Ultramarathons and public policy

Today I was reading Reason, my favorite magazine, and ran across a column referencing JFK's 50 mile hikes.  Several months ago, I wrote about the historical origins of the modern 50 mile race (here).  In short, JFK wanted to promote fitness, so he adopted the military 50 mile hike concept for civilians.  All over the country, people were going on 50 mile hikes.  Ultimately, the movement died when he did, but the race that bears his name, the JFK 50 Mile Race, lives on; the 48th annual race will be run on November 20th.

Back to Reason.  Greg Beato's column, "The Fitness Divide," discussed JFK's emphasis on fitness.  He didn't want the U.S. to be less fit than any enemy who might invade us.  He wanted the government to "make a substantial contribution toward improving the health and vigor of our citizens."  His efforts, unfortunately, have lost out to the growing "national flabbiness."  The military and fire and police departments complain that their recruits are out of shape.  In 2009, "more than a third of America's adults qualified as obese."

Ironically, during this same time period, exercise in America has taken off.  "In 2009, a record 467,000 people completed a marathon in the U.S." and even in the mainstream media, reports of ultramarathons and other endurance events are commonplace.  How is this "fitness divide" possible?  Beato writes that, yes, conveniences like fast food and technological advances contribute to poor diets and sedentary lifestyles, but they also have given us record amounts of free time.  Who had time to train for a marathon if one was plowing the fields, washing clothes in a washtub, or taking hours to prepare every meal?

If fast food chains gave us 1,000-calorie milkshakes, they also freed up time to go jogging.  If VCRs gave us the couch potato, they also gave us aerobics videos.  If technology made it less necessary to expend energy in pursuit of daily subsistence, it also gave us Nike air soles, polypropylene running shorts, heart-rate monitors, and organic granola.

The policy question in all of this lies in the level of government intrusion in our personal lives.  I'm hearing more and more about taxes on sugar and other "unhealthy" foods, restrictions on advertising and marketing food to children, and other supposed anti-obesity measures.  The attitude seems to be, "We're soft because technology, processed food, and our consumerist way of life have made us soft, and only Congress can liberate us from obesity."  Of course I want people to be healthier and more active, but let's draw the line when it comes to legislating personal behavior.

Here's an ad from the President's Council on Physical Fitness:

Beato's column is in the December 2010 issue of Reason.  It's not posted online yet, but in a few weeks you should be able to read it at reason.com.

My 50 milers

After my DNF at Palo Duro, I have been reflecting on my ultrarunning record.  I'm slowly crawling out of my post-DNF depression, but still rather disgusted with myself for quitting.  It especially hit home after reading about Bart Yasso's race at Comrades in South Africa and his long history of running through pain (article in Runner's World here).  He has lyme disease yet has continued to race and to inspire others.  But I got a little hot and discouraged so I quit. Wah, wah, big baby.

So here is my illustrious record of 50 milers:

• October 2009, Palo Duro: finished 13 minutes before the cutoff.  I probably would have laid down on the trail and quit if I hadn't met up with Brett, who was also running his first 50 miler.
• February 2010, Rocky Raccoon: finished in just over 11 hours.  Not a bad finish, but my ankle hurt so badly I went and had it x-rayed the next day.  Nothing there, I'm just a big baby.
• February 2010, Cross Timbers: a tough, hilly course, especially compared to the relative flatness of PD and Rocky.  I finished in about 15 hours, close to setting a course record.  The only slower time was set by a man in his 70s.  I probably would have quit this one, but I had to keep going to get back to my car.  I was probably not recovered from Rocky, 2 weeks before.
• March 2010, Grasslands.  I quit after about 19 miles.  It was cold, wet, and muddy.  I still felt like a wimp, even though only 7 of the 70 starters finished.
• October 2010, Palo Duro: quit 1/2 way through.

 Not exactly a steller 50 miler resume.  Part of my problem out on the course is the gradual loss of motivation.  I start thinking, I gave up a whole weekend for this?  I could be hanging out at home, playing with the kids, watching college football, working in the yard or around the house.  I missed soccer or football or judo!  I could take Kelly on a date!  And what's the point anyway? 

So, contrary to a recent post, I'm not going to plan on the 100k in Bandera and the 100 miler at Rocky.  I'm not saying I'll never do another 50 miler.  Part of me still wants to run a 100 miler, to try Western States or Leadville.  But part of me says, too, I could just go someplace pretty and run.  I don't need to pay a fee and get a number just to experience a nice trail.  The trail at Palo Duro is great; I love to run it, and it's got some great views.  But one lap gets you all the views and trails.  The next 3 are more of the same.

I'll start running again soon, and I'll probably sign up for another race soon.  I'm still planning on running White Rock since I'm already registered, but after that, I'm not sure what I'll run next.

2 weeks! 100 miles?

Wow, I don't think I've ever gone 2 weeks without posting.  I guess I was letting a milestone sink in: my last post, the Run from the Ducks race report, was my 100th post!  Balloon drop!  Fireworks!  Party!  OK, so no big deal.  It's also closing in on a year since I started the blog.  I started it after Palo Duro last fall, and this weekend is my second shot at the Palo Duro 50 Mile Trail Run.

Last year's Palo Duro run was my first 50 miler.  I finished a few minutes before the 12 hour cutoff.  I'm heading up to the canyon this weekend again, hoping for a sub-11 hour run.  I don't know that I'm in much better shape than I was this time last year, but I'm hoping that the experience I've gained will help me in the latter miles.  This will be my 4th 50 mile race.

Speaking of multiple 50 mile races, I have decided not to pursue the Texas Style 50 Mile Grand Slam this year.  You may recall that last year I ran three 50 milers of the 5, then on the 4th I DNF'd, so I didn't finish the Slam.  In fact, the Slam had no finishers last year.  Palo Duro is the first race for the Slam, but they have changed the format this year so that instead of the 5 races from last year, runners can choose 5 of 7 possible races.  Due to my own scheduling, after Palo Duro, the next 4 I could choose from will be in a 7 week period, with 2 weeks between each race.  I don't think I would do very well with those so close together, so I'm going to try something different.

After Palo Duro, I'll return home for some hard training for the White Rock Marathon, the first weekend in December.  I'm aiming for a Boston Marathon qualifying time (3:20).  I'm feeling pretty good about it, but I need to lose some weight and crank up my pace on long runs.  After that, I've got some new races on tap.

On January 8, I'm going to run my longest run yet, a 100K (62 miles) in Bandera.  But that will be a mere training run for my next goal: my first 100 miler.  Last February, I ran the 50 miler at Rocky Raccoon at Huntsville State Park, so I'm familiar with the course.  Next February 5, I'll find out if I have what it takes to run 100 miles all at once.  More to come. . . .

50-mile Texas Style Grand Slam

OK, OK, this will be the last post in which I mention my failed attempt at the 50-Mile Texas Style Grand Slam.  I checked the other day at the Tejas Trails web site to see what the status was, and at that time there was a chart showing the finishing times of 3 runners after the first 3 races in the Slam, me and two others.  I was last in total time, of course.  I guess they were compiling the list to compare with Hell's Hills finishers, to see who finished the Slam.  Neither of the other 2 were Grasslands finishers.  I don't know whether they ran at Hell's Hills.  But it made me realize that if I were able to finish Grasslands and then run at Hell's Hills, I would likely have been the sole Slam finisher!  That would have been cool!  Alas, it was not to be this year.  This realization made me more determined to attempt it again, maybe next year.  We'll see.  Now the site only has a blank page where the chart was.

Mudlands follow-up

The official results are now posted here for Grasslands 2010.  I was in good company with my DNF.  There were only 7 official finishers out of about 70 starters of the 50 mile race.  The DNF percentage was lower for the marathon and half marathon, but both of those races had a much higher DNS (did not show) percentage.  I guess there is an inverse rule of racing: the lower the mileage of the race, the higher the likelihood that the runner is reasonable enough to know when to stay home. 

Immediately after the race, I felt like a loser, a quitter, a failure.  There is still some of that lingering, but it does make me feel a lot less bad knowing how many other people dropped out.  One experienced ultrarunner I heard from came from Lubbock but didn't even get out of the car!  He knew better than to get out in that cold and mud.

The worst thing about dropping out is I can't complete the 50 mile grand slam.  There's always next year.  On Monday I got an e-mail from the Palo Duro race organizers announcing that registration is now open for that race in October.  It's the first in the grand slam series.  Maybe I'll give it another shot. . . . .

Here are some more pictures (from the NTTR race site) to give you an idea of conditions.

This is Don Rice, who paced me for a few minutes at Cross Timbers (while pacing his wife).  He finished the course at Grasslands, but came in a few minutes past the cutoff, so got a DNF.  Stink!

I have no idea whose feet these are, but love the picture of the trail.

Imagine running on this for 50 miles!

DNF at Mudlands 2010

I've officially registered my first DNF (did not finish).  From the middle of the pack at Rocky Raccon, to a last place finish at Cross Timbers, to a DNF today at Grasslands, my decline has been precipitous.  I don't really have any excuses.  I just lost my will to go on after the 19 mile start/finish aid station, so I turned back, got my BBQ sandwich, and went home.

I should say first of all that this is a terrific race.  I love the casual atmosphere and the well-stocked, well-manned aid stations provided by North Texas Trail Runners, the race sponsor.  Race directors Kevin and Stacie Boudreaux are to be commended for their hard work in hosting the race.  Great job by them and the many volunteers!

Char Thompson, NTTR President, and Tia,

who will be so happy that I posted this picture.

I ran the marathon at Grasslands last year so was looking forward to returning for the 50 miler.  Today the weather was a big factor in the race.  At the start, it was raining pretty hard.  That didn't last long; it soon turned to sleet, which I guess is an improvement, since it just bounces off you.  The rain and sleet ended within an hour or hour and a half or so, but the heavy rains overnight on the already saturated ground took their toll on the trails.

One thing I love about trail running is the variety.  Instead of running on a consistent asphalt or concrete surface, as in a road race, you get a feel for more varied terrain.  Grasslands certainly offered a variety: there was brown mud, red mud, and black mud, sticky mud, sloshy mud, slippery mud, packed mud, and flowing mud, muddy streams running across the trail, muddy streams that were the trail, muddy pools on the trail, and muddy trails through muddy pools.  There was grassy mud, and muddy grass.  Oh, and every now and then the course followed short parts of muddy roads.  And in between all the muddy sections, there were more muddy sections.

Yeah, it was muddy.

Besides the mud, it turned out to be quite a bit colder than I expected.  It started out in the high 30s, I suppose, and I fully expected it to warm up as the day went on.  It didn't.  It became progressively colder and windier.  I was wearing only shorts, a long-sleeved shirt, and a parka.  As I left the 19 mile aid station, I realized I was almost to the point of shivering.  Between the cold, the mud in which I could hardly walk, much less run, and the simple desire to get home and spend some time with my family, I decided to call it a day.  About 6:45 it started snowing at my house, about 40-50 miles southeast of Grasslands, and had gotten much windier.  I'm glad I was not out on the trail, dressed as I had been in the morning.

So I came home and showered, then spent the afternoon and evening with my family.  I did some laundry and cleaned up the kitchen.  Zippy and I went to Gamestop to get a new video game.  We all watched Baylor's awesome NCAA tournament victory over Old Dominion--Sweet 16 here we come!  We had dinner together.  I put the boys to bed.  I went to bed with Kelly at a decent hour.  And I had to ask myself, in what universe would I really rather be cold and miserable, slogging through the mud, trying to reach a finish line 50 miles away?

50 Milers--A little history

Tomorrow I will be running at Huntsville State Park in Rocky Raccoon, the second run in the 50 Mile Texas Style Grand Slam.  (Palo Duro was the first.)  A friend of mine, noting my "fetish" for 50 mile races, gave me some background on 50 mile races.  I had no idea that these races follow a historical connection from Teddy Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy.

In 1908, President Roosevelt issued an executive order mandating that military officers walk 50 miles.  Kennedy decided to see how the 1963 military measured up, and, given Kennedy's desire to promote physical fitness among all Americans, the 50 mile walk spread to civilian life.  Bobby Kennedy put on his leather dress shoes and walked 50 miles in the snow in 17 hours 50 minutes.  Boy Scout troops, college students, and communities took up the challenge.  For a few months, there were 50 mile walks all over the place.

After Kennedy's assassination, the 50 mile movement all but died out.  The JFK 50 Mile in Maryland is the last relic of that movement, but one could assume that 50 mile races run around the country can trace their heritage, at least in part, to Kennedy's challenge.

For a fuller story, here's the link the my friend gave me: The 50-Mile Hike Phenomenon