Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Coby Brandes #224 Race: 2026 Habanero 100K Distance: 62.0 miles

Steady Grinding Through a Ten-Loop Test of Endurance Coby Brandes covered 61.19 miles in 17:48:54 at the 2026 Habanero Hundred's 100K event, finishing 16th overall among 75 participants, 8th in the men's field, and 3rd in the competitive M30-39 division. The 100K distance is built entirely on a repeating 10km loop, run ten times, with the course designed so no runner is ever more than three miles from an aid station a structure that shaped the rhythm of his day. Brandes opened briskly, locking into a 12:1212:13 min/mile pace through the first six miles and sitting 9th in the men's field early on. That effort gradually settled as the loops accumulated: by mile 30 his overall pace had eased into the 15-16 min/mile range, and by the final loops it had stretched to the 17-20 min/mile range, a natural progression given the distance and conditions. One standout moment came around mile 28, where a strong split briefly vaulted him to 2nd overall and 1st in the men's field a sign of real capability mid-race, even if the placement was short-lived as the field settled back in over subsequent loops. Encouragingly, Brandes's pace stabilized in the final 10 miles, holding in a tighter 15-20 min/mile band rather than continuing to slide, and he closed with back-to-back sub-16 min/mile splits over the last two loops. For future efforts at this distance, building pacing strategy around preserving more of that early-race speed into the middle miles perhaps through more deliberate loop-by-loop effort management could help smooth the tapering seen between miles 30 and 50. The late-race consistency he showed suggests good durability once a sustainable rhythm was found, a strength worth leaning on for the next ultra distance challenge.