Run It Fast®

Jackson native Karl Studtmann won the inaugural Jackson Jackass 50K on Saturday, February 4, 2012 in Jackson, Tennessee. He won the race with a blistering time of 5:23:25 on the rain soaked, slippery, and muddy course.

Arthur Priddy held a substantial lead until the 7th loop when Studtmann caught and passed Priddy who was using the race as a training run for the Andrew Jackson Marathon in March.  Priddy was able to hold on to a close 2nd place finish with a time of 5:32:20.

Third place went to Cordova’s Kevin Leathers who ran the tread off his Hoka One’s with a finishing time of 5:53:33.

The female winner was Lakeland’s Emily Conley who easily won by over an hour with a time of 6:37:05.  She even took a wrong turn and ended up doing some extra distance on her last loop.

It was a big day for several first-time ultramarathoners as Jonathan Bobbitt, Cody Whitehead, Jonathan Harrison, Brad Box, Arthur Priddy, Kam Otey, Gene Pierce, and Lisa Gonzales all finished their first 50K.

Other finishers included Chris Estes, Jeff Fugate, Joshua Holmes, Jennifer Whitley, Sulaiman Seriki, and the legendary Dallas Smith.

2012 Jackson Jackass 50K Results

Photos of the Inaugural Jackson Jackass 50K

Jackson Jackass 50K Race Reports

• Lisa Gonzales’ JJ50K Race Report
• Kevin Leathers’ JJ50K Race Report
• Jennifer Whitley’s JJ50K Race Report
• Jonathan Bobbitt’s JJ50K Race Report
• Jonathan Stewart’s JJ50K Race Report

[images by Naresh Kumar]

Here are nearly four dozen photos from the inaugural Jackson Jackass 50K that was held over the weekend in Jackson, Tennessee.

I didn’t know if we would be able to pull it off, but we did and had a blast in the process.

Thanks to all who traveled near and far to make it a wet, muddy, sloppy reality!

Jackson Jackass 50K Results

2012 Jackson Jackass 50K Photos

[all photos by Naresh Kumar]

The inaugural Jackson Jackass 50K was held Saturday, February 4, 2012 in Jackson, TN on a 4.3 mile trail.  The runners ran 7 loops before concluding with a shorter eighth loop of 1 mile.

Here are several more photos of the finisher’s medal from the 2012 Jackson Jackass 50K

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photos submitted by Lisa Gonzales (@runlikeacoyote), Jonathan Bobbitt (@jonathanbobbitt), Joshua Holmes (@bayou), and Jonathan Harrison]

When I first got my invite to do Josh’s Jackson Jackass 50K I was very honored that he choose me along with some of the more well known runners this side of TN. Knowing what kind of runner Josh is, I knew this was not going to be an easy run and I was in for a sweet surprise.

Now I love running wooded trails that have rolling hills that make you feel like you are on a roller coaster on foot but I’ve never got to run one with the extra challenges that lay ahead. Since it had rained all morning it made the course super muddy and slippery, so when you came to a downhill you would end up sliding down, and the steep up hills kept making you slide down as muddy footholds gave way. I slipped and fell so many times that after 5 falls I stopped counting. Only one of those falls was painful enough that I felt my right hip go out of place… but the next fall set it right back! Lucky me!

There were many sharp turns that would make your feet skate sideways because the mud was so slushy. One of the many challenging areas had a rope “hand rail” that if you didn’t keep a firm grip you would plummet down into a ravine. I heard one runner actually did end up falling into it, but I think he avoided any great injury.

Funny thing… it was about the 3rd go around that I realized if I just run and stop trying to be so careful, it became much easier. So when going down some of the steeper areas I did so much better and I never fell again after that. I was plagued with stomach issues, and lost some time with that. My legs stayed strong but my bowels made me make far too many stops in the bushes! Without all those extra stops I’m sure I would have finished at least an hour sooner. Several things could have been the cause, so I’ll just have to do some experimenting with long runs.

Every time I completed a loop I was met by Naresh who jotted down times and gave you assistance with anything you needed. He also made sure to give me words of encouragement and motivation before I left to the next round. He is a very encouraging individual!

My last round was mentally the hardest but also the most satisfying knowing that I would finish. Later I would find out that our dear friend Dallas lost his sight during the last loop. This same thing happened to him a few years back during another ultra. He was still able to complete the run which is amazing to no ends. He is author of Falling Forward and his new book, Going Down Slow. I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of his new book! I thoroughly enjoyed reading the first book Falling Forward and I heard that his second book promises to be just as interesting and I can’t to wait to start reading it.

Afterwards several of the runners met at this local restaurant named Coyote Blue and we had some of fanciest looking Mexican food I’ve ever seen. Of course we all looked a little different by then, all cleaned up.

Here are the results from the inaugural Jackson Jackass 50K that took place today in Jackson, Tennessee on a very wet and muddy trail.

The race was the first ultra ever to be held in Jackson.

2012 Jackson Jackass 50K Results

1. Karl Studtmann (Jackson, TN) – 5:23:25
2. Arthur Priddy (Jackson, TN) – 5:32:20
3. Kevin Leathers (Cordova, TN) – 5:53:33
4. Chris Estes (Murfreesboro, TN) – 5:55:23
5. Jeff Fugate (Jackson, TN) – 5:58:12
6. Cody Whitehead (Jackson, TN) – 6:01:35
7. Brad Box (Jackson, TN) – 6:21:35
8. Jonathan Bobbitt (Jackson, TN) – 6:26:40
9. Joshua Holmes (Jackson, TN) – 6:29:29
10. Emily Conley (Lakeland, TN) – 6:37:05 (1st Female)
11. Jonathan Harrison (Henderson, TN) – 6:38:32
12. Kam Otey (Amory, MS) – 7:33:22
13. Gene Pierce (Amory, MS) – 7:33:25
14. Jennifer Whitley (Murfreesboro, TN) – 7:45:00 (2nd Female)
15. Sulaiman Seriki (La Vergne, TN) – 7:45:27
16. Dallas Smith (Cookeville, TN) – 8:20:30
17. Lisa Gonzales (Alta Loma, CA) – 8:43:22 (3rd Female)

• Jonathan Stewart (Jackson, TN) – DNF 21.5 miles
• Brad Sullivan (Bowling Green, KY) – DNF 17.2 miles
• Trent Rosenbloom (Nashville, TN) – DNF 5.5 miles

Rocket scientist David Riddle won a very muddy 2012 Mountain Mist 50K on Saturday in Huntsville, Alabama at Monte Sano State Park.  Riddle finished the 31 mile course in 3:45:58. Just three minutes behind his course record of 3:42:59 that he set last year.

He easily won the race in winning by nearly 23 minutes.

Daniel Mueller took second place with a time of 4:08:33.  Third place went to Brad Schroeder in 4:14:15.

Kathy Youngren, of Huntsville, was the female winner with a time of 5:09:20.

2012 Mt. Mist 50K Top 1o Results

1. David Riddle – 3:42:59
2. Daniel Mueller – 4:08:33
3. Brad Schroeder – 4:14:15
4. David Rindt – 4:16:00
5. Josh Whitehead – 4:22:51
6. DeWayne Satterfield – 4:25:41
7. Blake Thompson – 4:26:42
8. Tim Vinson – 4:33:10
9. Clay Warner – 4:33:26
10. Erik Debolt – 4:37:30

Full 2012 Mt. Mist 50K Results

Congrats to all who survived the 2012 Mt. Mist 50K.

Here is the finisher’s medal from the 2011 Seashore Nature Trail 50K that was held on December 17, 2011 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal photo submitted by Blair Maury. Follow Blair on Twitter @nightoatmeal]

The fad of late is all of these comedic videos being made like ‘Sh!t Girls Say,’  ‘Sh!t White Girls Say to Black Girls,’ ‘ ‘Sh!t Christians Say to Jews,’ ‘Sh!t People in Los Angeles Say,’ et cetera that people are posting to You Tube.

Naturally, there is now a ‘Sh!t Ultrarunners Say’ video that is rather humorous.  If you haven’t said most of the things in this video during an ultra then you have for sure heard them from others.

Watch and enjoy!

“You guys go ahead I’ll catch up!”

“Whoa, was that a mountain lion?”

“I haven’t run on the road since 1983.”

“Hey do you have an extra sock? Did you bring an extra shirt? Do you have any wet wipes?”

“Someone needs to invent toe socks for my junk!”

Hat tip to Beth McCurdy.

Here is the finisher’s medal from the 2012 Swamp Stomper 50K that was held in Millington, Tennessee on January 15, 2012.

The race was won by Nick Jones with a finishing time of 4:10:16.

Second place went to Bryan Kelpe in 4:17:43 with third going to Erno Lindner in 4:48:54.

The female winner was Mary Jones with a winning time of 6:12:39.

Second place female was last year’s winner, Emily Conley, with a time of 6:31:09. Third place went to Nancy Highlans in 7:21:26.

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[medal submitted by Monkey Trent. Follow him on Twitter @hhFlyingMonkey]

I decided to end my best year of running by trying to attempt two races, separated by over 200 miles, on the same day.

The first race would be a 50K trail/cross country race in the morning with the second race being a road 5K later on that night.

I travelled down to Huntsville, Alabama the night before the Recover from the Holidays 50K to stay the night, catch up with my friend Naresh Kumar (who was running the race as well), and get some grub.

It’s always great spending time with Naresh, trading war stories, and exchanging Vol State 500K horror novels.  It’s truly amazing the 2011 that Naresh had in his Vibrams.  He did several amazing races that many runners will never be brave enough to enter much less finish.

The Recover from the Holidays 50K is a great event that had exploded with runners this year to a near-max of 150.  It’s $15 and features a cool finisher’s medal.  The race is always on the last day of the year, New Year’s Eve.

The RFH course is on a cross country course, which was more trail than XC in my opinion.  It consists of a 1 mile loop to start, followed by 10 three mile loops.  There is an aid/water table at the start finish that you circle every three miles.

The weather was great this year as I quickly shed my long sleeve shirt after the first loop. I felt good early on and went with it. I kept an eye on my overall pace as I continued to run the race one mile at a time using the lap pace on my Garmin set to 1-mile laps. This helps me focus on the mile I’m on and not getting lost in the big picture. It helps me to not throw miles away.

As each loop disappeared into 2011 I remained strong and kept trying to stay consistent without fading.

I ended up having a great race. I had only run a 50K twice before. Each time being the same trail race in Memphis.  My 50K PR was 5:59:59 coming into RFH.  On Saturday I finished the Recover from the Holidays 50K in 4:53:22.  It was a good running day so I was pleased.

After the race, I received my finisher’s medal, grabbed some pizza, changed clothes, and was on the road within 15 minutes.

It took about 3.5 hours to drive the 200 miles back to Tennessee. I didn’t really eat too much on the way as nothing tasted that good. I think I ate half a piece of pizza and a small bag of potato chips.

I made it to my house around 5:20pm. I had time to take a shower and lay down for about 15 minutes. I couldn’t sleep but didn’t feel great at the moment. I felt tired and worn down.  My wife asked me, “Are you sure you should run this race (5K)?”

I still was determined to run the Downtown Dash 5K that night in Jackson.  Jeff Keas was the race director of this race.  He was my youth minister as a teen.  He’s a good friend and one of my running mentors. We have lunch about once a week to talk running, and I really wanted to be at his race to support him and this first year event.

As I left the house I prepped myself mentally to run a 25 minute or slower 5K. I usually run a 5K in 19:45-20:30.  I knew after running 31 miles that morning that I’d be a good bit slower than my usual 5K times.

Nuun, Sport Beans, and a Roctane seemed to be the right combo. That along with seeing many friends before the start of the race seemed to return my system to normal.  I had done much harder running events than tackling a 50K and 5K in the same day, but I actually wanted to perform well at the 5K.  I didn’t want to just show up and jog an easy 3 miles.

The race started at 7pm and the field of nearly 150 runners took off into the cool night air.  I took off as I normally do at a 5K. I was about 1/3 mile into the race when I checked my pace at around 6:40. I wanted to run hard but play it smart. I kept the pedal mostly down throughout the race, but was smart to ease off enough at points as to not pass out and crash into the asphalt.

I was running strong when I got to the 2.5 mile part of the 3.1 mile race. I decided to up the intensity and see how many runners I could catch in the last half-mile.  I was able to track down 4-5 runners before finally reaching the finish line.  I had finished with a time of 21:07 officially and 20:58 according to my Garmin.

I was beyond pleased and excited that the race was over. I hung around for the awards ceremony to applaud some friends I knew had won their age divisions.  I was surprised when my name was called out for having won my age division.  The division wasn’t that deep in runners, but it was a great cap to a wonderful day of running.

It wasn’t my most challenging day of running, but my most successful of 2011. I had PR’d the 50K that morning by 66 minutes and won my age division at the 5K that night by running a 6:49 pace.

I hope all of you had a great 2011 and that you make new goals that you reach in 2012.

I also want to give a big thank you to everyone that supported Run It Fast in 2011 as it really gained speed and a nice following.