#81: Stories from the Long Haul 100: Rookies!

Florida Trail Runners Podcast

It was another year for the annual Long Haul 100! Time and time again, this is the place where so many runners take on the 100-mile distance for the first time! Not only from the first 100, but also the 5th... 6th... 10th 100-mile! This year Mo Hogan, Patrick Lloyd, Craig Bets, and Mac Jackson were some of the 100-mile first timers! The episode first opens up with some BIG NEWS for the Long Haul in regard to 2024! Your Race Director Andy "Croom" Mathews spills the beans and gives us the deets! The Long Haul 100 is truly one of those races that is near and dear to my heart. It’s the place where I got my first 100-mile belt buckle. It’s that special place where I truly achieved something I thought no way I could ever. Coming into the Long Haul 100, Mo Hogan has done races like the Daytona 50 miler, the Pinellas Trail Challenge, the Skunk Ape Night Run, and the 8 Hours of Hell! Her very first ultra took place at the Croom Zoom 50k! She got her first 100 mile belt buckle this year with a time of 31:14:15!! Patrick Llyod is new into the sport having done the Frozen H3 50 Miler and the Foking Run for the Greenhouse 8hr in 2021! It was in the Summer of 2019 that he first decided to make it a goal to finish a 100 mile race. This was the moment and he got it ! He had been training for and dreaming of for 3+ years and he got his belt buckle with a time of 23:51:50! He was last Sub-24 Hour runner at the 2024 Long Haul 100! Craig Betz is also new to the sport of ultra-running having started in the Spartan Racing and Road Racing scene! He had a busy 2021 and 2022 diving deep into races like the Croom Zoom 50k, Georgia Jewel 50 miler, the Long Play, the Dunes 50k, and the Trident! He got his belt buckle at the Long Haul with a time of 25:55:00! Mac Jackson, like everyone else on this list... also started ultra-running fairly recent in the past few years! He has done races like the JW Corbett 50k, the Colt 45, and a DNF at the Trident! He's currently coached by Sally McRae and the proof is in the pudding... he had one amazing performace at this years race! Mac took 4th Overall with a time of 19:11:36!!! Not to shabby for your first 100 miler!!! Enjoy!!