TED OUTRUNS Todd in October
Ted is a tough competitor. In 2019, I teased him that he was my ace in the hole because I ran more miles than him most months. I felt comfortable that I could callout Ted in any month I wanted. But I knew 2020 would be a different game.
When Ted has that desire to win in his eyes, watch out! I've seen him hustle to the podium for many beer miles, and I've seen him grind through the toughest of challenges. He has summitted 20 of the 58 Colorado fourteeners plus Ben Nevis in Scotland, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, and Mt. Hood in Oregon. The dude has tons of grit and resilience.
That's why I wasn't surprised at all when he came out swinging in October. Since Ted is a former MMA fighter, when you see him swinging, it's best to cover and drop. He began running the virtual Yeti 50 miler at 12:01 am on October 1 - literally 1 minute in to our month-long challenge.
The Yeti challenge was to run 8.35 miles every 4 hours. No banking any mileage and you have to start each stage like clockwork. This ensured that I felt the pain of all 50 miles because it was six separate Strava notifications. Ding. "Your friend Ted has completed a run. Give him Kudos." Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
About midway through the month, Ted felt comfortable enough with his lead that he backed off, but even if you remove his first day 50 miler, he still ran more miles than me.
I had the honor of crewing Ted during his solo Brew to Brew run in 2018. The temperature started around 37 degrees and dropped throughout the day. It even snowed during the race (in April!). That didn't stop Ted who grinded out all 44 miles that day.
He was slated to run Leadville 100 in August, but it was one of the first races to get canceled with the rise of Covid. He's planning to run it in 2021, and I'm planning to be there to crew and pace, even though he crushed me this October.
JD OUTRUNS Todd in September
Please join me in a long overdue congratulations to JD for outrunning me in September. JD crewed and paced me for both my 100 mile races. He is a fantastic storyteller and a gifted singer which helps the nighttime miles fly by during a long run. I mean, sure he got me lost at one point during Vermont 100, but he did sprint back the way we came to save me from having to double-check.
He has a light, gazelle-like running stride and a contagious smile. He's also sharp-witted and an agressive trash talker. One of my favorite JD moments came when a large group of us were crewing him for the Ozark Trail 100. He pre-made soup and asked us to warm it up for him at the Hazel Creek Aid Station. We cranked up the stove, warmed up the soup and put it in a thermos, apparently a little too early and didn't bother to check it before handing it to JD. He ate some of the soup, arose to leave the aid station and very politely said, "Next time, could the soup be warm please?" We screwed up, and he was so friendly and polite.
Like so many of us, 2020 has been an off year for JD. He didn't run much over the summer and early fall, so when September started he committed to 4-5 runs a week usually at 6 miles or more a pop. He also decided never to check on my mileage. He was going to run what he could and see if that was enough. I used that to my advantage a few times making it sound like I was right on his tail.
Congratulations to JD for having such a successful month, and thanks for always making me laugh with a funny story or making me smile with a quick song. He is a badass. True.
MISTY OUTRUNS Todd in August
Please join me in congratulating Misty Wright for outrunning me in August. On August 1, 2019, Misty trash talked me because she ran 8 more miles than me in July. In fairness, I asked for it. I was calling out Steve Crutchfield because I ran more miles than him. She also boldly claimed that “My August and September are going to be high months, too.” Game on!
A month later, she ran an impressive 152 miles, but I bested her with 174. When I asked if she’d like a rematch in 2020, she eagerly accepted. This August, she was prepared to run 300 miles to ensure she won our outrun challenge. Unfortunately, I cheated her out of a competitive race by entering the month still recovering from an injury. Misty loving a good challenge, suggested we compete on something where I could put up more of a fight. She wanted an earned victory!
Brainstorming back and forth, we came up with Bonus Activities Deemed as Silly Shenanigans (BADASS) - twenty crazy side challenges. I’m thrilled to say I eeked out a victory in our Bonus Activities winning 10 of them compared to Misty’s 9 wins. But the larger fact remains, that she dominated the outrun challenge logging 114 miles compared to my 35.
Our list of 20 bonus activities
Misty is pure badass. I knew of her reputation in the running community as a gritty runner who keeps going, and in January 2019, I had the opportunity to witness her endurance determination first hand in the Bandera 100k. I DNFed that miserable race, but Misty toughed it out to finish in 21:51. She’s impressive!
Two months later, she demonstrated more grit at the Pistol Ultra where she ran a 90-mile 100k. Overcoming blisters, shivering cold, and sharp shooting pains in her knee, she kept relentlessly moving forward. Her goal was 100 miles, and the only thing that stopped her was the clock.
Nothing stops Misty. She conquered her first 100 miler at Pumpkin Holler Hunnerd in October 2019. She is a woman of power and fortitude. She has so many stories of how she persevered and overcame obstacles. Like her journey into running when she bet two office mates she could loose more weight than them leading up to a race several months away. She lost over 80 pounds and won the bet.
Misty’s highlights for the month are captured in the chart below, but let me end with my favorite Misty story. She regularly trains by dragging a tire behind her. I saw this and though it was insane. Tires are heavy and the friction of dragging the tire on its side has to create tremendous resistance.
That was the first activity she added as one of our bonus activities. She was kind enough lend me one of her tires and take me on one of her training runs (the day after she ran 31 miles). Preparing me for this challenge, she said, “It’s harder than it looks” at least five times.
My response was always, “It looks pretty hard.” Misty has so much confidence and such an infectious “can-do” attitude, that most things look doable to her. One of her incredible traits is that she looks at difficult challenges as if they are easy. That’s because she breaks them down step-by-step, plans for the unexpected obstacles, overcomes them one-by-one, and makes things happen. Congratulations, Misty, and thanks for inspiring me and challenging me to embrace tough stuff.
Misty led in mileage the entire month.
Who won each activity. Misty won 9 and I won 10.