Series Preview: 2026 Jackal Marathons

A year ago, I did a five-day series in Tennessee called the Jackal Marathons.  I knew these races would be difficult, but I signed up for them because it was a chance to run a quadzilla (four marathons in four days) in a new state.  I only needed to do four of these races, but I signed up to the fifth one as well.  In for a penny, in for a pound.

I knew these races would be difficult.  Any time you run marathons on five consecutive days, it takes a toll on you.  What made these races particularly difficult was the extreme heat and humidity.  June in Tennessee is always hot, but last year was unusually hot.  There were heat advisories every day, with the heat index consistently hitting 100 degrees by noon.  On the last day, the heat index rose to 109.

The heat wasn’t the only challenge.  Three of the five races were trail races.  I’m out of my element on trails.  The trails we were running on the first two days weren’t particularly technical, but there were roots, and I tripped and fell both days.  For the rest of the week, my lower back was bothering me.

Days three and four were on pavement.  I thought those races would be easier.  What I didn’t realize until I got there was how much the pavement would heat up on a sunny day.  The course was easier, but the heat was worse.

Day five was the most challenging course, and it was the hottest day, but it was the deer flies that had me wanting to quit.  Every lap, I was getting multiple bites.  The flies were relentless.  They kept feeding until I killed them, and each time I slapped one, it would leave a blood spatter the size of a quarter.

After that last race, I said that I wouldn’t have done that race if I had known how difficult it would be.  I also said I wouldn’t be back.  Guess what.  I’m back!  I’m doing all five of these races again this year.

Why did I decide to come back?  This may sound strange, but I couldn’t bear the thought of not coming back.

Last year, I chose to do these races in spite of the difficulty.  I found myself surrounded by runners who knew exactly what to expect.  They were doing these races because of the difficulty.  I was in the company of bad-ass trail runners who thrive on doing difficult things.  As someone who sets challenging goals, I felt like I had found my tribe.

I came back because I wanted to prove to myself that I belong here.  If I was “one and done,” I would’ve felt like a wimp.

The series starts tomorrow.  Before these races are over, I may wonder what I was thinking.  I’m all but certain I’ll have regrets on day five.  I know it’ll be hot again, but I’m cautiously optimistic that it won’t be as hot as last year.  My new worry is the possibility of thunderstorms.

One additional challenge this year is lack of recovery time.  Last year, this series started 15 days after the FANS 24-Hour Run.  This year, the first race is only six days after FANS.  That’s not much recovery time.

One thing about this series is easy.  All of the race venues are within 30 miles of my hotel in Jackson.  I flew to Memphis this morning and drove to Jackson from there.  My hotel room has a kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator.  After checking in, I did some grocery shopping.

Wish me luck.  I’m going to need it.

Series Preview: The Jackal Marathons

Over the next five days, I’ll be doing a series of races called The Jackal Marathons. It’s five marathons on five consecutive days.  Three of the races are trail marathons and the other two are paved.

The first two races are on a trail loop in Jackson, TN.  The next two races are on a paved loop in Pinson Mounds, which is just outside of Henderson, TN.  The last race is on a more challenging trail loop in Chickasaw State Park.

All of these race venues are within 25 miles of Jackson, so I’ll be staying at a hotel in Jackson for the entire series.

Jackson is about 85 miles from Memphis.  I flew to Memphis this morning, and drove from there.  After checking into my hotel, I picked up some groceries.  The races all start early, so I’ll need to make my own breakfasts.  I also wanted to have food for post-race snacks.  In a series like this, post-race recovery is important, and part of that is refueling as soon as possible after each race.

I’ve done other five-day series, but from everything I’ve read, this one will be much more challenging.  Trails are more challenging for me than road races, but that’s not the big challenge.  The big challenge will be the heat and humidity.

In late June, it gets pretty hot in Tennessee.  I expect temperatures ranging from mid 70s to low 90s.  On top of that, I’ll have to contend with high humidity.  This is a map I downloaded a few days ago.  It shows the regions in the U.S. that will experience the highest humidity in the second half of June.  Western Tennessee is squarely within the region labeled “extreme.”

I’ve done lots of marathons in hot, humid conditions.  I’ve generally handled it well.  I’ve also done ultramarathons in hot, humid conditions, with mixed results.  The humidity will bother me more than the temperature.  Getting through one race is manageable.  The hardest part will be recovering from each race in time to run in the same conditions again the next day.  Running in these conditions can take a toll on you, and it’s hard to recover quickly if you overheat or get dehydrated.

I don’t have any time goals for these races.  I’ll take as long as I need to finish each race comfortably.  My top priority each day will be making sure I can be ready to go again the next morning.

Some runners just do one or two of these races.  Others do the whole five-day series.  There’s a small group of runners who come back to do this series every year.  I expect by the time I’m done with this series, the runners I see every day will feel like family.

Each day, I’ll post a race report.

Series Preview: Running Ragged 20in20

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be doing a series of marathons on 20 consecutive days.  It’s called Running Ragged 20in20.  The series is sponsored by Mainly Marathons, which puts on series of races all over the country.

Most Mainly Marathons series are set up so you’re running in a different state each day.  One of the challenges of a series like that is having to get on the road and drive for a few hours immediately after each race.  Your legs get stiff, and you can’t spend as much time on recovery activities.  I’ve done a few of those series, but the longest one was five days.  Running marathons for 20 straight days is way beyond my experience.

One of the Mainly Marathon series is called the Heartland Series.  It includes races in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  They have another one called the Prairie Series, which includes races in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.

The two brothers who own Mainly Marathons live in Minnesota.  Last year, they had a series of four trail marathons near St. Cloud, MN.  They called it the Minnesota Brothers Trail Series.  I ran that series last year.  This year, they expanded that series to six days and renamed it “Summer Camp.”

They wanted to do something special for 2020, so they arranged to hold these three series back-to-back.  If you did all three, you would be racing on 20 consecutive days.  They were planning to have a special award for anyone who did all 20.

Because of COVID-19, Mainly Marathons has had to cancel several of their series.  I wasn’t signed up for the Heartland Series or Prairie Series, but I was signed up for all six days of the Summer Camp Series, and I was hopeful that these races could still take place.

One of the difficulties of putting on a multi-state series during a pandemic is working with permit authorities in several different cities and states.  During the pandemic, each state has had its own guidelines regarding what types of outdoor events can be held.  In July, I saw a notice that the Heartland Series, Summer Camp, and Prairie Series wouldn’t be held in their original format, but would instead by combined into a single series called Running Ragged 20in20.  People who wanted to run 20 marathons and get the special medal still could, but all of the races would be held on courses within 15 miles of St. Cloud, MN.

I was already signed up for six of these races.  Running marathons for 20 straight days seemed awfully intimidating, but I wouldn’t need to do any travel between races.  All of my other fall races got cancelled, so I didn’t have anything else planned.  I couldn’t do the New York City Marathon or any of the international trips I had planned.  This series gave me something different that was still a new challenge for me.  The clincher was that the races are all in Minnesota.  I’ve done every Minnesota marathon at least once, so I felt I should really do these ones as well, as crazy as it sounded.

I’ve been a follower of Le Tour de France for more than 30 years.  I’ve always been impressed with how those professional cyclists can ride hard for several hours and then go out and do it again the next day.  For the first time in my life, I’m doing something similar.  I have the luxury of going at an easy pace, but like those cyclists, I’ll be at it for several hours every day for roughly three weeks.

The races will rotate between five different venues.  Three of these venues were used for last year’s Minnesota Brothers Trail Series, so I was already familiar with them.  Those courses are all trails, but they’re fairly non-technical.  The two new venues have paved routes.  Here’s a calendar showing where we’re racing each day.  Note that we’re at Quarry Park for four days every week.  This park has multiple paths, so I assume we’ll have a different route each day.

The drive time to and from St. Cloud is just long enough that isn’t practical for me to stay at home.  I’d be spending three to four hours driving each day, in addition to running the races.  Instead, I’m staying at a hotel in St. Cloud for three weeks.  That’ll allow me to just focus on running and recovering.

My hotel is one that’s oriented toward longer stays.  Each room has a kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, and dishes and utensils are provided.  That will make it easy for me to prepare my own meals or get take-out.  I’ve been avoiding dining in restaurants, unless they have outdoor seating.

St. Cloud is close enough that I didn’t need to fly.  That means I’ll have the use of my own car.  It also means I didn’t need to pack light.  I could bring anything I could fit in my car.  I brought things I’ve never brought with me before, including a bathroom scale and a drying rack for clothes.  I brought a variety of running clothes, but I’ll still need to do laundry occasionally.

I picked up my packet today.  I’ll have the sane race bib for the entire series.

My original plan for these races was to run at a slower pace than usual and take walking breaks.  Ideally, I wanted to keep my effort easy enough that I wouldn’t really feel like I was racing.  I wanted it to feel more like each day was a full day of running and walking, but nothing that would leave me feeling sore or fatigued.  Even small amounts of soreness and fatigue can add up over several days.  I had hoped to wake up each morning feeling the same as the day before.

That all changed with a recent knee injury.  I first noticed it five weeks ago.  After a fall during a trail race, my knee just didn’t feel right.  At first, it seemed to be getting better, but I think I aggravated it with some of my weight training exercises.  Two weeks ago, the inflammation in my right knee started to affect my running.  I ran a virtual marathon last weekend, wearing a knee brace.  During that run, I could feel some discomfort in my knee, but it didn’t seem to be getting any worse.  Several hours after finishing, I noticed significantly more soreness around my knee.  I definitely did not feel the same way the next morning as I did the day before.  Since then, I’ve been resting and treating my knee.  It’s improved noticeable, but a week isn’t enough time to heal completely.  It’ll be an issue for this series.

The timing of this injury couldn’t be much worse.  My challenge for the next three weeks will be getting through each race without making my knee worse.  These races don’t have time limits, and I don’t need to travel between races, so walking is an option.  I don’t want to walk the entire way, but I could if I have to.  How much I run and how much I walk will be a daily negotiation with my knee.

This series was intimidating, even when I thought I would be healthy.  Now that I’m running with an injury, it’s downright terrifying.  The good news is that my knee is only inflamed.  Nothing is torn.  I saw an orthopedist who knows what I have planned.  He didn’t tell me not to do the series.  When I asked him about it, he said I wasn’t going to feel great at the end of this series, but I also wasn’t going to do any permanent damage.

This series will challenge my patience and my willingness to accept slow times.  I can hopefully get through it with enough walking, but I’m going to have some long days.

Series Preview: 2019 Savage Seven

Over the next four days, I’ll be running four marathons.  These races are part of a series called the Savage Seven.  This is a series of seven marathons in seven days.  This series is held annually, beginning the day after Christmas and continuing through New Year’s Day.

The Savage Seven is held in Ocala, FL.  To be there for day one, I would’ve needed to fly to Florida on Christmas Day.  I opted to skip day one, so I could wait until the day after Christmas to fly to Florida.  I also plan to skip the last two days of the series, so I can fly home on New Year’s Eve and be home for New Year’s Day.

Although I’m only doing four of the seven marathons, that’s enough for me to achieve my goal.  I want to run a quadzilla (four marathons in four days) in Florida.  Why do I want to run a quadzilla in Florida?  That goes back to a conversation I had with Steve Walters way back in 2013.

In 2013, I ran the Seattle Quadzilla.  On the second day of that series, I was wearing a T-shirt from the Firecracker Quadzilla in Oregon, which I ran earlier in the year.  Another runner saw my T-shirt and said, “Hey.  He’s a quadzilla expert.”  That started a conversation with Steve.  We were wondering how many states there were where you could run a quadzilla.

The Seattle Quadzilla was my second quadzilla state (Washington).  The first was Oregon.  In 2015, I ran the first four days of the Day of the Dead Series.  That was a seven day series in Las Cruces, NM.  That gave me quadzillas in three states.

In 2017, I ran the four day Aloha Series, giving me a quadzilla in Hawaii.  Earlier this year, I ran the four day Minnesota Brothers Trail Series, giving me a quadzilla in Minnesota.  Florida will be the sixth state where I’ve run a quadzilla.

I’m a member of the 50 States Marathon Club.  The goal is to run marathons in all 50 states, but you can join as soon as you’ve run marathons in at least 10 states.  I figured if I could run quadzillas in at least 10 states, I could be the founding member of the 50 States Quadzilla Club and have a special T-shirt made.

It’s not currently possible to run quadzillas in all 50 states, but you never know what the future holds.  Besides Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, Minnesota, and Florida, I can think of as many as eight other states where have been quadzilla opportunities at one time or another.  I’ll do as many as I can.  For now, it’s more of an amusing notion than a serious goal.

Delta had direct flights to Orlando, Tampa, or Jacksonville.  Rental cars were expensive in all three locations.  Considering both airfare and rental car rates, it worked out best to fly to Jacksonville and drive from there.

When I got to the airport, the line for bag drop was the longest I’ve ever seen it.  Apparently, the day after Christmas is the busiest travel day of the year.  Fortunately, I got to the airport really early.

When I got to Jacksonville, Alamo was out of cars.  I could either rent a truck or go to Avis, who agreed to match Alamo’s rates.  It took longer than usual, but I eventually got a car and started the two hour drive to Ocala.  Maybe traveling the day after Christmas wasn’t such a good idea after all.

The race venue is on the east side of Ocala, but most of the hotels are on the west side.  I think there are a couple of budget motels closer to the race venue, but I chose to stay at a hotel that’s 10 miles away, so I could have a kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator.  I’ll need to leave before the hotel starts its breakfast service, so I wanted to be able to buy groceries to fix my own breakfasts.  I also brought a loaf of home-made cinnamon bread from home.

Preview: Minnesota Brothers Trail Series

Over the next four days, I’ll be running a series of marathons called the Minnesota Brothers Trail Series.  It’s a series of four trail marathons on four consecutive days in central Minnesota.

The Minnesota Brothers are Daniel Rueckert and Jesse Rueckert.  Two years ago, Daniel and Jesse bought Mainly Marathons from Clint and Hanne Burleson.  Mainly Marathons has multi-day series of marathons all over the United States.  Most of them involve racing in a different state on each day of a series.  This series is entirely in Minnesota, which is where Daniel and Jesse live.

All four races will be on some type of trail.  We’ll be running on a different course each day, but they’re all within 15 miles of St. Cloud, MN.

The races all start at 5:30 AM.  From where I live, the drive time to the race venues would be at least an hour and a half, so I’m staying in a hotel.  The race venues are close enough to each other that I can stay in the same hotel for the whole series.  That makes this series more convenient than one where you have to stay in a different hotel for each race.

I’ve done other series like this, but the last time I did one was in 2017.  This will be the first time I’ve run marathons on consecutive days since my back surgery two years ago.  I think I’m finally ready, but I’ll be running cautiously.  My only goals for the individual races will be to finish.

For years, I’ve been pursuing a long-term goal of running every marathon in Minnesota.  I haven’t run any of the races in this series before, so this will bring me four steps closer to that goal.

On a scale of one to five, with five being the most technical, the most difficult course of this series is rated a three.  That’s the first race of the series.  That works out well for me.  I’ll be doing the most difficult course when my legs are still fresh.  Hopefully that means I’ll be less likely to trip on a rock or root.

Like other Mainly Marathons races, each course will be a short out-and-back that we’ll run multiple times.  Typically, there’s one aid station at the start/finish of each lap.  It’ll be well stocked with a variety of foods and beverages.  The laps are short enough that I won’t need to carry a bottle.

My hotel room has a kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, so I bought some groceries for pre-race breakfasts and post-race snacks.  Doing a series like this is as much about the post-race recovery as the running.  A big part of recovery is getting enough to eat, particularly right after the race.

Hopefully, I’ll find time at the end of each day to post a race report.

Series Preview: Aloha Series

Starting tomorrow, I’ll be doing the Aloha Series.  It’s a series of four marathons in four days sponsored by Mainly Marathons.  Mainly Marathons puts on several series of races ranging from two to eight days.  Most of them are series where you run in a different state each day.

Some time back, I posted in the Mainly Marathons Facebook group, suggesting they add a Hawaii series, perhaps running on a different island each day.  It was apparently a popular idea.  Within a couple days, that post had about 100 “likes.”  Clint Burleson replied that the logistics of racing on a different island each day would be too difficult, but he might create a series of races all on the same island.  Later, Clint and Hannelore made a trip to Hawaii and scouted locations.  Soon, they announced the creation of the Aloha Series.

All four races will be on the island of Kaua’i.  We’ll have two different courses.  Both will be short loops that we’ll run multiple times.  On days one and four, we’ll run on paved paths at the Smith Family Gardens in Wailua.  On days two and three, we’ll run on paved paths at Kapa’a Beach Park.  The two courses are only a few miles apart, so I can stay at the same hotel for the whole series.

I flew to Lihue yesterday, arriving late in the evening.  By the time I checked in at my hotel, all I wanted to do was get to sleep as soon as I could.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get much sleep.  My neck and shoulders were so stiff after the long flights that I couldn’t get comfortable.  Then at 2:00 AM, my body thought it was time to get up.

Today, we had our packet pickup at the Smith Family Gardens, where we’ll be racing tomorrow.  I’ll have the same race bib for all four days, so I won’t have to do packet pickup again.

This evening, I’m going back to Smith Family Gardens for a luau.  I’ve heard this is the best luau on the island.  Seven years ago, Deb and I went to a luau at the Kilohana Plantation, which is also on Kaua’i.  I’m curious to see how they compare.  Everyone doing the races got a discounted price for the luau.  I expect to see most of the other runners there.

The marathons all start at 4:30 AM.  That’s good news and bad news.  The good news is that we won’t have as much sun exposure, and temperatures won’t climb too far from the overnight lows.  The bad news is that we’ll be running in the dark for the first half of each race.  Also, I need to get to bed early, or I won’t get much sleep.  It doesn’t help that I didn’t sleep at all last night.

Ideally, I’d like to run one of the races faster than four hours, so I can complete my second circuit of 50sub4.  Regrettably, I might not be in good enough shape to do it in Hawaii heat and humidity.  My best chance to do it is tomorrow, since I’ll have fresh legs.  I’ll need an all-out effort, which will leave me with sore legs for the next three days.  My only goal in the remaining three races will be to finish.  I’m looking at this as an opportunity to get used to running on tired legs.

Besides the marathons, they also have 10K, half marathon and 50K races each day.  The marathons and 50K races start at 4:30.  The 10K races and half marathons don’t start until 7:00.  That should help with congestion during the early hours, when we’ll be running in the dark.

After each race, I’ll try to find time to post a race report.  That’s if I’m not too busy relaxing at the beach.

Race Preview: 2016 Four Corners Quad

Over the next four days, I’ll be doing the Four Corners Quad Keyah Marathons.  This is a series of four marathons on four consecutive days in the “Four Corners” states of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado.  These races are sponsored by NavajoYES, a non-profit Navajo youth and community organization.

All four races start near the Four Corners Monument, but each race will be run in a different state.  The courses will all be short loops that we run several times.

Photo by Rich Torres

 

This will be the first time this year that I run marathons on consecutive days.  A few years ago, I was been able to run moderately hard for as many as five consecutive days.  At my current fitness level, I can’t recover quickly enough to do that.  Instead, I’ll have to pace myself carefully.  My goal each day is to finish comfortably, so I’ll be able to run again the next day without wearing myself into the ground.

Although each race is a marathon, I’d like to pace myself more like I would for an ultramarathon.  I’ll probably take walking breaks, and even when I’m running, I’ll keep the pace well within my comfort zone.

Last summer, I was working on bringing my marathon times down, so I could qualify for next year’s Boston Marathon.  Having done that, my emphasis now is on building my endurance.  Next year, I’d like to do a couple of 100 mile trail runs.  I’m hoping these races will be good training.

The Four Corners Monument is on Navajo land.  NavajoYES is providing camping space nearby, but the nearest city with hotels and restaurants is Cortez, CO, which is 40 miles away.  I’ll be staying in Cortez and driving to the Four Corners Monument each morning.

There aren’t any major airports near Cortez.  I flew into Grand Junction, CO.  From there, the drive time to Cortez was about three and a half hours.  I broke up the trip by flying to Grand Junction yesterday and driving to Cortez today.

This morning, I woke up to a dusting of snow.  It gave the nearby mesa a frosted appearance.

I had time to do some sightseeing on the way to Cortez. I stopped at Arches National Park, which is one of my favorite parks.  I didn’t have time to see the whole park, but I did the hike to Delicate Arch and stopped at the scenic overlooks.

Knowing what to wear for these races will be tricky.  I expect to see temperatures ranging from the upper teens to the mid-40s, so I’ll need to dress in layers.  I’m not really sure what combination of layers I’ll choose for each race, so I pretty much packed a few of everything.  It’s a good thing Delta lets me check bags for free, because I didn’t travel light.

Because of my anticipated slow times and the drive time before and after each race, my days will be fairly full.  I’ll try to find time after each race to post a brief race report.