Do you have a great 'First 100' story? Send it to Endurance Net!
My first 100 was at Tellico Plains, TN. It was my 3rd ride... Amy Whelan
My first endurance ride attempt was the Tevis in 1972. Richard Dawson
My first 100 was Tevis in 1984.. Bonnie Peralez
My own first 100 was also my first-ever endurance ride... Heidi Smith
OK, I guess I'll tell mine ... plus a little extra... Joe Long
I will never forget my first 100miler... Drin Becker
My first endurance ride attempt was the Tevis in 1972. My wife Carolyn and I had gone over to watch the ride in 1969 and 1970. Due to an over-reach by the old grey mare I ended up with her five year old daughter who I very dilegently trained for a total of six weeks. Man! that mare could really trot.
We drove over to Auburn about 10 days before the ride to pre-ride the last 40 to 50 miles of the trail. What fun. my wife and I rode with Paige Harper out to the river and back. My mare tied up on the way back to the barn and being such a superbly trained informed rider I really felt that she was getting into good shape. Good hard muscle tone.
That evening Marion Robie came by our pen and decided to do her very best good samaritan deed. She immediately got us going with hot cloths and massage. Ended up with walking the mare after a day or two of rest and she seemed to come out of her problem.
Off to the start at Squaw Valley and while camped managed to meet a very nice gentleman and his 13 year old daughter who was riding a very beautiful POA. This young lady was very well spoken and polite.
A rule of the Tevis at that time was that all riders had to carry a minimum of 165#. Thgis lovely young lady was about 40 50 # short of the minimum. They tried lead, rocks and finally two giant wine skins full of water. (TOO BAD IT WASN'T what they were designed for.)
Saturday morning we were off and thundering up the road to the top of Squaw. We went over the top and down the other side on the lower trail that had a beautiful meadow and some giant boulders. Lovely trail with great trees. We had gone about 8 to 10 miles and that POA was really moving.
I didn't look back for about a half mile or so and when I did the POA and rider were nowhere to be seen.. turned around and at a full trot went back up the trail to find my charge.and finally spotted her over behind some trees she had lost one wineskin at the tie on the other had broken. This kid was really upset.
I took the remaining skin and told her to stay with me no matter what fell off. Somehow I managed to drop the skin behind a tree within the first 50 yards and a little later she was really upset when she realized that it was gone. I kept moving down the trail and was making good time when I looked back and she was gone again. Back down the trail for another half mile and found her hiding behind a tree. This happened at least four times. We came up to a small creek in Duncan Canyon and my mare took a giant leap across this little trickle and an un-named portion of my anatomy attem[pted to soften the blow of my rather beat up body. It felt so good that I nearly passed out and was just wraped around the mare's neck. The lovely young lady kept asking if everything was O.K. but all I could do was groan and mumble unpprintable comments about this lovely mare's ancestory.
Finally got to Robinson and after the horse was declared O.K. and I had gone to the little boys room and managed to give enough blood for a transfusion, found someone else to take charge of this delightful young lady and rode to Michigan . She did the same thing to lady who took charge and managed to get her pulled on time.
The mare went on to finish the Tevis 3 times.I, thanks to some wonderful horses have finished 6 times.
I really love endurance.....
Richard Dawson Mrsd@qnet.com
I will never forget my first 100miler... , it was in 1990 in Forsyth MT at a ride called the Four Roses which is no longer being held . I started out with a friend of mine who was going to show me the ropes and she got pulled at the 30 mile vet check for lameness . At the 50 mile check I was withen a couple minutes of leaving the vet check of a father and son and another man who were also leaving the vet check on the 100 . They waited the couple minutes for me and introduced themselves and said we might as well all ride together . It was Richard Hickstein and his son from WY and a George whose last name I forget now . The weather was hot in the high 90's-100 degrees but at least here we have no humidity to contend with . At every gate we had to open they had coolers full of iced water and sacks of candy for the riders . I was riding in a pair of brand new riding tights that had "grippers" on them and they had rubbed the insides of my legs raw and I was sunbrurned and sore , at the 80 mile mark I said thats it , I have had it and am throwing in the towel ! George had gotten heat stroke and pulled at the last check , I went over to tell the Hicksteins that I was quitting and Richard looked at me and said " One way or another you are leaving this vet check on your horse , preferably astride !" I went back resaddled and with the Hicksteins encouragement finished the ride . I believe it took us something like 23 1/2 hours . I will never forget them for helping me thru that ride and not letting me quit . For awards we were given a wooden horse christmas ornament with our name and our horses name written on it and the date , every christmas when I hang it on the tree I remember that particular ride and the Hickstein family . Lots of lessons learned on that ride :-)
Drin Becker
Mtn Region
The memory of my first 100 is still very fresh in my mind. It was Fort Howes 2000 and it was also my first "big" ride. My friends still sleeping as I saddled up in the morning, I left at 4:30am. Watching the sun rise over the mountains in Montana and you know why they call it big sky country.
I remember hooking up with this wonderful lady early on in the ride and she tought me much about getting through a 100. We then had the honour of running into two more wonderful ladys and riding the first 60 together (lost one at this check). Endurance folk are the best on the planet this I am sure of, coming into the hour check at 60 miles with no crew on the first 100 and WOW, how many folk helped me I can not remember, I do remember my feet in a bucket of ice water and my horse walking and grazing some grass with the lady next door to my truck, never did get there names but THANK YOU.
One big lesson I did learn is when leaving camp at 60 miles and not coming back TAKE a JACKET. The rain fell at dusk and the temperature dropped and I was in my tank top and tights, freezing and wet. At the out check, at 85 miles I new I was in trouble whren the vets sent me to the truck with the heater on and vetted my horse with out me! The vet then sent me back out in the wild with these wonderful ladies and his jacket! THANK YOU!
3:30am we finished, very happy I got off and my feet never touched the ground. What a rush and what an amazing creatures they are for letting us tag along on this adventure with them!
Those wonderful ladies, Phyllis Arnold and Denise Pfalmer a huge thank you again! And that vet who who did more than expected, Ray Randall, thank you!
Rusty - when is the next 100?
Rusty Toth
jrusty@shaw.ca
OK, I guess I'll tell mine ... plus a little extra... Kahlil and I did our first 100 some 23 years ago, in North Carolina. I was pretty green and had no idea how to pace a 100, so I rode along with some folks who I thought knew what they were doing (and who moved out in front). Well, about 80 miles or so, one of the local folks comes alongside in a pickup truck and tells the three of us that a rider known for coming from behind was "gaining fast, and his horse isn't even breathing hard." Sure enough, he caught us a few miles later.
But then I got my first lesson on just how tough Kahlil was at 100 miles. First one, then the other, of my "pace riders" dropped back, their horses out of gas. Then, the "come from behind" rider dropped back too, he'd used everything he had catching us. Kahlil and I did the last ten miles by ourselves, as darkness fell, and finished First Place and Best Condition (the first of many in 1-day 100's to come).
Yes, I was hooked. The 100-mile one-day ride remains my favorite.
But it did something else, too. Endurance News had come the day before we left for the ride, and to my surprise I found myself neck-and neck with Becky Hart and Khazen for First Place in the nation! I had no idea we were doing so well in points. So Robbie and I sat in our camper that evening after the ride, and discussed whether I should make a bid for the National Championship. Kahlil was only seven, it was our third year doing 50's and only our second year running for place. We'd have to go to more rides than we'd planned, and campaign more aggressively. But how often do you get such a chance in life? We decided to "go for it." But ya'll know what a fierce competitor Becky is, so that led to our going to seven rides in eight weeks in the fall -- finishing First Place on all seven.
The "off" weekend was the second-last weekend of the season. We knew we were still in a dead heat with Becky. There were no 100 mile rides in the Southeast in the fall in those days. There was no ride at all in the SE on that second-last weekend of the season, the closest one was in Vermont, over 1,000 miles away. Several friends gathered around after that sixth ride, offering to chip in for gas and drive the truck to get us to Vermont! But Kahlil didn't feel right late in that ride, his gait got a little short and choppy, and his attitude got a bit crabby. I knew he needed a week off. So, we stayed home, and were First Place and Best Condition at the Alabama 50 the last weekend of the season.
And finished Reserve Champion -- in the end, we just couldn't beat Becky.
But what a trip! That fall was one of the most exciting experiences of my life, it was wonderful.
Before Becky and I rode such an agressive schedule, week after week of running hard for first, many people didn't believe it could be done. Some folks feared that I'd ruined Kahlil by doing that -- but he went on for another 10,000 miles over the next 15 years! Just today (at neary 30 years old) he was out cantering about the pasture.
Joe Long
jlong@rnbw.com
http://www.rnbw.com
My own first 100 was also my first-ever endurance ride... It was at Virginia City back in 1973. (Dang, I just realized that that was 30 years ago....) My then-young stallion Surrabu and I hauled down there with my parents as a pit crew, and started off with more faith than knowledge at 4 a.m. in front of the Bucket of Blood Saloon. Everybody took off hell bent for election, and not knowing any better, I took off right with them. The first vet check was just after sunrise, at 29 miles. Then we looped back through some of the country we'd crossed in the dark--and I was mortified to realize that I had literally galloped through watermelon-sized boulders in the dark! I pretty much rode on my own to the 61-mile point at Horseman's Park in Reno. At that point, a crusty experienced rider took me under his wing and we rode together through the heat of the afternoon (much more slowly) to the 84-mile point at Washoe Lake. I don't know if I'd've made it (or at least not as well as I did) without that guy. I left Washoe Lake just at dusk to do the last 16 miles in the dark. My horse got a real second wind, but I didn't really take advantage of it--I knew I could finish in plenty of time to get my buckle, and it never occurred to me to let him speed up and go on ahead with horses that passed us, even though he wanted to. I had the most mystical walk in the moonlight down Ophir Grade to the finish on my best buddy, and still ended up in 28th place out of 92 starters. I distinctly recall seeing people with Ace bandages wrapped around their knees at the beginning of the ride and thinking to myself what an odd thing that was--didn't these people RIDE?? And at the end of the ride, when the insides of my knees were bloody and looked like ground hamburger from the seams of my jeans (and STUCK to the jeans because of the dried blood--yeeouch!), I remember thinking, "My, what SMART people to have wrapped their knees in Ace bandages!" (We've come a long way in 30 years!) Somewhere my mom still has a picture of me, sound asleep at about mid-morning on Sunday morning on a sleeping bag spread out on some straw bales on the loading dock of the old railroad station at Virginia City, where base camp was. (We got there a couple of days early and got a good spot, right up against the loading dock.)
I didn't get to another endurance ride until 1975, but I definitely had the bug, and I still dearly love 100-milers--if I can only get back in shape to do them again!
Heidi
My first 100 was Tevis in 1984... I had only ridden NATRC for several years but when I crewed for my son who rode Tevis as a Junior a few years before, I got the bug to also give it a try. First, though, I figured I better see if I could even ride a 50 miler before I sent in my entries. So I entered a few 50 mile endurance rides and completed just fine. I never had a crew and went alone to the rides. I didn't know anybody and rode alone.
I took a year to get ready for Tevis... I taught Malibu to tail up canyons and I did a lot of jogging with him in hand. Somedays I would saddle up and never get on him, just run and jog with him in tow.
The start that year was in numbered groups of ten leaving Squaw Valley in the dark. When daylight finally dawned, I could look out over the mountain tops and as far as I could see, it was just one mountain after the other and I kept thinking how far I was going to ride that day. I decided not to focus on the finish line, but just to ride to each vet stop. Hah... I found out very early in the ride that Malibu was NOT going to let me tail him... he was too full of energy and explosive. So I made a deal with him. He carted me up every canyon and I got off and jogged down every canyon. I don't remember what kind of running shoes I had on, but I did lose some toenails off of each foot later, I guess from the downhill running.
I never rode with anyone in particular. I just rode my own ride at my own pace. I felt great coming into the first vet check at 35 miles, Robinson Flats. My family was there and it was an exciting feeling to be part of this wonderful historic ride.
The canyons before Michigan Bluff were extremely hot... someone said 115 deg. or more. I didn't feel too well coming into that vet check, but our motorhome was parked there and I could take a shower and started feeling better. I didn't realize it at the time but I had made a fatal mistake in the early part of the ride. I didn't drink any water! I kept saving my water bottles and would drink at the stops if offered some water. By the 60 mile point I was dehydrated and it was too late to change anything. I rode all the switchbacks going down to the American River in the dark, of course, and was feeling more ill as time went on. My great Malibu took care of me and while I was hallucinating he brought me into Francisco's around 10:30 or 11:00 pm. I got off and really wanted to stop there, but somehow, was able to climb back on and cross the river. A lot of the rest of the trip is blurry. I remember going through some crews at Pointed Rocks at the Quarry near the Hwy. 49 crossing and asking someone (I think it was Teresa Cross) if they had a gun and if they did, would they please shoot me.
I was so near the finish line and I wanted that buckle. The last vet check was Robie Point... 2 miles from the fairgrounds and finish line. I had heard that they will pull horses at this check point, so I decided to walk the last several miles to be sure he was sound at that point. So many people were thundering past me in the dark and I could not believe anyone would be in such a hurry. If you don't top 10, who cares where you place? I wanted a completion, that was all. I do remember going down into the Black Holes and suddenly I had an anxiety attack. I was terrified to go forward as I could not even see my horse's ears it was so dark. People were yelling at me and started whipping my horse forward. I felt like I was going to drop off the end of the earth, but we got through it. At Robie Point I dismounted... another mistake. I fainted and when I woke up I was laying in the street like a common drunk. I begged my husband to go get the car and drive me to the fairgrounds. But they all put me back on the horse and we walked the last two miles to the finish. I was sick for a few weeks after that. I vowed never to do that again... it only takes one buckle to hold up my pants. But every horse I have had after that I look at and think, "could you be my next Tevis horse?"
The moral of the story.... be sure to drink lots of water and hydrate yourself!
Bonnie Peralez
Big Bear City, CA
My first 100 was at Tellico Plains, TN. It was my 3rd ride... , the first one being about 1 month earlier at LBL. At that ride, it was announced that the Race Of Champions would be held there the next year. So, me being the inexperienced newbie at their first ride said "hey, I want to get 5, 1-day 100's on my horse this year, and qualify!!! (looking back, wow!! Ignorance is bliss!).....so, one month later, off to Tennessee to try my first 100.
This still is the most beautiful course I think I have ever ridden. I love a tough trail and this was one of them. Bill Wilson (also trying his first 100) and I set out that morning to try and just keep trotting. The course is very mountainous with big, big climbs. We rode together the first 50 miles, and at the half way point we were in the middle of the pack (around 12 and 13) we were without pit crew so we were just helping each other at the checks. Bill was a seasoned veteran and my mentor. I looked to him for strategy but since it was his first 100, we were just sharing our thoughts. We got to the last check, having passed several people since the half way mark. At this time, as the sun was going down, I said,"My horse feels great, I am going to canter til dark" we were on top of a mountain and you began winding your way down on an old logging road, after 10 miles or so we hit into the woods and it was instantly pitch black. Bill was right on my tail and we wove thru the woods, way faster than I would go now, trusting our horses to stay on the trail. We came out to a clearing and you crossed a road and a creek, then had a field to the finish line. We slowed down to a walk at the creek, then Bill busted past me and we sprinted the last 75 yards or so. We could see joe long and Khalil's silholette in the light of a barn. We were 3rd and 4th.
I can still remember parts of that ride like yesterday..........people i met that day, still friends. Angie McGhee was the manager and I think Josie was about 2 weeks old, if that.........alot of great southern hospitality, a terrific, challenging trail, and I found a love for a 100 mile horse race!!!
amy whelan, Kentucky