My 38 Mile (61K) Birthday Celebration Run

Well it has been way to long since my last blog post so it is high time I write about one of the most epic runs I have done to date. I have always wondered what it would be like to run an ultra distance and decided that this year I would give it a try and run 61K for my 61rst birthday. I turned 61 on January 14 this of this year and ran the distance on January 18^th. You can view my Garmin Connect stats of the route here: http://connect.garmin.com/activity/4319876

I planned out a relatively flat, nearly 10K course that I could run in the city of Redlands, CA. It was pretty well lit so I would not have to wear a headlamp. I would be able to refill my bottles with fluids with a minimum of disruption from the run and perhaps even run a bit with a few friend from the Redlands Runegades if I timed it right.

I was a bit apprehensive about the run but I had increased my weekly mileage to an average of 50 a week up from about 35, and had been doing back to back long runs on the weekends. This gave me a little more confidence but still it was unknown territory for me and I would be running the vast majority of the run all by myself.

I started the run a few minutes past 4am on a Saturday morning. The weather was nice and cool which was definitely in my favor, as I don’t do heat well. It is kind of weird running at 4am with almost no traffic and hardly ever seeing a soul the first two hours of the run. There were a couple of places that lighting was not all that good and I had to make sure I lifted my feet a little higher than normal at these sections.

I had decided that I would try and bank a little time by running the first 10K at my normal long run pace and heart rate (HR), which is about a 140-143HR. The first lap went well averaging a little less than a 9min pace. The next lap I decided to try and drop my HR down to about 130 but that lasted for only the first mile as it was hard to make myself run so much slower than I was used to and overall I was only about 3-4 beats a minute slower on average for the second lap.

I met up with some of the Runegades on lap 3 and we ran together for about 2 miles before they split off going a different direction. It was nice to interact with them and it gave me a lift to my spirits even though I was definitely not in any real distress at that point in my run. It was a little easier by this time to run at the lower HR and slower pace and I was feeling great the whole way. I guess I had over hydrated the day before as I had gone to the bathroom more than I was used to on a long run by now. The cooler weather was also making it hard for me to drink as much as I had wanted to and most of my nutrition was in my fluids.

By mile 19 it had turned full daylight and was beginning to warm up. I forgot to mention that there was close to a 10-degree temperature difference from the higher portion of the route to the lower portion during the first 3 laps. This would change somewhat as the run went on.

I did not have any trouble with loneliness as I have done quite a lot of solo running. However after I reached the marathon distance, even though I was not racing, I began to feel just a little lonely and it seemed that time dragged on a little bit more from this point on. My legs were definitely feeling a little weary by this time but I told myself that I only had 2 more laps to go.

From this point on it was not hard at all to run at the lower HR and even on the downhill sections of the run I was not tempted to run too fast. The warmth was beginning to affect me a bit at this point but just mildly. I also said hello and waved to a few of my friends just as I started my next to last lap, which gave me a little lift to my gait.

When I got back to my truck for my last pit stop I was joined by Robin Derdowski and Jim Glick for the last lap. It was really nice to have them join me for this lap and I am sure that I averaged 30 seconds faster per mile just because they were with me. I am very appreciative to them for running this with me after they had already run about 15 miles earlier that morning.

After we got to the top of the last uphill and turned to the last quarter mile of the run I decided to see what I had left in my legs and picked up the pace surprising myself with how well I actually felt. I then broke into nearly a sprint to the end. This told me that my mind had been lying to me about how I felt and it was just trying so save me by telling my body to conserve my energy, as it had never gone this distance before.

Overall it was not as hard as I had imagined it would be and I know without a doubt that I could have finished another 12 miles for a 50 miler. However that was not my intent and I had accomplished what I had set out to do which was run my age in kilometers. My total time, with no watch stoppage, was 7hours 23 minutes and 10 seconds. Average pace: 11:39 with an average moving pace of 10:27. My average HR was 129 compared with my usual long run HR of 141.

This had inspired me to sign up for the Nanny Goat 24-hour race in Riverside, CA on May 24^th. I have been trying to up my mileage again to 50+ miles per week hoping to peak at 70 miles and doing several back to back long runs with my longest hopefully being 20 and 31.

As I write this I presently have had a little setback with sciatica again but feel sure I will be back at it soon. Last weekend I ran a 17 mile trail run on the PCT and followed it with a 15 mile run the next day in the morning and a 12 mile run in the afternoon.

Follow me on my journey as I prepare to run my first ultra marathon race on May 24 and 25.

Happy Trails,

Russ Barber

An Interview With The Jester Part II

What extra training do you do to get ready for Badwater?

For Badwater I usually try to get in some extra miles in the hottest part of the day, and ramp up my weekly mileage to around 80-100 miles, if my schedule allows. Didn’t do that this year, and my finish time suffered greatly. Since I live in SoCal, the heat here is the same heat as BW’s dry heat just “a degree or two” lower. Some people will also sit in the sauna for increasing periods of time. I tried that once while training for my first BW and just got too bored, so I didn’t do it again. Luckily for me I do okay in heat, so I don’t require that much extra heat acclimation.

Did you do any practice runs with your crew this year or any year?
No. It would be nice to do that, but they’re already sacrificing the better part of a week, so I don’t want to obligate them to anything extra. Besides, my wife is now an old pro as crew chief so she’s pretty good at getting them up to speed on the fly, during the race. There’s actually not much to it. Get the water bottles prepared with my drink of choice, have a new hat with ice, have the water sprayer ready as I come by, swap the old for the new, see what I want for the next stop, get in the car, drive one mile ahead, repeat. Then do it 134 more times! Rather tedious work for the crew actually.
Do you get cranky during the race and if so do you have any antidote to tell?
Well, you’d have to check with those that have crewed for me over the past three years, but overall I think I’m a pretty easy going runner. I think the only time I get a little impatient is when I ask for something I want at the next stop, and it’s not ready. I don’t want to waste time by waiting, so I’ll tell them to have it ready for certain at the next stop. I’m sure I probably get a little short with them at that point. I think if I started to become a pain in the butt, my wife would tell me. You can’t afford to piss off your crew by being a jerk, because they could just drive away and leave your sorry butt to cook out there.

Are you allowed pacers at any point during the race?
Yes. If you’re over 65, you can opt to have a pacer for all 135 miles, otherwise your pacer can’t join you until the first check-point, which is Furnace Creek, 17 miles into the race. This is for logistical purposes, since everyone is crowded together in each of the three wave starts (about 30-35 runners per wave), and we are running on open state highways. Once we get to the first checkpoint, we’re a few hours into the race and pretty much spread out. And to clarify, the pacers aren’t pacers, in the truest sense of the word, in that they are required to stay behind the runner, not actually “pace” them. Now what a pacer is allowed to do, which is against the rules in most other ultras, is mule for their runner. In-other-words, they can carry their runner’s water, etc.
Are you allowed to run any significant distance with other racers?
Yes, you’re allowed to run the whole race with another runner, but the problem with that is that you’re not allowed to run side-by-side, only single file, so with two runners and their two pacers there would be a congo line of four people, not the most fun way to run with another person. Again, this is strictly for safety reasons on the busy highway. One runner could theoretically set the pace for another runner, but I think that would just be too difficult to monitor, so there’s no rule against that. There is a point were we climb from Stovepipe Wells at mile 42 up to the top of Town’s Pass – 17 miles with 5,100 feet of gain – where there is usually a head wind, sometimes pretty strong, so that would be a good place to draft off of another runner. I’ve never drafted off of someone, or been drafted off of, but I guess it’s legal, and would sure save a lot of energy.
I know when I run marathons it seems that my kidneys shut down and I really don't have to eliminate during the race. It would seem that you must have to drink enough to eliminate some during the race.
Yes, some people have major kidney issues, and have even had kidney failure at BW. I’m lucky in that I’ve never had any kidney problems there, or at any other race. I’m pretty good at taking in the proper amount of fluids, which is a ton, so not a problem for me. I’ll typically go 8 to 12 hours before taking my first pee, but the color is always good – lemonade. Urine the cooler of Kool-aid (urine in the blood) or Coke (really seriously under-hydrated) is really bad and would require some immediate attention. That’s also one of the tasks of the crew, to monitor urine output – volume, color, and flow. Luckily for me I’m always coherent enough to monitor it myself and then report my findings to my crew to document. Some runners can become so disoriented and incoherent that their crew actually have to directly observe their urination output. This is why you should never be on a BW crew. It can be a pretty nasty job.
What do you eat and drink during the race?
It varies from year to year. Drink wise I will take some electrolyte drink like Gatorade, which can get old real quick, so the crew will switch up flavors every couple of hours. Sometimes I only feel like drinking water, especially if I get “gator gut” (fluids aren’t processing through and just sit in the stomach). I also like V-8, Starbucks Frap’s, Muscle Milk or some similar protein drink. Last year I got to a point where the only liquid I could stomach was Sprite, so I did about 40 miles pretty much on Sprite alone. I’m also quite religious about taking S-Caps (electrolytes and essential minerals in pill form). Food wise depends on how I’m feeling. It’s so darn hot for so much of the race that you really don’t have much of an appetite that first day. I might eat fresh juicy fruits like pineapple chunks, oranges, grapes, and watermelon. I also like Pringles chips, sliced pickles, sliced tomatoes with salt, and sliced avocado with salt. For something sweet, I’ll have pudding cups or fruit cups with the sugary syrup, and licorice. I’ve also recently started eating Payday candy bars at my ultras, so I’ll add that to my menu for BW, if I run it again.
Is there any point during the race that you considered stopping and if so how did you overcome that urge?
No, I’m real lucky that not finishing is never an option in my mind, so I’ve never even considered quitting. I suppose if I ran into some real serious issues, I might consider quitting, but that would only be if I, or Martha, felt my health could be seriously compromised if I continued on. Badwater is such a high profile race, and so many people have committed to get their runner to the finish line that the DNF (did not finish) rate at BW is actually quite low. This year I think there were 15 out of 97 that didn’t finish, and that was about double from last year (this year was hotter than normal at 125 degrees). For most 100 mile races, a 30% drop rate is actually pretty good, and 40-70% drop rate is typical on the really hard 100s. It also helps that there is an application process that tries to get 100 of the most qualified ultra runners out of the applicant pool of runners from around the world.

Anything else you would like to share about your experiences doing Badwater?
Out of the 52 100 mile races I’ve done, Badwater is absolutely the most amazing ultra race of them all. I would do it every single year if they let me in (and I could afford it – it’s actually quite costly to put together a BW crew, including the entry fee of $1,000.) In spite of all the scary stories you might hear about BW, it’s actually a blast. And even though it is by far the hottest race I’ve ever ran, I wouldn’t say it’s the most difficult race I’ve ever ran. But then again, my ultra strengths are heat, street, and big miles, so it’s not as hard on my body as it is for some others. The first few times I read about BW, including Dean Karnazes ‘Ultramarathon Man’ I was totally scared off by even the thought of running it, but after talking with a few people that had done it, and getting a good number of 100 mile races under my belt, I slowly came around to where I couldn’t wait to crew, and then to run it myself. If anyone reading this is thinking about doing BW, I would definitely talk to those that have ran it, and then crew for someone. You might find that Badwater will suddenly go from the scariest race you’ve ever heard about, to the top of your bucket list. Maybe someday you’ll be running it with me, or I’ll be crewing for you. Jester on . . .
Thanks,

Russ

Thank you Ed for the interview!

Happy Trails,

Russ

Mission Inn Run-Half Marathon Race Report

I have been looking forward to this local race in Riverside, CA for weeks now as a test to see exactly what kind of shape I am in. I have been struggling with injuries for the last few years that keep setting me back, but for the last few months I have been able to run with near full health and it has made a big difference. In fact I have not been 100% myself since early 2004. That is a little over 9 years since I have been in my best running form. The frustration of coming back, then getting hurt (not always running injuries) has played with my psyche to the point of wondering if it is all worth it. Bottom line is, I love running and while they are nice, I don’t need PR’s to keep me going. Still there is something about wanting to perform at one’s best possible self that drives me to keep on trying.

Earlier this year I had a 7-week layoff from injury and a 3-week layoff prior to that. That is significant time off especially since they both came after a significant improvement in racing form.  For the last 2 months I have been able to really up my total weekly mileage from around 35 a week to 50 and 60 a week. I have also been doing intervals and repeats on Tuesdays and Tempo runs most Thursdays.

Two weeks ago I tweaked my right shoulder and had to curtail my running, both pace and distance. A week ago Saturday I decided to try and run a fairly hard run at HM pace for 5 miles of an 8-mile run. While running downhill, at a 6 minute pace on a steep section, I tweaked my shoulder again but continued running anyway at HM pace. After the run I knew I had hurt my shoulder even more and as a result took the next 5 days completely off. I was tapering anyway this week but I did not plan on this steep of a taper. I ran 2 miles Thursday and 4 miles Friday, taking Saturday off. Both runs my legs felt quite refreshed, but I still had some shoulder pain, however, significantly reduced.

Sunday morning race day is here: November 10, 2013, about 53 degrees and mostly sunny. Almost perfect running conditions. It would warm up about 10 degrees during the race but the dew point was so low that it did not matter much.

My plan was to run at an average HR of 157 beats per minute for the whole race. I knew that it would take nearly 2 miles for my HR to ramp up and that I would mostly have to go by feel the first two miles of the race. Partway into mile two we started the only significant hill in the race. I kept watching my Garmin to make sure that I did not go too far above my target HR. It was hard to keep it below 160 on the uphill, but for the most part mission accomplished. Then came a short but very steep downhill section where I passed about 5 runners. As we turned the corner it mostly flattened out and I found myself settling into a pretty steady stride.

Just past the two-mile mark someone in a gold colored top went past me with grayish hair. A possible age group contender I thought to myself. I tried to listen to his breathing as he went by to get an idea of his effort. I couldn’t really tell for sure but I did get the impression that he was just a little labored for this short distance into the race. I let him go and continued running my own pace. As we came around the backside of Mt Rubidoux, onto the bike path and finishing mile-3, two more runners passed me that I thought could be in my age group. The first one’s breathing seemed fine but the second one did seem a little labored. Again I let them both go but asked the second one what his age group was. He either didn’t hear me or ignored me.

After about mile-6 another runner passed me who could be in my age category and I was thinking looks like I may not place like I was hoping for. Still I wanted this to be a test of my condition. By this time into the race I was running quite well and had been on my second wind since about mile-3. I was doing well at maintaining my HR, right around 157, but did occasionally dose off and fall down around 154. This only happened a few times and became apparent when I was passed by someone I didn’t think should be passing me.

Soon after the mile six marker I came up on one of the guys who I thought had been breathing a little harder than he should earlier and asked him his age group. This time he responded, “50-54. And you?” “60,” I replied as another guy running next to us laughed. Then the runner in the 50 category said, “Oh man that hurts,” to which the man who laughed replied, “I shouldn’t be laughing, as I’m only 41.”

The levity provided me with a little bit of a lift and the next time I looked at my Garmin I was at a 160 HR. Whoa!  I slowed it back down to a steady 157 HR. I was almost right on my pace as we hit mile 7 at 7:59 average pace. But my Garmin was also reporting me as having gone .07 miles farther than the mile marker, which meant that I was actually a little slower than that if the mile marker was correct.

I wanted to increase my pace but I felt I should keep on track with my plan. Soon we made the turn a round, and shortly after hit the mile 8 marker. Once again my watch read that I was at 8.08 miles. It would be mostly downhill to mile 12 from here but it would only be a very slight downhill and there was a slight breeze in my face. The breeze actually felt good as it was beginning to warm up just a little by this time. I had now passed all of the possible age groupers I had spotted earlier except for one, including the first one in the gold colored top. I was then passed by one of my friends, Tom Kenefick. I wanted to try and keep up with him but continued to maintain my HR. Every time we went under an overpass he seemed to gain a little more on me until by mile 12 he was at least a minute ahead. At mile 11 I had increased my HR closer to 160 and tried to keep it there the rest of the way.

By mile 12 I knew I was not going to reach my goals. I had two goals in mind; one of setting a new PR, which was now over 10 years old, and the other was breaking 1:45:00. Still I wanted to do my best. Soon we came to the next most significant hill, which was only about 150 to 200 yards long, but at the end of a race it seemed gigantic.

After finally hitting the top of the hill and turning the corner I again increased my HR up to about 162. I did not know if I could hold it the rest of the way but I was going to do my best. With about .4 miles left I kicked it in and pretty closely maintained about a 7:15 pace to the finish getting my HR up to 167.

I crossed the finish line and my Garmin said 13.2 miles and a time of 1:46:18. My official time was 1:46:22. I was just 34 seconds from my previous PR of 1:45:48, and that was on a course with a net downhill while this one was about a 0.0 net. I also placed 3^rd in my age division. When I say my previous PR, I mean on a fairly normal course. I did have a 1:35 at Fontana in 2003 but that is about an 1800-foot drop in only 13.1 miles so I don’t count that as a PR.

I am very pleased with my result and it should translate into a Boston qualifying time at Tucson on December 8^th. I need a 3:55 to qualify for Boston and feel I should have no problem getting 3:50 or better.

An Interview with the Jester - Part I

If you are pretty heavy into ultra distance running then you have probably heard of the “Jester” by now. Even if you have not have heard of him I thought it would be nice to get to know him. He has a Facebook page with quite a following called Run Jester Run Friends. http://www.facebook.com/groups/RunJesterRun/

His real name is Ed Ettinghausen, and he has been making quite a name for himself in the world of ultra distance running. Having completed the Badwater 135 race several times, considered by most to be the toughest foot race in the world. He finished the race in 2011 in 13^th place out of 95 entrants. He had a little tougher race in 2012 but still managed to finish in 23^rd place out of 96 entrants. He ran it again this year finishing in 24^th place overall in a time of 36:17:12. It is hard to compare each race with another from year to year, as start time, weather conditions and many other factors are never quite the same. The only thing that is always the same is the distance of 135 miles across the desert at the hottest time of the year.

Ed is one of the most humble men I have ever come across. He really is not one to brag about his accomplishments but I have asked him to do this interview for my readers and me. I thought I would try and get into the mind of the Jester by asking him a few questions concerning himself, his family and the world of ultra running.

Here is Part I. It consists of only two questions and answers. The answers are a little long, but very interesting, so I only included the two to make for a shorter post.

Runner’s Mania: What prompted you to start running in ultra races?

Jester: I ran my first marathon when I was 17, in high school, and I was hooked. One month later I ran my second marathon and ran a total of five marathons in a nine-month period. The next 28 years was a big dry spell for marathons. I was focused on family and work obligations and didn’t make the time for running. I did one marathon in 2000, with three of my kids, who were 11, 9 and 8 at the time. My 11 year old finished in 5:42, and I crossed the finish line with my 8 and 9 year old in 8:40. That was a very long day. It was another nine years, March of 09, for my next marathon. I ran another one in April, and then in early May I ran a local small marathon in Chino Hills that was a 1.8 mile loop around Ayala Park.

There were also 3, 6, and 12-hour race option taking place at the same time. I choose this race so that I could run the marathon while my youngest daughter, 14 at the time, could run her final long run, before running her first marathon in June.

While waiting for the race to start I noticed a car in the parking lot with a Badwater 135 sticker on the window. I got the notion that it would be fun to run a little bit with each runner and try to find out who this Badwater runner was. There were only 26 runners, so eliminating my daughter and myself, which left just 24 possibilities. Mind you, at that time I had absolutely zero interest in running the Badwater ultramarathon, but I had a curiosity about that ‘crazy race in the desert’. Besides I wanted to get some advice about possibly running a 50k, and I figured that maybe I could get some pointers from this guy on doing my first ultra.

After running with a couple of folks, who weren’t the mystery Badwater runner, I struck up a conversation with a guy running in cyclist compression shorts named Steve Teal. He was there for the 12-hour race, and was training for a triple Ironman distance triathlon, so needed to get some long miles in. Sure enough, this was the guy. He hadn’t just ran Badwater once, but had ran it four times.

He was happy to share his Badwater experiences, which were totally mind blowing to a guy that had only ran a couple of marathons. Although his stories were enthralling, my real intention was of course to pick his brain about running my first ultra, sometime way, way, way in the future.

We ran quite a few miles together, and by the time we were done he had convinced me to sign-up for my first ultra, two weeks down the road. This was a new 24-hour race around a one-mile course in Riverside, CA called Nanny Goat. I really didn’t think I was ready to jump from marathons into an ultra-marathon fray, but he convinced me that I had enough training and had nothing to loose. Since any mileage would count in the 24-hour race, I could go at my own pace, run or walk as fast or slow as I wanted, and I couldn’t DNF, a big plus in my book.

If it wasn’t just two weeks away, I might have talked myself out of it, but I registered for the race as soon as I got home that day. I heard someone once say that 90% of a race is just showing up. I don’t know about that, but I did show up and somehow made it through the whole 24 hours. I ended up with 102 miles for a third place finish. The rest, as they say, is history.

Runner’s Mania: I heard you made it into the Guinness Book of World Records. What can you tell us about that?

Jester: Well . . . kind of. Here’s the story. At that same marathon in Chino Hills where I met Steve Teal, I also met a woman from Corona named Yolanda Holder, also know as ‘The Walking Diva’. She introduced me to a running club she belonged to called Marathon Maniacs, which I joined. This group has some pretty hardcore marathoners that try to squeeze in as many marathons as they can into a year. Yolanda was planning to break the Guinness World Record for most marathons in a year by a female in 2010, by running 100 marathons. Again, not something I had any interest in at the time, but it did plant a seed.

In the summer of 2010 I heard about a nationwide contest sponsored by Runner’s World Magazine and New Balance running shoes for most race miles in a year. The winner would receive $25,000 for their favorite charity. Although by the time I joined the contest in August I had already ran about 32 marathons and four ultras, including one 100-mile race since January 1st, I was only in 5th place, with a little over 1,000 race miles, so I decided to step it up and see what I could do by the end of the year.

In the next five months I ran 38 marathons and 17 ultras, including six 100+ mile races, finishing the year with a 72-hour race in which I ran 238 miles. My total race miles for 2010 were just over 3,000. I barely beat out Yolanda, who had finished the year with 106 marathons to set a new marathon Guinness World Record.

Winning the contest was quite rewarding, especially when my chosen charity received that $25,000 check. Since I was already on a roll I decided to go for the male record for “most marathons in a year.”  My friend and fellow Marathon Maniac from San Antonio, Larry Macon, had also ran 106 marathons in 2010 finishing the last one with Yolanda. That broke his own previous male world record of 101.

Guinness allows any 365 consecutive day period to count for their records, so I decided to see how many marathons I could do in the next seven months. I finished my one year streak on July 16, 2011 at Badwater 135, which was my 135^th marathon/ultra in 365 days setting a new world record. I celebrated by running another 100 mile race four days later.

The amount of paper work and red tape required by Guinness to verify a world record is pretty extensive, for even a single event, but I had 135 separate events to provide documentation for. Guinness assigned me a case number and agreed that once I submitted the required documentation and they were able to verify each event, I would have the new world record.

Simple enough, just get all the paperwork together. Knowing the herculean task before me, I found plenty of ‘more important’ things to do, like running 100-mile races, so I procrastinated getting the paperwork together. Besides, who would try to do more than 135 marathons in one year, so why rush it?

In early 2011 at the Death Valley Trail Marathon I met a chap from the U.K. named Traviss Willcox who was hoping to break the world record himself. He had started his 365 days on Jan. 1, and by the time I finished my 135 in July, he was not on a pace to break the 135 marathons, but could still break 106. I promised Traviss that I would hold off submitting my documentation until the end of the year (another reason to procrastinate) to see if he could break the 106. He ended up doing 114, so I agreed to wait until he got the world record for 114, and then I would submit my 135 after Guinness verified his new record.

In the meantime Larry Macon had completed 113 marathons, and submitted his documentation to Guinness in January 2012, which Guinness confirmed within one week. Larry had just broken his own record for a second time. Although both Traviss and I had more marathons in a year than Larry, with Guinness it’s all about whose record is verified first.

 Guinness is a private U.K. company that has two revenue source, book sales and world record processing fees. There are three options for getting a record verified by Guinness. Submit the required documentation and pay the approximately $3,500 processing fee (the fee is actually in Euros, so the actual amount changes dependent on how the dollar is doing compared to the Euro) and Guinness will guarantee to verify the record within seven days. Option two is to submit the documentation with the app. $500 processing fee and Guinness guarantees to process the paperwork within one to two months. And for those that would rather pay nothing, Guinness does have the third option of no processing fee, but there’s also no guarantee on the timeline.

By the time Traviss finally had all his paperwork in order and submitted to Guinness it was March of 2011. For seven months Guinness kept requiring additional paperwork from Traviss, always offering to speed up the processing time for a fee. But finally by October of 2011 Guinness completed their verification process and awarded Traviss the new world record, with 114 marathons.

Finally, over a year after I had completed my 135 marathons, keeping my promise to Traviss of waiting until he got his Guinness World Record, it was time for me to submit my documentation and finally claim my rightfully earned record.  

All would be well and good, except during this whole process, Larry Macon was quietly stacking up marathons. By the end of October Larry had already surpassed Traviss’s 114 and was about to surpass my 135. There was no way I was going to pay the $3,500 fee, which I knew Larry would do without batting an eye. Besides, what would be the point when I knew I didn’t really hold the record if someone else had surpassed 135 but I beat them to the punch by getting my paperwork in before them.

So, on December 31, 2011, Larry Macon ran his 157^th marathon of the year. By the first week in January 2012, Guinness had already verified that Larry Macon was the new marathon king, with the Guinness World Record for Most Marathon Races in 365 Consecutive Days – Male.

There you have it. That’s the story behind my almost Guinness World Record.

But wait, there’s more! Guinness also gave me a case number for setting a new Guinness World Record for most race miles ran in one year, which I did around 4,500. Even Larry’s 157 marathons wouldn’t beat that. But at this point I really don’t feel like putting in the required effort it would take to claim the record. On the other hand I do have an interest in breaking the world record for most 100-mile races in one year, which is currently 36 held by my friend Liz Bauer. My friend Scott Brockmeyer holds the male record, at 28. So I’m seriously thinking about next year going for both the most 100-mile races in one year, while simultaneously trying to surpass my 4,500 race miles. We’ll see . . .