Extreme ultra-runner Naresh Kumar came to the United States from his native India two years ago. Within his first months here he trained for and easily completed a road marathon.
However, he quickly fell off the deep end once he started running in Vibram Five Fingers and found trails. He started doing every ultra he could find in his trusty rubber-toe shoes. He all of a sudden had completed dozens of ultras, including a couple of 10o milers and the Vol State 500K foot race, along with many others.
Then he added extreme cycling, rock climbing, helicopter lessons, and anything he could find to try to satisfy his savage desire for adrenaline and fun.
He then started doing these crazy ultras in Bedrock Sandles.
During this time he became friends with the wicked King of Pain Gary Cantrell, better known in the running community as the sinister Lazarus Lake. Lake known for covering hundreds of miles in his prime just for the heck of it, solo, is the founder of the Strolling Jim 40 Miler, a cakewalk compared to his other creations – The Barkley (toughest ultra-marathon in the world with 11 finishers since it’s inception years ago) and The Last Annual Vol State 500K which covers a brutally hot and humid Tennessee for 314 miles in July.
Today, I was scrolling my Tweets when I saw one from my good friend Naresh that had him holding a plate of what looked liks soft-serve frozen yogurt from Ryan’s Steakhouse except it wasn’t yogurt…
It was a skinned Rattlesnake that Lazarus was preparing for Naresh to eat.
Below, you will see the blow by blow pictures of the rattler being skinned, deep-fried, and served to Naresh to eat. The final picture in the series being a medicine bottle, as a souvenir of his decision to dance with the Dr. Kevorkian of ultra-madness – Lazarus Lake in his Bell Buckle, Tennessee kitchen.
On Saturday, during the Nanny Goat 12/24/100 Ultra Race, I saw some tempers flare and heard others had tantrums/meltdowns. I had not seen that before in a trail race/ultra before and it surprised me. I thought it was just me who had little meltdowns during races. Luckily, no one was there to see the one I had on Saturday. While I was on the course, I tried to be positive/laugh so only Twitter bore the brunt of it. Which was, thankfully, only one tweet.
I think that when you enter the world of ultras and you see all these amazing people doing them and read about all their great adventures that you have this idealized vision of what an ultrarunner is. I know I do. To me an ultrarunner is someone with their sh!t together, who always smiles, never complains, figures out issues and deals with them, and just keeps running strong.
Yeah…that’s not me. So far, I’ve done 4 ultras and in every one of them, I felt:
Depressed – because I wasn’t as fast as I’d hoped.
Frustrated – because I couldn’t figure out stomach/feet/leg issues.
Whiny – because I wasn’t having a rainbows & unicorns race.
Sad – because I didn’t turn into the magical, glorified ultrarunner I thought I would be.
Angry – because I sometimes thought about quitting.
Fear – because I sometimes thought about quitting.
Doubt – that maybe, just maybe I didn’t have what it takes to run ultras.
So I must be doing it wrong. Right?
When my friends run ultras or I read race recaps of ultras, I’m always looking for some insight into what they were thinking when they were out there. Did they hit a low point? Did they have any doubts or fears? Am I the only one with thoughts like these?
And then when people congratulate me or tell me that they are proud of me for what I’ve accomplished, that little devil on my shoulder whispers in my ear “yeah, but they don’t know you were _____ (fill in the blank with any of the above).” That stupid little devil makes me feel guilty for accepting praise. I REALLY need to get rid of her or at least put a muzzle on her. Because you know what? I’ve been getting them done. Sure, it hasn’t always been pretty but I finished all 4 of them.
So I must be doing something right. Right?
I guess the whole point of my post is this…If you are thinking of going for an ultra (or your first marathon or half marathon or whatever new distance) but you’re not sure if you can do it…then go for it! Because if I can do it, you can do it.
Just know this…ultrarunners are NOT perfect. Take me for example. I am not a gifted runner. I’m not fast and I’m not agile on the trails. I am full of insecurities and doubts. I have low/ugly/would you like some cheese with that whine moments. I am not the poster child for an ultrarunner. Or even a runner really.
But…I am a runner and an ultrarunner. So, even if it isn’t all sunshine and roses, I keep going. That’s all you have to do. Keep going until you’re done. If you can do that, you ARE doing it right.
@runitfast The Buford Pusser 5K in Adamsville, Tennessee. #bigstick #runitfastJoshua Holmes
@runitfast I’ll be running the Nanny Goat 12 Hour in Riverside, CA on Saturday! #5 #runningincirclesLisa Gonzales
@runitfast run to remember 5mi in Boston! Automatic PR!Clint Randall
@runitfast will be running the Sundown Marathon on Sunday in Singapore, we will be lighting up the city.RB Uyax
@runitfast i will be running from Paris (F) to Rotterdam (NL) along with 350 other teams during the #Roparun (520km)… #cancer #fundraisingMr.Ed van Brugge
@runitfast i’ll be running in the country, down some dirt roads, soaking in a little sunshineallison gossack
@runitfast racing Ottawa’s half marathon Sunday :DValerie Chiasson
@runitfast This w/end (& every w/end) is the @parkrun at Camp Bastion UK military base in Afghanistan. 5km; short but fast to keep motivatedSticky’s Stars
@runitfast Calgarycwilm
@runitfast Memorial Day 5k, Orange Park, FL.E. Smith
@runitfast jeju marathon south Korea!myonja
@runitfast Running around an airfield in AfghanistanSeth Sanders
Have a horrible chest cold – just in time for my 1/2 marathon on Sunday 🙁 How do you push through? @RunningRoom @runitfast @runchatcwilm
@runitfast I’m running the #halfmarathon in Ottawa, Ontario on Sunday!!!Debbie Broome
@runitfast Vermont City Marathon Burlington, VTAlvin Lee
