It’s doubtful that many of you would consider running 75 miles in less than a day a failure. And, I’m not sure I consider it one myself. But, as I sit here licking the wounds of not finishing this weekend’s 100 mile ultra, I can’t help but think about one word. Ego. You see, I was thrilled to be included with some running legends in an article recently in the Commercial Appeal that talked about 100 mile ultra marathons and the growth of the sport. As always, there was one opinionated commenter who made it clear that anyone who would undertake such a ridiculously long endeavor was driven solely by ego. I’ll admit it has stuck with me. I’m not someone who considers myself to be exceptionally egotistical. But, I thought about it during the Mark Twain 100, my third ‘hundred miler’ in a little over a year. I frankly decided that ego isn’t such a bad thing. I was running well and felt great. I was 30-something miles into the race and it was raining steadily. I love running. I love running in the rain. I love running all day and night. My ego and I were having fun.
Jump forward a few hours and 30 or so miles. It was still raining. It was getting dark. The rocks were rockier. The roots were rootier. The dirt was mud. It was pitch dark. I was completely alone. My clothes were wet. My ego and I were battling it out. My body and my mind were having an old fashioned, ego-driven duel. My ankles had turned so many times on loose rocks I lost count. I was chaffed in all the wrong places. I was puking. So, I finished the 3rd lap for a total of 75 miles in a little over 18 hours. I was toast. Ego, ego, where art thou?
Fact is, I made the smart decision. My rational side told my egotistical side to sit this one out. And, as much as it wasn’t officially a check in the “Win” category, in some ways it was. I believe that on good days and bad days there’s something to be learned that you can take with you for the next time. Bruised ego and all, I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 things I’ve learned so far running ultras. I look forward to adding to the list for many years to come.
10. After 50 miles I absolutely can not do simple math or remember more than a handful of words to any given song.
9. Being around other ultra runners can somehow convince you that running that far is completely normal.
8. The further you run the less you care about who sees you squatting to pee.
7. The further you run the harder it is to squat to pee.
6. Odds are good at least one person has wiped their nose (or worse) with the same hand that just dipped into the little bowl of m&m’s on the aid station table.
5. Chaffing sucks.
4. Some of the best people in the world are trail-runners.
3. It doesn’t matter to other people how fast or far you can run if you’re not nice. You’re just an ass.
2. I never felt closer to God than when I’m all alone on a trail for hours.
1. No race or achievement will ever compare to the joy of being piled on the couch snuggling with my kids.
And, honorable mention….Ego, kept in check, is a remarkable tool.
Here is the finisher’s medal for the Endure the Bear 50K that took place on September 8, 2012 in Big Bear Lake, California.
The same medal was given to finishers of the 30K and 15K as well.
Below you will see a photo of a 2nd place finisher’s medal that was presented to RIF #5 Lisa Gonzales for placing second in the 15K. Congrats to Lisa on her stellar accomplishment.
This is the Sub 24 buckle for the Lean Horse 100 that was held on August 25-26, 2012 in Spearfish, South Dakota.
This is a beautiful buckle. It has amazing detail and I love the image of the horse!
This Sub 24 buckle was earned by RIF #1 Joshua Holmes who PR’d by over an hour and shaved almost 4 hours off his time from last year! He totally rocked it. Congratulations Joshua!
Below you will also see a photo of the finisher’s medal that was also given to Joshua and finisher’s of all of the ultramarathon races that took place at Lean Horse (100mi, 50mi, and 50k).
This is the medal for the North Country Run that was held on August 25, 2012 in Wellston, Michigan.
The North Country Run includes a 50 Mile run, a marathon, and a half marathon. Check out the size of that medal! Love the detail on the medal too. This would be an awesome medal to earn.
Here’s a couple more photos of it and the race shirt:
This is the medal for the ET Full Moon Midnight 51K/Marathon/Half Marathon/10K that was held on August 5, 2012 in Rachel, Nevada.
The race takes place on the Extraterrestrial Highway near the infamous Area 51 and is held as close to the full moon as possible. The race has a staggered start with the 51K and marathon starting at midnight, then the half marathon, and finally the 10K. All races finish at the Little A’le’Inn restaurant. It’s a fun race with lots of costumed and glow in the dark runners.
The medal is awesome and has all the fun elements of the race on it. Love the runner alien and “the end is near” sign. And the moon glows in the dark! I love it. I might be a little biased though since I earned this running the 51K. 🙂 Also, big congratulations to PJ Johnson RIF #87 who ran the half marathon!
Here is another photo of the medal and a photo of me with PJ before the bus ride to the start.
There was a bit of controversy at Karl Meltzer’s Speedgoat 50K that took place on July 28, 2012 in Snowbird Resort, Utah.
Elite ultramarathoner Kilian Jornet was caught cutting several switchbacks during the race. He was warned at mile 20 to stop but continued to do randomly throughout the race.
Naturally, Rickey Gates, who was in second place witnessing Jornet’s Zorro-like snipping of the course, was none too happy.
I Run Far’sBryon Powell interviewed Karl (RD) after the race to get the official word on what he decided to do about Kilian cutting multiple switchbacks on the course. (Video above, transcript below)
Here is what Karl had to say about his decision:
“Today was an incredibly tough spot. We had a great competitive field at the race this year. It was panning out exactly how it was supposed to pan out. Kilian Jornet and Ricky Gates were in the front, chasing the leaders up front. Rickey beat Kilian to the top, and that was great; everything was running out great. What happened though, along the route, I was descending into Mineral Basin myself, Kilian was in the lead briefly, and he cut a switchback. That was the first time we saw it happen. Ok, one little thing, no big deal. He continued on the course and he continued to cut switchbacks randomly throughout the route. There were a lot of visuals from our volunteers that saw it. So now I’m thinking, “Well, what do I do now? Do I disqualify him? Do I just let it ride?” Every other runner, not exactly every other runner, Ricky Gates who was right behind him was a little ticked off. He wasn’t liking it very much. So Ricky followed the route; he stayed on course. For Ricky, it was a closed course. As they headed into Mineral Basin, I don’t know how many switchbacks Kilian cut. I couldn’t see. But as he left Larry’s Hole he cut a few more. He was told at mile 20 that he was not supposed to cut switchbacks. Then he did it again descending Little Cloud Bowl into the finish line. So now here I am in this tough position to say, “How do I monitor this? What do I do? Do I disqualify Kilian Jornet? Do I just let it ride?”
So what I did… Kilian ended up crossing the finish line first in 5:14, which is ridiculously fast. Rickey Gates was 5:18 and change. I told Kilian when he initially crossed the line, “Hey, I may have to disqualify you because of cutting the course.” Kilian is a very gracious athlete and he said, “Yes, it’s ok. I understand. It’s ok.” I was pretty psyched about that. He was really gracious. He’s a great kid, because I’m old. At the same time, I waited a little while to decide what the final decision would be. I talked to 10 to 20 people. I got their insight and input. The most important input I got was probably was something that Pikes Peak did years ago when a few Europeans came over and they cut corners. I don’t know if they technically won the race, but they cut the corners. They didn’t disqualify them, but what they did do is they didn’t pay them the prize money. I said, “You know what? That’s probably a reasonably fair thing to do.”
To be honest with you, I hated to do this. I hate to be in this position. Some people will think I’m a bad guy for the decision that I made, but honestly, I think it was kind of the right decision. I couldn’t say “DQ. You’re out. Done. See ya next year maybe? Maybe not.” I really want this race to continue as a Skyrunning race. I want it to continue. I made the ultimate decision of going with what Pikes Peak did, and we paid Rickey Gates as the winner. Rickey also beat Kilian to the top, so he gets $1,000 bonus. He was also under the record. So Ricky gets $4,000, and, unfortunately, Kilian doesn’t get any money. I still gave Kilian Jornet the win, because as a Skyrunning Series program, I really want to keep that. I don’t want to diss him out on that whole thing. That’s kind of how they race in Europe and in all the other races, so I let that ride.
Kilian, again, was a very gracious athlete. He’s a really cool guy. Rickey felt good about it. A lot of the other spectators that know what my decision was, they thought that was good. Ultimately, the bottom line is that Rickey Gates will get the course record, technically the course record, because he followed the course. Again, it’s such a hard decision to make. Kilian was very gracious about it. So it is what it is.”
So Rickey Gates gets the course record and the prize money, but Kilian Jornet wins the 2012 Speedgoat 50K.
I’m glad I wasn’t in Karl’s shoes to make that call on Kilian and Rickey, but he seemed to do all he could to make a fair decision.
If it had been me? If Rickey has all the winning prize money and the course record then he should have been given the win as well. It’s easy to Monday Quarterback though!!!
Here is the medal for the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run that was held on July 21-22, 2012 in West Windsor, Vermont.
It’s a colorful medal but it should have been a buckle! Congratulations to RIF #134 Robin Mancinelli for completing her first 100 miler in 24:31! You did awesome!
