Official Entry Essay:
Friedrich Nietzsche International Duathlon 2008
Sitting at the back of the classroom, the kid to my right leans over and whispers “Psst, hey Taylor, I wonder what would happen if…. __________?” (fill in the blank). My unflagging response was probably a shrug and “I don’t know, let’s find out”.
Many years later, a friend (we’ll call him Crazy Pete) hands me a copy of an interview with Ann Trason. In it she talks about running 100 mile events (can you imagine?!). I was dumbfounded. If I remember the article correctly, during her first 100 mile competition she was pulled from the race at mile 90 because she was violently ill and puking everywhere. The article goes on to talk about her many subsequent ultra running accomplishments and victories and the fact that Ann now realizes that she could have finished that first 100 miler because (as she blithely put it) she always gets sick at about mile 90. How cool is that?
This became a topic (among others) of conversation with Crazy Pete during casual afternoon jogs as we trained for our first ½ marathon. And as our discussions digressed into more (and more) extreme events, we made a bargain: I would help him through his first IronMan triathlon if he would help me through my first marathon.
As it turned out, one thing led to another and we did complete our marathons and an IronMan distance triathlon before I moved to Texas two years later.
Within the first year of my arrival in Texas, I received an email from Crazy Pete asking me to “check this out”. It was a link to an article about a 50 mile run Palo Duro (TX) Canyon… Pete joined me in this adventure the following fall. Then, shortly after I relocated to Wisconsin, I got a similar email about a 100 mile run the Southern Kettle Moraine forest. Pete pointed out, it was practically in my “back yard” so the only thing I had to loose was an entry fee, some sleep and a little gas… he paced my dragging arse for the final 25 miles and a 10th place finish.
Sitting at the back of the classroom, the kid to my right leans over and whispers “Psst, hey Taylor, I wonder what would happen if…. __________?” (fill in the blank). My unflagging response was probably a shrug and “I don’t know, let’s find out”.
Many years later, a friend (we’ll call him Crazy Pete) hands me a copy of an interview with Ann Trason. In it she talks about running 100 mile events (can you imagine?!). I was dumbfounded. If I remember the article correctly, during her first 100 mile competition she was pulled from the race at mile 90 because she was violently ill and puking everywhere. The article goes on to talk about her many subsequent ultra running accomplishments and victories and the fact that Ann now realizes that she could have finished that first 100 miler because (as she blithely put it) she always gets sick at about mile 90. How cool is that?
This became a topic (among others) of conversation with Crazy Pete during casual afternoon jogs as we trained for our first ½ marathon. And as our discussions digressed into more (and more) extreme events, we made a bargain: I would help him through his first IronMan triathlon if he would help me through my first marathon.
As it turned out, one thing led to another and we did complete our marathons and an IronMan distance triathlon before I moved to Texas two years later.
Within the first year of my arrival in Texas, I received an email from Crazy Pete asking me to “check this out”. It was a link to an article about a 50 mile run Palo Duro (TX) Canyon… Pete joined me in this adventure the following fall. Then, shortly after I relocated to Wisconsin, I got a similar email about a 100 mile run the Southern Kettle Moraine forest. Pete pointed out, it was practically in my “back yard” so the only thing I had to loose was an entry fee, some sleep and a little gas… he paced my dragging arse for the final 25 miles and a 10th place finish.
And so it goes that we continue our separate adventures, in separate locations with an occasional rendezvous to do something ludicrous or inane for the sake of adventure, to share a few laughs and perhaps make us stronger in one way or another.
It’s been a few miles and several silly events since our jogs and panicked discussions about the fallout from running a 13 mile race. And, while I can’t (nor do I want to) speak for Crazy Pete, I can say a personal highlight was a regurgitated tribute to Ann Trason at mile 70 on my way to completing the Leadville Trail 100 for the first time. I couldn’t imagine what would happen when I first read her interview several years ago, but now I know.
So what’s my point? Well today… I received yet another note from Crazy Pete with an attachement. The email said, “Not sure what I was thinking, but I sent in my entry essay.” The attachment started, “In 1992 my wife, Clar Baldus and I hosted the first ever Friedrich Nietzsche International Duathlon, a 155 mile bike and 32 mile run event held her in Cedar Rapids, IA…”
Hmmm? I don’t know... I may have to find out.
It’s been a few miles and several silly events since our jogs and panicked discussions about the fallout from running a 13 mile race. And, while I can’t (nor do I want to) speak for Crazy Pete, I can say a personal highlight was a regurgitated tribute to Ann Trason at mile 70 on my way to completing the Leadville Trail 100 for the first time. I couldn’t imagine what would happen when I first read her interview several years ago, but now I know.
So what’s my point? Well today… I received yet another note from Crazy Pete with an attachement. The email said, “Not sure what I was thinking, but I sent in my entry essay.” The attachment started, “In 1992 my wife, Clar Baldus and I hosted the first ever Friedrich Nietzsche International Duathlon, a 155 mile bike and 32 mile run event held her in Cedar Rapids, IA…”
Hmmm? I don’t know... I may have to find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment