Big Buckle = Big Motivation (Javelina Jundred 100 Race Report 2020)
Intro With all the race cancellations due to COVID, it was a breath of fresh air when I learned that Aravaipa Running had gotten the green light to hold the popular Javelina Jundred. Known as the largest Jalloween Party in the desert, the race consists of five ~20 mile loops traversing the washes and foothills of McDowell Mountain Regional Park, accumulating ~1600 feet of elevation gain with each of them. Usually rivaling Rocky Raccoon as one of the largest 100-milers in the country, this year only 250 or so runners started. They also have a 100k and "Jackass" 31k distance. One of the preconditions for holding the event, however, was that the hundreds of entrants (for all distances) over a couple of days. My father and I were luckily able to sign up for the last couple of spots starting Saturday morning at 7AM. In addition to the spacing of start times, all loops had to be run counter-clockwise direction to minimize runners directly c...