Cowboy 200 Triumph: Glenn & Abbi’s 200-Mile Ultramarathon Adventure

As written by Abbi Beuby Auger(MM5102, DA225, HF933) & Glenn Richardson

Glenn Richardson(MM14162, DA3076, HF16007) Glenn is off… Cowboy 200 has started!

Crew update.

Saw Glenn at the first aid station. He lost his western states sunglasses. I went back and ran part of the trail, but no luck. I’m hoping someone handed them to their crew and they will get returned.

On the positive side, I got my run in!

22 miles complete. He shared some fun miles with Bri, which he enjoyed!
Glenn says he feels great. It’s getting hot, 11:30 am, 80 degrees already. He’s going to be slowing a bit more this afternoon. I’ll see him at the 50k aid station next.

He’s in and out again. 50k down. He did a full change because it was so hot he was soaked.

Still feels good. I won’t have another update until about midnight.

Now what can I get into in the middle of Nebraska??? My dad would probably recommend cow tipping!

100k down. Glenn got in a little nap, food and coffee before I kicked him out! He feels good still. The headlights are bothering him. The roads here are long and straight so you see them for miles. The weather is nice so he will get a couple hours of good running before it gets warm again.

Good morning, update Saturday….

Glenn had a great night on the trail. He pushed a bit. There was less traffic, so less headlight action. He’s through the 100k aid station and on to the halfway point.

He is reading your messages and appreciates everyone’s support!

I’m thrilled to announce the sunglasses have been found! A wonderful trail angel walked the first few miles of the race this morning and spotted them. I can’t wait to tell Glenn.

104 miles completed! He feels strong.

He’s got food in him, rinsed off and is napping now. It’s hot and that sun is brutal. He’ll head out in a few hours once it cools off.

He was stoked about the sunglasses! he even brought me presents … see photo!

Glenn is off. Less than 100 miles to go!

Good night all, thanks for everyone’s support. Glenn is out for the night, still doing great, with 20 miles to get to me. I’m getting some shuteye.

Good Sunday morning!
Glenn got some food, a nap and back out. He actually ran off! He’s definitely feeling the miles and the night run, but rallying well. I’m waiting at long pine, a cute, tiny city, watching the sunrise. Mile 144.

I’m sure everybody’s tired of my updates by now!

Glenn is still looking amazing. He came through mile 144.4, ate quite a bit and then took off again. It’s only 7 miles to the next state station

Glenn has two big 20+ mile legs to go. He’s set out on the first, but it’s hot, so he’s planning to take it easy. Don’t worry if you see him going slow for a while.

He’s tired, but having a blast!

The wind is crazy today. This is helping him, but tossing the rv around like a toy!

Glenn arrived running. Incredible! He is resting now. 173.9 miles done.

The final stretch…

Glenn got food and rest. He feels good. He has a small blister on his baby toe and sunburnt lips, but no other complaints.

Next stop is the finish!

200 miles!

A recap from Glenn

Official Cowboy 200 pics – thank you Brooke Kaczor Photography.

I’ve been putting off writing about the race because I feel like Abbi documented it very well as it was happening and I don’t enjoy writing. Anyway, the race went as well as it could have and my biggest problems were sun burned lips (my fault for not wearing protection), a blister on my pinky toe and being harassed by very aggressive mosquitos at dawn and dusk (my fault for not using bug spray). My body held up really well which helped me stay positive mentally. I took four naps for a total of about 6 hours of sleep. When I took a sleep break I would eat ‘dinner’ before lying down, sleep for about an hour and then eat ‘breakfast’ when I got up and then would go through a normal race morning prep to trick my mind into thinking I had taken a longer break and it seemed to work well. The course is flatter and straighter than Tunnel Hill but the miles seemed to go by easily. There is little shade on the course and we had three very sunny and warm days so I tried to stay covered up and out of the sun. The nights were pretty comfortable with clear skies that revealed lots of stars and several shooting stars. There were times at night where I knew I could see for miles in all directions but I couldn’t see any lights anywhere. Overall, I had a good time and things went really well. It’s a great race and I would recommend it. I enjoyed running some mile with Bri but bummed her race didn’t go as planned. She’s already signed up for next year so I know she’ll be back stronger next year. Thank you to everyone for the support, cheers and encouragement along the way. I did see some of the posts during my breaks and enjoyed the positive energy. Thank you!

Lastly, I want to thank my amazing, awesome, wonderful wife, Abbi, for everything she did. I feel that having her there along the way gave me an advantage. I could sleep at any of the crew spots, I had lots of food options and I had lots of fresh gear I could change into as needed. She was even hand washing some of my favorite stuff so I could wear it again. She prepped and planned the whole trip and it was awesome. We left a few days early and explored South Dakota. We were on the road for 11 days and 10 nights and didn’t stay in the same place twice. It was an amazing trip and we made lots of great memories. Thank you so much for all you do for me! You are the best!