There's a bumper sticker floating around (usually on a Subaru) that says, "You ran a marathon? That's cute."
This sentiment, but not always the snark, applies to a special breed of people. Ones who do marathons as weekend training runs. Ones who can easily bust through 50 miles before dinner. Ones like Ted Murner. The Naval Academy senior ran down fourth place in the run division of the Arrowhead 135-mile race, a brutal ultramarathon that started Jan. 30 in International Falls, Minn.
Yes, you read that right: 135 miles ... in Minnesota ... in deep winter. Murner finished in 44 hours, 50 minutes.
"Historically coldest gosh darn race anyplace even the Arctic, check average temps, virtually every year luck has us -30 to -40 [degrees], we have frostbite to prove it," race directors say on the Arrowhead website.
Competitors choose between the run, bike and ski divisions and must compete without a pacer.
All racers are required to carry/tow all required gear at all times on the course and must finish with at least one day's worth or 3,000 calories of food and 8 ounces of fuel. Racers may share gear and assist one another; however, each participant must have his own mandatory gear at all times.
Murner says this gear can weigh between 40 and 50 pounds and runners usually drag it behind them on a sled. To train for the race, Murner ramped up his normal academy marathon training by doing extra-long runs and "runs in the cold to help prepare myself mentally for Minnesota."
It's not uncommon for long-distance athletes to hallucinate during races. "I started hallucinating about seven hours from the finish," Murner said. "I thought all these people were in the woods around me. It definitely helped me stay awake."
I asked Murner if there was a certain point in the race when he knew he'd finish.
"I came into the race knowing I would finish. I just don't like quitting things," he said. "I did not know that I would do as well as I did. That was a combo of good training, luck, and a good crew that kept me motivated whenever I saw them."
The race donates all profits to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, which provides college scholarships to children of fallen operators.
Daring enough to try it? Check out race information on the Arrowhead website.
