Running Wild
JASON FARMER/NEWS-SUN
How far is 100 miles? Well, from Hobbs, it is 100 miles to parts of Lubbock. Getting to certain areas in Roswell is also 100 miles. Portales is just over that mark at 103 miles. So, what is the significance of 100 miles? Well, for most people, that is a drive, something you cover in a car or motorcycle trip, but for Hobbs wrestling coach and assistant football coach Tyler Schnaubert, that was the distance he ran.
Schnaubert recently competed in The Saddles 100, a 100-mile ultra trail run in Prescott, Arizona. The cutoff for a qualifying run was 34 hours. Anyone finishing later than 34 hours received a DFN.
“I placed 87th overall,” Schnaubert said. “I was 34th in my age group.”
As a former wrestler and football player, Schnaubert knows athletes age out of those sports. But, the Hobbs head wrestling coach wanted to stay active and running was a way for him to do that. He started out with half marathons and moved his way up to full marathons. Then, last year, he participated in the 50-mile in Prescott, Arizona.
“It was more mental than physical,” Schnaubert said. “I knew I had the legs to do it, but I knew later in the race, because I hadn’t been past 50 (miles) before, that it was going to be a mental game. I had a crew with me, so I had some good support. I think that is what got it down.”
After completing the 50-mile run, Schnaubert knew he wanted to take a shot at the 100-mile run and he started training almost immediately.
Training was not easy. Schnaubert suffered a pair of sprained ankles after committing to the race. He said he finally got into a good, every day training routine about four months before the race.
The Hobbs coach finished the 100-mile run in 32 hours and 2.56 minutes.
“It was my first 100-mile race,” Schnaubert said. “Last year I ran the 50 there and it kind of ate me alive there a little bit, so I wanted to go back and get the full boater with a year of training and running a few other races. I just wanted to go back and see what I had.”
He used several marathons as part of his training regime. He ran marathons in Lubbock, Albuquerque, and Oklahoma City over the past year. He ran the Lubbock Marathon on October 26, 2025, turning in a time of 3:41:15.52. Then, a week later, on November 2, 2025, Schnaubert ran Albuquerque’s Duke City Marathon, finishing with a time of 3:47:50. Finally, in the Oklahoma City Marathon, Schnaubert finished with a time of 3:19:06 on April 26 of this year.
While The Saddles 100 is a trail run, there are not many, if any real trails Schnaubert could run in the local area to prepare. Because of that, he was forced to do a lot of running on roads, the track, and a treadmill.
“I knew it was going to be tough terrain,” the Hobbs wrestling coach said. “We don’t have any trails here. A lot of road running, a lot on the treadmill, the track, and outside. We are flat land here.”
But, after signing up and committing to running The Saddles 100, he was offered a job as an assistant coach for the Hobbs football team.
Keeping up with his coaching duties at practice and games made finding time to train interesting.
“I just made sure I had those blocks set aside throughout the day,” the Hobbs wrestling coach said. “That is why I was here at 4 in the morning or I would get home after a JV game and run on the treadmill at the house for a couple of hours.”
So, when he accepted the assistant coaching job, he made sure to let the team know his plans as the 100-mile run was right in the middle of football season. As luck would have it, The Saddles 100 was scheduled for the Eagles’ bye week.
“When I took the job here, I wanted to make sure, because I had already been training,” Schnaubert said. “I didn’t want to miss the race, but I also didn’t want to miss the game
When race day came, Schnaubert was ready to go.
The 100-mile run, which had an elevation of roughly 15,000 feet, was completed virtually non-stop. Schnaubert said mile 82 involved the toughest climb, three-mile up, followed by three miles back down.
There were 10 aid stations along the way where runners could take a break, refuel, and/or tend to any wounds they might have. According to Schnaubert, the longest stretch between air stations was about 13 miles. The Hobbs coach said the longest he stayed at any of the aid stations was 20 minutes while most were in the five-minute range.
“I was able to stop, see the crew, fix my feet, whatever I needed to do, then get back out there,” Schnaubert said. “There was a 34-hour cap, so however you wanted to do it. If you wanted to stop at the aid stations, you can or you could just keep going.”
Over the course of the 100 miles, Schaubert was able to eat and drink at the aid stations. The Hobbs’ coach said when he ate, it was fast carbs. He also ran while listening to music through headphones, part of the time
“I was drinking like coca cola and ramen noodles and PB&Js and candy,” he said. “Just kind of instant sugar, anything I could. That is not my normal diet, just that day it was about getting quick fuel.”
While Schnaubert was the participant in the race, he did have support with him. Several friends, Ricky Aranda, Chandler Brady, and his Coleton Thornton, his college roommate were all there as part of Schnaubert’s support crew for the race.
“In short races you can only have a few,” Schnaubert said. “This one, they allowed however many you wanted, so I had three buddies go.
His crew would be waiting at each of the aid stations with anything Schnaubert might need to continue the course. The crew would meet him at the station, Schnaubert would take a seat, and the crew would go through anything and everything kind of in the way a cornerman does at a boxing match.
“They were just as tired as me,” the Eagles coach said. “They were driving all through everywhere, waiting for me, packing up as soon as I leave to meet me at the next one to make sure everything is set up. They were keeping the spirits high.”
Of those friends who supported Schnaubert, Arana actually ran part of the race with the Eagles’ coach.
“I had a pacer on the back half, my best friend,” Schnaubert said of Aranda. “He ran 42 miles with me,” Schnaibert said. “That is no joke and he didn’t get anything for it. He just wanted to be there and help me through (it).”
When the race was over, and the results were in, Schnaubert did not take a day to rest. He was right back to his normal routine.
“I got back to work at 4:30 on Monday morning,” the Eagles’ assistant football coach said. “I came to practice at 6:30 just because I was excited to see everybody.”
With a 50-mile run and a 100-mile run now under his belt, Schnaubert is far from done.
“Now I am kind of setting my goals for some bigger stuff,” he said. “Like the Leadville 100 or Moab or Cocadona. Mentally, I think I can do it. Majority of the time, I am not going to win the race, but just being able to complete it, that opens my mindset for a lot of things.”
Leadville is a 100-mile ultramarathon run through the Rocky Mountains on rugged trails and dirt roads. Moab is a 241.8-mile single loop through deserts, canyons, slickrock, and mountain ranges in Moab, Utha. It has an elevation of 31,892 feet and a 112-hour cutoff. As for Cocadona, it is a trail ultra-marathon that goes through the entire Bradshaw Mountain range. The Cocadona has a 40-mile, 80-mile, 100-mile, 125-mile, and a 250-mile course.
“I want to do something big, like a 200, or a tougher 100,” Schnaubert said. “Now I am setting my goals for some bigger stuff. Mentally I think I am like, alright, I think I can do it. The majority of the time I know I am not going to win the race, but just being able to complete it opens my mindset for a lot of things, especially coaching.”
The next race for the Hobbs wrestling coach is the El Paso Marathon, which will be held a week after the New Mexico State Wrestling Tournament on Sunday, February 28, 2027.
“I will train all through our season while I am training them,” Schnaubert said. “Hopefully everything goes smooth and safe and healthy.”
The El Paso Marathon is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon, another major running event Schnaubert hopes to run in, in the future. To qualify for Boston, he will need to finish the El Paso Marathon in under three hours. He only has to shave about 19 minutes and a few seconds off his time to qualify for the 2028 Boston Marathon.
