Gratitude

That’s where I want to start this race report. I couldn’t have done what I did without the help of many friends and volunteers. First and foremost: grateful for Kelly. She acted as both my crew chief and my pacer for lap 5. Without her pacing me, I wouldn’t have gotten in sub-22. Second, thank you to Jakob and Leandra. Jakob was my pacer for lap 4. On top of that, he also got stuff from my house I had forgotten. Third, thankful for Jen and Alex. Jen was my friend also running the 100 miler. Alex, her husband, acted as her crew chief, but also helped me out as well during my transitions. And finally, thanks to Josh! He’s a colleague who lets us borrow his gear for our crew tent spot. And he showed up the jeadquarters, just after I started lap 3, meaning sadly enough I missed him.

This race also taught me the value of pacers. I used to think pacers were helpful to have a conversation and help you troubleshoot when things go wrong. But on Saturday and Sunday I learnt they do more than that. Jakob and Kelly both forced me to run more than I was planning to run. I would not have sustained the pace we did without them pacing me. Plus, they announce “runner coming” to all the others around, they provide some extra help at the aid stations and just give you the space to focus on running and finishing.

I can’t stress enough how much the pacers helped me. It was a mental boost, as well as a physical boost. Without them, I would not have made it in under 22 hours. Thank you to both of them.

Pre-race

I finished Canyons 100k in April with a little injury. Tibialis tendonitis. I ran with it on and off and spent more time on the bike than I ever have in the 3 month after Canyons. The injury gradually improved, but up until race day I never felt like my legs were at full 100%.

End of July/early August we did a 10 day hiking trip in the Alps, and when I got back from that the training block started. 11 weeks to go!

The training block went well. Only miss was one little 4-day block with no running due to a cold. During the block I did 3 tune-up events: Berkeley 35k, Sunset and Cider 50k (2nd place male) and Napa Lapa 3 hour (1st place!). I biked once to twice per week, and ran 5 to 6 days per week. Wednesdays were for workouts, and some of the long runs had quality work throughout (or were a race).

We got to Arizona on Wednesday, set up our crew spot on Thursday, picked up our bib on Friday and had our pre-race pizza dinner. Race morning started at 3:50AM. 2 bagels with PB and banana, 2 cups of coffee and a bottle of Skratch. We left the house at 4:50AM, and got to the park at 5:00AM. Parking was a mess. Long queue of cars waiting to park. I made it to our crew spot at only 5:45 and was a little stressed. I went to pee, gave Kelly a final kiss and made my way into the start coral next to Jen.

About the race

Javelina is a lapped course 100 mile race. Lap 1 is slightly longer at 22.3 miles, lap 2-5 are all the same at 19.45 miles. The race has 3 aid stations: • Coyote Camp at 4 miles into each lap. • Jackass Junction at 10.5 miles into each lap. • Rattlesnake Ranch at 15.6 miles into each lap.

The course is extremely runnable. It’s slightly rocky, but not as bad as Colorado or the Alps. There’s a bit of vert (about 6000ft for the whole event), and never very steep. I like to say that if I ever run a single lap of Javelina, I would run every single step. But, doing it 5 times requires restraint and patience.

The race starts at 6AM, just 30 minutes before sunrise, and has a 30 hour cutoff. This means you’ll have to deal with heat during the first 12 hours and then have to deal with a chilly desert night, before the sun rises again and might toast you again until the cutoff at 12:00. (fyi, if you start in the second wave at 6:30AM, you get till 12:30)

The plan

The focus for Javelina was on finishing the race. Last year, I DNFd at mile 80 with hyponatremia. The last 364 days were focused on finishing Javelina, no matter the time. However, I am still a performance focused person, and a sub-24 would be amazing. Sub-22 was in the back of my mind, knowing I had the fitness to support that goal, but everything would have to go perfectly to reach that goal.

I had my watch set up to remind me every 35 minutes to eat. I had a mix of gels and chews prepped. I was drinking from 500ml soft flasks. 3 for lap 1,4,5 and 4 for lap 2 and 3. I would have a combination of Skratch in one or two and a 500mg electrolyte tablet dissolved in the other 1 or 2. Final little note on nutrition: I told myself to take a walking break when I eat and use it as a micro-recovery; but ended up not taking those breaks most of the time. I either waited until I was going to walk an uphill, or just ate while I ran.

Effort wise, I was planning to mainly race by RPE, with an occasional glance at my heart rate. I had a soft-cap of 145 in my mind, and had an alert set at 157 on my watch.

I was wearing my insidetrail kit for the race, with my coolazul ice bandana and hoka arm sleeves (for more ice). I was starting in the Hoka Mafate 5 (relatively new pair), and had the Mafate X as a backup pair. I also carried a spare soft flask to spray myself with and get cool in between aid stations.

Jakob had agreed to pace me for lap 4. He was going to pace his girlfriend Leandra in the100k first, then take some downtime and pick me up for lap 4. Kelly was going to be ready to pace me for lap 5 in case I needed her. We weren’t sure it was going to work out, given we typically run at different paces; but after 80 miles she might be able to keep up and support me.

Lap 1

I am too far back in this starting pack. I got there too late, and I now don’t want to pay too much of a price on the first single track. So, I do what I can to squeeze towards the front a bit more on the little leap around Jeadquarters. And this is where my perfect pre-race plan already falls apart, the heart rate alarm goes off before I leave Jeadquarters. Not even 0.5 miles into the race.

But, no big harm done, this is a strategic move to make up a few places and avoid being stuck in a conga line. It’s a price worth paying, I notice it the moment we get to the single track. This line is going exactly at the pace I want. Some folks pass me, and I pass some others. The heart rate settles quickly, and I settle into a good effort and pace.

I reach Coyote Camp in 42 minutes, 2 minutes faster than last year. I refill 2 flasks so I have 3 to make it to jackass with. I stuff my sleeves with ice to cool down a bit, even though I’m not warm yet. It’s a strategic move, I got warm on this section last year, and I want to avoid cooking myself early. It’ll get warm anyway, and better to be a bit too cold than too warm.

The section to Jackass is the worst section of the race. Gradual uphill, pretty rocky at parts, but I manage it well. Until suddenly I trip. I manage to catch myself, and don’t do any major damage. Last year, I had a difficult time making out how much further the Jackass Junction aid station was while I was on the loop. Everything blended together. This year, I make a conscious effort of making out trail markers to know how much further it is. This bench is 3 miles out, emergency marker I is 1.5 miles out, that other bench is 1 mile out and then that freaking horrible hill: that means you’re getting to Jackass.

And that happens today, I make it to Jackass. I only finished 2 soft flasks, didn’t even need the third. I’m a little concerned I might have under-hydrated, but not too bad. I’ll be fine. I refill 2 flasks for the segment to rattlesnake (I still have the spare in the back), fill my ice bandana and sleeves and haul ass out of there.

The section to Rattlesnake is nice. Very runnable, gently downhill, better footing, and before I know it Rattlesnake ranch appears. Same routine: fill flasks, fill bandana and sleeves with ice and we get out.

Now we hit the longer section of trail on the Escondito trail. It’s very flowy, some up, some down but very nice today. I walk some of the uphills to conserve energy, and I run the downhills, flats and minor uphills.

4 hours after starting, I reach Jeadquarters. 16 minutes faster than last year. Wow, I seem to be having a day! I hope I can keep it up.

Lap 2

My feet have been bugging me since the 10 mile mark. So, I decide to take care of them at our crew spot. I clean and dry my feet, apply a bandage to the hotspots, apply more lube, put on dry socks and stand up again. Kelly is there taking care of my pack, putting in more food, more drinks and making sure I have everything I need for the next lap. We shared our tent with more people than last year, and it’s a bit disorganized. I try not to stress, it is what it is.

As I leave Jeadquarters for lap 2, Jen comes in! She’s also having a good day out there! I had another friend running, Gregg, and he left Jeadquarters 10 minutes ago according to Kelly.

I start lap 2. I walk out of Jeadquarters, knowing the section to Coyote is slight uphill with some runnable sections. No need to force anything, let the course come and run what I can.

I have been feeling good all day so far. After leaving Coyote camp with 4 flasks, fresh ice and everything I need, I hit my first low point of the day. I don’t know how to explain it, everything is going well, the legs still move and I can run, but I’m feeling low. I try to stay positive and calm, and embrace the lowpoint. Maybe of note, we’re now 25-30 miles into the race, which is a reasonable point to feel low, no?

Right before Jackass, I see Gregg! I walk/run with him for a bit. He has been feeling off since leaving Jeadquarters for lap 2, but is very happy to see me and cheers me on. As I leave Jackass a little in front of him, I hear Gregg call me. I turn around and he shouts: “It’s Andy Glaze!”. For those not familiar, Andy Glaze is the most positive and happy ultra-runner on all the socials. He runs 100 miles per week, and finished a 240 mile race 2 weeks ago. Andy is chatting with someone, and I listen in for about 10 minutes. But I notice their voices get fainter and fainter with every passing minute and after a while I can’t hear them anymore.

No need to slow down to run with Glaze, let me focus on my own race again. And I do just that, making it the Rattlesnake and then Jeadquarters in good time. That low point from earlier is now behind me, and I finish lap 2 in just over 8 hours, significantly faster than last year. Although it’s feeling harder than last year, my performance is better.

Lap 3

I want to be in and out of Jeadquarters. The only thing I absolutely need is lube. I apply the lube, and Kelly has my pack ready by the time I need it. The only thing she can’t find is my headlamp. We don’t waste a minute, Alex just gives me one of Jen’s (she has multiple) and I get out of Jeadquarters.

The way to Coyote camp is more of the same as earlier. Walk it early on, then run when I can. At this point, there’s a ton of the 100k people on this section of trail as well. They started their lap 2 while I am doing my lap 3. Even though I’m walking, I walk faster than them, and it gives me a mental boost. I cheer them on, and enjoy some of the short conversations we make. “One more lap in the heat” and “almost halfway”.

On Friday, I made a change to my original nutrition plan: I added a caffeine gel my lap 3 food stash, and I feel like I could use it. I take the gel just before Coyote camp.

More ice and fluids at Coyote camp and we are on the worst part of the course again: on the way to Jackass. We are now right before the 50-mile point and I feel freaking awful. Legs feel heavy, stomach feels upset and I have cottonmouth. This reminds me of last year, the hyponatremia, but this year I have a plan. I’m not sure it’s going to work, I might also be dehydrated, who knows, but let’s try and re-adjust in 1 hour: eat a salt tab (actually chew it, so you taste the salt), wash it down and from now on, reduce fluid intake.

Also, I’m ravenous. My stomach feels empty, even though I’ve been putting 80 gram of carbs per hour in it. At Jackass, I hope they have burgers so I can put something solid in my stomach.

I get to Jackass, refill some of my fluids (even though I want to consume less, I still need some), and put a minimum of ice in my ice bandana. It’s starting to cool down, but without the ice I’d be hot. A minimum amount will keep me cool. They don’t have burgers yet, that’ll have to wait for the next loop.

And then, on the way to rattlesnake, I rally. I feel the lull go over, and feel like I can run again. My stomach is still upset, but I don’t feel like barfing anymore. I text Kelly to buy me some Twix and Snickers bars for the next two laps. I can’t wait to pick up my pacer. This will keep my mind too busy to consider how lousy I have felt.

I get to Jeadquarters with a time of 12:26.

Lap 4

This puts sub-24 straight in the crosshairs. Given I will stop carrying ice at this point, meaning less dripping on the shoes, I decide to change shoes. My shoes have gotten wet all day, and it feels like a good idea to change. I put on my Mafate X, put on my waist light, and leave with less gels and more real food in my pack. And most importantly, I leave with my pacer Jakob.

He’s hauling ass. He starts running, but I tell him I can’t run this section. He accepts that, but walks like a possessed man. At a pace that I cannot sustain either, but I try for a bit. We settle into something manageable after a while, faster than I would have gone solo, but a speed that feels alright. Jakob knows what he’s doing.

We get passed a few times, and pass a couple other people. That’s what nice about the lapped course, you’re never really out there by yourself. There’s always someone around. For me, that helps. Even getting passed by someone who’s on lap 5, helps me with dealing being out there.

Before we reach Coyote I take another caffeine gel. Hoping it will help me with keeping up with Jakob.

After Coyote, on the way to Jackass, we start running more and more. Not the steepest of the uphills, but all the downhills and all the flats. I curse Jakob every time he makes me run. It’s mentally helpful for me to curse him, and he knows me well enough by this point to know I mean it lovingly. If I have to summarize this race, it would be “Fuck you Jakob”

We even pick up another guy who runs with us for a while, initially called “Nerd Rope Guy”. Strange things happen in races! As I was eating a small packet of Nerds, Jakob tells me there’s a version of Nerds Rope that has 100mg of THC in it. Someone in front of us tells us “I think it’s 200mg”. And that guy keeps rubber banding us. Passing us, then we pass him again, then he passes us again.

It’s a fun rhythm, and Jakob and I start talking to him. He’s a guy called Jason, who works for Aravaipa (the race organizer). This is his first trail race. He’s doing the Jackass night trail 31k, and seems to be having fun.

When we get to Jackass, I change shirts. My shirt is causing some chafing, and I put on a new one from my drop bag. I also get a burger and a cup of broth and get out of there. Jakob stays in the aid station for a minute longer, but he’ll catch up.

And he soon does. He allows me to walk while I finish my burger. And let me tell you, my stomach is not happy about that burger. I keep trying small bites, but it’s hard to force down.

Then, as we need to pass some folks who are walking, I hear faster runners behind. Don’t ask me why my mind works like this, but I don’t want to lose 3 seconds “waiting” behind the other walkers, so I start running a bit to pass them, before the fast runners pass me. And Jakob takes that as the sign that my burger is done and we can start running. And running we do, every remaining step till Rattlesnake. I surprise Jakob after about 4 miles telling him my burger is finally done, he didn’t know I was still carrying ¼ burger for that long.

On this section to Rattlesnake I also notice for the first time all race that I’m sweating. I know it’s weird to say, but I feel the sweat drip of my forehead. I haven’t it felt it during the daytime because I had ice on me keeping me wet, and a hat to whick away the sweat. But now, in the middle of the night, I am actually sweating.

At Rattlesnake I take some extra fluids, and get out. We walk a bit of the first uphill, but then start running again. And before we know it, Jeadquarters appears and I get to exchange Jakob for Kelly. Total time so far 17:05, 4:39 for lap 4.

Lap 5

Fast transition at the tent. We put some more food in my pack, including a caffeine gel, and get out. The goal for this lap is a 5 to 6 hour lap. 6 hours puts me at 23:05, way ahead of a sub-24 hour finish. I tell Kelly to run in front of me instead of to my side, and we start finding a rhythm. I tell her it’ll be walking first, and then we’ll slowly start running.

And we do. The first couple of runnable downhills I have to tell her to start running, but after a while we settle into a good pace. By the time we reach Coyote camp 4 miles into our run together, we have our system dialed.

Eating is very difficult by now. My stomach is upset, but I still have not thrown up yet. I manage my fluid intake a bit, trying not over or under-do it. It so fun to run with Kelly and share this finish with her.

I remember seeing that we pass mile 87 (on my watch) at the 19 hour mark. I have not thought about a sub-22 hour finish all day, and all of a sudden it seems possible. Kelly has done a 3 hour half marathon (13 miles) at Napa Lapa 2 weeks ago, and that had way more vert in the race. It seems a remote possibility, but if I can manage that pace, I know Kelly has it in her to do it as well.

When we get to Jackass Kelly has to use the loo. I tell her I can’t stop in fear of not wanting to get up again, and I tell her to catch up to me. I’ll walk slowly. I take what I need from the aid station, put my drop-bag in the return the Jeadquarters bin and I head out without her. After a few minutes she catches up with me. We walk a bit to let her recover from running harder to catch up to me, but after a bit settle into our run-the-easy-bits and walk-the-harder-bits strategy. It’s working great.

It’s working so well, that Kelly even starts forcing me to run some of the uphills. My legs complain, but it’s possible and we keep going. I curse her as much as I have cursed Jakob.

She warns me she has to use the loo again at the next aid station. When we see it in the distance, she speeds up ahead while I take it a bit slower. There’s a queue at the bathroom line, meaning she’ll have to catch up to me again. I take what I need again, and head out. And very soon after Kelly is behind me again. I tell her we’ll start running when we hit the scenic trail, the final 2 miles of the race.

But she doesn’t take my word for it, and the first downhill we encounter she is on me to start running. As we hit the final 2 miles, I look at my watch and I think we have about 30 minutes to make it. It sounds tight, but I think sub-22 is still in the cards.

We run most of the scenic trail. And before I realize, we see headquarters. With more than 10 minutes to go! Which means we’ll make it. I cannot comprehend what we have pulled off here. I was going into lap 5 with the idea of a 5-to-6-hour lap. Not a sub-5-hour lap putting us in sub-22 territory.

But this is what we got. Kelly and I both take the lap around Jeadquarters. I’m not sprinting. Even though I’m running, I can’t push much. There also is no reason, we have over 7 minutes to spare here.

Finish time: 21:53:10, with a lap 5 time of 4:47. Beyond my wildest freaking dreams.

Aftermath

I hobble to our crew tent spot, and sit down in a chair, take off my shoes and enjoy the feeling. Within a few minutes Alex appears. Within a few minutes after that, I start shivering uncontrollably. Worst shivers I have ever gotten. I put on my puffy jacket and drape a sleeping bag over my legs, but it doesn’t do much. Jen is still about 2 hours out, and I don’t think I can stay here for 2 more hours.

Alex is kind enough to drive Kelly and me to our Airbnb. I take a shower, and crawl into bed. I slept bits, but not much. The main thing I remember is being hot and cold. I am used to that after running long races, I radiate heat for a long time.

I had weighed myself pre-race and post-race, (189.4 pre, 189 post), meaning I didn’t lose any weight at all. I’m not saying that from a dieting perspective, but from a hydration point of view. It shows that I still slightly overshot my hydration this year. Likely not as bad as last year, but bad enough to try and tweak it for future races. 2 thoughts I immediately have about this: (1) I have measured my sweat rate multiple times at multiple temperatures, but never wearing ice. I don’t know how much less I sweat due to ice. (2) Later in the race, it not only cools down, but the effort is significantly lower. More walking and more slow running. Meaning you also sweat less.

On Sunday, my legs are sore, but nothing feels off. This is normal post-race soreness. I can even drive our car for 2 hours to and from Josh’s place to drop of all the gear we borrowed. And I can drive to pizza dinner. And most importantly: I can crawl into bed again on Sunday for an actual good night of sleep!

On Monday, we make our way to the airport at 7AM, and jump on the plane to SFO at 10AM. My body feels fine. I am sore all over, but nothing is screaming at me. Just normal swelling and post-race feelings. It takes me the entire flight to type up this race report, and as I see the word count in the bottom of the screen, I wonder who will read this. If you do, let me know. DM me on Facebook/Instagram/Strava. If you’re reading this as you’re getting ready for Javelina in 2026 or beyond, and want to ask me any questions: please reach out.

Closing thoughts

What a day. Beyond my wildest dreams. It felt freaking hard out there. It weirdly felt harder than last year, even though I did so much better. Maybe it’s the faster pace, maybe it’s just selective memory blocking the trauma from last year. But I got it done, and I got it done is a time faster than I could have dreamt of.

I can’t say this for 100% certain until after registration opens, but I don’t think I’ll be back next year. Javelina is a lot of fun, but I also want to run other races. And, I feel like I have no unfinished business out there. I might want to come back one day to run it again, but for now, this chapter is closed (I think).