I Can Do All Things through Christ Who Strengthens Me. Philippians 4:13Saturday evening, September 2, 2006 the most improbable thing occurred during the Badgerland F/X 12 and 24 Hour Runs (www.badgerlandstriders.org/1224hour), a new course record was set for the 12 hour run breaking Roy Pirrung’s 1997 total of 77.81 miles. It was amazing to just be a part of the atmosphere and is something I will never forget.
I thought maybe a track run would be a good way to get some miles in for the month of September. Although I prefer trail running, I do most of my running commuting back and forth to work on the streets of Madison. Last month, I logged about 245 miles but never more than 10 or so at one time. Besides a few speed workouts last year training for a marathon, I have spent no time on a track.
Who am I? At best, I am an average ultrarunner. My Marathon PR is only 3:34:06. 50-mile is 9:18:27 and 100-mile is 21:51:00. I run races to finish...never to win. Sometimes life has plans other than what we expect- even in our wildest dreams.
There are 3 different 12 hour runs at the F/X Races: the first runs from 9 AM – 9 PM, the second from noon – midnight, and the third from 8 PM – 8 AM. I chose the evening version because it would mean less time away from home. I felt like a complete imposture toeing the line Saturday night at 8 PM to run laps on the 400 meter track. I had a plan to run 7 laps and then walk one. It was a plan, but I had not practiced it. My goal was to cover about 60 miles. I thought the most mileage I would ever be able to do in 12 hours would be about 70.
Every 3 hours runners change direction on the track to help the muscles. This also breaks a 12 hour race up into 4 equal parts. After the first turn around, I covered a little under 20 miles (80 laps = 19.88 miles)- a little better than 6.6 miles/hour. I thought to myself, WOW – multiply that by 4 and that is roughly 80 miles!
I have often forgotten about the law of diminishing returns. In my first 100 mile attempt in 2004 at Western States I thought a 9:18:27 50-miler should most certainly correlate to a sub 24 hour. I crawled across that finish line with about 15 minutes under the 30 hour cut-off.
The next 3 hours proved to be very similar and at the half way point, I had covered about 40 miles (161 laps = 40.02 miles). I thought, WOW – I am not slowing down. How is that possible? In my mind, I began to jokingly think that maybe 80 miles was obtainable. That is usually a mistake of mine. I start running the numbers in my head before a race is over instead of just enjoying the race itself.
9 hours into the race found me a little slower having covered about 59 miles (239 laps = 59.40 miles)- but still extremely consistent. To put this evening into perspective, I covered 50 miles in roughly 7h30m – nearly 2 hours better than anything I had done previously. At this point, with three hours left in the race, I actually began to believe the unbelievable. Marty Malin (the Race Director) told me I needed 314 laps to break the record. Who am I to think I can break any records?
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9: 24-25
I began to run for the prize. I became a machine. I had set myself up with 9 hours of steady work to make a run for it...to possibly set a new record. With 2 hours left in the race, I had only 50 laps to go to set a new record. I cut walking breaks out all together. 38 out of the last 50 laps were each competed in 2:10 or less with 11 of those in under 2:00. In the end, I covered a little more than 317 laps and 79.038 miles (6.587 miles/hour).
Sometimes, I have a hard time maintains that pace for a 10 miler much less for nearly 80. Even saying that I ran 79 miles in 12 hours sounds unbelievable. Everything just came together for me physically and mentally Saturday night. I would like to personally thank all the volunteers and fellow runners who were out on the course encouraging me to go for it. Paul Braun was a major help throughout the race- thanks for being there. My wife Christina and sons Chase, Cruz, and Dash must have been sending some major positive thought my way – thanks for your continued loving support.
Many more stories took place in Greendale, Wisconsin over the weekend. Below are the results of those adventures. Congratulations to all and thanks for making this so memorable for me.
Ryan Dexter
Madison, WI
Badgerland F/X 12 & 24 Hour Runs Results
24 HOUR RUN
Name Distance (miles)
Kent Roberts 105.882
Mike Harner 101.408
Gerard Prilutski 100.165
Edwin Cook 89.477
Dan Roberdeau 62.386
Constance Karras 61.640
Doug Wielgat 56.420
Barbara Lips 50.704
Robert Wehner 50.455
Terry Hawkins 49.213
Rick George 47.721
Patrick Gorman 40.016
Shelby Roberdeau 35.045
12 HOUR RUN – DAY
Name Distance (miles)
Jeffrey Kin 61.906
Casey Lopez 59.403
Karen Vanrite 57.166
Audrey Drake 56.918
Lorraine Bunk 54.690
Scott Novak 53.958
Brad Drake 43.496
Elizabeth Gionfriddo 38.028
12 HOUR RUN – NOONER
Name Distance (miles)
Kristine Hinrichs 50.207
Jeff Weiss 37.034
Jeff Schultz 32.063
John Rodee 31.566
12 HOUR RUN – NIGHT
Name Distance (miles)
Ryan Dexter 79.038
Paul Braun 61.391
Kevin Magin 47.224
Keith Dunn 31.814
"What Ryan left out of his excellent race report is the classy way he ran the race. As someone who unfortunately was in his way more often than not Ryan was constantly smiling and giving encouragement to every runner out there. It was a real treat to watch such a graceful runner maintain that pace all night long. Congrats Ryan on breaking the record!" - Kent Roberts, IL (the 24 hour winner)
"Congratulations on a magnificent self-surpassing record! Sometimes things just work right. Obviously it was your day."
- Lynn David Newton, AZ
“Thanks for passing along Ryan-that inspires me greatly! Dude, 79+ miles is HUGE!! Great work out there.”
- Dean Karnazes, San Francisco, CA
"I enjoyed your post...congratulations on an amazing run. That is a great record...Roy Pirrung is one of our sports best! You must be thrilled to have had such an amazing day...enjoy the accomplishment.- Suzie Lister, San Ramon, CA
"Nice story on your accomplishment! I'm sure you will inspire many with it. I know you inspired me during the event."
- Marty Malin (The Race Director)
"Never thought I'd enjoy going in circles around a track all night but, let me tell you, watching this man run so strong all night was nothing short of amazing. I've told a number of people about your experience, of which I'm still in awe. You were great, man, and I was glad I could be there to watch. My first all night run; as I look back on it in future years, one of the outstanding memories will be chatting with you, watching you pass me every lap, and our greetings back and forth .Really enjoyed meeting you. Thanks for being.”
- Keith Dunn, VA (12 hour participant)
"Ryan - what can I say but congratulations! I am in absolute awe of what you accomplished last Saturday. As I was explaining to a couple of local running buddies over the last few days, you did three consecutive sub 4:00 hour marathons and then threw in a couple of extra laps - it is so far beyond what I am capable of that it blows my mind."
- Robb Linnemanstons, Milwaukee, WI
"As I was running the track today, I realized (blown away really) how impressive your numbers are. Basically 3 simultaneous marathons with a sub-4 average. I would guess the number of people who have done this in the history of the world number in either hundreds or low thousands. Truly amazing. You were on my mind in the marathon of the Ironman, used your 12 hour run as a motivator"- Dirk Racine, Madison, WI
"I don't know you but way to go. That is so awesome. Congrats on this great accomplishment. It's so inspirational."
- Deborah
“Just the greatest!”
- George, FL
“All I can say is WOW!!!!! Impressive!!!! Congratulations!!! You are a machine!!”
- Melina, CT
"Congratulations on your good run! Doesn't it feel great to turn in a strong performance like that? It's nice to read a post like this every once in a while from a runner who is actually RACING!! Good job."- Brian
“Congrats buddy. Thanks be to God. All things are through him. You are a good example of his strength. Nice Job!”
- Kevin Keyes, WI
"Thanks for sharing this with me!! It's inspirational, to say the least, and you've got my heartfelt congratulations."- David Horne, NC
"Awesome run...Glad to see you get one of Roy's records.... He has too many...CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!!!!"
- Danny Ripka, MN
“You did something amazing - we are all just floored and impressed!”
- Amy Sanborn, WI
“Congratulations on an unbelievable achievement!”
- Eric Olson, WI
“Ryan that is truly amazing. I had to read over your email a couple of times before it sunk in what you were able to do.”
- Jon Anderson, WI
“You are amazing!!! Congrats.”
- Rich Henderson, WI
“Ryan- Congratulations on your excellent run!!”
- Karl King, CA (S! Caps)
“You Are A Machine!! WOW! I know my body would never be able to come even close to that.”
- Tom Carlson, WI
‘Ryan...good run...great story...†”
- Bruce
“If you had gone into the race thinking I am going to do so and so your result may have been different, but you just got into the flow and flew. Nice going”.
- Jim Skophammer, UT
“Ryan, Congrats on an excellent run at the F/X!!!!”
- Mary Gorski, WI
“Amazing, Ryan! Great run!”
- Mark Swanson, CA
“You've demonstrated the awesome power of mind over body- I'm very proud of you!”
- Rick Cashman, FL
