Madcity 100K Race This Weekend

I don’t want any of you to think I have retired for running after my Barkley experience a few weeks ago.

I will be competing at a 100 kilometer road race (about 62 miles) this weekend in my hometown of Madison, WI. This is a race I have done a few times before and is actually the US National Championships at that distance. A lot of ultrarunners do not prefer running on asphalt, so there are not a lot of runners competing (actually only 15 of us). I’ll be wearing #7.

This is a 10K loop around a nature area (arboretum near the University of Wisconsin campus). www.madcity100k.com 

The race starts at 6:30 AM tomorrow morning and split times for each loop will be listed in real time at: www.runrace.net/findarace.php?id=13110WI1&tab=a5&runumbr=7#sPrt

I am hoping to run a very steady race of 54 min per loop which would give me an overall finish time of around 9 hours. This would be a 20 min PR for me at this race. I usually go out way too fast and peter off in the end. I’m hoping age has made me smarter.

I hope you are all doing well and the recent events in Boston certainly put all this into perspective.

All the best -
Ryan

My Barkley Experience

Barkley is hands down the hardest endurance event I have ever participated in. I did not even make it around 1 loop. My mission was doomed from the start. After I had trouble keeping up on the uphill climbs with you some of the runners (yes – I need to be a better packer - I was carrying 2 packs).  I realized I had the map but did not have the written directions as to the book's locations. I was able to kinda tag with others and find the first 8 books. I was alone on the climb up to Indian Knob. Ended up at the highest knob and thought maybe the 9th book will just be there. Little did I know that the book was inside a “cave”. I may have been on the wrong knob – who knows. I thought I’ll just wait for someone else to come – waited for about 45 min...no one. Thought – I don’t have this book – I won't be allowed to continue. 

In hindsight I should have just followed the route anyways. But I decided to run about 1/10th of a mile to where the “marked” trails get close to where I was and run them back to camp. I ended up getting disoriented and somewhat lost. After about an hour of running around in what seemed to be circles to started to get a little dark. I seriously started freaking out and thought I was lost and had know idea where I was now on the map. I have never experienced anything like that. 

Once I got my wits I made a plan, the highways are around the park and I knew if I just set my compass to SE I would run into them. I crossed some Jeep roads and was very tempted to take them but stayed on task. I just figured I if I can only make it to the Highway at least I would know I can get back. What a feeling when I escaped the woods and found the road. 

I ended up about 1 mile from where the Highways intersect. Ran the final 10 or so miles on the road in the rain back to the park. I thought someplace might be open to call and let the crew/family know I was OK. But everything was closed as it was after 9 PM at this time. I also considered knocking on someone’s door but feared being shot. Nothing could have prepared me for this...I had to see it with my own eyes.

My local paper The Verona Press just ran a story in the April 11, 2013 edition on my attempt at the Barkley Marathons: 

Following the 2013 Barkley Marathons

Friends -

I am leaving shortly for TN to run the Barkley Marathons. The race will begin sometime between midnight and noon on Saturday.

We will try to update as much as possible through Twitter. The loop is about 25 miles long and will take around 10-12 hours to finish. The updates will be few and far between but we will update as much as possible. I know there is one place about 2/3rd of the course that my crew can come meet me.

1. Point your web browser to http://twitter.com/dexterpunisher
- No need to sign up for the service just go to the web page and manually refresh it to check for updates

2. Go to http://dexterthepunisher.blogspot.com/ and watch the twitter badge for updates. The badge will update automatically

3. Not going to be by your computer but still want to follow along?
- Go to Ryan's Twitter page at http://twitter.com/dexterpunisher
- Choose to "Follow" or text “follow dexterpunisher” to 40404

- updates will be delivered to your phone via text message

Demah will be with me and can be reached on his cell at 608-239-3941. He can also get text messages. Just say who you are.

The following note is from the race and is a general way to follow us.

------------------------------

Dear all,

To get race updates during upcoming Barkley Marathons there are many options including:

1. Follow @BarkleyMarathon using your Twitter account;

2. Go to www.barkleymarathons.com and read the twitter feed on the right hand side of the page;

3. Go to Twitter and search for @BarkleyMarathon and see the tweets there.There are several ways to follow the Barkley Marathons while we are competing.

What is the Barkley Marathons?

From Wikipedia: 

The Barkley Marathons is a 100 mile run and a 60 mile 'fun run' held annually in Frozen Head State Park near Wartburg, Tennessee in late March or early April.

The course itself, which has changed distance, route, and elevation many times since its inaugural run in 1986, currently consists of a 20-mile (32 km) loop with no aid stations except water at two points along the route and the runner's parked car at the beginning of the loop. Runners of the 100 Mile version run this loop five times, with loops three and four being run in the opposite direction and loop five being runner's choice. Runners of the 60 mile 'fun run' (considered to be harder than Hardrock) complete three circuits of the loop.

With 54,200 feet (16,500 m) of accumulated vertical climb, the 100 mile run is considered to be one of the more challenging ultramarathonsheld in the United States, if not the world.

In addition to running, competitors must find between nine and 11 books (varies per year) and remove a page from each book as proof of completion.

The cut-off time for the 100 mile race is 12 hours per loop, and the cut-off for the 60 mile version of the race is 40 hours overall, which averages out to approximately 13 hours and 20 minutes per loop. Since the race's inception in 1986, only twelve runners out of about 700 have completed the 100 mile race within the official 60 hour cut-off (Mark Williams 1995, David Horton and Blake Wood 2001, Ted "Cave Dog" Keizer 2003, Jim Nelson and Mike Tilden 2004, Brian Robinson 2008 (55:42:27), Andrew Thompson 2009, Jonathan Basham 2010, Brett Maune 2011, Brett Maune 52:03:08 (new course record), Jared Campbell 56:00:15, John Fegyveresi 59:41:21 for 2012). In 2006 nobody finished even the 60 mile 'fun run' in under 40 hours. The best women's achievement is Sue Johnston's 66 miles (106 km) in 2001. More than 30 competitors failed to reach first book (two miles).

The race is limited to 35 runners and usually fills up quickly the day registration opens. Potential entrants must complete an essay on "Why I Should be Allowed to Run in the Barkley." The race starts at different times each year and is signaled by the lighting of a cigarette.

The course was designed by Gary Cantrell. His idea for the race was inspired upon hearing about Martin Luther King, Jr's assassin James Earl Ray escaping from prison, and making it only 8 miles (13 km) after running 55 hours in the woods. Cantrell said to himself "I could do at least 100 miles." Thus, the Barkley Marathons was born.

The 2013 Barkley Marathons

This Easter weekend I will be joining about 35 other runners at Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee to compete at The Barkley Marathons. The following is from the "unofficial" website for The Barkley Marathons:

The Barkley is considered one of the toughest 100 mile races in the world. It has 59,100 feet of climb (and 59,100 feet of descent), more than any other 100 mile race, more than the 33,000 ft. of climb at Hardrock, and more than the 45,000 ft. at Nolan's 14. Since the race began in 1986, only 13 runners out of about 900 have finished within the 60 hour cutoff. (That's about a 1% finisher rate.)

The following video from Andrew Dunlap provides a great insight into the race: 

Charlie Engle also provided a great article along with videos in an article for Runner's World. 

Barkley is going to provide me an opportunity to live life right at the edge to it's fullest. By God's grace I will be the 14th finisher. 

David Goggins breaks world record for the most pull-ups in 24 hours

As a follow-up to my post a few months ago about my friend and fellow endurance athlete David Goggin's attempt to do 4,000 plus pull-ups in 24 hours. David set a new 24-hr world record this past Saturday with 4,025 pull-ups and did it in 17 hours.

Congratulations my friend!

This was David's third attempt at the record of 4,020 pull-ups. After his first attempt David offered the following advice which provides some awesome encouragement from a wonderful God-fearing man: "You can fail, as long as you get back up again. I've failed plenty of times, but I just keep going. I’m just an ordinary man. I’m David Goggins, a guy who never gives up, who believes that any man or woman can push beyond their own limits with the right combination of will, focus, determination and discipline.” 

Brooks

I am super excited to once again be part of the Brooks Inspire Daily (I.D.) Program for the 2013 season! Although I have exclusively worn Brooks Shoes for the last seven years of running, this is my fourth year of officially being a part of the awesome Brooks Team!

My go to shoe of last year was hands down the Brooks Racer ST 5:

It weighs practically nothing but still gives me enough support so my feet don't hurt. If you are looking for a good shoe that you can wear in training and in races, check it out. I currently have over 600 miles on the pair I am still wearing.