Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 21, 2026 Participant: Jerry Hanna #34 Race: 2026 Habanero Habanero 135 Distance: 0.0 miles

Early Speed, Late-Race Grit, and a Fleeting Taste of the Lead Jerry Hanna covered 132.6 miles in 41:54:15 at the inaugural Habanero 135 a distance added to the 2026 Habanero Hundred specifically because 100 miles wasn't enough for the race's veteran finishers. Racing on the event's brutal 30-hour clock through Texas heat and deep sand, Hanna finished 9th overall out of 39 starters, 8th among men, and 3rd in the Masters division. Hanna opened conservatively fast, clicking off his first mile in 9:48 and holding sub-11:00 pace through the first 15 miles while sitting inside the top 10 overall. He remained competitive deep into the race, cracking the top 5 overall near mile 43 (11:18 elapsed) and again near mile 69 (19:46 elapsed) and remarkably, split into the outright 1st place overall position at mile 63, roughly 17 hours and 37 minutes into the event, before conditions and fatigue reshuffled the field. The back third of the race told a different story, with elapsed pace drifting from the mid-10:00s per mile early on to the high-18:00s/low-19:00s by the finish. Several loops stretched well beyond his norm a 48-minute mile at 54, over an hour at mile 72, and a 58-minute split near mile 97 signaling extended aid-station or recovery stops in the closing stages. Tightening transition times in the race's final quarter could help preserve more of the positional gains built in the middle miles, especially given how competitive Hanna's placement was at the race's halfway point.