Hells Hills Trail Run - 50 Mile - Run

Some days you just don't have it....and this was one of those days for me. Things started poorly right from the get-go.....big time stomach issues on the first loop, and barely made it from outhouse to outhouse. Took a break at the start/finish area between loops 1 & 2, and that seemed to help a little bit.....no more outhouse stops required after that.

When it was obvious that I wasn't going to have a fast race, I just kind of went into cruise mode and took it easy......didn't worry much about pace and walked when I felt like it.

This is a Tejas Trails race, so it's well organized and staffed. It's a smaller race than Bandera or Rocky, so aid stations are a little smaller and don't have quite as much variety, but they still have a full complement of drinks and snacks. I carried a 20-oz handheld, which was about right for the aid station spacing, but it ws a cool day. One botle may not have been sufficient if it was hot & humid.

I had an occurence of Rhabdo during the RR-100 in early Feb which resulted in a DNF, so this was intended to be a test outing for me to verify that the Rhabdo wouldn't be a recurring issue. In this respect, the day was a success. Fluid intake and urine output were normal....no issues at all. Also tried out the new 2XU shorts, which worked great......only complaint is lack of pockets.

I was hoping that this event would be a confidence builder for Kettle Moraine 100 in June. That didn't happen. I may go ahead and do another 50-miler at the end of Apil and see if I can get back on track. On a good note, I wore the toe-socks and had no blister or foot issues at all.

The 50-miler starts at 5:00, so the first two hours are in the dark. Wore the headlamp and carried the handhelp flashlight. The handheld is definately worth having along on the technical sections of the trail. Also learned not to follow others too closely when running in the dark......need sufficient reaction time to avoid obstacles.


1. Eat smarter / earlier the night before.
2. Need to carry nutrition between aid stations.......have to consider alternatives. At RR, I used short cargo pockets.
3. Consistent pacing from the start.

Collected drop bag and hit the road!


Every Tejas Trails event I've participated in has been excellent. Hell's Hills was no exception!

Great venue, course, and volunteers!