Nanny Goat 6 Hours 2021

When this race was coming up, I was very wary of making the drive out to Riverside as many cars have had their windows shot out while driving on the 91 freeway. Thankfully, a few days before the race, they were able to arrest a suspect. Here's a news article. That put my mind at ease. Unfortunately, there's just too many sick individuals out there in the world!

Saturday 5/29
I left the house at 7 am to head over to the race venue at the Sexton Ranch. Before hopping on the freeway, I stopped at the Chevron gas station to fill up the gas tank. The price of premium 91 octane gas was now at $4.45 per gallon. That was up from $4.29 per gallon just 2 weeks ago!

I arrived at the ranch just a few minutes after 7:30 am. Per the instructions, I pulled into the area designated as parking A just off of Grace St. I found a parking spot and headed over to the packet pick-up area.

While masks were worn and distancing was observed during race check-in, there wasn't much else done for COVID-19 safety protocols. It seemed like pretty much everything was back to normal. I got my bib, drawstring bag filled with race swag, and a race shirt. Unfortunately, they didn't have any more mediums, so I took a small. They would later mail me a medium which was a pleasant surprise.

Packet pick-up

Drawstring bag

Swag

Race shirt

Back of race shirt

Mitch running the 100 miler

After dropping off my race packet at my car, I headed over to the start line area to catch the start of the 24 hour race which started at 8 am. I noticed that the smoke from the campfire was a bit annoying as the weather wasn't even nearly cold enough to warrant having a fire going.

The amazing Ed, the jester!

Since the race was a 1 mile loop, I decided to just leave all of my race nutrition and extra electrolytes in my car. I would just carry my usual handheld bottle and refill at the one and only aid station. The 2 horses near where I parked were quite curious as they hung out right next to the fence. I'm guessing they're not used to seeing so many people at the ranch. While talking to my friend before the race, I noticed that his bib had the usual timing chip on the back, but mine did not. I went back to the packet pick-up to let them know. They were able to give me another bib. It was a bib assigned to someone that wasn't going to run. Glad that I was able to notice that prior to the race!

As the clock approached 9 am, everyone participating in the 12 hour and 6 hour events gathered at the starting arch. We started at about 5 minutes after 9 am. Just let me tell you right off the bat, that I am not a fan of short looped courses. While logistically easy, it's just not my thing. It was going to be a warm day, so I took it easy from the very first mile which I covered in 9:15. I went slower than how I usually start my races also because I didn't want to further aggravate my sore left Achilles. After I completed my second loop, I started taking a short 1 minute walk break after each loop. After completing my 8th loop, I made a detour to my car to pick up my CLIF BLOKS. After completing my 14th loop, I had slowed down quite a bit, so I decided to use the next loop to document the 1 mile loop. I think the infamous "cone of death" wasn't placed in the correct spot as the loop measured shorter than an actual mile.

Start of the loop

Infamous "cone of death"

Ice box

Oranges

No gopher holes!

End of loop just up ahead

Complimentary race photo from Steve Heisler Photography

Per the usual, I was struggling quite a bit with the heat. After completing the 20th loop, I had to pull over and sit down for about 5 mins before continuing. I was feeling bad enough that I thought about dropping out and calling it a day as it didn't seem like I could finish 27 loops within the 6 hours. Thankfully, I started to feel better after the next 2 loops.

Nearing the end of the 6 hours, I came up to the aid station and observed a fellow runner drink from a water cup and set it right back on the table. I hope the volunteer at the aid station threw that cup away! Pandemic or no pandemic, that's just a no-no! For the most part, I had been drinking from my bottle and using the water cups to pour water down the back of my neck. After finishing my 27th loop, I stopped at the time keeper table to let them know that I was done.

Finish: 27 loops in 5:58:12
Actual mileage per watch: 26.77 miles
Click here for my Garmin data.

I received my finisher medal and proceeded to "cool down" by walking through the loop one last time. I stopped by Mitch's car and chatted with him a bit as he was changing into clean clothes. I walked with him through the loop until we got to the parking lot before parting ways. I was glad that I was able to finish at least a marathon to redeem myself for coming up short at Jackpot about a month ago. Also once again, I was able to put in some heat training for the upcoming Running with the Devil half marathon.

Finisher medal

Chatting with Mitch after I was done

I hopped in my car and drove over to the nearby Ono Hawaiian BBQ just across the 91 freeway on Madison Ave to pick up an early dinner. I had a couple of coupons that I needed to use. I used the "buy one plate, get one free" coupon. For my 2 plates, I ordered the kalbi short ribs and seafood mix. They didn't have indoor dining yet, so I got my order to-go. Both plates came well-packaged with a scoop of that delicious macaroni salad, 2 scoops of rice and a good serving of vegetables. The seafood mix came with crispy shrimp, island white fish, and BBQ chicken. It was okay, but the short ribs was definitely the better choice among the two plates!

No indoor dining

To-go box

Kalbi short ribs and seafood mix