Written by Samantha Holschbach
To the average individual, it might seem impossible to run 100 miles in one stint, a distance equivalent to running from Searcy to Little Rock and back. Running 100 miles in fewer than 24 hours seems even more unrealistic.
However, between Oct. 3 and 4 Dr. Rich Brown, associate professor of marketing, accomplished both feats—and he plans to do it again.
“I surprised myself,” Brown said of his finish in 23 hours, 35 minutes. “Before the race, if you had asked me, ‘Are you going to finish?’ I would have said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to finish.’ If you had asked me, ‘Are you going to finish under 24 hours?’ I would have said, ‘I hope so.’ But I just didn’t know that I could do that.”
Brown completed theArkansas Travellerrace in western Arkansas’s Ouachita Mountains Oct. 4, finishing 14th out of 96 participants, 66 of whom finished. Because he finished in fewer than 24 hours, Brown was awarded a porcelain belt buckle for his efforts. Runners finishing between 24 hours and 30 hours were awarded a bronze belt buckle. Brown hopes to win another porcelain buckle next year to pass down to his children.
“I think that belt buckle is kind of a cool thing, and it would be neat to leave one to each of my daughters,” Brown said. “Maybe they would show it to grandkids and it would be something to talk about.”
Adding another layer to his successful race, Brown ran to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To date, Brown has raised $3,205 by word-of-mouth and hisWeb page. Brown is still receiving donations for St. Jude and expects to do so through December when he runs the St. Jude Memphis Marathon.
In pre-dawn darkness, The Arkansas Traveller race commenced Oct. 3 near Lake Sylvia west of Little Rock. The race coursed through thick forests on the Ouachita Trail and later U.S. Forest Service roads, punctuated with 25 aid stations stocked with high-calorie food. Amid the 100 miles, Brown encountered difficulties and adventures—including an encounter with a black bear.
“Between 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. I was running down a hill, and 75 or 80 yards ahead of me something big came out of the ditch and onto the road,” Brown said. “I knew it was a big ol’ black bear…I came down the hill to where that bear was—where he had crossed the road—and I was a little bit nervous but I couldn’t stop. I mean, if that bear was going to come after me, it could come and get me atop the hill just as well as down there.”
Brown endured many other difficulties lasting longer than a black bear scare. For one, Brown scarcely ate any food during the race, getting nearly all of his calories from gels and sports drinks, which he said was OK.
“At one station I ate chicken soup there, just broth,” Brown said. “That was the only food I ate besides M&Ms at stations for meals. I’d look at it [food on the table], and it was like I was sick,” Brown said.
As night neared, Brown stayed on course with a flashlight and headlight, which flickered on and off due to a battery problem. Brown corrected the problem but could not successfully reconnect the light’s hinges until he arrived at an aid station.
Consecutively, Brown encountered few problems until mile 84, when he met his wife Laura Beth at the race’s final aid station, who had encouraged him at six of the eight aid stations. It was there that his legs stiffened up.
“I was doing so good up until that point,” Brown said. …”I never could run up a hill again after that, especially downhill—I’ve never felt pain in my thighs like that before. It was unbelievable how badly that hurt.”
To make matters worse, a cold, hard rain started immediately after Brown left the final aid station.
“That was the start of a very low 16 miles [to go],” Brown said. “I was close, but I still had a long ways to go.”
Soon thereafter the trail terrain transitioned from gravel to quartz.
“It was beautiful in the sunlight, but in the rain, in the dark, it was very, very slippery,” Brown said. “So I was sliding all over, afraid I was going to fall on something that sharp—that was the last thing I wanted to fall on. Mentally, that was wearing on me.”
Just as Brown neared his breaking point, a runner who had ran alongside Brown part of the way offered simple but poignant words, according to Brown.
“He came by, and I said, ‘Man, my legs are shot, and I don’t know what to do,'” Brown said. “And he kept going but turned around and said, ‘Just keep moving. You can still make it under 24 hours.’ At the time, he didn’t have any idea how important that little phrase was to me.”
A painful 11 miles later, Brown crossed the finish line within his goal time.
“When I finished I was very proud of myself,” Brown said. “I was very happy; it was just a big thrill.”
Beyond his tenacity to not give up, Brown attributes his success to friends and family. Brown started the race alongside experienced ultra-marathoner Chrissy Ferguson, co-director of the race with her husband.
“Running with her for the first eight or nine miles was really beneficial because she was talking about what to do and what not to do,” Brown said. “The biggest thing is to walk up hills instead of trying to run up them because you really don’t lose that much time. That was the best piece of advice.”
Additionally, Brown credits the aid station workers who manned facilities and food for 24 hours. Though these stations provided runners with all they needed physically, Brown needed more support than what they offered—he needed to see his wife.
“The psychological benefit of seeing her was the biggest part,” Brown said. “The aid stations had everything I needed, but I couldn’t even run that race without a crew.”
Now that the Arkansas Traveller race has ended, Brown’s road to recovery has started.
“I’m really not doing anything,” Brown said. “I came to work [last Monday] and taught class, seated, quite a bit of the time. I wore sandals for the first time at school. For the first two days my feet were really swollen so much I couldn’t put on shoes.”
In addition to wearing sandals, Brown has done other things he’s never done before as part of his post-race recovery, like riding the elevator and using a cane to maneuver up stairs. But all in all, he’s pleased with how quickly his body is recuperating.
“I’m feeling better fast,” Brown said. “My feet have never been sore after a marathon; [A 100-mile race] is different. But I’m feeling a lot better pretty quickly.”
Brown said he encourages people of all ages to stay active, doing sports and recreational activities they enjoy. Brown said he would be willing to assist anyone interested in running long distances.
“I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’m experienced,” Brown said.
Brown’s incredible feat of running 100 miles may be reality, but even he has had trouble mentally accepting the fact.
“It kind of amazes me still that a person can run 100 miles,” Brown said. “At the same time, the trick to it is to get started and not give in to the desire to quit. If you’re in reasonable shape, you can run 100 miles. Why you would want to, I don’t know.”
