2019 Hom 100 - Save the date!

This year's Hom 100 will take place on February 2, 2019. You can run, bike, walk, skip, scooter or skate any miles you want as long as you're out with us supporting the ALS Association and the memory of my friend Tony.

We've raised over $10,000 in 2018 and I'm looking forward to raising more in the coming year. It will be our 7th year running crazy loops around the neighborhood.

2018 Hom 100 - Save the date!

It's always a challenge to figure out the date for the Hom 100 each year. You have to be mindful of personal schedules, holidays, other races happening in the area. It's a balancing act of epic proportions trying to keep everyone happy.

Having said that, I'm happy to announce that the 6th annual Hom 100 will be on February 3rd, 2018.

So add it to your plans. Put it on your calendar. Include it in your training plans.

I'm looking forward to once again running in Tony's memory and raising money to support the ALS Association Arizona Chapter.

2016 Hom 100 Recap

For the 4th year in a row, I've been fortunate enough to have the awesome support of friends, family and neighbors who come out and help me put on this crazy charity run to benefit ALS. Most people think that running the 100 miles is the hardest but in actuality, the planning and coordination is what really what makes my blood pressure spike! From permits to porta-potties, food, supplies, trash bags and ice - the list is endless and can really stress a guy out. Like I said however, I have an amazing wife and friends who make sure everything was ship-shape throughout the day all the way to the finish.

As you might imagine, running a 2-mile loop endlessly is far from exciting and doesn't provide much in a change of scenary but I'll do my best to recount the day and those memorable nuggets from this year's Hom 100.

Start (9 am) to Noon

Truthfully, if I had my way I'd start this event at like 4 am so I could enjoy the cool morning air and really knock out some miles. Unfortunately, this is the real world and most reasonably sane families (including my own), don't even contemplate getting up until 8. It's one thing I used to stress about but the reality is whether you start at 4 am or 9 am, you're still going to be spending 24+ hours on your feet.

We had a healthy gathering at our house to begin the event. 25-30 people, most donning their Hom's Homies t-shirts, were anxious to get under way knowing that the temperatures for the day were expected to (again!) be unseasonably hot.

You had a group of stroller moms. A group of walker moms. A group of kids on bikes. There was also a group of cyclists, led by the eldest Hom daughter, who planned on riding 100 miles that day. Collectively, we took up the entire road and proudly marched out to the aid station to kick off the actual run.

I was hoping to get more miles during this segment while the weather was a bit cooler but there is always the excitement of the start, various folks showing up to run and massive amounts of pictures being taken while we're still fresh and smelling somewhat pleasant.

Approximate miles - 15

Noon to Midnight

Yep, it feels like 93 F!

If there is one universal constant in this galaxy, it's that the Hom 100 will be held on THE hottest day imaginable. I'm not sure who upstairs thinks we need 90+ temperatures, but it's honestly not funny any more. So of course around noon, the sun was out in full force, keeping everyone toasty. Kids were getting red and puffy-faced. Adults were camped out under the tents (with adult beverages I might add!)

I tried to keep moving through the heat but found I needed to take more breaks than normal to clear my head, hydrate and lower my heart rate - it was racing through the roof! It always surprises me that noon to 6 is usually the most popular time to come out and run...go figure! Everyone loves the heat (or getting a nice runner's tan) :-)

I found myself getting behind in calories throughout the day due to the heat. One of the great things about this course is that the aid station is every 2 miles. Oddly enough, one of the hardest things about this course is that the aid station is every 2 miles...it creates a stopping point both physically and mentally but it's also where everyone comes to join the run so there are pictures, laughter, kids and something always going on...everything except eating (in my case). I was easily distracted by friends and wardrobe changes so much that I wasn't eating as much as I should have.

10-mile Marcus	Mr. Hangover
The-40-mile-man-LaBelle	The Double Mint Twins :)

It wasn't until about 11 pm that my body was crying out for solid food. What kind of food?! Well, pizza! Duh! I gobbled up 5 small squares of pizza and asked my wife for more. She told me there was more at home and that she'd have it 'delivered' to the aid station in a few laps. Of course, within 15 minutes I was starving again and looking for anything that sounded good...how about a solid PB&J sandwich? Sure. With LOTS of jelly!

This went on for about an hour until I was comfortably 'full' of pizza and sandwiches. I managed to sit down a few times to eat but quickly realized that while it felt great to take a load off, it was much harder to get going after your muscles have had time to relax. I made a mental note to stay on my feet as much as I could the rest of the night to minimize the chances I would remain permanently parked in one of the chairs.

The night-crew

Somewhere around 50 miles I also changed my shoes and socks. While I love my Saucony Peregrine shoes, the cushion under my ankle bone had irritated it all day and caused both pain and swelling. A fresh pair of socks and my Hoka's felt like I was on Cloud 9.

Approximate miles - 60

Midnight to 6 am

Magnum PI came out for some laps

All went well into the midnight hours. Spectators thinned. Kids had gone to bed. Only a couple runners remained to keep me company. My wife stayed on at the aid station until about 1 am before calling it quits herself...such a trooper.

2 am would be the only time when someone wasn't running with me. However, I'm fortunate to have a great neighbor who doesn't mind staying up all night or riding his bike in circles with me. We continued on through the night for a couple hours - chatting, eating potato chips and solving the mysteries of the universe (ok, we just contemplated them...not sure we solved much)

It wasn't until about 4 am that an early crew of runners showed up at the tent to take over and keep me company. I'm sure I was overly emotional from being up for 24 hours and very tired, but I couldn't help think of how lucky I was to have friends who would give up their Sunday morning to come out to keep me company and share a sunrise together. We chatted, laughed and made small talk but it was clear that the lack of caffeine was an issue for me as I started to fade in and out of consciousness while walking through the night.

Laps with Jon

About 5 am, I stopped at the tent and sat down, wrapped a blanket around me and took a 2-minute cat nap to try and refresh my body and mind just enough to get me to sunrise. While not completely refreshing, it was enough to help me push through another 45 minutes to meet the rising sun (I think the couple shots of Mountain Dew also helped).

Once that sun came up, it was amazing how invigorated I felt. Still on my feet and still 'running', I was now bound and determined to try and get done by 10 am - putting me at about 25 hours for the run.

Approximate miles - 82

6 am to Finish

Once again, hunger struck in a bad way about 7 am. Much of the aid station food had been decimated and picked over at this point - not to mention that all my personal race food...gels, bars, chews...had been thinned out, leaving only the gross unappetizing flavors (like peanut butter).

Leave it to my wife to have impeccable timing however - she brought down english muffins with Nutella and sausage/egg biscuits to the tent just in time for me to INHALE several of them as we kept moving along the trail. SO good!

Fresh runners, kids and other friends started showing up again with the new day - always encouraging and invigorating. Now I could have walked much of the remaining miles - my 'running' pace wasn't much faster than a brisk walk but my ankle was still in bad shape and I couldn't tell if I had blisters on my heels or very bad heat rash (turns out it was both). As they say, 'If it hurts to run and it hurts to walk, then you might as well run'...so I kept going.

There wasn't anything very magical about those last 4 hours. The sun had come back out and I applied a new layer of sunscreen on top of the nasty, sticky and stinky layer of sunscreen from the day before. You know it's bad when you can smell yourself! Ick.

Finish line attendants

Despite my stench, more and more kids, friends and neighbors had made their way onto the course to keep me company - all very supportive, talkative and attentive to my needs. Lap after lap I was counting the miles down until the time I could sit down and put my feet into a bucket of ice water...

At last we came to the final lap - which is always a lap plus a little extra (because each lap is just short of 2 miles). A ton of folks joined me for the last lap (or at least half of it - they hurried back to take pictures and video). There is nothing more glorious that heading around the last corner, hearing the final 100-mile beep from my GPS watch and knowing that in 0.25 miles, I'll be able to bask in the glory of another 100-mile finish and another successful charity event for my friend Tony.

Final Thoughts

When we started this in 2012, Tony never believed we'd raise more that a couple hundred bucks. I'm sure he's still looking down and shaking his head at me. Our event this year has raised over $10,000 bringing our 4-year total to just over $105,000 (so far).

The littlest Homie

I'm so very fortunate to be surrounded by loving and caring individuals and families who may not have known Tony like I did, but support me and my passions just the same. You are all amazing people and I'm lucky to know you all.

Thank you to my 'village' who has become exceeding efficient at setting up, breaking down, keeping kids entertained, donating food and providing post-race fluids :-)

Thank you to everyone who came out to run and/or donated.

Thank you to Cadence Running for the aid station nutrition.

A HUGE thanks to Dean and Missy for supplying participants (and me!) with the medals and pint glasses.

The hugest thanks of all to my wife. Co-race-director, (temporary) aid station captain (#WheresDean), bringer-of-food and noise-maker extraordinaire. Love you babe.

Remember, the Scottsdale Walk to Defeat ALS is October 29, 2016. Stay tuned for more ways you can participate in the walk and our fundraising in memory of Tony. If you're still interested in donating, please go to web.alsa.org/homshomies.

2015 Hom 100 Race Report

A little wet on the trail

Almost 2 weeks out from the run, I had been drooling over the weather forecast. Sunny, slight chance of rain and 75F looked like the perfect conditions to run 100 miles. As the run approached however, it was obvious that the slight chance of rain was turning into a 'pretty damn good thunderstorm'...

"So the trail will be a little damp. Maybe we'll have some humidity."

Turns out, it was enough rain to collect along the trail and force us to alter the course onto the sidewalk and road rather than the soft cushy trail. Making the prospect of running 100 miles on concrete even more painful.

Start (8 am) to Noon

Starting out...

It's always exciting to get friends and family gathered together at our house for the start of the run. Bikes, scooters, walkers, strollers and runners alike donning their Hom's Homies t-shirts in support of Tony. The mood is always upbeat and positive even though we all know why we're here.

Despite the water-logged trails, everyone started making their way around the neighborhood. I scolded several people for actually saying, "It's kinda chilly this morning". Geez! Can't win with this weather-thing. It could have been 115F ya know!! :-)

Suffice it to say, these are typically the uneventful hours of the day. Folks come and go - the miles tick away. I just could not believe how great the weather was...slight breeze, a few clouds and just enough sun keep you warm and toasty.

Approximate miles - 20

Noon to Midnight

In hindsight, I really wish someone would have said, "Hey dummy, it's 75F out. Do you have sunscreen on?" If they had, it would have saved me a few dollars in aloe lotion and that crispy sensation you have when you step into a hot shower with a sunburn. It wasn't until around 5 pm that I noticed (and felt) my massively charred forearms, back and neck. Call me rotisserie-Trev...cause all I did was bake while running around in circles that afternoon.

JA at the end of her 50k PR

I would bet that between noon and 6 was the busiest time. At one point, there was a group of about 6 or 7 dudes going one direction and then another group of 6-7 ladies (led by JA) going the other direction. It wasn't until it go closer to dinner time that folks started peeling off and we consolidated back into a single group. JA was able to reach her 50k goal during this time too. Super proud of her!

I ate half of them...

I hit the 50-mile mark just around 7 pm in the evening. I felt pretty good about that - 11 hours for 50 miles isn't chump change. I grabbed a chair and took a break to try and eat some solid food. Damn I was hungry. Hungry for what you ask? Quesadillas...like, 5 of them :)

As the hour grew later, it was getting harder and harder to continue moving at the same speed. It was also getting cooler as the night wore on. I made a stop to change into a long-sleeved shirt just to make sure that I would not cool down too much now that I was starting to walk a little more.

Approximate miles - 70

A tradition with SC and JA	One last run with Nate
Marc, Greg, Anthony and I (photo by Deron)	#dadbods unite!

Midnight to 6 am

It was about 2:30 am when my body lowered the boom. "Just a marathon left" I remember telling myself. Which, surprisingly sounds like a reasonable distance after you've already done 75 miles. The problems had been mounting however:

• I was experiencing bouts of sleep-walking
• I couldn't feel the bottom of my left foot
• My lower-back muscles were starting to give out
• My quads were toast (which meant running wasn't an option)

I was counting the minutes before I could take my next round of Ibuprofen...not surprisingly though, 600mg was not even touching my pain at this point. It was about this time that I was having a conversation with myself about the acceptable mileage to quit at...

"Who quits after already going 80 miles?"

"Maybe everyone will still donate the full amount"

"What if I just did 90? That would be respectable, right?"

I resolved to just keep doing the loop even if they were taking 45 minutes each.

As dawn approached, I could not find the energy to go another step without taking a small nap. I propped my feet up, grabbed a blankie and dozed off for a good 15 minutes. Despite my reluctance, Greg physically started to kick my ass out of the chair. I was somewhat refreshed and in a slightly better mood despite my aching feet and knees. I was able to knock out a quick loop and was gaining encouragement when my body decided that it was tired again.

Not a fake smile at all...	Power-napping

Definitely in the pain cave, so I just kept going. Approximate miles - 85

6 am to Finish (10:30 am)

It was a slow and agonizing march as the sun started to ascend again. Not only was it reactivating my sunburn but obviously I started to sweat more with the increasing temperature. I was having a hard time keeping up with my fluids (while keeping them down at the same time).

Walking so slowly I needed a jacket during the morning hours

Friends and neighbors started re-appearing at the tent around 8:30 - some on bikes, others walking with me. At this point, my back was again starting to give and my right foot was loosing feeling too...not to mention my ankle had swollen up quite nicely during the night. I even tried my dad's Hoka's on to try and relieve the pain in my feet but unfortunately, they were too big.

Literally taking the shoes off my dad's feet

The prospect of staying out in the sun on my feet for another 2 hours was more than I could take...so with 4 miles left, I made a choice to finish the remaining miles on a bike.

Do I regret it. No.
Does that mean I'm not a true ultra-runner? No.
Did I finish the 100 miles. Yes.

It's a charity event for Pete's sake...I'll wake up tomorrow - or next month - or next year knowing that I ran 96 miles (and biked 4) and raised over $16,000 in memory of my friend Tony. Yes, I'm OK with that.

The Many Levels of Gratitude

There is really no way to thank every person who is involved with an event like this but let me give it a shot (and sorry if I forget anyone).

I'm not sure why my wife still puts up with me and my desire to run this crazy distance. I could not do this without her support.

To Dean and his wife Missy for making the long trek out from MI to help out. This will likely be the only Hom 100 medal ever made so I can't begin to tell you how special it is.

Dean and I	Dean made this medal by hand

Thanks to my running buddy and friend, Greg who ran 50 miles with me. He's equally good at running, power-napping and keeping my ass moving even when I was ready to quit :)

The 1 am Grady power-nap

To all my neighbors who donated both their time to set up and tear down. Not to mention the food they donated for all the participants - I'm humbled by your friendship.

To all my fundraising partners and sponsors - Aravaipa Running, Cadence Running Co., I-Run Store, Tec-Works and Transition Networks. Thank you for your continued support.

A final thank you to everyone who donated - it's only through you that we're able to help families and patients struggling with ALS. It's your donations that will one day find a cure.

The Hom 100 That Almost Wasn't

Did you know that in the city of Gilbert, if you have a gathering of more than 75 people that utilizes Gilbert property, facilities and/or utilities you're required to file for a Special Events permit?

Yea. Me neither.

After 2 years of holding the event in the same location around our neighborhood, I didn't anticipate anything different when it came to organizing and planning for maaaaybe 150 people to join the run/walk over the course of 30 hours. Turns out, the City of Gilbert got wind of the Hom 100 and required me to submit an application for a Special Event.

2 weeks ago. Talk about stress.

Fortunately for me, the fellow I worked with was a really nice guy and more than willing to help me make accommodations given (1) we're a charity event, (2) we aren't selling anything and (3) we don't require city utilities. We already had approval from the HOA board and just needed to vet the application with the various city departments to ensure the impact of the event were minimal.

The permit was approved last night about 8 pm. <wiping brow> Pheeew!

Now that's out of the way, we can focus on what matters most. Putting on a great run/bike/walk and raising a ton of money for the ALS Association of Arizona. If you'd like to support me on this 100-mile run, you can pledge an amount per mile at this link.

If you're in the area, come down to the Freeman Farms community at Greenfield and Ocotillo and join us for a few miles. The trail is walking, running and cycling-friendly and wraps around our neighborhood in a single 2-mile loop. There will be an aid station with water, sports drink, fruit, chips, sandwiches and other calorie-dense foods :)

More details can be found at www.hom100.com

If you're unable to join us or just want to contribute from afar, you can always donate directly to our ALS team - Hom's Homies.

Thanks for all your support! See you in a couple days!

Save the Date

It's been a whirlwind of change lately - ups and downs as I try to figure out the right timing for the 2015 Hom 100. Everyone thinks it's as easy as picking a date but there are many factors to consider. In a community like ours where there are so many athletes, there are also a crap-ton of events lined up each and every month that we have to mindful of when planning our own.

Without boring you with all the details, I'm happy to announce that May 16 will be the 3^rd annual Hom 100 in memory of my good friend Tony who bravely battled ALS for a couple years before passing away in 2013.

Now before you complain about the heat let me just say I KNOW! Yes, it's going to be hot (just like it's been for the last couple years). And I'm sorry...there is just no other timing that works during April or May.

So save the date...we have some work to do and some money to raise for ALS.