It's hard to imagine doughnuts could be the impetus for a very physically intense endurance race. But the butterfly effect, where one seemingly unrelated occurrence can influence future events, may be proven in Tom Jennings’ story of starting the Oil Creek 100 race.
Jennings said he really loved Krispy Kreme doughnuts and was known to eat several at a time. As a result his waistline increased a tad.
After a bit of ribbing from one of his kids, he vowed to never eat another one and began to run to lose those sweet fried dough pounds.
“I began small, a 3K, a 5K and built up,” he said. After awhile, he got much more serious about running. He worked his way up to half-marathons and admits he ran some pretty good times. One day he ran for eight hours, which ended up being 41 miles.
Then a lightbulb went off in his head. “A marathon is only 26 miles,” he recalled thinking. “Why would I want to go backwards?”
So he looked for longer races. When he heard of a 100-miler in Ohio he said, “my mind was blown.” He was intrigued; he looked into it; he entered and then he ran.
“It basically changed my life - seeing dawn come up - twice - in one race. When I finished that I thought, ‘if I could do that, I can do anything’,” Jennings said.
He then wanted others to experience that same feeling.
Jennings said he really loved Krispy Kreme doughnuts and was known to eat several at a time. As a result his waistline increased a tad.
After a bit of ribbing from one of his kids, he vowed to never eat another one and began to run to lose those sweet fried dough pounds.
“I began small, a 3K, a 5K and built up,” he said. After awhile, he got much more serious about running. He worked his way up to half-marathons and admits he ran some pretty good times. One day he ran for eight hours, which ended up being 41 miles.
Then a lightbulb went off in his head. “A marathon is only 26 miles,” he recalled thinking. “Why would I want to go backwards?”
So he looked for longer races. When he heard of a 100-miler in Ohio he said, “my mind was blown.” He was intrigued; he looked into it; he entered and then he ran.
“It basically changed my life - seeing dawn come up - twice - in one race. When I finished that I thought, ‘if I could do that, I can do anything’,” Jennings said.
He then wanted others to experience that same feeling.
So 14 years ago, with the help of some friends who thought Oil Creek State Park trails would be a great place for an endurance race, he began the Oil Creek 100.
Over the years, the event has attracted runners from as far away as Australia and often over 200 participants for the 100-mile race alone.
The race offers a 50K and 100K options as well. This year there are around 90 registered for the 100 miles and a total of 421 for the three races combined.
As is tradition, the races kicks off behind the Titusville Middle School at 5 a.m. Saturday with the 100-mile contest. Then 6 a.m. for the 100K and 7 a.m. for the 50K. The final 100-mile racer must be done 32-hours after the start, which is 1 p.m. Sunday.
There to greet them all, will be Jennings.
Throughout the years, Jennings has witnessed many memorable moments, including several marriage proposals at the finish line. He said the first time he witnessed a proposal he thought it was a cool. “But then I saw it again and thought, ‘I guess this is a thing’.”
Mostly, he’s proud of how the race and being an advocate for running has brought people together and affected how they live. He told a story of a woman seeing him and with tears in her eyes said “you changed my life; you changed my health.”
Stories like that make him touch chest where his heart is and smile.
It’s been a lot of work for Jennings and his wife, Rita. She said they easily put 700 hours of work into the race each year and, since COVID, it has been wearing them down a bit.
Jennings said this will be his last year running the event.
With the blessing and support of Jennings, longtime race advocate and volunteer Heather Nelson has stepped up to take on the duties for next year’s event.
But stepping down doesn’t necessarily mean stepping away. Jennings said he’s thinking about doing something that, as the event organizer, he’s never been able to do - run in it himself.
He said he’ll begin training in hopes to feel prepared to sign up for it next year.
“Maybe start out with the 50K, maybe 100(K),” he said.
Over the years, the event has attracted runners from as far away as Australia and often over 200 participants for the 100-mile race alone.
The race offers a 50K and 100K options as well. This year there are around 90 registered for the 100 miles and a total of 421 for the three races combined.
As is tradition, the races kicks off behind the Titusville Middle School at 5 a.m. Saturday with the 100-mile contest. Then 6 a.m. for the 100K and 7 a.m. for the 50K. The final 100-mile racer must be done 32-hours after the start, which is 1 p.m. Sunday.
There to greet them all, will be Jennings.
Throughout the years, Jennings has witnessed many memorable moments, including several marriage proposals at the finish line. He said the first time he witnessed a proposal he thought it was a cool. “But then I saw it again and thought, ‘I guess this is a thing’.”
Mostly, he’s proud of how the race and being an advocate for running has brought people together and affected how they live. He told a story of a woman seeing him and with tears in her eyes said “you changed my life; you changed my health.”
Stories like that make him touch chest where his heart is and smile.
It’s been a lot of work for Jennings and his wife, Rita. She said they easily put 700 hours of work into the race each year and, since COVID, it has been wearing them down a bit.
Jennings said this will be his last year running the event.
With the blessing and support of Jennings, longtime race advocate and volunteer Heather Nelson has stepped up to take on the duties for next year’s event.
But stepping down doesn’t necessarily mean stepping away. Jennings said he’s thinking about doing something that, as the event organizer, he’s never been able to do - run in it himself.
He said he’ll begin training in hopes to feel prepared to sign up for it next year.
“Maybe start out with the 50K, maybe 100(K),” he said.
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