Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Phillip Rose #549 Race: 2026 Habanero Half Marathon Distance: 13.1 miles

Podium Push: Second-Place Finish Forged Through Shifting Leaderboard Battle Phillip Rose, 41, of Maud, TX, closed out the Half Marathon at the 2026 Habanero Hundred in 2:23:33, good for 2nd overall and 2nd in the men's field out of 110 total participants. Covering the event's 13.2-mile course extended from the standard half-marathon distance via the race's signature bolt-on start section Rose averaged a 10:52 min/mile pace across the entirety of the effort. The mile-by-mile splits tell the story of a tightly contested race. Rose opened with the fastest split in the field, clocking a 9:24 first mile to sit in 1st place, before briefly slipping to 10th through mile two. From there, he settled into a rhythm, oscillating between 1st and 3rd overall for the bulk of the race notably reclaiming the overall lead at miles 8, 10, 11, and 12 before finishing in the runner-up spot. His most efficient split came at mile 6, an 8:48 mile, while his most conservative was a 13:40 split at mile 8, suggesting an opportunity to work on pacing consistency in future races to minimize these swings. Beyond the individual result, the Habanero Hundred itself is one of the more grueling events on the Texas trail calendar. Billed as the state's hottest trail race, it kicks off with a deliberately brutal HIGH NOON start, exposing runners to real-feel temperatures north of 100 degrees, thick humidity, and deep sand at the 7IL Ranch near Bellville. It's also a cupless race requiring mandatory personal hydration, underscoring just how demanding the conditions were for every finisher on the course that day a fitting backdrop for a hard-fought, back-and-forth run to the finish line.