The man in the picture is Ralph Hirt (left). He is 71 years old currently. I met him in 2008 at the Hagg Lake Ultra Marathon in Forest Grove, Or. He is a resident of my husbands home town Crescent City. He knows my husbands grandparents. This is a photo of us after the race.

Someone told me that they read "research says you should only run one ultra every 2 years." The person that wrote that research needs to get a reality check. And to that I say, you gotta read the following article, run a ultra yourself and stick to what ya know. As for me, after I run the Hagg Lake Ultra on Feb 20th, 2010, I think I'll run another in May of 2010.

Great article, tribute to a man I admire, Ralph Hirt.

Hirt completes another 100-mile marathon at 71

Written by Bill Choy, The Triplicate February 20, 2009 08:35 am

Plans to take part in another ultra run this weekend in Ore.

Local resident Ralph Hirt, 71, poses for a photo during the Rocky Raccoon ultramarathon in Texas, which is a 100-mile race. Submitted photo

At 71 years young, local resident Ralph Hirt recently completed the 100-mile Rocky Raccoon ultramarathon in Texas.
Hirt finished the race in 25 hours and 48 minutes on Feb. 7, besting his 27-hour, 32-minute time at Rocky Raccoon last year.

“It feels good,” Hirt said. “I think I was a little bit disappointed by my performance last year. I thought I could do better than that.”

Hirt finished first in his age division, although he was the only one in his age group taking part. In November, he placed first out of three runners in his age division at an ultramarathon race in Arizona.

Overall, he finished 96th out of 239 people who started the Rocky Raccoon race, although only 162 finished the grueling 100-mile marathon.

“I thought I ran well and I did not have trouble with blisters,” Hirt said. Last year, Hirt was troubled by blisters at Rocky Raccoon, which slowed him down.

For several years, Hirt has taken part in ultramarathons, which are races longer than 26 miles.

Hirt is active in the racing community in Crescent City and has been race director of the Redwood Wild River Run and the Fourth of July Run.

Hirt takes part in a number of ultra races each year and plans to compete in another ultramarathon race in Forest Grove, Ore., this weekend.

For Hirt, ultra racing is a passion. “That’s what I do,” he said.

He plans to race in another 100-mile race in June at the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run, which goes from Squaw Valley to Auburn.

“It’s the Super Bowl of 100- mile marathons,” Hirt said.

For more information on ultra racing go to run100s.com.

Relationships

I have been examining the relationships that I have in my life now and in the past. I am married, have friends that I trust enough to tell everything to and friends that I don't, have acquaintances, friends that hold a common interest with and I have a facebook account, I have had pen pals and imaginary friends. I looked up the word friend in Wikipedia and the definition that I got is interesting. In my own words, a friend is someone that you enjoy being around and spend time with, someone whom you can trust, have conversations with. I enjoyed reading in Wiki what a soul mate is. The frenemy is funny as well as Boston marriage and fruit flies, fag hag, fag stag? Never heard of those terms.

Just thoughts....

Further reading;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friend

Friendship is the cooperative and supportive relationship between people. In this sense, the term connotes a relationship which involves mutual knowledge, esteem, affection, and respect along with a degree of rendering service to friends in times of need or crisis. Friends will welcome each other's company and exhibit loyalty towards each other, often to the point of altruism. Their tastes will usually be similar and may converge, and they will share enjoyable activities. They will also engage in mutually helping behavior, such as the exchange of advice and the sharing of hardship. A friend is someone who may often demonstrate reciprocating and reflective behaviors. Yet for some, the practical execution of friendship is little more than the trust that someone will not harm them.

Value that is found in friendships is often the result of a friend demonstrating the following on a consistent basis:

• the tendency to desire what is best for the other
• sympathy and empathy
• honesty, perhaps in situations where it may be difficult for others to speak the truth, especially in terms of pointing out the perceived faults of one's counterpart
• mutual understanding

In a comparison of personal relationships, friendship is considered to be closer than association, although there is a range of degrees of intimacy in both friendships and associations. Friendship and association can be thought of as spanning across the same continuum. The study of friendship is included in sociology, social psychology, anthropology, philosophy, and zoology. Various theories of friendship have been proposed, among which are social exchange theory, equity theory, relational dialectics, and attachment styles.

[edit] Types of friendships

Some examples are as follows:

Best friend (or close friend): a person(s) with whom someone shares extremely strong interpersonal ties with as a friend.

Acquaintance: a friend, but sharing of emotional ties isn't present. An example would be a coworker with whom you enjoy eating lunch, but would not look to for emotional support.

Soulmate: the name given to someone who is considered the ultimate, true, and eternal half of the other's soul, in which the two are now and forever meant to be together.

Pen pal: people who have a relationship via postal correspondence. They may or may not have met each other in person and may share either love, friendship, or simply an acquaintance between each other.

Internet friendship: a form of friendship or romance which takes place over the Internet.

Fruit flies^[9], Fag hag (female)^[10], or Fag stag (male)^[11]: denotes a person (usually heterosexual) who forms deep ties or close friendships with gay men. Men (gay or straight) who have lesbian friends have been referred to lezbros or lesbros.^[12] The term has often been claimed by these straight members in gay-straight friendships, however some feel that it is deregatory.^[13][14]

Comrade: means "ally", "friend", or "colleague" in a military or (usually) left-wing political connotation. This is the feeling of affinity that draws people together in time of war or when people have a mutual enemy or even a common goal. Friendship can be mistaken for comradeship. Former New York Times war correspondent Chris Hedges wrote:

“

We feel in wartime comradeship. We confuse this with friendship, with love. There are those, who will insist that the comradeship of war is love — the exotic glow that makes us in war feel as one people, one entity, is real, but this is part of war's intoxication. [...] Friends are predetermined; friendship takes place between men and women who possess an intellectual and emotional affinity for each other. But comradeship – that ecstatic bliss that comes with belonging to the crowd in wartime – is within our reach. We can all have comrades.[15]

”

As a war ends, or a common enemy recedes, many comrades return to being strangers, who lack friendship and have little in common.

Casual relationship or "Friends with benefits": the sexual or near-sexual and emotional relationship between two people who don't expect or demand to share a formal romantic relationship.

Boston marriage: an American term used in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to denote two women that lived together in the same household independent of male support. Relationships were not necessarily sexual. It was used to quell fears of lesbians after World War I.

Blood brother or blood sister: may refer to people related by birth, or a circle of friends who swear loyalty by mingling the blood of each member together.

Cross-sex friendship is one that is defined by a person having a friend of the opposite sex: a male who has a female friend, or a female who has a male friend. Historically cross-sex friendships have been rare. This is caused by the fact that often men would labor in order to support themselves and their family, while women stayed at home and took care of the housework and children. The lack of contact led to men forming friendships exclusively with their colleagues, and women forming friendships with other stay at home mothers. However, as women attended schools more and as their presence in the workplace increased, the segregated friendship dynamic was altered, and cross-sex friendships began to increase.

Open relationship: a relationship, usually between two people, that agree each partner is free to have sexual intercourse with others outside the relationship. When this agreement is made between a married couple, it's called an open marriage.

Roommate: a person who shares a room or apartment (flat) with another person and do not share a familial or romantic relationship.

Imaginary friend: a non-physical friend created by a child. It may be seen as bad behavior or even taboo (some religious parents even consider their child to be possessed by an evil spirit), but is most commonly regarded as harmless, typical childhood behavior. The friend may or may not be human, and commonly serves a protective purpose.

Spiritual friendship: the Buddhist ideal of kalyana-mitra, that is a relationship between friends with a common interest, though one person may have more knowledge and experience than the other. The relationship is the responsibility of both friends and both bring something to it.

Frenemy: a blend of the words fr(iend) and enemy, the term frenemy refers to someone who pretends to be a friend but actually is an enemy---a proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing in the world of friendships. Most people have encountered a frenemy at one time of another, either at school, at work, or lurking in their neighborhood. The term frenemy was reportedly coined by a sister of author and journalist Jessica Mitford in 1977, and popularized more than twenty years later on the third season of Sex and the City. While most research on friendship and health has focused on the positive relationship between the two, a frenemy is a potential source of irritation and stress. One study by psychologist Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad found that unpredictable love-hate relationships characterized by ambivalence can lead to elevations in blood pressure. In a previous study, the same researcher found that blood pressure is higher around friends for whom they have mixed feelings than it is when they’re around people whom they clearly dislike.^[16]

[edit] Friendship and health

The conventional wisdom is that good friendships enhance an individual's sense of happiness and overall well-being. But a number of solid studies support the notion that strong social supports improve woman’s prospects for good health and longevity. Conversely, it has been shown that loneliness and lack of social supports are linked to an increased risk of heart disease, viral infections, and cancer as well as higher mortality rates. Two female researchers have even termed friendship networks a “behavioral vaccine” that protects health and mental health^[17].

While there is an impressive body of research linking friendship and health status, the precise reasons for this connection are still far from clear. Most of the studies are large prospective studies (that follow people over a period of time) and while there may be a correlation between the two variables (friendship and health status), researchers still don’t know if there is a cause-and-effect relationship, e.g. that good friendships actually improve health.

There are a number of theories that attempt to explain the link, including that: 1) Good friends encourage their friends to lead more healthy lifestyles; 2) Good friends encourage their friends to seek help and access services, when needed; 3) Good friend enhance their friend’s coping skills in dealing with illness and other health problems; and/or 4) Good friends actually affect physiological pathways that are protective of health^[18].

[edit] Love

See also: Marriage

Love is closely related to friendship in that it involves strong interpersonal ties between two or more people.

In terms of interpersonal relationships, there are two distinct types of love:

1. Platonic love: is a deep and non-romantic connection or friendship between two individuals. It is love where the sexual element does not enter.
2. Romance (love): considered similar to Platonic love, but involves sexual elements.

You know you're an Ultrarunner if...(Funny!!!)

You know you're an Ultrarunner if...

1.. Your wife tries to introduce you to your three children and you reply
"Three?"

2.. You spend more time in the drug section than the food section of the
local market.

3.. You wonder why they don't make all running socks a dusty brown color.

4.. You have more dirt on your shoes than in your garden.

5.. You think that flagel and ibutrophin belong on the breakfast table.

6.. You get more phone calls at 5:00 AM than at 5:00 PM.

7.. You don't recognize your friends with their clothes on.

8.. You have more buckles than belts.

9.. You postpone your wedding because it will interfere with your
training.

10.. You keep mistaking your boss for Norm Klein.

11.. 6am is sleeping in.

12.. Your feet look better without toenails.

13.. Your idea of a fun date is a 30-mile training run.

14.. You're tempted to look for a bush when there's a long line for the
public restroom.

15.. You don't think twice about eating food you've picked up off the
floor.

16.. You can expound on the virtues of eating salt.

17.. You develop an unnatural fear of mountain lions.

18.. When you wake up without the alarm at 4AM, pop out of bed and think
"lets hit the trails".

19.. When you can recite the protein grams by heart of each energy bar.

20.. You don't even LOOK for the Porto-sans anymore.

21.. Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday is to run at least your age
in miles with some fellow crazies.

22.. Your ideal way to have fun is to run as far as you can afford to with
some fellow crazies.

23.. You know the location of every 7-11, public restroom, and water
fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.

24.. You run marathons for speed work.

25.. You have more fanny packs and water bottles and flashlights than
Imelda Marcos has shoes.

26.. You visit a national park with your family and notice a thirty-mile
trail connecting where you are with the place your family wants to visit next,
which is a 100-mile drive away, and you think "Hmmmm".

27.. Someone asks you how long your training run is going to be and you
answer "seven or eight ... hours".

28.. People at work think you're in a whole lot better shape than you
think you are.

29.. You actually are in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.

30.. Your weekend runs are limited by how much time you have, not by how
far you can run.

31.. You always have at least one black toenail.

32.. You buy economy-sized jars of Vaseline on a regular basis.

33.. You tried hashing, but felt the trails were too short and easy.

34.. You think of pavement as a necessary evil that connects trails.

35.. You rotate your running shoes more often than you rotate your tires.

36.. Your friends recognize your better dressed in shorts than in long
pants.

37.. You really envied Tom Hanks' long run as Forest Gump.

38.. You carry money around in a ziplock bag because store clerks
complained that your money's usually too sweaty.

39.. Any time a plain old runner talks about her aches and pains, you can
sympathize because you've already had that at least once.

40.. You put more miles on your feet than on your rental car over the
weekend.

41.. You don't need to paint your toenails; they're already different
colors.

42.. You start planning the family vacation around races, and vice-versa.

43.. When you start considering your next vacation location on the merits
of its ultras only.

44.. You spend you entire paycheck on running gear, ultrabars, and entry
fees.

45.. You miss a work deadline cause you just had to have that "one more
minute" on-line writing to the list.

46.. You become a quasi-expert on different detergents so as to not "hurt"
your tee shirts.

47.. You leave work early to hit the trails.

48.. You wear t-shirts based on if you've had good work outs when you 've
worn them before.

49.. Have a trail shoe collection that would make Imelda Marcos envious.

50.. You walk up the stairs and run down them.

51.. Peeing in the toilet seems unnatural.

52.. You start wearing running clothes to work so you're prepared for
afterwards.

53.. Running trail is better then sex.(even if you don't get any)

54.. Vaseline isn't just for fun anymore.

55.. When the start of a marathon feels like a 5K and you're wondering
"Why is everyone in such a rush? Where the ##@@**!! is the fire?"

56.. If as an infant you were dropped on your head.

57.. If nobody recognizes your power T's. Met a guy at the market the
other day who was wearing an AR50 T. So was I. I gave him a hearty, "Ta-da."
He said, "Oh yeah, I tell people we were all acquitted and the charges were
dropped."

58.. When you sign up for a 10K and

a.. you strap on your fanny pack because you never know where the aid
stations are.

b.. you bring your own drinks.

c.. you bring potatoes and salt.

d.. you start fast and a six year old passes you.

e.. you are the only one walking the up hills.

f.. you run it a second time because its not far enough to call a
training run (and you were racing the first time through).

g.. you are the only one around who is eyeing the bushes THAT way.

h.. you punch the lap button on your watch instead of the stop button
at the finish.

59.. When "NEXT GAS 36 MILES" signs start sounding like tempting runs.

60.. Your pedicure kit includes a pair of pliers.

61.. Your number of toes to toenails doesn't match.

62.. You drink from a water bottle at the dinner table.

63.. You consider the mold and mildew in your bottles extra electrolytes.

64.. You just found out Poison and Oak are words by themselves.

65.. You see a 1 quart water bottle colored like an Advil bottle, and
don't realize that it's not in fact an Advil bottle.

66.. If you've been kicked off the Ultra List.
==========================

==========================================================
Date: Tue, 02 Feb 1999 16:26:04 -0600
From: John Thieme

You know you're married to an ultrarunner when Valentine's gifts come
from Ultrafit.

You know you're married to an ultrarunner when she helps you up and
says, "Come on, suck it up, keep moving!" and you know she means it in
love.

You know you're an ultrarunner when a prospective employer asks for a
photograph and all you have is race photos.

You know you're an ultrarunner when the races you enter end in a
different area code. -and pass through several different Zip codes
enroute.

You know you're an ultrarunner when your crew tries to keep you
motivated by saying, "You're in second place and only 6 hours behind
first with 25 miles to go!"
====================================================================================
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 19:12:59 -0800
From: Douglas O McKeever

You know you're an ultrarunner when you go to your 8:00 a.m. college
geology class and you can use the salt crystals, still caked on your
glasses frames from your early morning run, in your talk on the category
of sedimentary materials called evaporites (and I'm not making this up).
====================================================================================
Date: Wed, 03 Feb 1999 14:50:38 +1100
From: Mister White

You know you're an ultrarunner when, on the night of a bad thunderstorm
and downpour, you ring for a cab, and your announcement that this is the
*first time* you're not getting home under your own steam causes a
stunned silence in the office.
====================================================================================
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 07:22:47 EST
From: Josh Miller

You know your an ultrarunner when you actually sit down and read all of the
postings about, "You know your an ultrarunner when..." and can laugh and
relate to all of the comments.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 03:29:22 EDT
From: Dave Emmons

You know you're an ultrarunner when you don't finish on the same day as the winner.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 11:04:15 EDT
From: Dina Kovash

You know you're an ultrarunner when people praise you to the high heavens for
being able to finish a marathon, and you feel insulted.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 07:19:51 -0600
From: "Charles T. Thorn"

You know you're an ultrarunner after you post your third ULTRA message
about relative 100 miler difficulty.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 09:02:11 -0500 (CDT)
From: Earl Blewett

You know you're an ultrarunner your dogs can drink out of water bottles
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 07:16:42 -0700
From: "Covarrubias, Tony (IT_Supp_App)"

You ask advice of hundreds of people on a list, looking for answers you have
already determined to be correct, taking hold of only those, and running with 'em.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 10:27:33 -0400
From: "Robbins, Larry"

When you meet the opposite sex you see:

1) A possible crew.

2) A possible pacer.

3) A possible search and rescue team.

4) A possible race director.

5) A possible source of race entry fees.

The opposite sex looks backs and thinks:

1) An Ultrarunner, gee I sure would like to crew.

2) An Ultrarunner, sure would like to spend the night in the woods with them!

3) An Ultrarunner, I've been searching all of my life.

4) An Ultrarunner, sure hope my event is attractive.

5) An Ultrarunner, wonder if I could watch at Orlander, if I pay their way.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 09:32:07 -0500
From: "Scott Parker"

You know you're an ultra runner when you can really identify with those
scenes at night in the woods in The Blair Witch Project. (Anybody else have
some flashbacks to their most recent 100 miler in that movie?)
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 09:39:11 -0500
From: "Johansen, Tim"

I knew I was an Ultranrunner when my wife asked me the morning after my first 50
miler if I was still planning on that 100K in five weeks, I smiled and said "Sure!"
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 09:41:16 -0500 (CDT)
From: Rick Lewis

If so many places on your body hurt you can't figure out which one hurts
more, so you ignore them all and do another 50K, and then you feel better!
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 10:49:41 -0400
From: Claude Sinclair

You strap on your water bottles and walk the hills . . . . . . in a 5 K
race and consider that your 10 minute pace is a blistering pace.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 11:14:28 -0400
From: Rock Cogar

You know you're an ultrarunner when you do a triathlon and it is your RUN
time that is slower than the years when you specialized in triathlon.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 17:38:33 +0200
From: "Pascal Le Bail"

...you are told *not* to run another marathon during the next few months
(because that would be bad for your health), and you really follow that
advice - by immediately sending off the entry form for your next 50/100 miler.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 11:06:29 -0500
From: Mary Gorski

You know you are an ultrarunner when somebody asks about the distance of an
upcoming race and you, without thinking, say,

"Oh, it's just a 50K."

...forgetting that for most people, a 5K is a heck of an accomplishment.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 11:15:20 -0500
From: "Shepherd, Jerry K."

When running a marathon and at mile 20 say to yourself, "Wow, only 6 more
miles left, this is such a great training run!"

NB: saying it aloud can make one seem arrogant, beware!
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 09:59:27 -0700
From: "Andrew Wilkins"

Everything in your life, everything, is organized in different sized zip-loc bags.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 14:07:01 EDT
From: Terri

You know you are an ultrarunner when you go for an easy 2 hour run in the
middle of a Hurricane and think it is fun to get wet, muddy and run through
the rivers that were once trails.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 15:20:35 EDT
From: Jim Sisko

You know you are an ultrarunner when you get to the 81 mile point of a 100
miler and say to yourself, "Wow, only 19 miles left!"
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 15:15:25 -0600
From: Dana Roueche

You know you're an ultra runner when no one believes you when you say "never again".
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 17:18:19 -0500
From: "Jeff Selinger"

1. You try to tie double knots in your Oxfords.

2. You pass a swamp towards the end of a run and think 'How bad could it be?"
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 17:26:59 -0500
From: "Logan Heinrich"

You know you're an ultrarunner if your wife/girlfriend/significant other
asks you if you want to have sex on any particular night and you respond with:

"sorry, i don't have time, i have to go running"
"sorry, i'm too tired, i just went running"
"sorry, i would rather go read all my messages from the ultra-list"
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 15:36:47 -0700
From: Sally

...you're embarrassed that you've only done 50K's...
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 15:50:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Geri Kilgariff

...when livestock salt blocks look good after a run.
====================================================================================
Date: Thu, 16 Sep 1999 17:18:46 -0700
From: George Beinhorn

When you go down a flight of stairs, uh, backwards, after an ultra and
everybody laughs.
====================================================================================
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 12:57:54 -0700
From: Heather Perry

...you refer to certain 100 mile races as "lowkey."
====================================================================================
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 22:15:54 EDT
From: Holly Neault-Zinzow

You know you are an ultrarunner if...

...You number your running shoes to distinguish old from new, since they all
look dirty.

...Prior to running a difficult race, you check to see if local hospitals and
urgent care centers are in your PPO.

...The only time major household projects get done is in a taper or race
recovery.

You know you are an ultra parent if...

... Your 6 year old knows the difference between a 100k and 100 miler.

...Whenever you anounce an exciting family vacation, the first question is
"Where is the race?"

You know you are an ultraWOMAN if...

...You have more fanny packs than purses.

... You have the complete collection of every "long lasting" lip color ever made.

...You have a walk-in closet dedicated to running apparel.

...You have a permanent combination scar/tan in the outline of a jogbra.
====================================================================================
Date: Sun, 19 Sep 1999 20:20:45 -0700
From: Jennifer Aviles

You know you're an ultrarunner when you need to ask for a ride from a
friend because you drive a stick shift.
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 09:26:04 -0700
From: "Roy Morita"

You know you are an ultra runner if...

you call a 50-mile race "just another training run".

you think a 100-mile race is easier than a 50 miler because you don't have to go out
as fast.

you say, "Taper? Who's got time to taper? I have a race coming up this weekend."
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 12:49:35 EDT
From: PsychoRunr@aol.com
In a message dated 9/19/99 11:19:02 PM, javiles@azstarnet.com writes:

Or...you have to rent a car to drive to a major event because you and your
pacer own stick shits and neither will be able to drive them on the return trip.
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 12:15:16 -0700
From: George Beinhorn

You're tapering/recovering, and you'd rather drive 50 miles to watch Ann
Trason's heavenly running style for 20 seconds than the Super Bowl.
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 21:12:14 GMT
From: "Robert Youngren"

Ya know your an ultrarunner when:

1. You use your local 5 and 10km's for "speed work."

2. On a long drive you see the road signs listing various mileages
to different places and think of how long it would take to get
there on foot rather than by the car your driving.

3. You've started a race in the dark, run all day, and finished
in the dark (if your lucky).

4. Your non-Ultrarunning running friends look at you strange when you
tell them that 10:00/Mile is a fast pace for a 100 mile race (not
to mention most ultras).

5. You don't hesitate to lie down in the trail (anywhere) when you are
falling asleep on your feet during the early morning hours on the second day
of a 100 miler; and it feels so comfortable.
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 17:22:50 -0700
From: Earl Preeper

You go to bit into a hamburger at the finish line bar-b-q and get a cramp in
your jaw...ouch!!! or when your teeth hurt!!!
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 18:43:38 -0700
From: "Bob Matulac"

You know your an ultra runner when you meet someone of the opposite sex on
the trail of a 100 and all of conversation is about
what color is your urine, can you drink? and were you able to dump.

Ya know you're and ultra runner when a girl changes her tank and her bra in
front of you and all you do is take another drink of water, look at your
watch, get up and tell your pacer "Let's hit the trail."
====================================================================================
Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 22:17:05 EDT
From: Pat Wellington

Or...You know you're a "Real" ultrarunner when you actually DO drive a stick
shift home with a severely pulled left hamstring, as I did in May driving
home from Quicksilver 50K in San Jose to San Francisco. Clutching with a
pulled hamstring is a true test of one's pain threshold, and mine is rather
low even with minor irritations. If I had videotaped my facial contortions
and screaming sound effects on that drive home, the tape could have easily
been used in some horror flick!
====================================================================================
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 06:21:33 -0700 (PDT)
From: Norm Yarger

You know you are an ultra runner when you read these
posts and reply, "So, what's your point?"
====================================================================================
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 10:17:28 -0400
From: "Joseph Salwan"

When you try to determine which 100 mile race is more difficult...

To be continued...
====================================================================================

No Mans Land

I am training for my 5th 31 mile run, not race. It is a Ultra Marathon and I really don't think it is a good idea to call it a race. I'm not racing it. In the world of Ultra running, 31 miles is low.
There is a spot in Forest Park on the Wildwood trail that I call No Mans Land. It is right after Firelane 1 intersects and near Nature Trail. I call it that, because not as many runners go that direction. My No Mans Land is an area of about 4 miles, even though Wildwood goes on for about 30.
On May 31st, 1 week after I ran the Forest Park Ultra Marathon, I ran into No Mans Land, 10 miles. It was that day that I heard a voice loud and clear or so I thought cry out "help" I didn't stop because it scared me and I heard it again a few miles later. I figured I was just delusional because of the distance between the voices.
Today, I ran my highest training run, 24 miles. I ran it at my beloved spot Forest Park and I was headed towards No Mans Land for the first time since 5-31. I know big baby. Up until now, I've just avoided that 4 mile area, ran around it, never through.
My run started with a warm up around the Lower Macleay trail on the streets for 2 miles. I then headed up the trail via Macleay. It is a very beautiful area for the first mile, with a stream on either side. For runners, Lower Macleay trail is a fairly hilly trail with rocks for about 1 mile and the hills don't exactly end for about 2.75 miles. The first few times I ran it, I would have to stop and I of course sounded like I had asthma. I was by myself, no dog, but had the mace in my pocket just in case I needed it going into No Mans Land.
When I got there, I grabbed 1/2 of my PBJ sandwich and headed down into it. I instantly saw hikers and their dogs and that made me feel better instantly. Long story short, I never felt fear, I felt annoyance. That area had some thick and heavy mud. It was swampy almost.
I decided once I hit Saltzman road that I was going to get off and run Leif for awhile, more populated with runners that in my opinion like the easier runs. I put on my headphones and ran on Leif for 3 miles. I first caught up with this woman that looked like she had a bad accident with her hair color. I passed her, eventually got bored and went back up towards Wildwood via Firelane, sorry I walked it. If you don't know, that is a horribly .40 huge hill and I was already at mile 17, wasn't going to run it.
Once I got up to the top, I was at the Firelane 1 intersection (remember) near Nature Lane. I decided that I was pretty tired, so I sat down on a bench and got instantly greeted by 3 big dogs, very happy to see me. I pet them and got up for my final 6.5 miles.
Every step the rest of the way hurt. My ankle hurt,the one that has been bothering me, my feet hurt, my legs hurt, my shoulder hurt from almost falling when I tripped earlier, I was exhausted, kept sniffling because of my cold that I was getting over, my hands were swollen, my mood was a little bad and my eyelid was twitching. I had my headphones in one ear and so I started to just concentrate on the music and at times, I was able to forget what I was doing and the pain went away.
When I had about 4 miles to go, I started to think about where I would be at if I was running my normal 4 mile route at home. This got to be a little annoying for me, so I started to notice spots that I knew and the distances between them, helped some and the hikers that I passed helped, I smiled at them and wondered what I looked like, not that it mattered, just gave me something else to think about, other than my pain. At one point, I thought it was going to throw up and then cry. I then had the same thought that I think about when it is 2 weeks before every ultra, how in God's name am I going to get through 31 miles if I can hardly make it 24?
The answer is always the same. Because I can do all things through Christ that Strengthens me and if I ever had any doubt in my abilities, I would never make it through a single ultra.
I finished that 24 miles just fine and in two weeks, I will finish that Ultra.

Fun with flavors

I have this Cuisinart ice cream maker that I bought from Costco a few months back. I absolutely love it. I make all kinds of flavors, vanilla, orange, rocky road, strawberry, blackberry, chocolate, chocolate with peanut butter, butterscotch. Yes it is all kinds of fun to use and the kids eat it almost every night.However, I think it may be making them a little crazy.

"It is better to live your life
asking for forgiveness
than permission"

The best running partners are my friends. The friendships that I have developed over the years is priceless. I will always be forever grateful to the time in my life that I got to know these truly wonderful people and athletes. Their friendship means a lot to me.