Are you wearing dress pants and a bow tie? Javelina Jangover
Endurance races can play with the mind. Especially night races which
starts as the sun sets. The environment takes on a completely
different tone from the brightness of the day.
As time passes and folks cross over the bewitching hour into the early morning, the mind can play tricks on you. You can begin to see things that aren't there. Even hallucinate. I know I have before, even at this very run a few years ago.
No hallucinations for me on this night. However, I can't begin to imagine the bewilderment of one fellow runner tightly following his pacer on his final 75K loop as he exclaim in excitement and confusion "Are you wearing dress pants and a bow tie?"
Why yes I am.
Smiles for everyone.
On this night in the desert on the trails I am wearing long sleeve shirt, dress pants, a bow tie, a casual dress hat, and casual dress shoes to boot. And nope, I'm not sponsored by Ministry of Supply or Cole Haan (holla at me if y'all want to collab though).
I officially kicked off my annual Make-A-Wish AZ fundraiser by putting a challenge on Facebook hours before the race. I I hit 250.00 by 5:00pm I would run the Javelina Jangover 50K in shirt and tie.
The tally was at 235.00 as I left, so clothes were packed in the bag and mind set to do something extremely stupid. Especially considering the temperature of 95+ and humidity levels rising as the remnants of hurricane Rosa approached.
This was my third running of this night race. Home turf of my first 50K and my first 100K. A special place indeed filled with plenty of memories.
And tonight would be no different. The Arizona run crew was in full effect and got to see so many that I haven't seen in a spell. The atmosphere and the people are what make trail races so endearing.
Of note, I got to spend a lot of time with one of my favorite runners Connie. She's such an inspiration to me and had a significant role in getting me to believe how miraculous the body really is if you get your mind right.
Before
her, the thought of back-to-back long runs was... WTF?!?! Really, you
running a full today and a half tomorrow? Why would you do that? Can
the body sustain such efforts at our mature ages? Wow... I'll shut up
and study, follow, and learn.
I'm sure at some point she wanted me to shut up on that second loop. 😀🙉
Javelina Jangover is the last night run before Javelina Jundred and the last run on the actual Javelina course before the big day. So a lot of folks come out to train for the big dance a few weeks away.
It appears the critters wanted to dance too with the runners. I had never seen so many snakes out on the trail before. A total of six spotted! Desert rats were running about. Tarantulas were scouting out the scene. Definitely a night to become one with the local occupants.
Fortunately
there were no bites. Runners were looking out for each other. If a
critter was spotted, runners would pass info along on the trial to the
location and type to ensure everyone's safety.
As always with Aravaipa events, aid stations were well supplied with enthusiastic volunteers there to assist crazy ass runners running the the desert at night even in sauna suits and ties.
On this night, we would be given the opportunity to view one of the most
spectacular moon rises I have ever witnessed with my eyes! Simply
heavenly.
The course itself is one for the books. Flats, washes filled with sand, technical sections, and that crazy climb on the back side heading into Jackass junction. Last time I was on that section of trail with my first 100K I wanted to hug a cactus and die.
I didn't die, but I have so many memories and to finish a third run here was phenomenal if not a bit warm.
But
I want to address the elephant or the shirt and tie on the trails. I
need to raise these funds for the kids and in this social media crazed
world, you have to get attention. What better way than to shoot for a
Guinness book record?
Well they told me to go kick rocks because they don't track records above marathon distance. But I still got to raise money for the kids at Make-A-Wish, so I plan on running 100+ miles in December for my annual fundraiser. Figured if y'all showed some early love it would be a good run to see how the pants and shirt held up to some serious miles.
So yes, I wore dress pants, shirt, and a bow tie to tackle Javelina Jangover 50K in 2018. And no I was not a hallucination. If you want to donate to the cause, clicky clicky the link!
If you don't donate to the cause or share the link with your family and friends and get them to donate a cup of coffee money to the cause then, the Jackass Junction Skeleton gonna pay you a visit. Nite Nite.
As time passes and folks cross over the bewitching hour into the early morning, the mind can play tricks on you. You can begin to see things that aren't there. Even hallucinate. I know I have before, even at this very run a few years ago.
No hallucinations for me on this night. However, I can't begin to imagine the bewilderment of one fellow runner tightly following his pacer on his final 75K loop as he exclaim in excitement and confusion "Are you wearing dress pants and a bow tie?"
Why yes I am.
Smiles for everyone.
On this night in the desert on the trails I am wearing long sleeve shirt, dress pants, a bow tie, a casual dress hat, and casual dress shoes to boot. And nope, I'm not sponsored by Ministry of Supply or Cole Haan (holla at me if y'all want to collab though).
I officially kicked off my annual Make-A-Wish AZ fundraiser by putting a challenge on Facebook hours before the race. I I hit 250.00 by 5:00pm I would run the Javelina Jangover 50K in shirt and tie.
The tally was at 235.00 as I left, so clothes were packed in the bag and mind set to do something extremely stupid. Especially considering the temperature of 95+ and humidity levels rising as the remnants of hurricane Rosa approached.
This was my third running of this night race. Home turf of my first 50K and my first 100K. A special place indeed filled with plenty of memories.
And tonight would be no different. The Arizona run crew was in full effect and got to see so many that I haven't seen in a spell. The atmosphere and the people are what make trail races so endearing.
Of note, I got to spend a lot of time with one of my favorite runners Connie. She's such an inspiration to me and had a significant role in getting me to believe how miraculous the body really is if you get your mind right.
I'm sure at some point she wanted me to shut up on that second loop. 😀🙉
Javelina Jangover is the last night run before Javelina Jundred and the last run on the actual Javelina course before the big day. So a lot of folks come out to train for the big dance a few weeks away.
It appears the critters wanted to dance too with the runners. I had never seen so many snakes out on the trail before. A total of six spotted! Desert rats were running about. Tarantulas were scouting out the scene. Definitely a night to become one with the local occupants.
 |
| Will you turn that gawt damned light off, it's late! Take y'all ass to sleep! |
As always with Aravaipa events, aid stations were well supplied with enthusiastic volunteers there to assist crazy ass runners running the the desert at night even in sauna suits and ties.
 |
| Moonlight fire in the sky |
The course itself is one for the books. Flats, washes filled with sand, technical sections, and that crazy climb on the back side heading into Jackass junction. Last time I was on that section of trail with my first 100K I wanted to hug a cactus and die.
I didn't die, but I have so many memories and to finish a third run here was phenomenal if not a bit warm.
Well they told me to go kick rocks because they don't track records above marathon distance. But I still got to raise money for the kids at Make-A-Wish, so I plan on running 100+ miles in December for my annual fundraiser. Figured if y'all showed some early love it would be a good run to see how the pants and shirt held up to some serious miles.
So yes, I wore dress pants, shirt, and a bow tie to tackle Javelina Jangover 50K in 2018. And no I was not a hallucination. If you want to donate to the cause, clicky clicky the link!
If you don't donate to the cause or share the link with your family and friends and get them to donate a cup of coffee money to the cause then, the Jackass Junction Skeleton gonna pay you a visit. Nite Nite.
 |
| Donate to the kids yo! Do it! Click the link with your finger or mouse. |
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