Ultrarunning

Congratulations for 20 years of serious running. Back in 1997, when 57, I was introduced, firsthand, to a Ride and Tie event, when I competed in a limited distance endurance ride of 25 miles at Mount Hamilton in San Jose, California. Parked next to me, at the campsite, were partners Tony Brickel and Jeff Windenhausen. They had just completed the Mustang Classic Ride and Tie event. One thing led to another and I too soon started competing in the Ride and Tie events. For those of you that do not know what is a Ride and Tie, I’ll tell you. Ride and tie is composed of a team. The team consisted of two individuals, and a horse. One person rode while the teammate runs. They take turns alternately running and riding. The team began the race together and then completed the race together over distances that ranged from 25 to 100 miles of mountain trails. Thus, serious running began. Since that momentous time, I completed over 1800 trail miles of ride and tie. Within the 1800 miles, I also completed a 75 mile event and was victorious in a 100 mile event with partner Jonathan Jordan and with my equine Gypsy. Further, I began competing and running in trail events that ranged from 5K’s to 100 miles. However, many of those events have been 50 K’s. In fact, this coming Saturday, the 25th, Tony, Jonathan and I are running the Salmon Falls 50 K. Jonathan, Georgia born, is a defense attorney practicing in the San Diego area. He has been running 50 K’s in my neck of the woods for the past 12 years or so. Tony, assisted me on my first Tevis endurance ride. This was also a 100 mile one day event. Tony and his wife, Debbie, were there at the vet check in Forest Hill, on that day, some 60 miles into the ride and again at the finish in Auburn, California. Tony, also met me at Robie Point some 97 miles, give or take, when I completed the Western States 100 mile endurance run. Since his retirement, we’ve been running together roughly 3 times a week and have competed in many events together. Tony my technical support friend; a co-producer on our TV show; had created a video that accompanied book signings and presentations for my first book “It Has Nothing To Do with Age.” He has also provided a multitude of assistance in many numerous venues. Many things have been stated on the trail that stay on the trail. Some might question compulsive running, averaging 50 miles per week since 2001. I am simply running away from illness, and running toward health. If you doubt my simplicity, take a good look at me, view pictures of others my age, consult with Dan Merck my physician, read “It Has Nothing To Do with Age,” or accompany me on a trail run. Then we can seriously talk. Those that still have doubts, about running toward health, consider reading the article, “Keep It Moving, in the 12-11-16 edition of the New York Times. This article evaluated male volunteers. They were active four days in a row and then had four sedentary days in a row. When active, these individuals walked as often as they could. In contrast, when sedentary, they sat for about 14 hours a day. On the evening of the fourth day, the men ran for an hour. The next morning they ate a high-fat sugary breakfast. The men were then evaluated for the amount of triglycerides, which are the fats associated with heart disease that enter the bloodstream after meals. In summary, the researchers found that the men who sat for 14 hours a day and even though they ran the next morning, their triglycerides level in their blood remained high. Too much sitting seemed to have made their bodies resistant to the benefits of exercise. In essence, keep moving, so that you can have more of an opportunity for healthy triglyceride reduction in your bloodstream. PS In writing this post, I wrote this brief testimonial with my computer, which lies raised on a platform so that I stand. I continue to talk the talk and walk the walk. No one, to my knowledge, said doing what’s good for your mind and body was easy, because it’s not.