Ultras after 45

In four short years, I'll turn 50 and on my 50th birthday will face the fact that I may be past mid-life. At that point, I'll have to justify my impulsive and impractical decisions using words other than "I'm in mid-life crisis...what do you expect?" The phrase worked after I quit my corporate job as an attorney. I used it again with my partner of several years as I departed for Bangkok, and again as I signed on for a stint working with elephants and tigers in the jungle near Myanmar. Later the same explanation allowed me to mountain bike 1500 miles around New Zealand, unsupported. And, my aging parents accepted it as I loaded up a U-Haul for my move to Alaska from a relatively large, predictable Midwestern city.

So, I'm 46 and healthy. I live in Juneau, Alaska surrounded by mountains and glaciers, with tide-water ebbing and flowing beneath our back deck. Juneau boasts some of the world's most beautiful scenery if you can catch it during the forty or so days of sun we have per year. Southeast Alaska is a perfect place for distance runners, hikers, and back country skiers. The summer temps hang around 55 degrees and the winter temps are just below freezing.

Last fall I completed my 20th marathon in Victoria, B.C. (www.royalvictoriamarathon.com). Victoria is a lovely city, and October marathons are my favorites. Anyway, I needed a new goal and started toying with the idea of running an ultra. So, I started thinking about distance and how to increase time on my feet. In February, on my way to the winter Olympics in Vancouver, with one skate ski race under my belt, I completed a marathon near Bellingham. I hadn't run more than 14 miles since Victoria, so I intentionally focused on slowing down my pace to almost 10 minute miles. It was a lovely winter day with temps in the mid-50's. Two loops around a large bay with one or two hills of note but otherwise fairly flat. I finished in time to catch my bus to Vancouver and with the help of the marathon was able to sit through 5 days of watching other people (much faster and more athletic than me) pushing for gold.

One month later (March 2010) I skied a 50k classic event in the Canadian Yukon. Juneau didn't have a great year for snow and my training consisted of one 24 mile ski and a few shorter skis mainly during snow/rain storms. My dog injured himself a couple of weeks before the event, and I was forced to ski alone at night in the mountains. It's much lonelier skiing in driving wind, snow pellets and darkness than having your four-legged buddy racing around like it's the best day of his life.

Next weekend another month will have passed and I'm hoping to complete a 55km trail running event in Washington. Again, my training is marginal but my spirit is strong. I just finished "Born to Run," by Christopher McDougall and was thrilled to read that as runners we may peak around thirty, but the decline of a distance runner is remarkably slow and we don't drop back down to our 19-year-old pace until we're in our early 60's. Gotta love that stat! Anyway, I've picked out a 50 mile ultra marathon for August in British Columbia. The snow is melting off the local trails. Soon I'll put away my skis and skins for good and switch to running, hiking and biking.

See you on the trails,
AJ