Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Lemon Pepper Steppers #759 Race: 2026 Habanero 100K Relay Distance: 62.0 miles

Fast Start and Late Surge Anchor a Resilient Relay Effort The Lemon Pepper Steppers covered the full 61.19-mile 100K relay distance at the 2026 Habanero Hundred in 15:56:01, an average pace of 15:37 per mile, finishing 12th overall of 15 teams and 3rd in the Male division. The result came on a course billed as Texas' hottest trail race, run on a 10km loop at the 7IL Ranch under a high-noon start specifically designed to expose runners to peak heat while fresh rather than late in the race. The team's opening miles were its most consistent, holding a locked-in 12:2712:28 pace through the first six miles and sitting 8th overall and 3rd in the male division at that point. As the afternoon heat intensified, pacing understandably slowed through the midrace stretch, bottoming out with a 23:35 split at mile 21 and a 23:12 split at mile 22 the two slowest splits of the effort. The team then answered with the race's sharpest turnaround, dropping a 10:57 split at mile 32 (the fastest of the day) and briefly climbing to 1st place in both the Male gender and division standings at mile 34 with a 13:26 pace. From there, the Steppers settled into a steady rhythm, holding mostly mid-teens splits (13:0017:27 per mile) over the final 27 miles to close out the distance. That late consistency preserved a podium-range finish in the division. Given the pronounced slowdown during the mile 1824 heat window, building pacing or cooling strategies specifically for that midrace stretch could help smooth out the pace curve and protect position even further in future efforts on this course.