Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Matthew Smith #586 Race: 2026 Habanero 10K Distance: 6.2 miles

Fast Start Gives Way to a Gritty Finish and a Division Runner-Up Matthew Smith, 44, of Corpus Christi, completed the 10K at the 2026 Habanero Hundred in 1:58:14, an average pace of 19:23 per mile. Racing on TROT's brutal 10K loop course where organizers intentionally schedule a HIGH NOON start so runners face the heat while fresh Smith finished 23rd overall out of 49 participants, 12th among men, and 2nd in the competitive M40-49 division. Smith's mile splits tell the story of a demanding day on the trail. He opened strong, covering the first mile in 15:36 and sitting 2nd in his division through the early going. By mile 3, his elapsed pace had slipped to 17:01 per mile as a 19:43 split hit hard, and mile 4 proved toughest with a 22:13 split, pushing his overall elapsed pace to 18:19. He rallied with a 16:24 fifth mile before the extreme conditions took their final toll a 27:09 closing split over the last stretch, in line with the race's well-earned reputation for average real-feel temperatures exceeding 100 degrees and deep, energy-sapping sand. Despite the fade in the middle-to-late miles, Smith's early pace banked enough time to preserve his 2nd-place finish in the M40-49 division, a solid result on a course where the extreme heat is engineered into the competition. For future efforts on similarly punishing courses, building more consistent mid-race pacing particularly protecting against the kind of drop-off seen between miles 3 and 4 could help him close even stronger. It's worth noting that the Habanero Hundred's brutal conditions are legendary in Texas ultrarunning circles: between 2015 and 2025, only 198 total finishes have been recorded at the 100-mile distance, underscoring just how demanding this ranch course can be, even at 10K.