist pack broke loose and I had to stop
and fix it before I could continue.
I went another 3/4 of a mile and one of my water bottles fell out of its
holder on to the ground.  When I
picked it up and put it back I noticed it had a split and was leaking so I
had to discard it.  Luckily I was
carrying a 3rd bottle.  The first 5 miles were in the dark so a flashlight
was needed.  I was using a new
light I had purchased the night before so I did not expect any problems
with this.  The light died before
sunrise but I had enough light to see my way through and I did not stop to
change the batteries. The first
9 miles are run on dirt/gravel road with rolling hills.  I ran most of the
first 9 miles by myself and I did not
notice any course markings so I was kind of worried I may have strayed off
course.  We were told at
the meeting that this course is mostly on roads so don't go off the road
and make your own course.
I stayed on the road and sure enough around mile 9 or so I entered the
Ouachita trail. The trail is very
runnable even though it has its share of rocks and rolling hills and even
some downed trees.  With that
said I still fell 4 times while running the 8 mile trail.  I was frustrated
at this point because I have run on more
difficult trails and did not fall plus I was having some physical problems
with stomach cramps and a pain
in my hip. I just kept on going and at this point I just wanted to get off
of the trail and get going on the road
again.  The trail was well marked and I did not have any problems making it
back to Lake Sylvia the 17
mile mark.  The course is an 82 mile out and back at this point.  This is
when the race began for me because
I started to feel better and I had more energy.  From mile 17 to mile 25 it
is once again run on dirt/gravel
road with rolling hills.  At mile 25 the course turns to a more rugged
trail/road with lots of rocks and other
obstacles.  This continued for about 4 miles and was mostly downhill.  I
did not have a problem running
this on the way out but I knew it could be a problem running on the way
back in the dark.  I was still running
by myself at this point but the course markings were now very easy to
track.  When I reached the Lake
Winona aid station at mile 32 I finally caught up to a couple of runners.
We ran together for about 2 or 3 miles
until they made a pit stop and I continued on by myself. Mile 32 to 38 was
run on the same dirt/gravel road
as most the previous miles .  Mile 38 to 40 was run on a more rugged
surface but not too difficult.  At the mile
40.3 aid station there were women dressed in Hawaiian grass skirts who
placed a lei around your neck
while your picture was being taken.  This was something different but it
helped take your mind off your pain
for a while.  On my way to the mile 43 aid station I passed another runner
and slowed to converse with him
for a couple of minutes before continuing on.  I was now on my way to Smith
Mountain which I was told was
the hardest part of the course.  I kept this in mind as I made my way up.
I was about half way up the mountain
when I ran in to Tyler Curiel ( it was good to place a face with the name)
and Amanda McIntosh (cover of
Ultrarunning Magazine this month).  I ran behind them for a while because
we were on a difficult part of the
mountain and I was not going to run any fast if I tried to pass them.  When
we reached the top I decided it was
time to take off again and I tried to run as fast as I could down to try
and put some space between the two
behind me.  Amanda and Tyler must have ran hard also because I could not
lose them right away.  The mile
47 aid station looked more like a bar than an aid station.  There was at
least 6 or 7 bottles of liquor lined up
on the table.  I figured on my return trip there might be a big party here.
Next stop was mile 49 the powerline.
I knew that I would have to weigh in here but I also knew I would have no
problem. The course from 47 to 49
was up and down with good footing.  When reaching mile 49 I weighed in and
as I expected I had lost nothing.
I picked up another runner at this point that had some problems earlier in
the race but now felt ok and we ran
together from mile 49 to mile 53.  As we talked I found out his name was
Greg Loomis and he placed 21st at
Hardrock and had many other credentials.  I know one thing for sure,  he
could run fast downhills.  we ran from
49 to 53 averaging about 8.5 minute mile which at this point in the race I
felt was good. (may be a little too good)
I let Greg go after the mile 53 aid station because I like to run my pace
not someone else's.  I also had the
feeling that if he continued at that pace that I may see him later in the
race.  I finally seen the leaders coming
back when I was at mile 56 meaning they were only about 4 miles ahead of
me.  At this point I was in about
12th place.   I passed the 50 mile mark in 9 hours even which disappointed
me a little because I was shooting
for 8:40 but with all of the problems I had early in the race I could not
complain.  I hit the turnaround at mile 58
and took some time to get on some dry clothes and prepare for night time
running.  I ran with Butch Almon off
and on from about mile 60 to about mile 85.  He could run the downhills
fast and I would catch up to him on the
up hills. Neither one of us could shake the other so we ran together for a
while. Mile 58 back to the power line
(mile 68) were more difficult than on the way out because it was later in
the race and the course was more
up hill than down.  My goal at this point was to make it part of the way
back up Smith Mountain with a little sun
light.  I reached mile 68 and it was just getting dark so I knew I had a
chance if I could get in and out of the aid
station quick.  I was slowed a little because they wanted to check weight
again before letting anyone leave.
Once again I had not even lost a pound.  I was on my way to Smith Mountain
with some daylight left and a
chance to make it up a ways before a flashlight would be needed.  When I
got to the mile 70 aid station ( bar)
I looked for evidence of a party while I was gone but found none.
Apparently the volunteers had been on their
best behavior and left the liquor alone.  I could only get part of the way
up the mountain when I had to break
out the flashlight.  The footing is kind of tough in the dark and it took
some time to locate the markers.  I really
had to be alert and pay close attention or I could get lost very easily as
I almost did on the descent.  I was just
about down when the trail came to a fork and I took a left when I should
have taken a right.  Unfortunately
another runner ( Amanda McIntosh) had followed me in the wrong direction.
I only went about 100 yards when
I realized I was not going the right way. I turned around and went back and
found the marker and continued
down.  It was at this point that I found out what Amanda has accomplished
including a victory at Leadville this
past summer.  I figured we would run together for a while and then she
would  fly by me to the finish.  At  the next
aid station (mile 73) Amanda took a little longer than I did  and I did not
see her the rest of the race.  Between miles
73 and 77 I caught up with Butch Almon again and we continued together
until mile 85.  Mile 77 to mile 79 was again
gravel road with rolling hills.  Mile 79 to mile 85 I thought was going to
be very difficult because of the distance
between aid stations.  The conversation Butch and I had seemed to pass the
miles quick.  We were running
at a pretty good pace partly because Butch's flashlight was dying and we
were trying to lose a runner we passed
on the way to mile 85.  We arrived at the mile 85 aid station in 16 hours
and one of the attendants mentioned we
probably still have about 4 hours to go.  Remembering that there was still
a rugged trail section that would be hard
to get through in the dark I agreed with his opinion.  I did not waste any
time at the aid station and I told Butch that he
would have to catch up to me.  I ran from 85 to 88 by myself.  In my mind I
believed that the next section from 88 to
92 would be the most difficult part of the run.  I knew that if I could
survive this part I would come away with a good
time.  I did not think I was ever going to get to the 90 mile mark.  On the
way I passed Stan Ferguson and Ray Baily.
They were not feeling to well and just wanted to get this thing over with.
At this point I started feeling real good and
believed I had a good chance of passing more people in the last 10 miles if
I gave it all I had.  I got off of the trail
at mile 92 and now knew the course was going to be easy.  I ran what seemed
to be straight downhill  to the next
aid station at mile 94.  I had one more 4 mile easy trail section,  a mile
and a half of downhill on pavement and
about a half mile of uphill to the finish. I passed 3 more runners on the
way to the finish including Greg Loomis who
was running too fast a pace for me at mile 54 but was now slowed to a walk
at about mile 96.  Greg had been
following the glow lights and someone moved a few on him and he got lost
for a while. He was also freezing, the
temperature at this point was probably somewhere in the high 30's.  After
putting him back on course I took
off for the finish.  I got of the trail and started to run the next mile
and a half down hill.  I was concentrating on staying
ahead of the people behind me and not where I was running when all of a
sudden I tripped and fell for the sixth and
final time during the race.  This one was a hard fall because I was going
downhill and my momentum just through
me forward for a hard landing.  I laid there for a second or two to make
sure I was still a live then got up and
continued on.  I wanted to continue running a steady pace because I did not
know if any one was on my tail and I
desperately wanted to keep my place.  I kept looking behind me for signs of
an oncoming runner but did not see
anything so I coasted to the finish in 19 hours and 55 minutes and a 5th
place finish.

This is a good race for first timers because the aid station and volunteers
are excellent.  There are many many hills
but I would not consider this a mountainous race.  The footing is good for
the most part but I would recommend gaitors
due to the small gravel on most of the service roads.  I was told that you
need to be prepared for any kind of weather
this time of the year in Arkansas.  Last year it was in the 80's this year
temperatures ranged from high 30's to 50's. A
lot of people attempt the race and it is very well organized.

Dave Bursler