Tag Archive | "Brad Box"

Lean Horse 100 Buckle 2013

Lean Horse 100 Sub 24 Buckle (2013)

This is the Sub 24 buckle for the Lean Horse 100 that was held on August 24-25, 2013 in Spearfish, South Dakota.

This Sub 24 buckle was earned by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes who shaved 33 minutes off his time from last year and won his Age Group! Congratulations Joshua! Way to Run It Fast!

Here is a photo of his Age Group award along with a photo of fellow RIFers RIF #83 Brad Box and RIF #221 Karl Studtmann. Both Brad and Karl completed their 1st 100 Milers at Lean Horse AND won their Age Groups too! In fact, Run It Fast Club members took 3 of the top 9 spots: Brad was 5th Overall, Karl was 6th Overall, and Josh was 9th Overall. Also, RIF #20 Laura Raeder completed her first 50 Miler there and was 3rd in her Age Group! You guys rock and we are so proud of you!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Buckle submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – follow him on Twitter @bayou]

Posted in Bling, Buckles, Featured, Medals, THE CLUB, Ultra MarathonComments (0)

2013 Jackass Shirt Front Art

Jackson Jackass 50K Results (2013)

Below are the results for the 2013 Jackson Jackass 50K that took place on February 9, 2013 at Kam-Dam Falls in Jackson, Tennessee.

Jackass 2 Results

  1. Arthur Priddy (Jackson, TN) – 4:39:14 (1st Male)
  2. Brad Box (Jackson, TN) – 4:48:22 (2nd Male)
  3. Ashley Hook (Memphis, TN) – 5:10:10 (3rd Male)
  4. Billy Cannon (Milan, TN) – 5:11:30
  5. Anthony Ohrey (Henderson, TN) – 5:11:31
  6. Jonathan Harrison (Henderson, TN) – 5:17:40
  7. Joshua Holmes (Los Angeles, CA) –  5:22:20
  8. Rob Philip (Saltillo, MS) – 5:31:31
  9. Kenneth Mescall (Jackson, TN) – 5:40:11
  10. Steven Reagan (Brownsville, TN) – 5:44:00
  11. Nathan Judd (Finger, TN) – 5:51:30
  12. Emily Conley (Lakeland, TN) – 5:53:03 (1st Female)
  13. Wade Anderson (Readyville, TN) – 5:53:05
  14. Nathan Bass (Madison, MS) – 5:54:54
  15. Wayne McComb (Columbus, GA) – 5:55:30
  16. Robin Robbins (Milan, TN) – 5:58:16
  17. Julie Montgomery (Jackson, TN) – 6:08:49 (2nd Female)
  18. Jeff Fugate (Jackson, TN) – 6:21:27
  19. Jonathan Bobbitt (Jackson, TN) – 6:22:57
  20. Terry Bishop (Jackson, TN) – 6:23:20
  21. Mark Watson (Medina, TN) – 6:29:12
  22. Leah Harrison (Henderson, TN) – 6:29:54 (3rd Female)
  23. Jennifer Whitley (Murfreesboro, TN) – 6:35:24
  24. Gene Pierce (Amory, MS) – 6:35:58
  25. Melanie Kayal (Jackson, TN) – 6:37:14
  26. Kevin Brandon (Dickson, TN) – 6:55:47
  27. David Oglesby (Jackson, TN) – 7:26:46
  • Chris Estes (Murfreesboro, TN) – DNF
  • Kevin Leathers (Germantown, TN) – DNF
  • Kam Otey (Amory, MS) – DNF
  • Daniel Escue (Dickson, TN) – DNF

Big thanks to Clark Bilbrey for doing all of the timekeeping and scoring as well as to Richard Sparks (Sparks Timing Services) for the use of his race clock.

Posted in Results, THE CLUB, Ultra MarathonComments (0)

LM50_RIF

Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Medal (2012)

This is the medal for the Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Trail Race that was held on December 15, 2012 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Congratulations to RIF #166 Nathan Judd, RIF #185 David Pharr, and RIF #83 Brad Box who all did their first 50 Miler there! Here’s a photo of Nathan and David before the race with RIF #1 Joshua Holmes (who shaved 2.5 hours off his previous time there) and RIF #65 Jonathan Harrison (who crewed).

RIF Club Members rocked it! Congratulations everyone!

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medal photo submitted by RIF #166 Nathan Judd – follow him on Twitter @Beukdeup]

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Joshua Holmes and Jonathan Harrison – 1st and 2nd Place Black Diamond 40 Finishers – Run It Fast

Black Diamond 40 Miler Race Report: Back in Black

Back in Black

The Black Diamond 40 Miler was without a doubt the best race I’ve had in my short running career.  Not only did I set a marathon PR and 50K PR, but I ended up getting 2nd overall in my first race past the 50K mark.  An added bonus was that I got to do it in a hometown race with some of the best people I know.

I’ve titled this report Back in Black because this was really a comeback race for me…ok and because that’s one of my favorite pump-me-up songs of all time.  My last race was The Jackal Trail Marathon back on June 23rd.  After battling a nasty case of plantar fasciitis for several months I really started feeling good again in September so I decided to start training with my RIF brother, Nathan Judd, who was training for the Stump Jump 50K and Lookout Mountain 50.  In addition to rebuilding my mileage, I really stepped up my strength training and by the end of October I was craving a race.  The Black Diamond 40 was exactly what I was looking for, a RIF race, local, low key, awesome people and a new milestone for me to reach.

Now the morning of the race, despite a nasty head cold, I felt like a caged lion.  Five months is a loooong time to go without racing by the way.  Well after some good socializing, the race began and almost immediately I had to talk myself into sticking to my game plan.  For those who don’t know me I am notorious for allowing my angst to take over when a race starts which more often than not results in me starting out too fast.  Ask my wife, Leah, she has some great stories.  So in light of this struggle of mine I was prepared to run 10 minutes and walk 2 minutes, run 10 and walk 2 and so on.  I figured I would stick to this strategy as long as I could because I wanted to make sure I paced myself and left something for the final 15 miles.  It was also my goal to finish in 7.5 to 8 hours.  When the race started I found a groove pretty quick.  When I reached the 10 minute mark every cell in my body wanted me to keep running but I stuck to my plan and started walking.  Not long after I started running again I saw Leah for the first of many times throughout the day. Allow me a moment to say that Leah did an incredible job crewing for me all day in addition to checking on, encouraging, and taking pictures of the rest of the field.  Thank you Lord for my amazing wife!

By mile 5, I wasn’t too far behind Brad Box, who was in the lead at that point, so I started to stretch my running time out since he was picking up the pace a bit.  Between miles 7 and 8 I finally caught up to Brad and we chatted for a bit while walking up a long hill.  My shoes at this point weren’t feeling quite right so I let Leah know I wanted to change shoes the next time I saw her.  A few minutes later I watched as Leah went into NASCAR Pit Crew mode whipping the car around the shoulder on my side of the road, jump out of the car, grab a lounge chair out of the trunk and set it up on the shoulder with my shoes next to it.  I sped up until I reached her to make sure I didn’t lose any ground with Brad, I sat down and she untied one shoe while I got the other, yanked my shoe off and put the new one on me.  I think it literally only took about 20 seconds total.

Those first steps in those fresh shoes felt like I was running on air so I instantly got a burst of energy.  It’s amazing how little things like that make such a big difference in a long race.  That quick stop also allowed me to see that Joshua Holmes was only about a minute behind me.  For some reason I felt like I didn’t need to let him catch up to me, which makes sense considering I’ve only run past the marathon distance one time and Josh has run 40 or more miles oh I don’t know a million!  Yeah that makes total sense. HA!  Anyways, it’s at this point that I really start to entertain the idea that I could actually win this race.  Mile 10, the first relay exchange spot, came and went.  From miles 11 to 15 Brad and I ran together quite a bit and I had the chance to get to know him better.  Great guy by the way.  Being a father of 4 ranging from 5 years old to 13, Brad was kind enough to share some good parenting advice with me.  As we were nearing mile 15, although I was very much enjoying Brad’s company, I was in full-on race mode so I was looking for an opportunity to make a move and at mile 15 I did.  According to my Garmin, I ran mile 15 in 8:22.  At this point, I’m running on pure adrenaline.  Okay maybe Roctane and oranges too, but the point is I was feeling good so I let loose.  Once I felt I had built a substantial lead I reinstituted my run 10 min./walk 2 min. strategy.  Of course Leah continued be an unbelievable support and before I knew it I had reached mile 19.34, the second relay exchange, basically the halfway point.  It was one of the highlights of the race for me because my mom, dad, sister, and nephew were waiting for me with a sign to support and encourage me.  With a huge smile on my face, I gave them all a quick hug and said, “I gotta keep moving I’m in the lead.”  Seeing my family and having so many people encourage me was so energizing.  Before heading on I crossed the street to Regean’s Supreme Muffler, which used to be owned and operated by Charlie Reagan, a great guy and super fast runner who was tragically taken from us over a year ago.  After that I headed on towards Humboldt.

By mile 22 I asked Leah to stick with me every 1 to 1.5 miles.  Although I was still in the lead and feeling good I knew I was likely start slowing down due to not knowing how my body was going to react when I passed the marathon distance.  It also really started to dawn on me at this point that I was on the verge of setting a PR for my marathon, which I ended up doing by 20 minutes!  Not long after that I started to get a little queasy which started to slow me down.  Leah informed me that Josh was about a quarter of a mile back but gaining.  Unfortunately my stomach continued to feel more and more unsettled, which meant walking more.  Having to walk more really got me to thinking more about the miles for the first time all day.  By mile 29 Josh finally caught up to me in Humboldt. We talked for a few minutes and when I told him about my stomach issues he was gracious enough to offer me some ginger capsules to help.  I was hesitant to take them because I didn’t know how my stomach would react to them.  Well about 5 to 10 min. later I started feeling worse so I asked Leah to see if she could get the ginger from Josh since at this point he was a minute or two ahead.  His offer still stood so the next time I saw Leah she gave me the capsules and they started working almost immediately.  So I picked the pace back up a little.  By this time we had made it to the third and final relay exchange at around mile 30.

Now I’m gonna be honest people my top three goals the last 10 miles was to avoid cramping up, puking and pooping my pants.  The body begins to react in unpredictable ways when you push it to new limits.  I’m happy to report I ended up achieving all those goals.  The ginger helped the later to and in order to keep my quads from cramping up I ended up taking 23 Hammer Endurolytes over the course of the whole race 12 of which I probably took in the last 10 miles.  When Josh asked Leah how I was doing and she told him about me being on the verge of cramping up he once again went above and beyond the call of good sportsmanship and gave Leah 2 potassium tablets to give me at around mile 35, which helped calm my left quad down allowing me to keep running.  So what does taking all that stuff do to a man you ask?  I was so bloated I felt like a running Santa Claus those last 5 miles.

At mile 38, after getting me one last refill of water and spoiling me all day, I asked Leah to go on ahead to the finish line to wait for me.  I gave it one last push and ran in the rest of the way.  Roughly 20 minutes later I finally saw the church where the race had started almost 6.5 hours earlier.  I picked up the pace and crossed the “finish line” a.k.a. Josh’s truck at 6:31:27, just 9 minutes behind Joshua Holmes, a seasoned ultra veteran!

As I was celebrating with my family and friends it really started to sink in what I had done.  It was very surreal.  Four months earlier I was only able to ride my bicycle and here I had just averaged a 9:39min/mi. pace for 40.5 miles!  What a comeback!

– Jonathan Harrison

More Photos of Jonathan Harrison at the Black Diamond 40 Miler

Inaugural Black Diamond 40 Miler Official Results

Black Diamond 40 Miler Finisher’s Medal

[all photos submitted by J. Harrison]

Posted in Race Reports, Ultra MarathonComments (0)

Brad Box 2012 Pikes Peak Marathon

Pikes Peak Marathon Race Report – Brad Box (2012)

PIKES PEAK MARATHON – August 19, 2012

Many of my past running journals were painfully long, going into every intricate detail of my subject experience.  With this entry, I want to hit the high points and hopefully preserve a great memory without writing a book.

My friend Karl Studtmann convinced me to register for The Pikes Peak Marathon.  He actually registered for me while Angie and the kids and I were on a spring break cruise.  Unfortunately, Karl suffered a knee injury and was unable to run the race.  As always, Karl was a great friend and support throughout the entire experience.  I know he was disappointed that he wasn’t returning to Pikes Peak in 2012, but he only expressed excitement for me and my chance to run this race.  He followed every detail of my training and advised me along the way.  He checked in with me right up til the night before the race and made the experience even more special

As with every such event there is lots of planning and discussion that went into it, not to mention a whole bunch of training.  For this event I trained differently in that in addition to trail work, I also did weekly treadmill steep incline workouts that were much tougher than I anticipated.  Once a week, I would put the treadmill on an 18% grade and then put in over an hour as fast as I could manage to go.  That workout is tougher than any speed work that I have ever done.  On the trails, I logged countless hours, and ran the marathon distance or farther 5 times between May and August.

Another friend, Josh Holmes was also registered for the race and with Karl out Josh split the hotel in Manitou Springs Co with me.  It was really nice to get to visit with Josh because we had never spent any one on one time together. We both arrived the day before the race (I flew in late because August 18, was my son Weston’s 13th birthday!!).  Nothing like 12 hours of altitude acclimation!  On my flight from Nashville to Denver, I spilled the drink of the guy sitting next to me and so I bought him a replacement.  He was so grateful that he started telling me that he was a digital artist and he gave me one of his signed art pieces.  Pretty cool!

I drove from Denver to Colorado Springs and then on to Manitou Springs.  When I drove into Manitou I could see Pikes Peak looming, glaring, intimidating.  I remember sending Karl a text and saying “OMG, What have you gotten me in to?”  What an incredible mountain.  Manitou Springs is an interesting little town.  It’s like you stirred Gatlinburg and an adobe village together in a bowl.

Josh and I met up and went over to the registration and then ate at the pre race pasta dinner.  We listened to the guest speaker, Bart Yasso give his talk.  Afterward we got to meet Bart and had our pictures made with him.  Bart is called the Mayor of Running and the Yasso 800s are named for him.

Josh and I made the ritualistic night before prep for the race and then I went to bed.  I slept surprisingly well considering that it was the first night at altitude and the fact that I had a race the next day.

On the morning of the race, we awoke at 5:00, ate a bit, and got ready and planned to walked mile to the starting line.  Interestingly when we made it to the street a race volunteer pulled over and offered us a ride.  Just as we got in the car, we saw two huge mule deer bucks, with giant racks still in velvet, just hanging out on the edge of the main drag through Maintou Springs.

We took pictures at the starting line and then waited anxiously for the start.  We had the first female marathon finisher to give the official start.  The first mile is on the roads but it is a pretty steep incline through the storybook little town.  Thereafter, you hit the trail and go up and UP AND UP!!  To say that I could feel the altitude from the start is an understatement.  Nevertheless I was proud of my time during the ascent.  The race is historic and it has numerous well know points: No Name Creek, John Barr Trail, Barr Camp, The A Frame, Cirqure, and of course a little spot called the summit which is over 14,000 feet up.

The scenery is breathtaking.  Another one of those places where you get a overwhelming sense of how our Creator made our world in a way that is far beyond what can imagine, describe or capture with a photo.

The vegetation changes as you climb and I wish I knew more about the flora and fauna to describe what I saw.  Initially, there is heavier vegetation and mainly fir trees.  Around 8000 feet or so, it seems to become more Alpine, and the evergreens are blended with Aspen trees.  After so many years of snow skiing, I kept having the urge to cut off the trails and start carving my way down the mountain through the trees.

I really surprised myself over the first dozen miles.  I was able to run pretty much whenever the traffic would allow me to do so and I was getting really excited about the time that I was making.  I felt good considering (considering that there is no oxygen).

I am not sure the altitude above which the trees can no longer grow, but the moment you breakout above the tree line, it is like being on another planet.  The Rocky Mountains have that name for a reason.  With no tree cover, the wind feels like its howling.  The temperature from 12,000 to above 14,000 feet stays in the 30s or below pretty much year round.  The view is indescribable so I won’t try.  I had to fight the temptation to look at the mountains and take my eyes off the trail.  I learned a month or so before the race that “God Bless America” was written from Pikes Peak, and now I know why.

The last two miles before the summit became a little frustrating because of the runner created bottle neck.  The elite runners, including the winner Killian Jornet, had reached the summit and were making their descent.  Uphill runners must yield to downhill runners, so despite the fact that I had the physical strength to run at miles 11-13, I was forced to hike or climb at a 20+ minute pace.  Thus, instead of reaching the summit in under 3:30 as I was thinking, I reached at about 3:50.

The summit was awesome, but candidly I regret that I didn’t stop and savor it a little more.  I looked around very briefly and then made the turn to start the descent.  Karl told me that I would immediately feel relief as soon as I started back down and he was right.  The mile below the summit is really a rock quarry and there is as much climbing as there is running.  Thereafter, the rocks and boulders are a little more spread out and running becomes easier.  At some point before I made it to the tree line, I met up with Josh.  He took a picture of me running down the trail above the tree line.  It will be one of my all time favorite running pictures.

Just after I reentered the tree line, a Texas A&M fan spoke to me.  I was wearing an official University of TN running team singlet, and I had people comment on it throughout the day.  This particular runner and I started talking about A&M joining the SEC and about the upcoming season.  I became so focused on our conversation that I didn’t focus enough on the trail.  I took a step onto a big flat boulder and my foot flew out from under me.  I went down hard and hit my head.  I was really shaken up and it took me a long period of limping, then hiking, before I could try to run again.  Even after I was able to run, I felt unsteady on my feet for most of the rest of the race.  I actually fell three more times.  Rocky mountain rocks are sharp, jagged, and generally unpleasant.  I looked a little like I had been through a meat grinder.  At every aid station from that point on, the EMTs and volunteers offered to treat my wounds.  I declined, the blood running down my legs were badges of honor.

As I came back down to 8000 feet or so, it became really hot.  I don’t know what the high for the day in Manitou was, but I was cooking for the last hour of the race.  When I came off the trail, there were tons of spectators cheering along the mile and a half to the finish line.  At one point I looked down and realized I was running about a 7 minute pace.  Nothing like fan support and a finish line to make you push.

After the race I had only a few minutes to savor the finish line festivities.  I had a flight from Denver to Orlando to make so I hitch hiked the three miles back to the hotel, jumped in the shower to scrub the rocky mountain gravel out of my wounds with a wash cloth, tied them up with bandanas because I had no bandages, and hauled it from Manitou back to Denver International.  I was communicating with Angie, and Karl and all sort of friends and family on the way back.  I remember Karl sending me a message, saying “good luck getting out of the car!”  He was right, and that proved to be one of the biggest challenges of the day.

All the falling, and unsteadiness probably cost me a half hour of race time, but I have no regrets.  PPM is a unique and special race.  It requires unique prep and planning, but certainly one of the most prized items on my running resume.

THANKS BE TO GOD!!

– Brad Box (2012)

Posted in Marathon, Race Reports, RunningComments (0)

Pikes Peak Marathon Medal_2 2012

Pikes Peak Marathon Medal (2012)

This is the medal for Pikes Peak Marathon that was held on August 19, 2012 in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

The marathon starts at 6,300′ and climbs to 14,115′ at the summit before the runners return back to the start! Insane! It’s America’s Ultimate Challenge all right. I like how the medal incorporated the mountains into the shape and that it declared the marathon’s bada$$ery on the back.

Congratulations to RIF #83 Brad Box and RIF #1 Joshua Holmes for completing such a tough marathon!

Here’s one last photo of the medal:

MORE PHOTOS OF MARATHON/ULTRA MEDALS AND BUCKLES

[Medals and photo submitted by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes – follow him on Twitter @bayou]

Posted in Bling, Featured, Marathon, MedalsComments (0)

Jackson Jackass 50K – 2011

2012 Jackson Jackass 50K Results

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

Posted in Results, Running, Ultra MarathonComments (0)



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