Ken's input on the 50 miler...

Well, where to begin??

First the race should be called "Human vs. Horse" because there seemed to be a pretty even mix of females and males taking on the dreaded Mingus Mountain.  This race is really not against the horses anyway, they are simply a pretty distraction that you need to avoid at all cost and let pass.  This race is human vs. mountain --- BAD mountain! 

I will first mention our excellent 12 milers:

Jim Pullaro finished 2nd overall in 1:41.  Jim has been with us for a couple months now and the improvement is unparalled!

Dan Munsell who is cutting times down as well finished 8th in 1:50!  Dan looks like he is coming in to his best shape of the year.  

Brian Peacock at age 70 ran a fine 1:54, finishing 11th of 34 runners overall.  Our Boston elocutionist is back and ready to rumble...

Many thanks to Dan and Julie Munsell and Brian Peacock who got there early to take pics of Steve Orth and I and wish us good luck.  Many thanks also to Jim Pullaro who stayed and took pics of me finishing (as did Dan and Julie).

Next is Steve Orth in the 50 mile "fun run" (NOT!).  Steve and I are good friends and run together frequently.  Although he has had a few tough races this year, his recent race times have been better than last year and his mountain training for this race was better than last year.   I somewhat badgered Steve into doing this race after we got so close last year.  Last year we missed the final cutoff (at mile 43) by about 10 minutes after a lengthy blister stop and getting lost between miles 16 and 20. 

Other than the Salmon, ID marathon just 3 weeks before the race, my training had been spotty at best and I was on the road most of the time anyway.   I was actually more worried about myself than Steve...I just didn't want to slow him down and there were a couple patches last year when I didn't feel good and probably did slow Steve down. 

This year I had an All-Star day with basically zero pain and never feeling bad.  I had the day I was hoping Steve would have.  Unfortunately his back was hurting early and he had trouble with the big climbs.  Steve dropped at mile 32. 

I told Steve a couple of times that my friend Beth was praying for us on this day.  She was praying that my recent respiratory problem wouldn't mess me up.  She prayed for Steve to get the belt buckle and for some odd reason she prayed that we wouldn't get bitten by a snake?  Would you believe Steve almost stepped on a snake and it scared the crap out of both of us around mile 22!  I tried to find the snake online - the closest I could come was an Arizona Kingsnake or a Milksnake. I recently reconnected with Beth (Ford).  We went to elementary, Jr. high and Sr. high together in Berkeley, CA and she now lives in Anthem.  Her prayers sure worked for me...

Ok back to the race...I really didn't care about going on nor did I think I could make the 43 mile cutoff time at that point. 

At about mile 30 I told Steve that he was a good friend and as tough as they come.  How many runners would even try such a crazy race let alone get as far as he has?  I told Steve that I only was there to help him - that the race wasn't that important for me.  I just wanted Steve to finish.  

Steve insisted that I go on without him and I kicked it into high gear for 11 miles after leaving Steve.  It was a welcome sight to see Dan Pemble at the mile 38 rest station with a coke and Twinkies!  Now that was cool and gave me a nice pick up.  Dan also circled around and met me again with 2-3 miles to go.   I made it to the 43 mile cutoff with 60 seconds to spare and finished the 50 miler in 11:44 with 16 minutes to spare.  I was a little bummed just before seeing Dan for the 2nd time - 4 horses had just passed me as a team and I had passed all 4 seperately over the previous 4 miles.  I thought I was going to beat a horse!  Oh the ebb and flow of emotions in an ultra - you gotta love it.  

Thanks to all who were there at the finish cheering for me and taking pics.  I appreciate it greatly!  As for next year - I will go on record by saying that I will never bug Steve again to do this race.  The tracks are so tough and many are quite rocky.  The climbs and drops are severe at times and cruel doesn't say enough...I won't say "Never" but I think volunteering next year is a really good idea.

One last thought... What I would discover later in the race is that the last 7 miles were the best on the course and a fast downhill section --- Steve and I could have made the final 50 mile 12 hour cutoff time last year.  I'll always remember that. 

I will try to add some pics tomorrow..

 Run true to yourself.. Ken Ekman

Brian Peacock's version of the 12 miler...

Man Versus Horse

Brian Peacock

October 5, 2008

Back in the day man found that he could go further and faster on a horse because horses have more feet than men. Horses are also good at carrying things. Nowadays horses are mainly used for entertainment; people like to ride them, and lose their shirts on horses that do not live up to expectations. Horses are like people in terms of strength, stamina and skill. Big horses can pull a plough or cart or even a trailer full of beer, horses can gallop like the wind and carry the mail from coast to coast in next to no time; horses can skillfully walk or trot over rough terrain. Horses, like men, need to have the right genes for the right job and also need to be trained, just like runners. Some runners are like race horses – long, light, lithe and like lightening; others are ponderous and persistent, like Clydesdales – they trade heart for genes. Most people do not run.

Competitive man likes to pit his wits and abilities against all new technology, like horses and airplanes. Unfortunately, Icarus found that sometimes the airplane wins, especially at high altitudes close to the sun. The competition between horse and man has been waged for centuries. It is rumored that had Phidippides used a horse on his 140 mile jaunt over the rugged terrain to Sparta to gather allies for the Battle of Marathon, history may have changed. In the 1920s a bunch of endurance runners set out to run across America. Their challenges were both the distance and the cost. Many dropped out and the others had to use all sorts of schemes to raise money, like prize fighting and racing against horses.

Moving forward to yesterday, I had dubious pleasure of prolonging this perverse predilection of runners to match their stamina against horses over the rough terrain on Mingus Mountain, over which the sun rises to lighten the day in Prescott, AZ. This competition has been going on for 25 years (http://www.managainsthorse.com/) and has three levels – 50 miles for real men (and women), 25 miles for wannbes and a 12 mile flat course for wimps. I ran the twelve mile race for reasons that I’ll be pleased to explain if you have a couple of hours to spare one day.

Sometimes the horse wins. On yesterday’s occasion this was definitely true. At the start of the 25 mile race a horse got spooked and started bucking violently throwing it’s rider up and then down onto the stony bank of a wash. A very big ouch that generated calls for nurse race participants, ambulances, fire trucks and a helicopter. I have not heard yet about the injuries as the 12 mile race started soon after this terrible sight. I hope the rider is OK, at least she was “in stable condition” when she left.

The record is as follows – Ken Eckman - 50 miles, outstanding. Steve Orth - 32 miles – heroic. Jim Pullaro - 11.08 miles, fast. Dan Munsell - 11.08 miles, color coordinated, Brian Peacock - 11.08 miles, also ran; Julie Munsell – photographic excellence. After bonfire and chilli - both hot. Other eats - tasty and healthy. Organization - apparently casual – like herding cats, horses and runners all at the same time – but most effective.

But what about the race you may well ask? It all depends on your point of view. Sane observers would suggest that loose sand that gets into your shoes, hills that take your breath away,, rocks that jump up and trip you, bushes that scratch you, snakes that wait for the next billygoat to pass and a day that was conducive to sitting on the couch watching football are sufficient reasons for all but the terminally insane to avoid this event. On the other hand, insanity aside, runners actually like this stuff, or perhaps the endorphins that go with it. What could be better than watching the aforementioned sun rise over Mingus Mountain, man and horse moving gracefully like a natural canvas worth a thousand charcoals, oils and electronic bits, and runners of all kinds just doing their thing? And then sitting around the bonfire eating trail mix, bananas and hot dogs discussing how great once we were and how good we will be next time, punctuated of course by serious discussions of metatarsophalangealitis, planterfaciitis, iliotibialbanditis, lumbosacralitis, laryngitis, bronchitis, alveolitis, gastritis, dermatitis and intercraniallobitis.

Unlike our hero, Phidippides, we all lived to run another day. We soaked in the tub, ate a burger and drank some beer. One more for the record book.