“In order to win you’ve got to avoid losing first”

— Dick Doobey, football coach at fictitious Southern University

Since I started writing reviews, first for the Burlington Runners Times newsletter then here at Monumental Effort, one book that has been recommended to me on occasion is Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. I purchased this book several months ago but had not gotten around to reading it until just recently. I now wish I would have read the cult classic years ago.

Of the dozens of books on running that I have read over the years, only a handful of them have been works of fiction. Once a Runner is by far the most enjoyable and well-written fictional story of the lot. From the very first chapter I was captivated by Parker’s almost lyrical prose as he describes the quiet track and stadium through the eyes of the young athlete.

Later, as the reader is introduced to the story’s setting and characters -the Southern University campus in Florida and its varsity teams- the author treats us to some more entertaining narrative as he compares and contrasts the various athletes in the different track and field disciplines. Of the weight men he writes: “These specimens made their particular way in the world by heaving sixteen-pound iron balls great distances, tossing fibreglass plates out of vision, whipping sharpened aluminum shafts to the horizon. They were the heavy artillery of old.”

Parker calls the distance runners the “serene messengers, gliding along wooded trails and mountain paths, their spiritual ancestors kept their own solitary counsel for long hours.” Finally, Parker calls the sprinters and jumpers “high-strung, either giddy with success or mired in swamp funk. They were the manic-depressives of the track world.”

The novel’s main character is Quenton Cassidy. Well-liked by all his peers, Quenton is the captain of the track team and on the verge of becoming a world-class miler. Not only is Quenton a talented runner, he is also quite comical and usually at the core of the amusing games and banter amongst the students of Doobey Hall where the athletes reside. The reader accompanies the runners through their gruelling workouts, the cross-country season and the indoor track meets.

Cassidy’s times keep improving and his competitive fires burning hotter than ever when controversy rears its ugly head. Upset over imposed rules by the athletic director and football coach, Quenton drafts a petition protesting the rules. Although the petition was signed by many athletes from all teams, Cassidy becomes the fall-guy and is suspended from competition for the remainder of the school year. This ruling prompts Quenton to quit school and to retreat to a cabin in the woods. Under the tutelage of Olympic gold medalist and close friend Bruce Denton (the self-proclaimed famous American clock-cleaner), Cassidy turns all of his attention and effort to his training and a quest to run a sub-four minute mile.

Will Quenton ever have a chance to “let loose his demons and just wail on” and compete again? Click on the book cover and order your copy to find out.

Parker’s personal running credentials are quite impressive to say the least. As a member of the University of Florida’s track team, Parker set the school record in the mile and was even the conference champion. In 1972 he competed at the Munich Olympics alongside his teammates Frank Shorter and Jeff Galloway. His extensive experience was quite evident throughout the book and in my opinion, certainly gave a lot of credibility to the novel.

Original book cover

Although sequels are generally not as good as the original, upon completing this book I felt compelled to order myself a copy of the follow-up to Once a Runner. This sequel was written three decades after Once a Runner was first published. Once a Runner had even been out of print for many years. According to Amazon, it was one of the most sought-after out-of-print books in the United States in 2007.

Look for a review of John L. Parker Jr’s “Again to Cartage” on M.E. in the future.

If you have read “Once a Runner” and would like to send us a comment, please do so by using the form below. Also, feel free to recommend any book with inspiring stories of determination and perseverance.

Gotta run,

Vince

Last night I couldn’t sleep.  I tossed and turned, struggling to get comfortable in my king size bed, beneath my soft, flannel sheets and down filled duvet. At two in the morning I found myself splayed sideways across the bed and oddly my feet only lightly brushed the pajamas of my soundly sleeping spouse.  As I suffered in my 400-thread count sheets, my mind wandered to the book I’d just finished, a fantastic account of an Atlantic crossing in a rowboat by Julie Angus entitled, “Rowboat in a Hurricane”.  Specifically, I thought of Julie’s sleeping quarters on the rowboat; a tiny cabin essentially one third the width of a single bed with barely enough head room for an adult to sit up in without cracking their skull on the ceiling.  Dammit!  So now, not only was I becoming more and more sleep deprived by the minute, but felt completely guilty for my discomfort.  I blame Julie.

“Rowboat in a Hurricane” is the riveting tale of Julie and her boyfriend (now husband), Colin’s transatlantic, 10,000KM journey from Portugal to Costa Rica in their rowboat, Ondine.  As the title discloses the couple encounters a hurricane.  Actually, they encounter three.  Hurricane Vince, Hurricane Epsilon, and Hurricane Delta; not to mention Tropical Storm Zeta.  I’ve cowered like a frightened child on Great Lake ferries, so read these accounts with my jaw on the floor.  Who in their right mind would put themselves into this kind of situation?  But wait, isn’t that the state of mind that leads to greatness?  Of course it is.  It’s the same good-crazy that drives people to run hundreds of miles, to push their bodies to their limits and beyond.  Isn’t it?

Hurricanes are only the beginning of the interesting things that happen to the couple as they row. Some of the highlights include:

• A visit from a Great White Shark
• An amorous sea turtle with an interest in rowboats
• Kamikaze flying fish
• A close encounter with a giant ocean Freighter
• Holidays and birthdays at sea
• A possible pregnancy

I’ll leave it to you, the reader to discover the latter on your own as you read.

Perhaps the most compelling aspect of this book is the direct, first hand account of the environmental impact that humanity has inflicted upon it’s oceans.  I can only imagine the sadness one must feel being in the middle of ocean, thousands of miles from any major cities and seeing garbage float past your boat.  What else could explain hurricanes forming where and when they’ve never formed before except our changing environment?  Julie’s first hand account of these events serve to emphasize that we must change if we are to survive.  Qutie simply, if the oceans die, we die.

Should you read this book?  Absolutely, yes!  Go buy it today, you won’t be disappointed.  As far as Monumental Efforts go, we each have our own.  Some of us struggle to get up stairs, or to open cans.  Some strive to push their bodies to their limits, both physically and psychologically through grueling tests of endurance.  Then there are those who simply defy comprehension and definition; like Julie Angus.

To purchase Rowboat in a Hurricane click the book cover at the top of this post.
To learn more about Julie and Colin, click http://www.angusadventures.com/

It is becoming more and more common to read about celebrities who are runners. In many cases, they have taken to the road for a cause of some sort; are running along side other celebrities to promote something, be it a new film or a political cause; or are training for a role in an upcoming film. Regardless, they are running, so that can’t be bad. It is rarer still to find a celebrity who is simply a runner for the love of running, and has been a runner consistently for a significant amount of time. One such example is author, Haruki Murakami.

One of the greatest achievements any of us can aspire to is to maintain health and fitness through out our lives. Once we start running, we would benefit to continue running. Murakami’s, “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” is a memoir of just such an effort, of one man’s persistence to just be a runner. Murakami is an avid marathon runner and triathlete, although he did not start running until he was 33 years old. On June 23, 1996, Murakami completed his first ultramarathon, a 100-kilometer race around Lake Saroma in Hokkaido, Japan.

This book documents from summer 2005 through the fall of 2006. Murakami states clearly that this is “not a treatise on how to be healthy” but is rather a “book in which I’ve gathered my thoughts about what running has meant to me as a person.” He accomplishes this in nine short chapters, making this book a very quick read. But don’t underestimate the value of it’s content. This is clearly a book by a writer first and runner second. Murakami’s prose is a pleasure to read and he eloquently describes running and all of it’s tribulations. Every runner has probably heard someone say in one way or another that when running, pain is inevitable, but sufferring is optional. Murakami says exactly that and goes on to describe how he has persevered, how he’s chosen to continue to complete marathon after marathon.

If you are a runner who enjoys a well written account of a runner’s life, you will enjoy this book. It inspires one not only to continue to run through the inevitable pain of endurance sports, but also to perhaps begin documenting your own experiences. I know every runner I’ve encountered has a story to tell and this book serves as the perfect example of how those stories should be told.

To purchase this book please click on the book cover at the top of this post.

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve.” Dr. Napolean Hill

Over the past seventeen days the 2010 Winter Olympics provided the World with dozens upon dozens of Monumental Effort stories.  Seeing as we were already inundated with coverage of the games, we felt that reporting on these stories on our blog would be somewhat redundant.   We therefore decided to let the giants of mainstream media provide followers with their versions of commentaries and reports.

Nonetheless, the games most certainly offered many examples of perseverance and the strength of the human spirit.  You did not need to look very far for the story about an athlete who narrowly missed qualifying and then went on to win gold.   There were teams who stumbled in the early rounds of competition only to recover and eventually earn a spot on the podium.  We also saw competitors who despite suffering injuries and surgeries in the past were able to overcome these setbacks and return to dominance in their sport.  Finally, viewers witnessed victims of personal tragedies who managed to suppress their heartache in order to focus and compete on the biggest sporting stage imaginable.

I have my own personal favorite moments from these Olympic Games, but as a sports fan, I simply enjoyed watching passionate and dedicated athletes as they persevered and applied all the work and dedication from the many years of preparation and training to compete against the very best in their disciplines. How do they do it?  What makes them tick?  How do elite athletes dig so deep within themselves to push harder than ever and put it all on the line?

Although a work of fiction, Willis B. McCarthy’s novel “100 Miles to Destiny” offers an insight into the minds of athletes as they compete at the Olympics.  The reader is also treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the organization of an international event.  The setting of the story is the XXIII Olympiad of 1984 held in Los Angeles and the event is a 100-mile run.  There will likely never be any such race at the Olympics, but the author cleverly chooses one of the most prestigious ultra running courses for his tale; the famed Western States Trail in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains from Squaw Valley to Auburn in California.

A seasoned ultra runner and 4-time finisher of Western States, McCarthy clearly understands the highs and lows a runner experiences over the course of a 100-mile race.  Also, his knowledge of this particular course is quite evident.  Whether you are one of the lucky runners who have run this race, or if you are like me and have read many accounts about it, you will certainly appreciate his accuracy and detail.

Although the 1984 Summer Olympics were boycotted by many Eastern-bloc countries and their allies, this novel includes participants from places like Poland, East Germany and Russia.  The author weaves a storyline involving a new leader of the Communist Party who helps avoid a boycott in order to make these Olympics a truly global competition.

McCarthy also develops many interesting personalities including some inevitable stereotypes.  100 Miles to Destiny features a rivalry between an American who is the reigning WS100 champ and a cold-blooded Russian runner.  Other characters include the speedy Africans who set a torrid pace to take the early lead, an enlightened Buddhist Japanese athlete and a quick-witted Irish runner to name a few.

The Canadian contender in the book is a character named Ian Jones.  A personable and well-liked athlete, entering the race Ian Jones is one of the early favorites based on his 100Km World Record time.  At one point the Canadian runner takes part in some friendly banter on the trail with other runners over which country has the best beer.  Unfortunately the author misspelled “Molson’s”!  Shame on him!

Any follower of ultra running in this country will undoubtedly suspect that this character is an accolade to the great Andy Jones who still holds several Canadian ultra-running records.  In the late 1990’s Andy Jones set the standard in the following distances:  2:53:20 for 50K, 4:54:50 for 50-Miles, and a mind-boggling 12:05:43 for 100-miles.

Willis B. McCarthy notes that he took over 2 decades to write this his first novel and its completion is what defines him.  Sprinkled throughout the book the reader will find evidence of McCarthy’s many travels and his knowledge of historical events.  100 Miles to Destiny is a light read and an amusing page-turner.  Although the reader might suspect to know the outcome of the race, we are encouraged to read on with curiosity.

As I write this post I realize that this is the first book of fiction that has been reviewed on Monumental Effort.  Another well-known novel about running, John L. Parker’s Once a Runner, will be featured next month.  If you would like to share a book review with us, click the “Submit your story” tab at the top of the page and start typing.  Perhaps you would like to recommend a book?  Please leave us a comment below.

Gotta run,

Vince

Running Through the Wall – Personal Encounters With the Ultramarathon By: Neal Jamison

“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it.

Action has magic, grace and power in it.“

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Chock-full of Monumental Effort stories, Running Through The Wall – Personal Encounters With the Ultramarathon offers readers a glimpse into the minds and psyches of dozens of ultra runners.  In it you will not only get insight as to why certain athletes were drawn to this fantastic sport, but you will also discover what drives others to push beyond their perceived limits, overcoming injuries or tragedies and completing daunting distances on challenging terrain.

This book is a compilation of 39 inspiring stories from all levels of athletes.  Some of these tales recount reports of the back-of-the-pack runners shuffling along barely staying ahead of cut-off times.  The reader will however learn about elite runners such as Tim Twietmeyer and Ann Trason as they do battle for the Western States crown.  There are also accounts by David Horton and Blake Wood, two of only a handful of runners to ever complete the punishing Barkley Marathon.

Since the book includes stories from such a wide range of athletes, it inevitably encompasses race reports from a variety of locales.  For instance, Francesca Conte’s contribution:  Finding Self-Confidence at the Arkansas Traveller 100 has sparked in me an interest in running this particular race and her narrative provides some valuable course description that I hope will help me better prepare for this event that I intend on running in October 2010.

Over the years I have had the fortune of meeting and even running with some of these competitors/authors including Clark Zealand, Catra Corbett and Bethany Hunter-Pederson. Clark writes about his legendary battle with Courtney Campbell at the Bull Run Run 50-miler.  Catra recounts the tragic loss of her mother and how her spirit powered her through the challenging Wasatch 100.  Bethany explains how she was introduced to the sport of ultra running and recounts her first 100-mile finish at the Massanutten Mountain Trail Run under the tutelage of an ultra legend.

Before Neal Jamison’s final piece entitled The Finish Line, the reader is treated to Joel’s Story by Robert B. Boeder.  In short, Joel Zucker was a three-time finisher of arguably the toughest 100-miler out there, the Hardrock 100.  To fully appreciate Joel’s zest and overall charm, I recommend you read this story.  I certainly do not have the penmanship to do it justice in this short blog post.

Other notable contributors: Scott Mills, Greg Loomis, Kevin Setnes, Ian Torrence, Sue Johnston, Mike Dimkich (guitarist for rock band The Cult) and a Foreword by Don Allison.  Order yourself a copy of Running Through the Wall by clicking on the book cover image above.

Gotta run,

Vince

“It’s unbelievable that wherever I go, people still want to talk about that race.  It beat me up more than any other race in my life.” – Dick Beardsley

Until recently I knew very little about Dick Beardsley.  I vaguely remembered that he was involved in one of the greatest races ever, but that was about it.  After reading his book, Beardsley has now become one of my favorite and most inspiring runners!

At the Grand Rapids Marathon expo in October 2009, I came across a bin of books on running.  I scanned through this selection and realized that I had already read several of the books for sale.  I stumbled upon Staying The Course:  A Runner’s Toughest Race by Dick Beardsley (co-written by Maureen Anderson) and was captivated after having read the back cover.  So I just had to purchase yet another running book!

I immediately started reading Staying The Course on the bus ride home after the marathon and plowed through it relatively quickly.  Dick Beardsley’s story is gripping. In this memoir Beardsley recalls how his love for running evolved.  As a teen he joined the cross-country team hoping to earn himself his varsity letter jacket, his ticket he believed, to landing more dates.  He had tried out for other sports teams but lacked the skill and the size to crack the squads.  Little did he know that running would become his life-long passion.

Beardsley had much success in high school and in college cross-country and track, but he always yearned to tackle the marathon distance.  Although Dick was not following a proper marathon training program, and despite the fact that his coaches did not approve of him running the grueling events, Beardsley started secretly entering marathons.  Beardsley’s ignorance and lack of experience during his first marathons forced him to remain humble and modify his training.  Although he suffered in those early races, Dick kept signing up for one marathon after another and getting stronger, faster and more confident with every race.  To this day, Dick Beardsley holds the Guinness Book World Record as the only man to run 13 consecutive personal best marathons.

Unfortunately for Beardsley, he is most famous for a race he didn’t even win, the 1982 Boston Marathon.  Billed by many as the greatest marathon race ever, the “Duel in the Sun” pitted up-and-coming Beardsley against the marathon world record holder Alberto Salazar.  Both runners set Boston course and American records on this day, but Salazar crossed the line a mere two seconds ahead of Beardsley.  I believe that Dick and Alberto still remain in the top 5 all-time fastest American marathoners.

Salazar and Beardsley at finish of 1982 Boston Marathon

 In Staying the Course the authors enrapture their readers in Dick’s recollection of this most memorable race.   As I read through this chapter I was wishing I did not know the final result of the race.  Also, the YouTube footage of the race does not do it justice as most of the camera shots are from an aerial camera and the picture quality not that clear.  Beardsley’s account of the thick crowds of spectators (literally on the course as there were no barricades at this time), the police motorcycles all around the leaders and the runners’ bus billowing smoke while nearly driving over the racers is fascinating.

Following this race, Beardsley hit a streak of bad luck that would contribute to the unraveling of his running career. First some tendon problems and subsequent surgeries understandably slowed him down some, but on his road to recovery a horrifying farm accident occurred.  While working on his farm Dick’s leg got caught in an auger attached to his tractor and the machine proceeded to toss him around like a ragdoll.  Miraculously, Dick somehow managed to hit the emergency stop button on the machinery before it crushed him altogether.  Few people have ever survived such an accident but Dick managed to escape death.

Not a shark attack! This is Beardsley's knee after farm accident.

Major leg and knee surgeries followed and Beardsley was never the same.  To add insult to injury, over the next few years Dick was also involved in several freak car accidents.  On one occasion his trucked slipped on an icy patch and rolled over several times.  Another time while on a run down a country road is snowy conditions, a motorist did not see Dick and clipped and injured the runner.  As Dick was recovering from one of his many surgeries, he lost consciousness and fell down the stairs in his home and broke his back.  As these injuries and medical procedures increased, so did his dependency of pain medication.

The fight to beat this addiction became his toughest battle ever.  Beardsley desperately needed his drugs and went so far as to forging prescriptions to get his bottles of Percocet.  The law inevitably caught up to him but an understanding judge, coupled with his already impressive community involvement, saved him from a serious sentencing. 

Dick Beardsley now works as a motivational speaker and his foundation “is a community-based organization created to educate children and young adults about the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle and to educate the public about the danger of drugs, including prescription drugs and the dangers of chemical.”   He also owns a running store in Fargo, North Dakota; he has an online coaching program and is the Race Director of several events.  Although no longer an elite runner, Beardsley has run several sub 2:50 marathons in the past decade.  Yeah, he’s slow now!   

To learn more, please check out: http://dickbeardsleyfoundation.org/

Gotta run,

Vince

“Human ingenuity may make various inventions, but it will never devise any invention more beautiful, nor more simple, nor more to the purpose than Nature does, because in her inventions nothing is wanting and nothing is superfluous” -Leonardo Da Vinci

A professor of Biology at the University of Vermont, Bernd Heinrich is the author of several books and an accomplished ultra runner.  In the early 1980′s, Heinrich decided to apply what he had learned from his studies of the animal kingdom to help him prepare for the United States 100 Km National Championships to be held in Chicago in October of 1981.  He had run his first ultra only a few months earlier, a 50 Km race, which he had won by defeating the then U. S. National 100 Km record holder.  At the conclusion of this race, Heinrich set out to not only win the championship, but he intended to break the existing record.

In the early chapters of Racing the Antelope, the author echoes his love of running and of nature by detailing his experiences as a young boy, running in the forest behind his house capturing insects for his father the biologist.  He introduces the reader to the race in Chicago and explains his motivation for his World Record attempt.  As the starting gun sounds and the runners set off, Heinrich stops his account of the race and dedicates the bulk of his book describing – in a very scientific language – how different animals have adapted for survival.

For instance, he details how a bee’s VO₂ max is made possible and explains how migrating sandpipers prepare for their 9 000 mile journey from the Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South America.  In addition, he compares the running prowess of the antelope to the camel’s ability to stay hydrated for their own desert ultra marathons.  Heinrich even explains how a male frog maintains his mating call for periods of up to 24 hours.  From the Basilisk lizard to the Tiger beetle, Heinrich outlines too many physiological details and I found myself skipping forward a few chapters to get to the author’s account of the Chicago race.

To my disappointment, this part of the book that I truly looked forward to was somewhat anticlimactic.  Also, some of Heinrich’s running and training philosophies seemed a bit primitive.  In addition to cutting holes in his shoes to improve air flow, Bernd trained and raced without socks because he wanted to eliminate as much weight as possible.  As fuel on race day, he drank solely cranberry juice because he judged that it most resembled wasp regurgitate which is the formula allowing this insect to “maximize its ability for fat metabolism while reducing muscle fatigue and slowing lactic acid build-up”.

In the Chicago race, Bernd Heinrich’s quest was a successful one as he finished first in a time of 6 hours 38 minutes and 21 seconds.  This was a new World Record and the time still stands as the U.S. Masters record for that distance.  Racing the Antelope provides some interesting insight into the animal world, but I felt the content too rich in scientific babble.  Without a doubt, Heinrich remains one of the best ultra marathoners ever, and his knowledge of animal biology is quite evident.  This book reminded me of the importance of combining mental and physical preparation in my training.  Heinrich’s extensive research was surely an important to his running success.  We can all benefit from applying knowledge of ourselves and the world that surrounds us in making us stronger, more efficient runners.

Get you copy here.

“The more restricted our society and work becomes, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom.”

— Sir Roger Bannister

Although retailing at $19 and $39 respectively, these two books are going to cost me A LOT of money over the years!

Author Kimi Puntillo became the first woman to complete a marathon on every continent thus earning herself two Guinness World Records in the process.  In Great Races, Incredible Places – 100+ Fantastic Runs Around the World, Puntillo outlines her favorite marathons, but also races of varying distances that she has participated in on her many travels.

She cleverly divided her book into amusing categories to whisk the reader away to enthralling events around the world.  These categories include:  Because It’s There; Eat, Drink, and be Merry; Give Peace a Chance; Listen to the Music; Spiritual Experiences; Running Wild; Sweet; Team Sport; and Tourist Attractions.  From wine lovers to history buffs, for runners who enjoy dressing up for races, (or running nude for that matter) to those who enjoy team challenges, runners of all levels will undoubtedly find races in this book that will appeal to them.

One race that particularly caught my attention was the International Peace Marathon of Kigali, Rwanda.  After everything this African nation has been through with the genocide of 1994, how rewarding would it be to run here in support of the people’s efforts to promote reconciliation?  According to the event website, your marathon can help several local charities and projects from building schools and orphanages to restoring women shelters for widows of the genocide.

Another race that I found remarkable was the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco.  Although I usually seek out low-key events with a limited field, this 7.5 mile event with 65,000 runners would admittedly be quite a spectacle to witness and be a part of.

In the Team Sports chapter, the Myomed Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage and the Nike Hood-to-Coast Relay are, in my opinion, worth checking out.  Both these team relay events are roughly 200-miles long involving teams of twelve runners, two vehicles and twenty-four hours.  Hundreds of teams enter and each runner usually completes three legs of approximately five to eight miles in length while the team vehicles leap-frog ahead to the next relay exchange area throughout the day and night.  Can you think of a better way to spend a weekend with your running buddies?

Kimi Puntillo offers some travel advice and limited training hints throughout this collection.  Near the end of the book, the reader will find index tables with further details on race websites, distances, along with the month of the events, average temperatures and location.  This quick reference guide for 100+ races detailed in the book is quite helpful.

On a recent trip to the U.S. West Coast to compete in the Tahoe Rim Trail 100-miler (I suffered a DNF at 50-miles as the altitude and heat got the best of me) my wife and I made a pit-stop at the Zombie Runners store in Palo Alto, California.  More than just a place to purchase running apparel and accessories, Zombie Runners is also a Café, a library and basically an ultra running shrine.  Here I purchased (like I needed another book on running) the second book reviewed in this issue:  Extreme Running, by Kym McConnell & Dave Horsley.

Unlike Great Races, Incredible Places which includes shorter races, Extreme Running features events that would make even the most seasoned ultra runner shudder.  In this coffee-table sized hardback, multi-sport gurus and adrenaline junkies Kym McMonnell and Dave Horsley describe three or four of the most grueling running events held on each of the seven continents.

There are detailed accounts of some of the renowned classics like Death Valley’s Badwater 135, the Sahara’s Marathon des Sables, South Africa’s Comrades Marathon, the Inca Trail Marathon in Peru, and Le tour du Mont-Blanc in the French, Swiss and Italian Alps.  But what left me stunned and fascinated were the more obscure and frankly somewhat insane events.

For instance, I had previously heard of the Yukon Arctic Ultra in Whitehorse.  I was aware of the marathon and even the 100-mile events, but I was awe-struck when I read that the race also has options for 300 and 460-miles single stage runs.  Our mild winters have me complaining and I could not imagine running for nearly six days, unaided, in the harshest winter conditions imaginable.

Another single stage marvel is the Trans 333.  Held in different countries every year, this is the “World’s longest single stage desert race”.  Checkpoints are at every twenty-two kilometers, runners must carry a mandatory survival kit along with three liters of water and they have a maximum of 108 hours to complete the distance.  The authors cite:  “The endless fatigue, the monotonous isolation of a small field in a vast desert and a course of 333 km, make this event one of greatest individual challenges left to the modern-day adventurer”.

Although you may not be interested in ever attempting these mind-boggling adventures, the next time you are dreading your Sunday morning long run, a quick scan through these pages will remind you how resilient the human body and spirit can be.  How these athletes conquer such daunting courses under the most demanding conditions will make your twenty-five kilometer long run seem insignificant and almost laughable.  If you do have the gumption to attempt some of these astonishing challenges, please make sure your life insurance policies are up to date.