BEYOND THE MARATHON
Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp.
Robert Browning
Stay curious.
Goals are progressive. When I began running, I used to lie in bed, stare at the ceiling, and dream of some day running a marathon. I did not expect to run over 200 marathons. I did not expect that I would commute run across the Santa Monica Mountains for five years. I did not expect I would run 100 mile races. I had never even heard of an ultramarathon.
The first time I heard of an ultra was the day after my first marathon. I had made about as many mistakes as a body could make, I hit the wall at 24 miles and lurched in to the finish. The next day, when I told a friend of my heroic marathon, she told be about the 72 mile race around Lake Tahoe. I just stared at her. I couldn't speak. I couldn't begin to comprehend that such a thing was humanly possible.
Beyond the marathon. There is plenty of challenge in the marathon. But after running a few, you may find that you can run the distance easily enough. You may also find that it becomes a melancholy proposition to run them faster and faster. While you may continue running marathons for fun or personal records, to remain challenged you may find that you will need to set further goals.
The same spirit that got you to the marathon may inspire you to go further.
TRAINING
Training as much as you can.
Training makes you strong.
But if you are already running marathons for fun, you're probably already running as much as is convenient. Perfect. Marathons, ultras and the training that supports them should enhance your life.
Training for a 50 mile race is not essentially different than training for a marathon. It is helpful to run a couple of long runs in the 25-30 mile range or to run a marathon or two for training. But it's not necessary.
Just get as fit as possible. Pay your money. Take your chances. The race will motivate you. And the race will take care of itself. Your will surprise yourself.
WALK BEFORE YOU RUN
Over 40 years ago, when nobody was training, President Kennedy suggested that Americans take a 50 mile hike.
He did not say to train like a maniac until some future president's administration.
He said, "Take out your indelible marker. Write '50 Miles or Bust' on a clear white T-shirt. Face any direction. And, go!"
Who am I to argue with the wit and wisdom of JFK?
Just do it!
Am I really suggesting that you walk 50 miles?
Well, I did something similar before my first marathon. I was a graduate student at U.C. Irvine. I walked from Balboa Island to SAX. It took me about 12 hours and I covered 30 some miles. I was intending to walk up Pacific Coast Highway and have a nice, pleasantwalk beside Southern California beaches. I didn?t realize how much of the coast is dedicated to oil exploration. I was studying public policy, but nothing I had read had the same impact or offered the insight into city/county planning as walking through North Long Beach, Lomita and Redondo Beach.
Kennedy's suggestion was brilliant. Whether you walk urban areas or wilderness, you will be amazed by what you see and learn.
Am I really suggesting you walk 12 hours or 50 miles?
Well, you don't need to. But it will take the mystery out of the time and distance. And you will learn something about yourself. The point is you can do it. And you can do it now.
FREEDOM AND ADVENTURE:
THE DEATH VALLEY 200/100/10 ULTRA-TRIATHLON
There are no limits.
People run across continents.
I think the most interesting thing about me is that I don?t have any particular athletic talent.
When I ran my fastest marathon, I was eagerly running 140 miles per week. I ran 2:47, a good time, but someone with talent would run faster with that training.
I have other pretensions, but I have never considered myself to be an athlete.
I have enjoyed running. I have enjoyed the process of setting and meeting goals, and setting new goals. The process is creative and essentially limitless.
I started out dreaming of running a marathon. Then, one bright, sunny, summer morning, I woke up and began the Death Valley Ultra-Triathlon. I biked across the desert and back, swam 10 miles in the Furnace Creek pool, and ran over 100 miles back across Death Valley. Shade temperatures were 120 degrees; temperatures on the road were 180 degrees. I expected to sleep four hours after the swim; I slept two. I hoped to complete the event in 60 hours; it took me 57:22. I hoped to run the 100+ miles across Death Valley in under 24 hours; I ran 22:20, finishing late afternoon.
I drank about 10 gallons (80 pounds) of water and juice, and still lost weight due to dehydration.
The heat was so intense, it didn't feel like earth. It was bright beyond clarity, visible waves of heat rose off the desert floor.
I thought: I can't go on, I'll go on.
It was not as easy as it sounds.
But it was also gorgeous. From the roseate dawn to the Milky Way night, desert light is spectacular. Death Valley is not just an expanse of sandy desert, it has its own dramatic geography bounded on every side by rugged mountains.
Personally, and privately, I consider the Death Valley Ultra-Triathlon to be a signpost on the field of human endurance.
But if stupid old Craig can do it, you can do it. Or, anything you choose to do. The principle limiting agent is your own mind.
WHAT IT'S LIKE
You will have to run a 50 for yourself to find out what it's like.
But, I'll tell you, in my experience, what it's like to run100 miles.
It's bigger than you are.
I've run the Western States 100 three times, each under 24 hours. The race starts at 5:00 a.m. It is dark. The start is at Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe. The first thing we do is run to Emigrant Pass, 9,000?. From there, we run through every Sierra canyon, and over every Sierra ridge, until we get to Auburn.
We run all day. And through the night.
It is glorious.
Whether running across exposed, rocky ridges with spectacular views, or through canyon forests with sunlight filtering through the trees and onto the ferns, or across deep, cold, fast-flowing Sierra streams; the experience is breath-taking.
Every canyon is different from every other canyon.
Day is different from night.
Night is hard.
You try to stay out of trouble. You fail. You recover.
You run where you are. You see and experience everything as it happens.
The next day you expect the entire experience to come crashing in. It doesn't. It's scary that it doesn't. But it doesn't.
You can remember any point of the race vividly ? what it looked like, how you felt.
But you cannot get a sense of the experience in its entirety. You?ve run all day through short-term memory. You will never have a complete feeling or understanding of the whole experience. It is bigger than you are.
It is like life.
Recently, the weather changed. It became hot both night and day. I was sweating at night.
