A Quest for Adventure, by David Horton

Last year I wrote about the documentary The Runner, which followed Davd Horton's record-setting run of the Pacific Crest trail (my review here).  A few years before this effort, Horton set out to break the speed record on the Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine.  A Quest for Adventure tells the story of his 1991 A.T. run, as well as his 3rd place finish in the 1994 Trans America race.  With daily dispatches from both runs, Horton and his co-author Rebekah Trittipoe give us a detailed account of what it took to finish both of these feats.

After watching The Runner, I was ready to lace up my shoes (or Velco up my VFFs) and follow Horton's footsteps on the trail.  The DVD has the benefit of both the visual element--the scenery was spectacular--and the time element--you get the whole experience in less than 80 minutes.  By contrast, after reading A Quest for Adventure, I was convinced that if I ever run or hike the Appalachian Trail, I will do it nice and slow, preferably in chunks.  And I don't think I ever want to run across the U.S. 

Horton does love to run, that's clear.  Unfortunately, the tone of Quest leans more toward pain, loneliness, and suffering.  Horton's wife was reluctant to send him away for the months the AT run would take.  He frequently speaks of how he missed her, of crying on the trail, of longing for home.  Some days he had someone running with him, but much of his time was spent running alone.  I'm sure the scenery was great, and the trails were great, but that paled in the misery of the long days (30-40 miles or more) day after day after day.  Even his finish in Maine seemed anticlimactic. 

OK, I've run the whole trail and set a new record.  Can I go home now?

At least the AT run was on nice trails and had a view.  The Trans America race was pretty much all pavement, with some nice views, at times, I'm sure (we live in a vast and varied nation with some beautiful sights to see), but running on the road all that time had to be a drag.  Some was on the shoulder of the interstate, some was even on highways with no shoulders, with 18 wheelers blasting by!  Plus, there was very little drama here.  After the first few weeks, the top spots were separated enough that the best the runners could do was to maintain their place.

Please don't hear me saying that I minimize or belittle the accomplishment of running across the U.S. or setting the AT record.  But I'm left asking, Why?  Horton, a Christian who teaches at a Christian university, speaks frequently about glorifying God in his accomplishments and relying on God's strength and provision.  He said he felt the prayers of his many friends and acquaintances who were praying for him, and he sensed God's answers to his prayers along the way.  I was reminded of the time I was deep into a 50 miler and asked God for his help to finish strong.  I clearly heard God laugh at me and say, "I never asked you to sign up for this race!  You're on your own, buddy!"  (OK, so maybe that wasn't really the voice of God. . . .)

During the Trans American run, David paused at the crossroads of the AT and the Trans America course.

Horton did give an idea of what a production each of these runs was.  In both the AT and the Trans Am, he had dozens and dozens of people crewing for him at one time or another.  And he doesn't go into a lot of detail about the expense, but it sounds like it definitely took some careful planning and budgeting to make these happen.  On the AT, he even washed dishes and cleaned to pay for some of his lodging!

The other striking thing is that he grew stronger through each run.  Rather than wearing him down, the daily runs built up his conditioning, so that he was running as strong, if not stronger, near the end as at the beginning!  Clearly, this type of feat is nor for everyone, but it seems to agree with Horton.

A Quest for Adventure may not be the most beautifully written or profound book you've ever read, but as a journal of 2 remarkable runs, and as a resource for those who want to take on such a challenge, it's worth a read.

More info on the book here: http://www.extremeultrarunning.com/quest.htm.

Justice Run done

Saturday I ran in the Justice Run at church, which I mentioned here.  I did a poor job of recruiting pledges, overestimated my readiness to put in big miles, and underestimated the heat factor.  In spite of that, we had a good time and raised some money to rescue young girls from the sex slave industry.

I started the day early, rising before 5 to leave the house and run to church.  I took an indirect route and got in about 15.5 miles before I got to church.  I took it slow and easy, maintaining a 10:30-11:00 pace, so I would have plenty in the tank for the run itself.  I got to the church with a half an hour to spare to get registered and rehydrated for the run, which was scheduled to start at 8:30.  I was waiting around for the start before I realized there wasn't really a start, just an open invitation to run whenever you want, so I took off a few minutes after 8:30.

I still ran pretty slowly, taking time to visit with friends who were running and to tarry at the aid station.  This was certainly more social than competitive, and many of the participants weren't runners, so there was a variety of paces and a lot of walking on the course.  It was nice meeting a new friend from NTTR, who came with 2 of her friends and her daughter.

After a few one mile loops, I realized I did not want to keep running in the heat to hit my 50K goal, nor did I think I could finish before 11:30, the stated stop time.  So I quit at 11:30 after having run 11 1-mile laps, bringing my day total to about 26.75 miles.  It wasn't a certified course, but using my Garmin mileage I'm putting it down as a marathon-distance run--a very slow marathon run!

Sorry, no pictures.  I should have at least taken a couple.  Many thanks to David Moore who organized the run, and especially to Kelly's parents for sending me my one and only pledge--and a generous one at that!  (If you still want to contribute, you can!  There are plenty of slaves needing redemption!)

Happy National Running Day!

What is national running day?  I don't really know. Here's a web site:
http://www.runningday.org/site/

Any excuse to encourage running is OK with me.  So go run!

Fun Run for human trafficking

I've never done a fund-raiser run, but I'm planning on one for 6/4. Our church youth group is sponsoring it to raise money to aid victims of human trafficking. Funds will go to "Sower of Seeds" ministry.  I plan to run at least 50K (31.2 miles). If 20 of you pledge $1 per mile, that would be enough money to rescue a girl and support her for 3 months. Can I count on you? For details, send me a note or go to http://www.wellspringdfw.org/fun-run-june-4/

Nice Place to Run: Sansom Park

This morning I met up with a couple dozen new friends and familiar faces at an NTTR club run at Sansom Park.  Fred and Char Thompson organized the run, fresh off their epic Rim to Rim to Rim Grand Canyon adventure (this is one run I'd love to do one day; read about the Thompson's experience at endurancebuzz.com).  We met up at the parking lot in progress and hit the trail at 8.

For some reason, I have never made it over here before.  It's about as far from home as Cedar Ridge or Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, if not a little closer, and every bit as enjoyable.  It's more technical than Oak Cliff, maybe not quite as technical as Cedar Ridge.  The advantage it has over Cedar Ridge is that it drains much better.  We've had some pretty good rain the last couple of days, but the trails were in great shape.  It was just muddy enough to keep the mountain bikers home, but not so muddy that runners ended up with mud bricks over their shoes.

Trail running at its best: single track through leafy woods, hardly a flat spot in sight!

As is often the case with trails like this, created and maintained by mountain bikers, there are lots of loops and interconnecting trails.  The big loop the Thompsons marked out was about 8 miles, but you can easily find longer or shorter routes.  The first loop I ran with a couple of different people, then set out on the second alone.  I was going so slowly, and stopping to take pictures, that I thought surely someone would catch me, but they never did.  I would have liked someone to pace with; the second loop ended up being as much nature hike as trail run.

This is a beautiful spot, located near the dam where Lake Worth spills into the Trinity River.  The cactus blossoms have come and gone, but the yucca and lots of wildflowers were blooming.  I saw some squirrels, of course, saw several cardinals, caught a glimpse of a pair of deer bounding away through the underbrush, and scared away some lizards, who scurried away in the leaves.  There are views of Lake Worth and Carswell Joint Reserve Base, and of the waterfall just below the dam.  Most of the time, there was so little noise I could convince myself I was miles from civilization, until the silence was shattered by a jet taking off from Carswell!

Waterfall and a fishing spot just below the dam.

Another view of the waterfall.

It got a little hot and humid by the time I was done, but this was a great run at a great spot.  I'll have to come run there again soon!

Bluffs above the trail.

It's hard to see them in this picture, but this hillside had lots of little flower.

 And here are more flowers:

Back-to-back half marathons at Lake Whitney

This weekend was the sort-of annual Lake Whitney State Park camping trip with a bunch of friends from church.  At least 20 families went this year, the biggest group ever.  There were kids running around everywhere, the weather was perfect, and I think everyone had a blast.

Before we left, I e-mailed Phil, whom I met at an NTTR trail run a few weeks ago.  He lives in the area and had told me there were some nice trails near the state park.  He didn't steer me wrong!  Just a couple hundred yards from the entrance to the state park, there is a wildlife management area gate.  I don't know the full extent of land this leads into, but there are miles and miles of single track, double track, equestrian trails, game trails, and cattle trails where someone can run for hours.

On Saturday morning, I ran from our campsite, found the gate, and explored the trails for a bit before circling back to pick up Kurt.  He said he normally runs only about 5 miles, but he ran a good 9 miles this morning, about 6 of that on trails.  My Garmin read 13.3, but I ran a quarter mile or so before it picked up the satellites.

On Sunday, I met Phil at the gate.  He was running 20, as he is training for a trail marathon in 3 weeks.  I didn't think I was up to 20, primarily because of time.  We ran together for 12 or so miles (15.6 total for me).  He runs here frequently, and knows the trails well.

This is a delightful place to run.  Totally flat, but with good variation in surfaces.  I didn't run in any sand with Kurt, but with Phil we got into some sections that had pretty deep sand.  As much as I don't like sand, I was reminded that Vibram Five Fingers are the best for sand.  (I haven't posted an update on my Treks.  I love them!  Update coming soon.)  There are some nice views of the lake, plenty of cows, and a few deer.  We saw bobcat and turkey tracks; some bow hunters were out there looking for a turkey dinner.  We ran through pastures, saw scrubby mesquite and blooming cactus, and followed trails through thick canopies of trees.  I wish I'd brought my camera to get some shots of the trail.  If this were closer to home, I would definitely become a regular.  In any case, I will have some good trail running to look forward to on our next Lake Whitney camping trip!

Oh, yeah, I can't forget Kelly.  Both days I left before she got up, but by the time I got back she had gotten the kids up (rather, the sun had gotten the kids up and the kids had gotten her up!) and dressed and fed them breakfast, and had breakfast waiting for me.  She tells me she's happy to do it, so I'll take her word for it!  Thanks, Kelly!

This is the course I followed with Phil.

On the road again

Slowly but surely, I've been getting back into my running groove.  I had 3 decent runs last week, and, although I was slow getting started this week (still getting in some O.T.), I should get 3 runs in this week.  Getting up early, running in my neighborhood, even though I struggle to get out of bed, is a great way to start my day.

However, I was struck this morning that summer is around the corner.  Since I missed the chance to register for Jemez (which I'm sort of glad of now; I'm in no shape to run a 50Kin the mountains!), my next race is Capt'n Karl's at Inks Lake on July 16.  This is where I ran my first real trail ultramarathon in 2009 (report here).

Late July sounds like it's ages away, but the race is only 10 weeks away!  It's definitely time to put together a training plan and get on some trails.  It's certainly easy to step out the front door and run on the flat streets of my neighborhood, but Inks Lake is rugged and a bit hilly.  As always, I'm in that place of preferring trail running but stuck doing most of my training on roads, just because that's where I am.  Come race day, we'll see how ready I am to hit the trails!