Runners push past conditions of race

WILLIAMS JUNCTION — Put a 100-mile footrace on a flat, shaded surface in dry, room-temperature weather, and it would remain a difficult challenge.

For the 156 people who started this year’s Arkansas Traveller 100-Miler, such a circumstance was a fantastic daydream. Their race covered rock- and dust-strewn hilly-to-mountainous trails and roads like every other Traveller, but it also featured high heat and humidity.

“Everybody knew going in that this was going to be tough,” race director Thomas Chapin said as he sat in his pickup truck at midday Saturday near the Powerline aid station.

Like nearly everyone else, the winner Daniel Arnold and second-place finisher Steven Moore appeared wilted as they crossed the finish line late Saturday night near Lake Sylvia on the eastern edge of the Ouachita National Forest. Like the rest, they spent their day aimed at shade and any other relief from temperatures that, according to the National

Weather Service website, peaked at 90 degrees with the heat index reaching 94.

Arnold, of Benton, won in 17 hours, 17 minutes, 55 seconds. Moore of Austin, Texas, followed in 17:37:21. Moments after each had finished, they lay prone on the asphalt parking lot of a large WPA-era Girl Scout cabin. As dim light spilled across them from the decorative finish line, they congratulated one another.

“Man, that was tough,” Moore said.

“It was,” Arnold said. “Man, it was hard to stay hydrated.”

John Muir, who lives in Whitefish, Mont., near Glacier National Park, finished third in 17:57:30 and was the only one of the first three who still displayed at least hints of energy after the grueling day and night.

Muir, who grew up in Rogers and is a child psychiatrist and graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, said recent training adjustments helped.

“Living at altitude out there, I think that helps a lot, and not taking this too seriously and putting pressure on myself,” Muir said. “That helped, too.”

Donja Reel of Little Rock won the women’s division in 22:06:48. Carrie McAdam-Marx finished second in 23:38:45 and Lisa Mobley third in 23:40:40.

Reel completed her second 10o-mile race. She finished the Traveller last year in 26:10:27, more than four hours slower than her winning time Sunday. She, too, struggled through the heat of Saturday morning and afternoon, but Reel thrived in the reliable relief of nightfall and crushed her year-old personal record.

“I had a great second half,” Reel said. “I was able to run much more quickly than I could before it turned dark.”

Reel sat at lunchtime Sunday in the cool shade and comfortable smell of old wood of the cabin’s high-ceilinged dining hall. Joy and appreciation poured from her.

“I’m delighted,” she said. “I’m shocked. It’s kind of surreal. My crew, my pacers, all the volunteers, everyone was fantastic. This is really a team sport, and my team was

great.”

Among the record 68 runners to withdraw was the event’s record-holder for victories, Chrissy Ferguson of Maumelle. Ferguson won six consecutive Travellers from 1992-97, two more than any other man or woman. She has won a total of eight, four more than anyone else. Her only previous withdrawal came when, 5 miles into the race, she injured an ankle so severely that she had no choice but to quit.

Ferguson said logic insisted she had no chance to finish this year’s race. She said symptoms of heat exhaustion began to concern her 30 miles into the race, near the Lake Winona aid station. Shortly after she left the Club Flamingo aid station at 39.4 miles, she began to throw up.

“I said, ‘OK, I think I’m good,’ ” she said. “I started walking up the hill again, got to the top, and threw up again.”

Ferguson said she walked up the next hill and began to dry heave.

“I couldn’t do it,” she said. “I threw up five times in less than 5 miles.”

When she reached the Bahama Mama aid station at 43.2 miles, Ferguson knew she was done.

“I just said, ‘I have to cut my losses,’ and I still feel like crap, ’’ Ferguson said Sunday, more than 19 hours after she withdrew.

Arnold’s battle with the heat was similar to everyone’s, but he handled it better than most. As he raced through the Powerline aid station for the first time at 48 miles, he said he thought an 18-hour finish would be faster than he could manage.

He was bothered then by a stiff and occasionally cramped hamstring, and he had to force himself to eat the calories required from a task that demands about 10,000 — or five times more than the average daily requirement.

He said the turning point came as the temperature began to drop, and he was in the final 30 miles.

“I got back to Winona and picked up my last pacer, and that section there, uphill, is to me the hardest, and I picked 10 to 12 minutes on my pace,” Arnold said. “I was running hard up those hills. I started thinking I could break 17:30. At that point, hearing the gap between me and the runner in second, I was finally starting to feel pretty good about my chances.”