1412.67

That's the number that will forever be connected to 2007 for me. It's my total mileage for the year, you know. One of my goals for next year is to beat that number, which should be possible barring any injuries.

Just for fun, 1,412.67 miles is roughly the distance between Atlanta, GA and Albuquerque, NM, if you're the sort of person that travels like Forrest Gump.

Thanks, Google Maps for the technology and Mike Schubert for the inspiration.

If things don't get too crazy at work the next week or so, I'll play around with the numbers some more.

Bernd Heinrich Interview (updated)

Several weeks ago, the ultrarunners of the year were announced. While perusing the list of previous winners, I noticed a runner by the name of Bernd Heinrich, who had won the award three out of four years in the early '80s. After some learning a bit more about Heinrich (thanks, Google!), who also turned out to be a distinguished biology professor as well as author, I decided to track him down for an interview. Enjoy!
(Update: Bernd has been inducted into the Ultrarunning Hall of Fame as only the fifth inductee ever!. I found out two days after originally posting this interview. Hopefully, I can bring good karma to the other interviewees as well. They are all outstanding people.)

I understand you started running as a young boy back in Germany. Tell us
about your nickname back then and your evolution as a runner in general.

One nickname that I recall was "wiesel" [“weasel”, the editor] because, at age 6-10 I was so small and thin and quick and getting into everything. I didn't have shoes and we lived in the woods and I ran along a sandy road to get to the village school and back. I was not running all the time, of course- I liked to stop a lot and examine things along the way since there wasn't much to go home to.

What made you move up to the ultra-distance?

Pretty much two races. At almost 40 I won the Golden Gate Marathon, AFTER I heard the projected winner being announced- then I spurted the last mile and caught him at the tape. That was my warm-up for the Boston marathon, when I would be one day older than 40. I was pretty disappointed with my run, but I was breezing by everyone the last couple miles and I did make first master. I ran out of distance. Then and there I decided I was not made for speed, but I had endurance. (Although while I was Prof of Entomology at Berkeley we had a group of us who ran every day at noon on the Edwards track, and for about ten years there my dream was to achieve a sub 2 minute half-mile - I did it finally in 1:58:5 - (as I found in my running notes that I stumbled on the other day)

You held the 100 mile record at one time (an astonishing 12:27:01). Would
you consider that your greatest achievement as an ultra runner?

No. I'd wanted to and had expected to go ten or more minutes faster in that run. I had earlier run a 50 in a little over 5 hrs -it was on my way to the 100k. That 100k I felt was my best run, in 6:38 .

You have run many, many miles both in races and in training. What is your
most memorable experience?

Winning that marathon- so totally unexpected.

What is your favorite race?

I think that 100k. But probably the greatest satisfaction was finishing my one and only 24 hour run, on the track. I had planned to set the 100 mile record and then stop. The day before running 24 hours was in my mind totally out of the question. But, on race day running 100 miles in record time was out of the question; the weather forecast that morning before the start was for over 80 F. So, I changed my dream. I had trained three months on a solid base of 4 years, had depleted and carbo-loaded, taken days off, and felt peaked. I could not not run. I could still run at a slower pace, though, and take advantage of the coolness at night, and so I did; I set the American record, but only just barely. It was incredibly intense at near the end after a very long night, because to do it I had to speed up the last few miles! I did. I think I ran close to 6 min miles. When I heard the stopping shot I involuntarily dropped like a blasted hare, and they hauled me off in an ambulance to the hospital, because I started shaking like a leaf when they dumped cold water over me and put on the ice cubes. While lying there in bed I just kept repeating a hundred times over: "I did it - I did it- I did it--", and I felt GREAT!.

Did you have any runners that you looked up to?

I can't begin to name them, ever since high school. They were all gods- I felt so insignificant, yet inspired to know there were heroes..

The infrequency of your races has been noted many times (for example
by UltraRunning Magazine).

I haven't looked it up, but I can imagine. Look, I've run more races probably than most- year in, year out , year in year out I ran races, races and more races. In high school. In college, not only through the cross-country season, but also through the indoor track season, and then after a week or so break on it went with the spring track season- I lettered three times a year. I was sick of races. I'd done it for a quarter century- 25 years, right? - Before I ever ran an ultra. I
loved to run, though, and mostly just as a means of locomotion, to go somewhere. Racing is an entirely absolutely different thing. Long after I raced in high school and in college, I just ran by myself. Not training for anything. Just running, and people would stare and point because I wore short shorts and seemed to be in a hurry--. Once I had a couple of guys corner me with their pick-up in a side road. I jumped on the running board of their truck like a bear on the attack, and would have yanked the bastards out, but luckily they suddenly stopped jeering, and one even smiled- so did I then, too- and we were friends. Anyways, as for RUNNING, I had (almost) nothing to prove to anyone. I KNEW I was no great runner- not like my heroes.

The only thing I eventually decided to prove to myself was that I could run a marathon. The result, that I already just told you above, took me totally by surprise. OK- I was, after Boston, 40 years old now. I knew for a fact I'd never get any better- I could only get slower. I had really wanted to stop then, but I had caught up to many at the end, and now I "had" to run a "real" distance race, or else I knew I'd regret it later.

I'm so glad I tried!! If I'd started ultras 30 years earlier I might have run hundreds, rather than a dozen or so, because I'd gradually have improved, and could always dream of running better. I could still run, and did, all the time. But in no way would I or could I take basically two or more days- and dollars-out of my life and tight budget, to do a race, when I could run anytime out my door and into the woods and back- and all without ANY hassle. WHY race??? I knew for a fact that I'd be slower in every race, anyways, PROVIDED I gave it my best in the races that I ran- and I did that, because I was running for records and because I knew I am not a particularly talented runner- not like my heroes.

What would you consider the key to your successes?

Running few well-chosen races. By the way, this was not really strategy. As a prof I was at the peak of career demands- a VERY demanding schedule of teaching, research, writing for science
journals, scientific meetings, etc., and at this point in my life with family, my profession had to be right up there. So, when I trained, I trained, and there is no way I could keep everything going at once, hence the pulsing of one vs. the other. But also something else: I had no desire whatsoever for chalking up a large number of races run. To me in racing, ONLY quality mattered, to try to find the limit. And as I said, it was unrealistic for me, at say 45, to expect quality of physical performance to keep improving. I was up against it: Now, or
never. That's often a good motivator.

What was your typical training regimen during the height of your
ultrarunning success?

Gradually increasing mileage till 120 per week the last 3-4 weeks

Are you still active as a runner?

Was till last year- jumped only into a couple 10k for the heck of it - around 42 min, as I recall. But not now, have had one injury after the other during the last year. I am quite bummed out about it.

You are a highly distinguished academic and author. A couple of your books
are also about running. Please tell us a little bit about your books.

Actually, only one is about running [ooops!; the editor] - the paperback had a different
title because two other books came out with "Racing the Antelope," and these had nothing to do with racing nor antelopes. The topic of running, is however about adaptation in general, and the running book incorporates more than running per se- including material from my Physiologican Ecology lectures in animal adaptation, coupled to the personal experience of the 100k race.

The other books are quite varied, but most relate, in one way or another, with the marvels of Creation and with my personal adventures trying to elucidate how it all "works." My last (and best, I think, next to the running book) would be in the novel section, if it weren't all true. I decided to use the real names. It's "The Snoring Bird", which was an ultra to write, because it covers so much ground and took so long to finish.

2008 Race Schedule (Spring)

So, I (finally) decided on a race schedule for the spring (i.e. through the end of April). If you see me at any of these races, feel free to stop by and say 'hello'.

Hope to see you out there!

Runnin the Rocks 10k - Feb. 2 (Trail)
This is a brand new race, I believe. 10k is probably my least favorite distance. It's like the 800 on track, you have to go hard the whole time, but it (seemingly) takes forever. This will be a lung buster for sure, but that's ok. It's on trail. (Also, a perfect tune-up for the following week).

Red Top Rumble 11.5 - Feb. 10 (Trail)
G.U.T.S. is organizing this race (so if you're not running it, please come to help out and volunteer). I'm really looking forward to this race! Five of my co-workers are also running in it, so it should be a lot of fun. And the Rockman will be there volunteering.

Thrill in the Hills 1/2 Marathon - Mar. 1 (Trail)
I ran this race last year. Running the up-and-down mountain bike trails at Fort Yargo was a lot of fun. I look forward to returning this year!

Oak Mountain 50k - Mar. 22 (Trail)
This one is out in Alabama and will be my spring season highlight.

Country Music Marathon - Apr. 26 (Road)
A lot of my friends are running this (or the 1/2 marathon). I ran the '04 version of this race (thunder and lightning!). I won't be running to beat a particular time, but just to have fun with my friends.

Other races you might see me at
Around Peachtree Battle 5k - it's near my house, so I might incorporate this into a morning run
Hogpen Hill Climb - depends on the weather, schedules, etc.
ING Georgia - very unlikely...the start is not far from my house, so I could run there. But it's very unlikely since it's the week before Oak Mountain.

New Trail Series in Atlanta

The good folks at Big Peach Running Co. will be hosting a trail run series in 2008. These aren't races but rather exploratory runs around the city to introduce people to some of the hidden gems we have here. Here are the dates:

February 2nd	Gold Branch Unit, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area
June 15th	Sope Creek Branch, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area
August 3rd	Vickery Creek, Chattahoochee National Recreation Area
November 2nd	Sweetwater Creek

I'll be running a race on Feb. 2, but maybe I'll make it out in June.

For more info contact Big Peach.

Good Article on Streaking

ESPN.com ran a pretty good article on streaking (i.e. running every day) earlier this week. It's definitely worth a read.

As some of you know, I started my own little streak at the end of last year. The injury ended it right at 292 straight days. At first, I didn't think that was anything special. Running (and scheduling the runs) had become routine. Now that I've gained some distance, I'm pretty proud of it. But it's nothing compared to the guys in the article.

Brrrrrr-astown Bald Buster 5k

Exactly 48 hrs prior to the start of the 2008 Brasstown Bald Buster 5k, I was sitting in a dentist’s chair getting a molar extracted (a previous root canal had failed and the tooth needed to come out). And while the periodontist and two other people seemed to have a competition on how many tools they could stick into my mouth at one time, my thoughts were in an entirely different place, the Brasstown Bald Buster.

Prior to the race, my first in 6 months. That called for a dorky picture!

This annual event challenges anyone who dares to run up to the top of Georgia’s tallest mountain (elevation: 4784 ft). The race itself climbs close to 1,900 feet over the 3+ miles. It attracts mainly hard core runners who regularly compete in all types of distances, from the mile to the 100 miler. There are usually lots of high school cross country runners, ultra-runners, marathoners and others trying to test themselves against this beast (by Georgia standards) of a hill.

So excited that you can't see my missing tooth!

Back in the dentist’s chair, I was concerned that tooth pain would keep me from running this year. However, things were well enough by Sunday morning for me to make the trek up north. No one could be convinced to come along, so I was belting out DMB tunes by myself while driving the two hours to the race.

Upon arrival, it was obvious that we would not be running all the way to the top this year. The weather conditions simply did not allow for it. There was a dusting of snow everywhere and conditions were much worse up at higher elevation, as we would later find out.

Scene from the start. I wasn't the only 'crazy' one out there!

Check in was quick and easy. Lots of familiar faces. I should introduce myself, since I don’t know a lot of people’s names. The famous post-race soup was already being cooked.

Then it was back to the car to warm up and decide on race day attire (I decided to triple layer it). Due to the weather, the race was 1.5 miles up and then back down the hill. If you wanted to go higher, you were on your own (some people did take that option, by the way).

I was fine with the change, since I’m definitely not in shape yet run ‘stupid’ races like this one. The total climb was probably closer to 900 ft in this version of the race. After some quick race instructions we were off a little after 11 a.m.

Things went fine for me, even though I was huffin’ and puffin’ almost right from the start. I passed the one mile mark at 10:20. Not bad. Conditions worsened considerably after that.

First person coming back down.

The road quickly had a solid quarter inch layer of ice on it and the sustained 25 mph+ winds made the temperatures feel much lower than the advertised upper 20s. It was hard to stay on your feet during some of the gusts. After some struggling and little bit too much walking, I reached the halfway point (1.5 miles) at 18 mins.

ice!

Now it was time to head down on this winter slip-and-slide. Most people chose to run in the snow to the side of the road. Due to my recent ankle problems, I chose to take my chances on the ice. With my completely numb feet, I would slide about 10 yards at a time in between short spurts of running. At the 2 mile mark, the ice went away and I just started flying. I must have passed 20+ people on the way down and by the end my feet were on fire. It felt great to run in a race again and I was enjoying every second of it, no matter how much it hurt. I ended up placing 33^rd in a time of 27:06 (there were probably 200+ runners).

This race also has great schwag, and I took home a comfy blue sweater (much better looking than the red and neon-yellow versions of the last two years!) and trophy-paper-weight thingy.

My thanks go out to RD Gary Jenkins, all of the volunteers (seriously, you guys are even crazier than us for NOT moving in that cold) and everyone else for making this race possible. The Brasstown Bald Buster 5k , a true Georgia classic!

Odds and Ends

One of the classic races in Georgia is this weekend, the Brasstown Bald Buster 5k. If you have an opportunity to run this race, go ahead and go up to the mountains on Sunday for the 11 o'clock start. Just don't expect a PR. The 1800+ feet vertical are brutal, but will make any hill/mountain seem like a piece of cake for many weeks thereafter.

I may be there. It all depends on tomorrow. I have a failed root canal, which in essence means the tooth in question needs to come out. Great. Not sure how I will be feeling afterwards.

On to other things, Running Times has a special trail running edition out. In it you will find an outstanding article on Tony Krupicka among other neat articles. I'm linking to the article here, but I'm encouraging you to by this magazine. It's simply outstanding.

Also, through Uli's website, I found USATF's database of certified courses. If you feel like running your favorite race not on race day (perhaps in preparation of race day), this is a great resource with maps, general info, etc.

Lastly, the next interview is lined up already. This person is an ultra legend from a couple decades ago and a fellow East Coaster.