Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Jay Griffin #582 Race: 2026 Habanero 10K Distance: 6.2 miles

A Furious Climb Through the Field Jay Griffin tackled the 10K distance at the 2026 Habanero Hundred, held at 7IL Ranch under the race's signature high-noon start a deliberate choice by organizers to expose runners to Texas' brutal August heat while they're still fresh rather than late in the race. Griffin finished in 1:31:37, placing 10th overall among 49 finishers, 8th among men, and 2nd in the men's 20-29 division. Griffin's race was defined by dramatic momentum building. An opening mile of 22:59 left him 35th overall, but he tightened his pace on every subsequent split 14:48, then 13:29, then 12:58, and finally a race-best 11:03 on mile five. That surge vaulted him from 35th to 10th overall in just four miles, and briefly earned him the outright lead in his age division at the three-mile mark before settling into 2nd for the remainder of the race. His final mile ticked up to 14:53, likely a reflection of the course's deep sand and the race's notoriously high real-feel temperatures, which regularly exceed 100 degrees. Even with that late slowdown, Griffin held his overall and gender placement through the finish, a sign of durable positioning once he found his rhythm. Sharpening that closing mile could be a useful focus for future starts, particularly if he takes on one of the race's longer distances, where the same course loop is repeated many times over.