Bandera 50K Race Report, January 8, 2023

The Bandera 100K is one of those big ultramarathons that you hear about fairly early on in the sport. As one of only 7 races offering golden tickets to Western States, and an early season 100K, it is easy to see why this event draws a competitive field. 

A quick look at their website tells you straight up what to expect in Texas: "No whiners, wimps, or wusses. A trail of rugged and brutal beauty where everything cuts, stings, or bites". The 100K is two loops of a 50K course. This year, I elected to race the 50K to get a nice taste of the Bandera ethos while having time to recover and switch to a cycling focus in time for the Midsouth Double in March.

Race website: https://www.tejastrails.com/bandera

Registration: Run signup

Location:  ★★★★☆

Bandera is a small 1,000 person town in the Texas Hill Country. It is located about 45 minutes northwest of San Antonio. Bandera markets itself as the "Cowboy Capital" of the world. The town itself has a nice old-timey western feel. The brunch we had at the Hen's Nest was great down-to-earth homestyle breakfast. 

The race itself is actually another 15 minutes west of Bandera, out in the Hill Country State Natural Area. The minute you turn into the natural area, say goodbye to cell service. In Michigan, especially in the UP, I'm used to spotty coverage at events. However, this was more than spotty. Even crew members sitting still in the parking areas had absolutely no cellular signal. It's not a huge safety issue given that the course is completely contained in the park, with dirt road crossings every couple of miles, but if you break your femur tripping over rocks, be prepared to wait a while for help. 

The natural area does have plenty of space for tent camping/van camping. Since we flew in and didn't have the van, we stayed in an air bnb instead. There are minimal water and electric hookups present at the camp, so if you do want to camp, plan ahead.

Note that the group camping area is typically used by equestrians. There is lots of horse manure. If you bring your city-slickin dog, be prepared for them to scarf that up and vomit it in your car on the way home. 

The park does have a $10/per person CASH ONLY fee for access during the event. Make sure you have cash!

Organization: ★★★★★

Tejas Trails organizes a large race series in Texas, and they are a well-oiled machine. There was really no stone left unturned. We received three pre-race emails. Each was well organized and gave participants basically everything they needed to know. 

The course was extremely well marked. You would have to be trying to go off course. Not only were there reflectors every couple hundred yards or so, but at every trail intersection there were either "Wrong way" signs or caution tape on the ground that you would literally have to step over to go off course. 

The 100k pre-race briefing was Friday evening, and it was recorded and then posted to Facebook Saturday. So, if you were in the 100k and didn't make the briefing, you wouldn't have time to watch the recording. However, the briefing was fairly redundent given the informative pre-race emails. Missing it wouldn't ruin your race by any stretch. 

My only complaint was that we did have ankle chips for timing. I don't love having that additional item on the ankle as it can lead to another area of chafing. Honestly, it was a very comfortable band and I forgot it was there, but I haven't always been so lucky. 

Course:★★★★☆

The course itself was technical and challenging, but beautiful! As mentioned above, it was hands-down the best marked course I have experienced in over a decade of competing in endurance sports. 

The 100K is two loops of the 50K course. The course can be summarized as: 8 technical miles with rocky climbs and steep loose descents. 19 miles of rolling, but very runable terrain, followed by another 4 miles of rocky climbs and technical descents. Being a midwesterner, I'm not necessarily well adapted to technical bomber descents. I lost a lot of time in the first 8 miles but had a ton of fun! The first 8 miles are the worst as far as the sotol plants go. Everyone gets fairly cut up in this segment. 

There are 6 aid stations along the way in the 50k loop, in addition to the start/finish area (a 7th aid station for the 100K loop). The 100k can leave 2 drop bags in addition to the one at the start/finish. No drop bags for the 50k. Most were 4-5 miles apart. The farthest distance between two stations was 7 miles. 

The reason I can't give this course a 5 star rating is because of the weird little lollipop around mile 6. Basically, they have you do a lollipop up to a nice scenic summit, then back down. This is the only area where the course is bidirectional. This is a weird spot to be bidirectional, as it is during a technical climb/descent. You have runners climbing while others are sescending. The rocks are loose and there is quite a bit of sotol in the area so you really don't want to go off course. I think there is enough real estate in the park that you could have a similar climb without having the congestion of two-way traffic. 

Food: . ★★★★☆

Typical ultra fare: cookies, chips, fruit, tailwind, water, coke. The ginger ale saved my life at that 5th aid station. For the 100K there is also some hot food options: breakfast burrito makings, mashed potatoes, etc. The aid station volunteers are what makes this beyond average, everyone acted like they were stoked to be there. Volunteers spend two days out on course and were still so encouraging and attentive to everyone's needs.

My race:

This was my first "big" ultra with a competitive pro field. Obviously most of the pros are in the 100k looking towards those golden tickets, but Lucy Bartholemew and Lotti Brinks lined up just in front of me for the 50K. Initially, Alexi Pappas had been registered for the 50K but she switched to the 100K Friday night (who does that?!). This was also my first time racing in the southwest. I knew I was in for a treat when I was tripping my way down the rocky descents apologizing to the guy behind me, and he just chuckled and said "welcome to Tejas."  

You know that old adage about "don't do anything new on race day?" While spectating the 100K on Saturday, I was struck by how warm 68 degrees in Texas is. It's sunny and humid. Prepping for a start of 44 degrees with a high of 65 on Sunday, I had packed tights. Only tights. I had one pair of loose shorts with me, and they didn't have a liner. Certainly not something I could spend 5 hours running in. I typically race in tight crossfit shorts, or occasionally a baggy short with a nice liner. So, we had a Saturday afternoon dash to San Antonio to buy a pair of shorts and hope that they didn't chafe.

The first mile was really just loosening up, and I got the chance to chat with a few other runners. Around 1 mile in as the climbing ratched up, the pack thinned out significantly. At that point I was basically focused on controlling the chaos of me, a Michigan girl, trying to descend without falling. I did feel a little bit better when the guy I ran about 6 miles with told me that everyone wrecked their ankles. It's not just me! 

After the first 8 miles of challenging terrain, we were on to the rolling runnable middle segment. The extra challenge was that the clay was pitted out by horse hoofprints, so the ankle mobility drills continued. This is where the day really started to heat up. Something I wasn't prepared for as a midwestern trail runner: when I hear a course is 100% trail, I translate that to mean that it's protected. Not true in the southwest! We had about 1.5 miles of tree cover, and that was quite early in the day. The vast majority of the trail was exposed. Shorts were definitely the right call!

The early-season heat really got to my GI tract, as well as the gels I ingested. I don't know why I still think one day gels will do right by me. It's been 11 years and it hasn't happened yet. Fortunately, by the time my stomach lit up I was within 90 minutes of the finish. 

The last 4 miles were a real struggle with some very steep climbs and descents, but the flat run in to the finish gave me enough time to get my run form back together to look pretty for the finish.

 

Gear: I ran with a full 2L Nathan hydration pack. The aid stations were close enough I probably could have gotten away with handhelds, but I hat having things in my hand and prefer the weight on my back or chest. This race did encourage me to start looking at the packs with small chest holsters for handhelds. I ran in Hoka Speedgoats and had no complaints with them. Started out with airwarmers and gloves but ditched them by mile 8. 

The day finished with me in 4th for the women, 19th OA in the 50K. I'll be back someday for the 100k!

As always, my supercrew of one, my husband, made the whole dang thing possible!

Big thanks to Team Athletic Mentors/coach Erin Young for the support as well.