The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [58]
Hallucination
As 2009 rolled around, I was undecided about attempting another 100-miler. Some major personal issues resulted in incredible self-growth through the spring and early summer. At some point during this time I reevaluated my goals as a runner. I had this obsessive drive to run 100 miles, but why?
I concluded I was seeking the adulation that comes with doing something others cannot fathom and slowly began to realize my quest had to be more about my own spiritual growth and not about the outside world. Finishing a 100-miler became the final act in my transformation from being a troubled, broken person if I was to be the person I wished to become.
Scouring the ultra schedules looking for a race that would match my available time frame—as luck would have it—I discovered a brand-new event only two hours from my house. The Woodstock Running Festival featured a few short races, a half-marathon, a marathon, a 50K, a 50-miler, and a 100-miler called The Hallucination 100! I liked the sound of that!
I immediately began working on a training schedule. My goal was to correct the mistakes I had made the previous year at Burning River. Most importantly, my wife was unbelievably supportive agreeing to make the trip and crew for me. This was the single best motivator I could have received. I also solicited additional help from some other friends to help me complete my journey.
As for training, I knew I needed more miles. To do this I ran more, including more night runs. This allowed me to become an expert at running trails at night. I also had to work on my eating during the race and experimented with every food imaginable before settling on ice cream, pancakes, and hot dogs. In addition, I decreased my weightlifting routine, increased my mileage, and lost some more weight. That resulted in me running the Burning River 100-miler at about 184 pounds. Then, for Hallucination, I was down to around 177 pounds. Beyond that I tweaked a few other things, including simplifying my crew plans and bringing more socks to change into. I vowed to be ready.
The Crew
Before I knew it, race weekend was here and our crew was set to meet up. The crew consisted of:
Shelly Robillard—My wife and mother to our three wonderful children. Shelly is a runner, but had just given birth five months earlier. She assumed the role of official crew chief.
Jason Saint Amour—My friend from elementary school who, as noted earlier, ran barefoot with me during high school. Jason started running after crewing for me the previous year and went on to train for the half-marathon at Woodstock, but hurt his ankle the Sunday before.
Mark Robillard—My running friend that is also my unofficial older brother. He is an experienced trail runner and finished a trail marathon the previous week. Mark was our “picture man.”
Stuart Peterson—A friend of Mark’s who I met briefly beforehand. He was known as “RV Man” for the 32 foot RV he brought that acted as our base of operations.
Michael Helton—A friend from the Runner’s World Barefoot Forum (he’s known as Notleh there). I had never met Michael in person prior to the Friday before the race, but I knew he ran barefoot, had a great sense of humor, drank beer, and would have no problem doing whatever it took to get me to the finish line.
Rich Elliott—Technically not part of the crew, but he made the trip with us. He was attempting to run the 50-miler with training that consisted of a 5K road race three weeks earlier.
Pre-race Festivities
The race was to be run in Pinckney, Michigan, on Saturday morning at 6 a.m. To prepare, I took Friday off to pack, shop for groceries, and pick up a few running supplies. Around ten thirty, I picked Shelly up from the school where we teach and ran to McDonald’s to grab a quick bite to eat. Quarter-Pounders are a favorite pre-race food of mine.
We picked up Rich and headed to Jason’s house, which was near the race location. During the two hour ride I was a nervous wreck, sweating profusely and even shaking a bit. I felt like a gamer