It is probably apparent from this title that I am burned out of thesis work and running has fought back my studies and crept back into my thoughts, and I hope as of tomorrow, I will be cleared to run. I did not get any running in this weekend like I had hoped in my previous blog entry. I did eat a lot of turkey and had a subsequent triptophan coma. This is my second Canadian Thanksgiving and it felt like Thanksgiving this year I had a great holiday. I am currently wearing my Holter heart monitor as I write this. I turn it in to be analyzed and then hit the treadmill first thing in the morning. Tomorrow will be my first time running since my incident. I am so anxious it feels like the night before a big race. My research has settled down a bit and a change in timing for committee meetings has altered my deadlines, so I will actually have some time to think about stuff other than rocks.
As my blog implies I would like to talk about several (of many) trail running heroes I have and why, over the next while. For major trail runner's these athletes are a shoe in, but for my friends who don't know much about endurance trail running this will be a brief introduction to some amazing athletes and individuals. All of this information comes from the runner's blogs or websites, articles written about them or anything I have scrounged up while surfing the net. If anything is incorrect I apologize, I am doing the best I can with the info that exists out there, and have put my own biased twist to many factoids.
First off is Anton Krupicka.
Photo by Brian Bailey Jan, 2007 Trail Running Mag
Apparently Krupicka really broke into the distance trail running scene in 2006 with his crazy first place win at Leadville with a 17:01:56. I don't think many people had heard of him up to this point. In the January 2007 edition of Trail Runner Mag they ran a story on Krupicka and his victory at Leadville http://www.trailrunnermag.com/digital_archive.php?issue=43 In the article they start out talking about how no one really knew who won the race, only that it was "some naked guy". This of course referring to Krupicka's minimalist running apparel that really sums him up in a nutshell and is one of the reasons I admire him the most. What was perhaps most inspiring to me about this 2006 victory was this was Tony's first 100 mile race and only his second ultra (his first being a first place win and a course record for the High Mountain 50 K about a month earlier). I am not going to go into gory detail about his race history and life story, please refer to his blog http://antonkrupicka.blogspot.com/ for this information, and the story in trail running mag is great. I think that this year's attempt by Krupicka to beat Matt Carpenter's brilliant course record at Leadville was perhaps one of the closest watched events in Ultradistance trail running history. Along with me, a large number of fellow runners were anxious to see if the record would fall this year. In the end Krupicka did not do it but his post run synopsis is fantastic.
Reasons I admire Krupicka and chose him to start my list of Trail Running Titans
Krupicka is a titan of long distance training. If Lydiard was really onto something suggesting 100 mile training weeks, than Krupicka took it to a whole new level, occasionally approaching or even crossing the 200 mile a week threshold. These are serious hard core trail miles at elevation not simple flat runs at sea level.
Krupicka is a minimalist. I myself have lived a relatively minimalistic life in comparison with many people I have graduated with. I decided early on what was important to me and decided to focus on those things, getting rid of any excess. Krupicka brings up a great point when he says that the less money he spends on frivolous garbage the more he will have to spend on truly meaningful experiences. He runs in light track shorts and shirtless (only wearing long sleeves in bad weather at high elevation). Often his fuel consists of a water bottle and a pocket full of gels. Krupicka logs many miles each week barefoot and mentions it has helped correct improper running technique and solved injuries. He modifies his shoes removing much of the midsole with a serrated kitchen knife. His example of focusing on meaningful experiences and avoiding the excess is sound wisdom. (I am going to get on a soapbox for a bit, sorry you can skim ahead when you have heard enough). I think that this world is full of glut and excess. I find that the happiest times in my life have been when I have had the least. It seems a backwards law but it is true. After my bachelor's degree I was working in industry and began to accrue things. The bills piled up and I was forced to work more. We were finally looking at even buying a home during the height of inflation (this would have been a disaster). In the end I got rid of all the excess and went back to school. I don't even have a cell phone anymore (I used to have two). I only have to worry about paying for rent, utilities, groceries and tuition. My life is very simple, I study hard, hang out with the fam, and run a lot. I only spend time on what is important to me and because I am not a slave to bills and a "starter castle" I am able to do what I enjoy every day. It is simple and yet I am as happy as I have ever been. I have less money to live off from in one year now than I used to clear in 4 months, but during that time in my life I was the most stressed and unhappy I had ever been. I feel everyone needs follow Krupicka's advice to strive for a simpler leaner life, I feel it would solve many problems.
It appears that Krupicka is very much into his education which is something very important to me obviously. When I saw that he has studied geology I was instantly sold. Being a long distance runner and a geologist is a unique experience few others can truly appreciate. I don't run over "rocks", I run over millions and sometimes billions of years of Earth history in single workouts. I run on ancient sea beds, over solidified magma chambers and violent volcanic eruptions, and over complex structural oddities few people can explain. Every foot strike has meaning whether I am running in Western Canada or the Wasatch Range in Utah I am intimately familiar with the complex story each rock whispers to me. I don't know if Krupicka honestly thinks this way about rocks and running but I hope he does because it breaths meaning into both geology and running and I find that they go quite well together.
Krupicka often discusses songs that play in his head on certain runs (many of these are great songs and introduce me to new music). I am obsessed with music and find that different runs have different moods and while running a particular song comes to mind and paints a backdrop or a soundscape in which the drama of my run can unfold. Many of my runs have taken on more meaning and have become more memorable because of the musical link between the run and a song playing in my mind.
Krupicka is a great writer. He is great with the English language. Reading his blogs are inspiring and entertaining and often I feel like I am there running beside him (perhaps the closest I will ever come to running next to him).
This is just a glimpse at Krupicka through my eyes. He is someone I look up to. I think he is inspiring, and as I read about his victories and accomplishments I want to improve and run further and try harder. Krupicka was the focus of a DVD by Negative Split. I haven't had the cash to purchase it yet (being a grad student leaves little cash for anything but school) but I have watched the trailer on youtube dozens of times. I hope to buy it in the near future.
What I love about Ultra Runners is they are humble. Long distance trail running has avoided much of the negative aspects that taint many other athletic events. There is little publicity, the race can't be followed by cameras or crowds. The only variables are the athlete and the environment. In the end each runner is trying to accomplish their own personal best and it becomes a battle of man vs. himself and man vs. nature. Anything can happen over 100 miles of distance. I am happier because I am an endurance trail runner!
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