2015 RIDDLE Run Report

Me (a few minutes after finishing). Photo by Tom Rice.

The race that wouldn't die. That's the Riddle Run. Jeff Riddle started this race back in 2000 as a traditional fat ass event. I ran that first race through giant snow drifts with eleven other hardy runners. Jeff won that inaugural event and thus started a long-standing tradition among the local buffalo trail runners. Every year, independent of nasty winter weather, we hit the tails on the last Saturday in January to try and run seven 4-mile loops at a local park. Until he stopped oganizing it in 2011! That year we recruited his son, Jason, to "direct" the run. It happened. Then Jeff came out of RD retirement and led the 2012 and 2013 events. He called it quits after January 2013 (maybe it was the early midnight start for the 50 milers that did him in?). So, I pseudo-directed these past two years and the fine event continues in the standard fat ass tradition (no fees, no whining, no awards).

This year we were not sure what to call the darn thing. It's still the "Riddle Run," but sorta different too. We have settled on R.I.D.D.L.E. as the title. What does that stand for?  Hell if I know. As with any ultra, especially a fat ass, it's what you make of it. As you compete, you create your own race and write your own title. A few examples were tossed around:

Running In Double Digits Looks Easy
Run, Imbide Drinks During Laps, Eat
Run In Deep Drifts, Let's Eat
Running In Different Directions, Long, Easy
Running Insanely Drastic Distances Looks Easy
Run Imbibe Drink Discuss Linger Eat

We'll keep tossing names around as we plan for next year's R.I.D.D.L.E. event.

This year we were greeted with nice temperatues, starting at 27 degrees and ending at 40F. Some sun, some clouds, with a light breeze. The trail was frozen hard in most places with about 10% ice pack. One runner took a terrible fall in the first 1/4 mile and needed 5 stitches on his nose. Like a true buffalo, John came back to drink and socialize. No whining.

Steve. Another champion enshrined on TP.
Photo by Tom Rice

My plan for this run was to get in a solid 28 mile long run. If something started to hurt, I'd call it quits. Additionally, I wanted to test out a fueling strategy. One gel per loop, plus Tailwind sports drink. It worked! I never felt tired and never had stomach issues. I just kept plodding along the trail, avoiding the icy sections, and racked up the full 28 miles in a time of 4:48. Felt great. When done, I grabbed a beer and a few cookies for replenishment. It was nice hanging around the post-run fire discussing the day with the other finishers. Actually, there were only three "true finishers" of the full RIDDLE fat ass ultra: Steve (male winner in 4:41), Andrea (female winner in 6:14), and me. The other 30+ runners were all DNFs. Full results are still being compiled, but here are the current results.


Over the last 16 years, I've accumulated a shit load of RIDDLE fat ass miles. After this 2015 event I now have 403 miles at this fat ass. That's an average of 25.2 miles every year. It's safe to say I have more Riddle Run miles than anyone in the world. Tom Rice and I are still the only two runners to participate in all 16 years of this event. Looking forward to 2016. Tom, you better be there!

I'm now at 97 ultra/marathons. I'll easily break 100 this year. It's about time.