Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 21, 2026 Participant: Jim Hotchkin #33 Race: 2026 Habanero Habanero 135 Distance: 0.0 miles

Age-Group Champion Grinds Out 130+ Miles Through the Texas Heat Jim Hotchkin, 38, of Pflugerville, took on the inaugural Habanero 135 at the 2026 Habanero Hundred, a distance added this year specifically because 100 miles was no longer enough of a challenge for the race's veteran finishers. Racing among a 39-person field on the event's signature 10km loop course, Hotchkin covered 132.6 miles in 38:04:52, finishing 5th overall, 4th among men, and 1st in the M30-39 division. Hotchkin ran a controlled opening, sitting between 11th and 15th overall through the first seven laps with mile splits in the 10:0812:21 range. A dramatic mid-race stretch saw him briefly hold the overall race lead around mile 22-28, before the field naturally reshuffled as the ultra distance wore on. Through the middle miles (30-70), he settled into a steady 11-15 min/mile rhythm, consistently holding top-5 position overall and the top spot in his division for long stretches. The final third of the race told the story of grinding through fatigue and the course's brutal conditions real-feel temperatures reported above 100 degrees with deep sand underfoot. Splits gradually lengthened into the 17-27 min/mile range over the last 40+ miles as the accumulated mileage and heat exposure took their toll, a common pattern in an event where only 198 finishers have completed the 100-mile distance since 2015. Notably, Hotchkin found a late surge in the closing miles, dropping back-to-back splits of 13:23 and 13:29 near mile 132 his fastest pace since the early laps to close out the division title. Building more consistent pacing reserves for the final quarter of ultra-distance efforts could be a useful focus for future races at this length.