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Ladakh Frozen Lake Half Marathon

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The Mature Runner

By David Summerfield

Looks like I can’t help myself (again) – here’s yet another world record that just happened Feb. 20, 2023. This one shows to what extent others will go to make it into the ‘ole Guinness Book of World Records. Get this: this Feb. 20, 75 people showed up to run the inaugural “highest elevation half marathon on a frozen lake,” full well knowing they were assured by the Guinness people they’d make it into their record books. And they did take all the necessary steps to assure they’d make it. Evidently, the Everest Marathon is the “highest” marathon on the planet (starting out at 17,572’ and going down to 11,647’ at the Namche Bazaar). And their Everest Half Marathon starts at 14,419’ (at Dingboche) and also ends at the Namche Bazaar – 11,647’. So the Ladakh Frozen Lake Half had to figure something else out. To make sure their category would stand the test of time, this 1⁄2 marathon was completely run on a frozen lake at 13,862’, so, there’s the challenge. Yes, the Everest Half started out higher, but went down over 2,000’ lower than in Ladakh. You have to go find another frozen lake higher than 13,862’ if you want to get a record in the Guinness Book. But, I’m not really trying to tear down the accomplishment of a noble event. It does sound amazing, and sure, I’d like to do it someday … maybe. The “package” is similar to the Antarctic Marathon ($21,000 fee for a week-long expedition) and this one includes a mandatory 6-day stay at altitude to prevent elevation sickness. And the total package is 8-nights, 9 days at an advertised cost of Rs46,500, or $563.00. Everyone is required to wear “safety gear” (grippers for the ice). They say the average winter temperature is -22 Fahrenheit. Seems doable!

Frozen Pangong Tso Lake – bangla.latestly.com.

This event is held in the Union Territory of Ladakh, an area at the border of China and India. The lake (Pangong Tso) is salt water, and does freeze over in the winter. This event was started this year to help raise awareness about the area, to bring in much needed tourist dollars, and to help the local inhabitants have something fun and interesting to do in the middle of winter, which is obviously pretty harsh. The half-marathon started in Lukung and ended at Maan village. The organizers dubbed the race “The Last Run,” hoping to remind people that climate change is happening, and they are wanting to save the Himalayas.

So, can we do something of this sort for raising awareness in Montana about climate change? For this wintertime, it does seem like a stretch to discuss climate change (meaning the warming of the climate, the melting of the glaciers, rising sea levels). As I write, I’m overlooking the Beartooth Mountains above Nye, with a low of -27 last night as snow fell and flew around for a typical February 3-day storm. Most of us have already forgotten about last month’s record high temperatures, no precipitation, etc. So, all that’s happening is watching Mother Nature’s way of making up for lost time. But the scientist’s predictions keep getting proven every year – the glaciers are disappearing, the Antarctic ice is splitting up, and it does appear that the climate is changing. Hosting this far-flung frozen lake 1⁄2 marathon I’m sure was mainly spurred on by the tourist dollars will improve the financial condition of the area. They say it is also for promoting sustainable winter tourism. It did help to have the presence of the world press taking pictures, spreading the word about something unique to do – it’s exotic and something new for those with ready cash. Sigh. I know the Ridge Run in Bozeman helps the local economy, and it gives us all something quasi-exotic to do each summer. In Ladakh, climate change would ultimately keep the lake from freezing, so they might be right, it could become the “Last Run.” I can’t foresee the “Last Bridger Ridge Run”coming any time soon. I guess the way that could happen would be to have such devastating forest fires, that the event would be postponed indefinitely until Montana would stop having forest fires. That’s just something to think about 🙂

Stuti Bakshi wins and gets a world record timesofindia.com.

While writing this, the results just came in from the Ladakh 1⁄2 marathon held yesterday. It was won by a 30 year-old woman, Stuti Bakshi. She was the only woman from Gujarat in the event, which had 100 participants. And, being the 1st woman to cross the finish line, obviously she has a world record1 Out of the 100 participants, nine were women; four were from Ladakh, and the rest were from other parts of India. It was reported that she finished in 4 hours (sounds a little suspicious – maybe all finishers ended up with a “4 hour” finish time). Stuti reported strong headwinds, and then equally strong tailwinds. Pictures show a rather glare, smooth, shiny ice surface, but she said it was very uneven, never flat, and very hard to run on. Also, all the entrants did a “training run on Sunday, just to test out their equipment so they could make adjustments. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a ‘trial” Ridge Run the day before, just to make sure all your equipment (food, water, clothing, shoes) were ready to go, so you wouldn’t have to get up so early on race day?

And while we’re talking about “frozen lake” Marathons, googling it revealed there are such events all over the world. They don’t get any Guinness recognition, since they aren’t that high in elevation, but look into the Balkai Ice Marathon, in Eastern Siberia. They claim it is on the largest and deepest lake on the planet (larger than all the Great Lakes put together). This is a full marathon, and would be a good reason to enter Russia, right? The cost is only $875.00, with an elevation of 1440’. I guess the cold is the only challenge at this one. And you better enter right away, the race date is February 27th … oh, this newsletter doesn’t come out until March 1. Well, keep it in mind for next year 🙂 I’m not sure of the allure of running on a frozen lake, unless it’s just the novelty of it all, which means you’ve run out of interesting things to do (pun intended). With that, I hope you all can find fun adventures for March right here in Montana!

Lake Baikol Ice Marathon on a clear day! dailymail.co.uk.

Lake Baikol Ice Marathon, close-up of runners. rbth.com.

Mature Runner: Some Inspiration From Julia Hawkins

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By David Summerfield

This article might just reveal too much about my overly strong desire to “stay in shape,” or at least be able to run a decent 100-meter dash! (my goodness, that’s a long way from doing marathons … sheeesh). This never-ending search for inspiration from World Record holders led me to Julia Hawkins. Now if you’re sick and tired of these kinds of articles, please let me know, or tell the editor Mira Brody to not put these articles into the BSWD newsletter any more – please!

What really got me about Julia Hawkins was her response to an interviewer after she had run a World Record 100 meter race in 62 seconds. (I mean, I can do that!) But wait, she’s a fit 105 year-old retired elementary school teacher from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The interviewer asked if she was worried about her competition that day. With delight she said “No, I wasn’t worried because the other runner wasn’t an athlete. And I am!” What bravura 🙂 And she was serious. Her grandkids talked her into entering a Masters Track & Field competition, and she agreed – at that time she was a “fit” 100-year old. She amazed everyone by running a 42 second 100 meter. Her goal was to run 100 meters in 100 seconds, and had no trouble. Then she entered the shot put event, and got back into the record books – by tossing a 2kg (4.5 pound) shot 2.77 meters (over 9 feet). She had so much fun, she was again talked into doing it at age 105. I finally discovered why it took her 62 seconds to run the 100. It was a cold, blustery day, and she went out there anyway, and ran 20 seconds slower, but also got into a new age category (105 and up). I’ve scoured the internet to find out if she has done it again at age 106, but all I can find is that on her 106th birthday (Feb 10, 2022) she wanted to go at it again. And we’re almost to her 107th birthday.

Julia Hawkins at 103 years at the National Senior Games from doyouremember.com.

This whole story has got me eyeing the nearest track to where I live, and it’s a cinder track in Absarokee (27 miles away), and the snow has melted off….so what am I waiting for? Living far from an urban community and their modern tracks, I have fun driving by the Absarokee Husky’s high school track. Of course it isn’t marked in any way – just a nice smoothish red cinder surface – I imagine it’s most likely a 440 yard track, so no world records could be made here too easily. Oh, that’s right, silly me, I’m not 105 yet – though somedays it feels as if I am.

Here’s the cinder track picture, taken Jan 22nd, looking totally unused since last spring’s track meets.

Of course I have to mention Julia’s diet – she eats a “balanced” diet of yogurt, soups and salads. And being from Louisiana, her most favorite food items are fried crabs and oysters. (Being from the Northern climes, crabs/oysters are definitely NOT on my list of favorite foods! If I were to be asked by some reporter after having set another world record on this track, I would have to say it’s my own recipe of mac & cheese – or a cheese enchilada from Fiesta Mexicana).

I didn’t mention Julia was very active in the Senior Olympics – bicycling. That kept her active, which she has always done. And she obviously thrives on competition. But as the 100 year bracket gets nearer, the competition does thin out a bit, so the chance of winning gets better and better. Do I really have to wait that long? Sheeesh. Thank goodness I’ve found that Fiesta Mexicana restaurants are all over the country, so I won’t waste away while the years go by 🙂

There’s that Fiesta Mexicana cheese enchilada and Corona, yum 🙂

Back to the Senior Olympics, I couldn’t stay away from their Montana nordic races until I moved away from Bozeman. And I can’t justify driving that far just to ski a 5km/10km x-country race. Hmmm, that does bring my genuine dedication to maintaining my fitness level into question (so I can excel in the 100m dash in 30 years!) Julia Hawkins’ point is that she is an athlete, and that means she works a lot, and thus is ready for world records any time. Well, I do “go out” on rigorous daily walks. I constantly push myself, to pound every ounce of fitness into this ‘old bod. So, I’ll be ready. Here’s a quote from Julia in Runner’s World: “I do a little running around each day—not a certain amount or time—but just to keep everything going….I don’t want to waste too many 100-yard dashes, because I only have so many left.” Oh, the joy of being a 105 year old. And here’s a great picture of the women’s 100 meter official start at the Louisiana Senior Games. I just love the image of these three 100+ women wanting to make history.

Start of 100m world record run pinterest.com Julia is on the right, looking oh so confident!

Thank you to our Resolution Run (A Fat Ass 50K) volunteers & participants

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Big Sky Wind Drinkers ran in the New Year on January 7 at the Headwaters State Park with our annual FatAss 50k (resolution run). The weather was chilly until the sun came up over the frosty ridge of the river, and the footing was a challenge but we were ready with a fire, snacks and hot soup. In the end, three runners were able to run the entire 50k!
We were pleased that we had 25 runners taking part, including a runner who interrupted his road trip from Pennsylvania to Missoula to join us; a runner from California;  and new runners from Montana towns like Toston and Townsend.
Three runners completed the entire 50k run: Ryan Ojeda from Auburn, CA; Randy Oostema from Manhattan, MT;and Grant Marcuccio from MT.
Thank you everyone for making this year’s FatAss 50k a big success!

Ryan Ojeda from Auburn CA runs the Fat Ass 50k.

Runner Grant Marcuccio at the Fat Ass 50k.

How to “Run” a Running Club

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Q:  What does a running club run on?
A literal answer, of course, might be, “Our FEET (or legs) … DUH!!”.  But, in a figurative sense, it’s really our volunteers that ‘make the club go’!  From our races, to our Fun Runs, to our social activities, all our events require volunteer efforts to plan and execute. Without volunteers, there are no events!
The bulk of our volunteer efforts are performed by your Wind Drinkers officers, race directors, and committee members.  This involves scheduling events, coordinating with land and venue managers, plotting out race courses, meeting with vendors who support our events with timing services, porta-potties, refreshments, etc.  It also covers related administrative functions like managing memberships and running the business side of the club – functions like registering with the state and filing tax returns.  Unlike some large running clubs, which can afford to pay CEO’s to manage club activities, these functions are all performed by volunteers, in the Big Sky Wind Drinkers (with the exception that we DO pay some of the race directors of our largest race events).  In addition to these “standing” volunteer roles, we also solicit volunteers from our membership to support additional needs for specific events – these might include helping with Sweet Pea registration, or flagging along a race course, or, for some of our smaller runs, help with handing out race bibs, or performing hand timing functions.  This support is critical to our being able to hold our events, which is one reason we require people to volunteer in order to earn participation awards during our Fun Run seasons.
Over the past several years (seemingly, since COVID first started impacting our events), we have struggled to get the volunteers we need to conduct our events.  For many of our Fun Runs, volunteer timer and run support positions go unfilled, and this impacts the conduct of the events – from delays in posting results, to errors in capturing race times, or not having refreshments available for all the runners at the end of a run.  This past summer, we went almost a whole month (4 Fun Runs) when we had no one who volunteered for any of our Fun Run volunteer positions.  So far this Winter season, we are seeing a similar trend – of the 10 volunteer positions we have posted for our upcoming Winter Fun Run events, only 1 has been filled.
Our Board of Directors is trying to address this issue.  The first step is making sure our members are aware of the need (hence, this article!).  We discuss making sure the Vice-Presidents mention the need for volunteers in their pre-run announcements at Fun Runs, but sometimes, in the excitement of listing upcoming races and explaining the race course, this call for volunteers gets overlooked.  Aside from knowing of the need, though, what might motivate our members to increasingly volunteer?  We would love to come up with some creative incentives to bolster our volunteer numbers – if you have an idea you’d like to suggest, please let us know your ideas, using one of our Contact forms (on the right side of our Officers and Contacts page, at https://winddrinkers.org/trailhead/club/officers/)!
Volunteering can really be fun – it’s a great way to participate in running events when you can’t, or don’t want to, run (e.g., due to injury, or tapering for a major race), and is a way for non-running friends and family to be involved!  Right now, our biggest needs are for race-day support of upcoming Winter Fun Runs.  Our website’s Volunteers page (https://winddrinkers.org/trailhead/fun_runs/volunteers/) has a listing of available volunteer positions, and signing up for one of them only requires a click and entering your name and email address!  We are particularly in need of help for our first event of the new year, the Resolution Run (also known as the Fat Ass 50K) on January 7th – and, unlike last year, I can promise you it won’t be 26 Below for the 2023 edition!
Whether volunteering, or simply coming out to run, we look forward to seeing you at BSWD runs in the New Year – the Wind Drinkers’ 50th Anniversary Year!

Welcome to a New Year of World Records Being Broken

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The Mature Runner

By David Summerfield

Perhaps you’ve noticed I’m totally obsessed with all the various world records I’ve covered this past year. I don’t doubt it has something to do with my firmly held notion that I won’t be getting my name on any of the lists. And the lists grow every month. Just to make sure I’m not missing out on any “easy” world records out there, I went onto The Guiness World Record website, and quickly decided that it would be embarrassing to actually get my name published there. Besides all the “noble” records (like the Kipchoge or Koskei type), the rest were just publicity stunts. Yes, specific skills were required, which of course took lots of patience to develop. But the end result could hardly elicit admiration or serious consideration. Before getting to the more serious record-setters, here’s a quick look at the ludicrous records! Consider Ashrita Furman, a health food store manager in Queens. He has held (simultaneously) 120 Guinness World Records, and set over 300 records (which really means there are that many people out to break records, no matter what they be!). Examples: under very strict guidelines on April 3, 2005, he walked 11.3 kilometers balancing a cue stick on the tip of his finger.

The “balancing a cue stick” world record under the shadow of the Egyptian Pyramids “ashrita.com/about”, Photograph: Aladin Abdel Naby/Reuters.

Who possibly could have made that one up?? He says he’s not a natural athlete, but meditates, and wants to show others the benefits of the practice. His name “Ashrita” means “protected by God” in Sanskrit. It looks like he’s also doing the setting records on every continent thing: he “hula-hooped” the fastest mile at Ayers Rock (Uluru) in Australia, and then went the fastest mile on a pogo stick in Antarctica. I can’t stop there – he’s also standing on a Swiss Ball for the longest time at Stonehenge (England), skipping rope the most times in a minute while jumping on a pogo stick (he must love pogo sticks) at Angkor Wat (Cambodia), and bouncing the fastest mile on a “kangaroo ball” along the Great Wall of China. Seriously, the list includes over 100 more world records he’s achieved. Ashrita credits his meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy for his remarkable endurance and strength. “I am not a natural athlete, but my teacher has shown me that if one can be in touch with one’s inner spirit, anything is possible.” Whew.

With that said, here are some admirable, more traditional records broken. Christine Hobson, a 69 year-old “grandmother” from England completed the Antarctic Ice Marathon last month (Dec 12-14th) and is officially the oldest woman to complete the marathon. Her time of 8:11:33 is within my range, but…oh, yes, I’m not a woman. The oldest men’s record goes to 84 year-old Roy Svenningsen from Canada – I wonder if I could do that in 9 years? He “ran” it in 11:41:58. Heck, I can do that…but then I found out the course, which is groomed with snowmobiles (like getting it ready for a good skate ski outing), and was like running on sand, the whole way. Ouch. That’s not for me!

I really enjoy the ingenuity of the human – there’s a growing demand to run marathons on every continent – hence now there are 2 different Antarctic marathons. This one requires a 3 day commitment, going to Punta Arenas in Chile to board a private jet, landing on the Union Glacier in the interior of Antarctica. In case you’re wanting to do something like that, you could also do the North Pole Marathon, organized by the same organization…but then the North Pole isn’t on a separate continent, so why do it?? Anyway, the Antarctic Ice Marathon is different from the original one, the Antarctica Marathon, held on King George Island. A few more facts to whet your appetite…the cost is a mere $21,500, which if paid in full when you register, you get a $1000 discount. Sweet. And this marathon is officially the most southerly marathon on the planet. And last month it garnered 57 contestants from 20 countries, so it’s not too crowded. Snowmobiles comprise the support vehicles, sorta like running around West Yellowstone in the winter. I guess you really have to want to do this! And it’s a circular course, 4 laps of about 10k each….just so you can say you’ve “run” on a snowmobile-groomed snowy path. The more I read Christine Hobson’s account, the more I realized she’s doing something pretty darn special. Here she is on the course:

This is courtesy of the YorkshireLive reporting by Jasmine Norden, reporter, picture by the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

So, get this – she retired and started a “fitness transformation”. Sound familiar, oh you retirees out there? Work is done, so you can spend time doing what you’ve been waiting for!! I like that. I’m planning on “retiring” starting this January 1st…. She actually has become an inspiration for me! Her record? She’s the oldest woman to run a marathon on the Antarctic Continent. There. Then I found out she’s run 117 marathons in her “retirement”. OK…. And she wants older women to dream big and achieve things they don’t think are possible. Richard, her husband, said the cold wasn’t the biggest challenge, it was the blowing snow – trying to run in a whiteout, while negotiating the snow and ice underfoot – sliding with every footstep. Then I found out this is her 7th Continent marathon. And her lips were so cracked from the wind, she had trouble eating breakfast the next morning. OK. Christine, you do become our hero, even though I can’t imagine doing what you’ve done. So, I can’t poke fun at what you’ve accomplished.

Christine Hobson at the finish line, photo credit by the Antarctic Ice Marathon.

It does look like a pretty nice day, and evidently, that is very misleading!! At every Aid Station, all noses were checked for frostbite – oh, it was -50C…there’s a clue! Retiring at 60, her continental marathons have been London, Marrakech, Buenos Aires, Niagara Falls, Tel Aviv and Singapore. Getting inspired yet? The more I read, yes I am!!

Runners participate in the Antarctic Ice Marathon, in Union Glacier, Antarctica, December 14, 2022. (Mark Conlon/Antarctic Ice Marathon/Handout via REUTERS)

But then, there are pictures like this one, showing what the whiteout conditions are like, and evidently, this is what happened those 8 hours Ms Hobson was on the course. Imagine those little blue flags every 4’ so you can see where to go…hmmm, on 2nd thought, maybe the $21,500 entry fee should just stay in my bank account for now! Happy dreaming about the “ultimate” running event for your 2023 calendar, and maybe leave Punta Arenas alone 🙂

Mature Runner: Okay, Here Comes The Next World Record….(again)

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By David Summerfield

I keep wondering if the next time I google “New World Records Set” – nothing will come up. Today of course, it happened again. Many new running World Records have been set this year, and here’s the big one.

I have to bow down to Eliud Kipchoge. Let’s get it over with: he’s 37 years old, he’s 5’6”, and weighs 115 lbs. (He’s already in that class of athletes who are diminutive – in comparison to the rest of humanity). His discipline and strength of mind are over the top. He trains like it’s a business, and admits freely he works so hard to inspire people to go do the same. I think it’s sorta rubbing off on me (okay, in a rather teeny way). It can’t help but inspire anyone who has an ounce of drive to achieve anything. At this year’s Berlin Marathon (Sept 25), he went into it knowing “it would be a good day”. And having won his last 12 marathons with several world records, including 2 Olympic golds, he knows a good day from a bad day. From his interviews, it’s very clear he was totally convinced he would not only win, but lower his World Record….which he did by another 30 seconds. He also told the press he knew he wouldn’t go under 2 hours, which was only 69 seconds shy – but the fact that he knew that going into the race? This guy is totally in control of his running environment. So, he ran a 2:01:09, and looking at the videos, he ran the pace he practiced for many months at his high altitude training camp in Kenya, called the “Global Sports Communications Training Camp in Kaptagat.

Eliud Kipchoge’s WR – outsideonline.com

OK, the amazing stats in Berlin: His 1st 5k was run in 14:14 (yikes). At the 10k mark he did a 28:23….(only 30.2 kms left to go:-) The 1⁄2 marathon was done in 59:51. He was on pace to go under 2 hours again, in a real road race. He admitted to running a minute faster in the 1st half, but as he put it, “my feet were fast”, so he went for it. He had 2 of his favorite “rabbits” who he ran with for the 1st 25k, then it was running with his real competitors (the Ethiopian pair of Guye Adola and Andamlak Belihu) who dropped back (I mean….they couldn’t keep up) and the last 15k he was all alone, finishing almost 5 minutes in front of Kenyan Mark Korir (2:05:58) and Tadu Abate (2:06:28).

I have to also mention the woman’s winner – Ethiopia’s Tigist Assefa, who set a course record and ran a 2:15:37, the fourth fastest time in history (which was 18 minutes faster than her previous personal best and 1st marathon, earlier this year)…and she was only 12 seconds behind Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 (London, 2003).

Tigist Assefa winning Berlin – Fana Broadcasting Corporate S.C.

Since she was an “unknown” – there is currently no info about her life, training, anything. That’s a shame. Perhaps now that she has run the 4th fastest marathon ever, she’ll be followed more closely by the Wikipedia people
🙂

And now onto my gleanings from Kipchoge’s many interviews, especially from “Olympics.com” – which revealed so much about the man, how he trains, and what he thinks about this whole running stuff. Interviewed the week before Berlin, he said “I am the best one…I am going to Berlin to run a very good race that will make everybody get inspired and love marathons.” And right after setting the WR, “There is still more in my legs and I hope the future is great. The mind is thinking wise, the body is still absorbing the trainings and racings.” He described how he had 4 hard months of intense long runs with fartleks…I also read he got up to 200k running per week (120 miles) with fartleks. OK, that’s what it takes I guess. (I skate-skied that much one week…) I realized Eliud focuses his whole being on his training, as you’ll understand with these quotes: “Marathon training is tiresome, cumbersome, and very long.” The four long months of training in his mind is just the physical part, and the week before the “Big Run” is when the mental game begins: “A human being is his mind. When your mind is okay, then your muscles are good. Now I’m trying my best to convince my mind that I’ve done a thorough training.

I have done enough. My legs and muscles are ready. And on the big day, it will be to implement all these things.” It seems so easy to visualize Kipchoge getting ready to race, knowing his physical training has gone well and is finished; and all that’s left is to set the mind on the goal. He practiced running at race pace (over 13.15 mph, or around a 4:36 mile) and found that if he only did 80% effort, with those spurts (fartleks) thrown in here and there, his body would be ready. His key was a long build-up over months, so the intensity would not cause injury. And these long weeks of running ended with only 1 week of tapering.

Speaking to the “Olympic.com” people, he thought about his future: “In front of my mind, I know one day I will call time on the sport…It’s good to see those that have been high with a huge following, retiring and venturing on other things. And that’s a big inspiration for me, that if you start something then it must have an end. But it needs to end when you have had a huge impact.” As he put it in another interview (I can’t find it again, sorry) – he said after his WR that his feat will reach 3 billion people, and that’s wonderful, just think of all the people being inspired to go do the same thing!

At Eliud’s high altitude training camp runblogrun.com

I know some of you might be interested to know every detail of his training program, so you too can run a sub 2 hour marathon…..ahem….but it is interesting to the rest of us too: go to “https://sportcoaching.co.nz/kipchoge-training-program-guide/” and get your Ugali and Managu ready to give your body what it needs 🙂 (Oh, those are staple foods in Kenya, a type of cornmeal mush and a leafy-green) Happy getting ready for YOUR next marathon!

Winter Fun Run Schedule

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The Winter Fun Run schedule is out! Stay motivated and warm through Montana’s chilly winters by joining a FREE monthly Fun Run. And yes, that is a New Year’s weekend 50k on the schedule. A few insider tips:

-The Jingle Bell Jog usually involves cookies.

-The Resolution Run is a “Fat Ass 50K” meaning it is a grassroots, minimal support, backyard ultra (look up the history of the term on our website – it’s fascinating!). It’s always a bit Western, and ALWAYS a fun time.

-Froze Nose and Handicap are comparative races; run the same route and try and beat your previous time.

-Back from the M is a LONG time BSWD tradition and a great way to “spring” back into warmer weather.

Hope to see you there!

12/17 — Jingle Bell Jog

GVLT courtyard

1/7 — Resolution Run; a Fat Ass 50K

Headwaters State Park

2/4 — Froze Nose

Town & Country lobby (S 11th location)

3/4 — Handicap Run

Town & Country lobby (S 11th location)

4/16 — Back from the M

M trailhead and Story Mill Park

BSWD Annual Meeting

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Thanks all who came out for the annual meeting last month at the Story Mansion! In addition to having a lovely potluck, we celebrated some wins this year, including:

-Giving out $4,000 in scholarships

-Donating $13,000 to nonprofit partners including Sweet Pea, Bozeman Track Club, GVLT, Reach, Thrive and MOSS.

-Producing 8 major races

-Hosting 128 participants in this summer’s fun runs

-And giving out 13 participation awards

Cheers to all who made it happen!

My New Marathon Hero, Ed Whitlock

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The Mature Runner

By David Summerfield

Due to Stacy and my trip to Canada this October, I had to find out about Canadian runners. We were mostly in Nova Scotia, which has its share of great runners, but I then realized Ed Whitlock (born in London) had emigrated to Quebec and then Milton, Ontario, and further research revealed what a wonderful person he was. He died in 2017, but reading some interviews with him, he instantly became my overall hero. He was known for his gentlemanly demeanor, gracious smile, and flowing white hair. But what got me hooked was his total lack of ego in the face of recording world records over the course of several decades.

(20 year old shoes work perfectly well! “perfectbodybywil.blogspot.com”)

In his youth he did compete a lot (shorter distances) and I couldn’t help but notice his height/weight (something I’ve become a little bit too obsessed with lately). He only weighed 112 pounds at 5’7”. Those statistics seem to be the preferred ones for fast times (see previous articles concerning record-breaking Kenyan and Ethiopian runners). As is the case with the normal lot, he put aside “serious” running for his professional career as an engineer, graduating from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College. He landed in Ontario when he was 41, and only started marathon running when his youngest son had been training to run a marathon himself (his son had run everyday for over a year as his training). He talked his dad into running with him – Ed had tried to dissuade him – but surprised everyone by running a 2:31:23 marathon as a 48 year-old. Yikes. Yes, he enjoyed running fast times on the track throughout his life, but he got really serious about running when he retired. His stated goal was to be the 1st person over 70 to run a marathon under 3 hours. Ed made sure he could do that by running the Columbus (Ohio) Marathon way under 3 hours for the 1996-2000 years. He got his goal when he was 73 at the Scotiabank Toronto Riverbank Marathon by running a 2:54:48. And in Rotterdam the next year “…some of the world’s best marathon runners, Kenyans in their 20s and 30s, could not fathom why a person my age would be running a marathon and certainly not in that time. I did 2:58:40 that day and it blew their minds,” Whitlock wrote in a story for iRun magazine. “This needs to change,” he said. “Because if they can’t imagine themselves doing the same thing, it will never happen. Why don’t they think they can do the same thing?” I like this guy more and more!

(Ed Whitlock’s record “canadarunningseries.com” at age 85).

Here are some of my favorite quips from the National Post interview (Mar 13th, 2017):

“What do you think about when you’re running?” he was once asked. “When will this be over?” he replied. Another one: What makes a good marathon runner? Whitlock’s response: “Shine a light through their ear. If light comes out on the other side, odds are they’re up to the task.” Ed doesn’t use a GPS watch, and his training regimen was doing laps in the local Milton Evergreen Cemetery. He would just do laps until 3 hours were up, and that’s all he needed to do. Alan Brookes (Toronto Marathon race director) said most world record holders would be wearing free shoes from their sponsors. Not so for Ed. Alan noticed Ed’s shoes, and swore they must be 20 year-old shoes. He obviously was running for the pure joy of running, though he did admit to enjoying all the attention he got – but it stopped there. As he “slowed” down (sub 4 hour marathons in his mid-80’s), he adjusted his cemetery loops to just loops around a gravestone. “I like running in the cemetery,” Whitlock reasoned. “Compared to everyone else there, no matter how you look when you’re running, you look pretty good.”

(I’m looking pretty good…in comparison! (The Age of Simplicity “www.runnersworld.com”)

How to describe my new hero? Just don’t make a big fuss about what you do. Just do it, and be consistent about it all. When asked about what he eats, he just shrugged it off as not important. This implies there are no “Whitlock secrets” to running amazingly fast times for an octogenarian. From what I learned, he was obviously born with a good, sound body (I do believe we all are, to some extent). He trained in the rather “normal” way – doing faster-than-normal repeats in his 40’s (this was before he retreated to safe gravestones), some hill work (though all the pictures of him running in the cemetery show nothing but flat, grassy plots), and honing his pace (his engineering background came in handy – floating endless numbers in his head to keep that pace steady). He also chose marathons with very little to no elevation gain (hence Cleveland, Ohio, Rotterdam, and Toronto). But “google” him and see his age-group world records in all distances, from 800 meters and up.

Then I found an article (Ed Whitlock and the Age of Simplicity) written by Scott Douglas forRunners World (Feb 15, 2010). It’s a wonderfully revealing article about the real Ed Whitlock! Here are my favorite parts:

“Whitlock lives two and a half blocks from the cemetery, and does all of his training there. Speed work, daily maintenance runs, long runs of up to 3 hours, everything, meted out in loops that take no more than 5 minutes. He leaves his house with his day’s assignment decided and runs loops until his time is up. He doesn’t count loops or time them. He does look at his watch frequently and think, ‘What is taking so damn long?’ The day’s loop varies occasionally, sometimes dictated by the presence of grounds crew or gravediggers. He never runs the full perimeter loop. The last little section on the southwestern side of the cemetery would add another minute or so, but it includes a rise, perhaps 50 yards long, with the steepness of a handicap-accessibility ramp. ‘I choose not to tackle this hill,’ Whitlock explains. ‘I don’t like hills.’”

“When at the height of marathon training, Whitlock does cemetery loops for 3 hours a day, every day. He doesn’t do pick-ups or progression runs or marathon-pace work. He doesn’t even stop for water. Just 3 hours a day of what he calls ‘plodding’ or ‘jogging.’ ‘I run to race,’ he says. ‘I don’t do it primarily for my health or anything else.’”

“Living in Quebec in the ‘70’s, Brenda was at a school sports day when a teenager told her the running club was looking for a coach. ‘My wife said, “My husband used to run. He knows all about running,” Whitlock says with a laugh. ‘A, I don’t know anything about running. B, I have no ambition to be a coach. I’m too selfish. But I had been committed. When I went to practice, nobody showed any interest in me. I would just lean against the fence. I thought I might as well do some jogging around the track. This was quite a sight, because old men of 40 didn’t run in those days. I kept showing up and jogging around and ended up racing again because of that. It just kind of happened.’”

“Less than six months shy of his 70th birthday, Whitlock ran 2:54 at the 2000 Columbus Marathon. ‘I thought, “We’re okay now,” he says. “Maybe foolishly, I decided to try for sub-3 once I was 70 in London, Ontario. There were only about 300 people in the race, and I got hung out to run by myself the last half of the race.” Whitlock missed the mark with an agonizingly close 3:00:23. The 2- and 3-hour runs built on each other, and at the 2003 Toronto Marathon, at age 72, Whitlock met his goal with a 2:59:09. The following year, with several months of plodding buoying him, he returned to Toronto and ran 2:54:48. About that race, Whitlock, who is not given to rhapsody about life‘s endeavors, says, ‘That was a good day. It was never a struggle.’”

“Whitlock, who says, ‘I stay away from doctors, they’re bad people,’ last had a physical exam when he was 40. His uncle Arthur was Britain’s oldest man when he died in 2000 at age 108. Whitlock last took an aspirin during World War II.”

“‘Running should be a pastime,’ he says. ‘All sports should be a pastime. There shouldn’t be all this professional stuff. I believe that Paula Radcliffe is drug-free, but I do think she pushes the envelope of being a professional runner to the extreme. I don’t mean to single her out, but she’s living an artificial existence. She’s always away from home or sleeping in an altitude chamber. She has this entourage of people constantly around her poking and prodding. That’s so far away from what I do and how I would want to live. Monomania leads to terrible things.’”

(Famous World Record old shoes “timenote.info”)

All I can say at this point is….are there realistically any world records left to be achieved? It’s hard to come up with any for me. Darn. Maybe if I just keep on “doing my thing”, one will present itself, and I’ll get back to hone my body to do the impossible. And I hope I can find a handy cemetery nearby. I like the idea of just getting out there, no counting of miles, loops, or hours. Just jogging along. And I’ve accumulated enough “not worn-out enough Hokas” to last me several more decades. I’m all set. Don’t count me out, okay?

You’re Invited to Our Annual Meeting!

/in , , , /by
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article listed the meeting time at 5 p.m., and has since been corrected to 6 p.m.
The Big Sky Wind Drinkers will be holding our Annual Meeting and Officers election on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. at the Story Mansion. We won’t be hosting a run like in year’s past, but you are welcome to run there for bonus points. Meet club members, fellow running enthusiasts and enjoy food and drink as well as a recap of the year’s events. We also have some fun participation prizes this year to hand out.
BRING: Yourselves, a friend or family member, a dish to share and drinks (BYOB). Hope to see you there!