Randy Andrews of McCook finishes the "Rocky Raccoon Ultra 100 Trail Marathon" in 26 hours, 45 minutes, 17 seconds. (Courtesy photo) [Click to enlarge]

Randy Andrews of McCook walked and ran for 26 hours and 45 minutes, covered 100 miles of trails and plank bridges, and fell flat on his face once. All this for a belt buckle ... ?

Andrews has run 15 100-mile and two 50-mile marathons and 35 or 36 traditional (26 miles, 385 yards) marathons. The long-distance marathons are "endurance races," Andrews says. "There are lots of opportunities to quit. You just try to not stop. Beware the chair, because if you stop, your muscles tighten up, and you can't go any further."

Andrews, who is 53 years old, started running about 25 years ago, in the mid-'80s. "I was pretty heavy, probably 215. And I was smoking," he said. "I sort of got the urge to change things, so that's when I started running."

Andrews admitted, "My running and smoking overlapped for about four years. I'd run a marathon, come home and smoke my pipe ... but the smoking stigma was different then."

Andrews finally beat the nicotine habit, and competed in his first 100-mile race, in Utah, just before the 9-11 tragedy of 2001.

An ultra marathon is not a race in the strictest definition. Andrews said runners have 30 hours, and at some races 36 hours, to finish the course. It's sometimes a matter of "improving yourself," going a little bit further than last time ... rather than finishing at all costs and/or "beating the guy beside you."

"You have to will yourself to finish," Andrews said. "That's the appeal to me."

Andrews is 0-6 on the Wausatch 100 near Salt Lake City, where his daughter, Shannon, lives. But he goes back, each year the weekend after Labor Day. "I finished 83 miles last year," Andrews said, describing the course as "so rugged, so rocky. You never get a chance to rest. You're always climbing ... it's lots of hiking," he said.

While weather extremes from daytime to nighttime can be a concern, he said, so is the local wildlife. "We came across a moose on the trail," Randy said, with a gentle chuckle. "It wasn't moving, and we had to wait, because we didn't want it charging us. It eventually moved on down the trail, and we could go on."

What makes an ultra marathoner DNF (Did Not Finish)? Injury, of course. Blisters sidelined Randy's nephew, Scott, after 70 miles of the "Rocky Raccoon Ultra 100 Trail Marathon," Feb. 2 and 3, in Huntsville State Park, Texas.

Other times, it's just a mental wall.

Randy finished the "Rocky Raccoon," covering the course's 20-mile loops in 26 hours, 45 minutes and 17 seconds, a personal best for a 100-mile ultra marathon.

The story that follows is Andrews' account of his "Rocky Raccoon," which he ran/walked from 6 a.m., Feb. 2, until just before 9 a.m., Feb. 3.

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I ran the Rocky Raccoon 100 (in Texas) in 2003 when I still lived in Salt Lake City, and was used to running mountain ultras. It was known as a fairly easy race to finish, if you moved with "relentless forward motion!" That is really what running 100 miles is all about.

My strategy (then) was to start slow and get slower. I wanted to eat and drink enough to sustain my energy, and not linger too long at the aid stations. I knew the inevitable "bad patches" would come and go, and eventually everything would hurt.

The 2008 race was special because my nephew, Scott Andrews, from Wisconsin, was running with me. I encouraged him to run his own race and told him he could always slow down and we could run together later.

The course is a 20-mile loop around Lake Raven. It is mostly run on soft, pine needle-laden trails and through marshes where you run on plank bridges. The main obstacle is tree roots that snake across the trail.

Sloppy foot placement and not picking up your feet high enough and -- down you go! This is known as a "face plant!"

I had done most of my training this year at the (McCook) YMCA on treadmills and the indoor running track. In January, I had run a lot of miles, so I felt confident I could improve on my usual 29-hour-plus finish.

We arrived at the park at 5:30 a.m., Feb. 2, and saw two raccoons run across the road in front of our car. I considered it a good omen!

A total of 252 runners started the 100-mile race at 6 a.m., and 159 runners started the 50-mile race an hour later.

Ultra marathon starts are usually low key, and this was no exception. On your mark, get set, go! I had a race director tell me once not to worry if you get to the race late, because you have all day and night to finish the race.

The weather turned out nice with lows in the high 30s and highs in the upper 60s. It was quite a contrast to the cold, wintery weather in McCook.

My strategy of running seven minutes and walking three minutes went out the window when I decided I needed to follow the terrain of the trail and run on the flat sections and down hills (let gravity be my friend) and walk fast on the up hills.

At seven miles, I took my eyes off the trail, hit a tree root and fell. It aggravated my left sciatic nerve and I decided then I would have to adjust and slow down, if I was going to have any chance of finishing.

My 20-mile time was four hours and three minutes. It was the slowest I had ever run the first loop of this course, but it turned out to be a blessing. I had a lot more energy and speed later on in the race.

Scott started out fast and finished his first loop in 3:30. I saw him on the out-and-back section at mile 31 and he looked like he was feeling tired. At Mile 44, I caught up with him and we ran together for a couple of miles, but I eventually pushed on, as we each had to run our own race. Scott would eventually call it a night at 4 a.m., Sunday, due to blister problems. He completed 70 miles. A job well done!

My slow start allowed me to finish before 9 a.m. on Sunday morning. It was a personal record for me in a 100-mile ultra marathon. Jorge Pacheco won the race in a time of 14 hours 12 minutes.

I came in 110th out of 168 finishers. Eighty-four runners were DNF (did not finish). I received a belt buckle for finishing.