Big Bend Ultra Run

Months of organizing and planning for many individuals recently came to fruition at the 3rd Annual Big Bend Ultra Run.

The Big Bend Amateur Radio Club (BBARC) ( www.bigbendarc.com ), based in Alpine, Texas, was again instrumental in our communications efforts by providing two portable, linked repeaters to facilitate radio coverage in challenging terrain. THANK YOU!

Charlie Land (KC5NKK) gathered and coordinated Amateur Radio Operators for this event:

Alpine, TX - Barb Stone KM5VM; Bill Baker W5ATO; Billy Roberts W5NPR; Bob KA1AAJ and Clair KA1BJN Ayer, William KE5OG Brooks

San Antonio, TX - Charles WA3PAY and Teri KC5BJI Thomas; Charlie KC5NKK and Patti Land; Terry Platt K5ADF; Kathy, Meghan KE5KDR and Milton KE5CLV Johnson; Melanie and Shane NS5D O'Neal

On Saturday evening Charlie and his wife Patti fed all the Troops with jambalaya they made on site. I know they had a lot of helpers, but those two folks deserve an extra Pat on the Back for ALL of the behind the scene efforts they performed. THANK YOU!

As soon as there was enough daylight on Sunday morning to safely navigate the course, over seventy runners left the Start Line on the 50K route; forty-five minutes later, 35 additional runners began the 25K route.

It wasn't very long after the 25K runners left the Start Line that it began to rain. Moderate rain continued to fall and temperatures began to drop. (We were very aware that a huge Arctic cold front, which was causing havoc across the entire western portion of the country, is headed our way.) Concerns were heightened for runners arriving at the Finish Line (located ten miles off pavement) who needed to be shuttled a total of about 18 miles back to camp.

Luckily the impending winter storm front had not yet reached our location, but it didn't take long for dirt roads to become as slippery as ice. Runner (and aid-station volunteer) retrieval efforts were hampered when a vehicle became wedged in an area on River Road East where several runoff areas converged. Even after the vehicle was towed out with the help of a 4-wheel drive Jeep, the road problem still existed. It became necessary to use vans to shuttle runners from the Finish Line to the road wash-out point, runners then walked through the trouble area, and shuttles on the other side of the break could then return folks to safety at Base Camp in the Rio Grande Village.

Our hats go off to all of the volunteers (radio or otherwise) whose help was instrumental in so many ways in this endeavor!

Race info - www.bigbend50.com

VIDEO from 2006 by Lee Dunkelberg (a MUST see!)