When American sporting events feature “legends” it is
usually to undertake some ceremonial gesture –like throwing out the first pitch
of a baseball game or flipping the coin at a football game.
But at A Race For The Ages the participation
of legends is far from ceremonial. It is central to the event.
A Race for the Ages is a different race than I usually run.
Held in Manchester, Tennessee, it is open to runners aged 10-110. Runners ages
41 and older are permitted a number of hours equal to their age to accumulate
as many miles as possible. Those 40
years and below compete in the last 40 hours of the race. The winner is the
runner with the most miles accumulated by the finish.
So, the oldest runners start the race before all the others
and have the course to themselves. Usually at a race I am among the oldest in
the field but at the ripe old age of 66 I was actually one of the younger
runners! My bib number was 80 which meant that there were 79 runners who were
older than me and only 58 or so who were younger. I laughed when one of the
other runners called me “kid.” I couldn’t recall the last time that had
happened.
So, I had 66 hours to see how far I could run/walk a zig-sagging
mile loop. I was joined by runners with
a wealth of experience—and a lot of different stories to share. But there were common themes in all their
stories—determination, the need to push yourself and the importance of being
yourself.
In this blog, and in the next two blogs, I have the pleasure
of sharing the inspirational stories I watched unfold over the course of those 66
hours.
Lesson of the Legends – Be the Best You can Be
The two oldest runners in the field were a 93-year-old named Don and an 88-year-old named Karsten. They were very good ultra-runners in their heyday but now for ultras they are regulated to races like this which give them plenty of time to cover some ground. The standard cutoff time is 30 hours for most 100-mile races, though it can be higher if the terrain is very difficult. That is not something that 88- or 93-year-olds are typically capable of. Yet it was obvious that both Don and Karsten still wanted to push themselves.
It was about 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, and I was pushing
myself to get my 100 miles as early as possible. So for the last few hours I
had been was with other runners trudging through the course. By this time, I
recognized most of the runners but there was one who stood out to me. It was Karsten who, at 88, was the second
oldest runner in the race. I met him at the start of the race, just before the
oldest runner—Don—was about to take off. He noticed my Grand Canyon
Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim shirt and asked how long it took me to complete that run. I
replied that it took me 17 hours he said he did it in six and a half. I
suspected that his time was for rim-to-rim but I did not argue. Who argues with
a legend?
Now, however, we were running the course, and I saw him a
couple of times sitting at a park bench. Pretty much the only place you could
sit and rest on the course with the exception of your own camp. I wondered if
it is hard to keep going when in the past you would be closer to the lead not
just pushing yourself to get what you can. Still, I was so impressed that past
1 a.m. he was still out there pushing himself to his limits. No, his
participation was not ceremonial, he was competing.
Don, who was the oldest runner, was the same way. He was the
first runner out, sporting a t-shirt that said “By Endurance – We Conquer.”
It was a great motto for this race. Yet like Karsten he was out there running
in the fierce sun and heat. Slowly but steadily moving. I always cheered him on
when I passed him as did most of the other runners. I remember once when I
passed him while I was running, he said “It looked like he was standing
still” as I went by him.
What really impressed me about Don was that in the last
minutes of the race he was still there competing. With about 30 minutes to go
he did not stop but decided to do one more mile. It would be close, but he was
going to push himself. He was the first runner out 93 hours ago and the last
runner on the course.
Both Don and Karsten inspired all the other runners. They
were not competing for victory but to be the best that they could be. That’s a
lesson we should all take to heart.
