Somehow I saw a telecast of the WS100 on ABC's wide world of sports when I was a kid. Incredibly, I filed that under the "things I want to do in my life." Somehow enough subliminal items managed to penetrate my psyche (such as the subtle influence to want to do triathlon, see below), leading to my immersion in endurance sports since my teenage years.
My pursuit of ultradistance trail running would not have happened if it were not for the direct influence of an inspiration and mentor. For many people it was this guy:
Dean Karnazes and the book he wrote called UltraMarathon Man. Many legitimate or hardcore ultra runners dismiss Dean K as an expert marketer who managed to get some good sponsors. On the one hand he has done some awesome achievements, including one of the first (but not THE first) to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. He also has run halfway across the country, and lots of ultras, among probably some other great achievements. At the same time he is no Scott Jurek, who won the Western States 100 7 years in a row. When it comes down to the question of "Does someone deserve their hype," I think the easy way to decide is to meet the person. I can tell you from meeting Dean K that he is a totally cool guy, very humble, very positive, and an inspiration to be around. He deserves the accolades and more importantly I think he is a great promoter for the sport of ultrarunning, and good for the industry.
However, he is not my inspiration for ultrarunning. This guy is:
This is my trail running mentor Jamie Dial. I met him right after I moved to Nashville and he graciously introduced me to many awesome trail running venues in the southeast. For about 2 years I went on a tear with some great trail runs and races. Anyone would be lucky to have a mentor, and a friend like him. For instance, he taught me the important places to apply sports slick such as here:
And here:
So enough of this man-love homage to my pal Jamie. I am sure I have embarrassed him enough already. These pictures were taken when I paced him at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100. He has said he will pace me at WS100 if I get in, and also he has hinted he will give me some coaching. I am totally stoked at even the prospect of this taking place. But again I know it is only a <20% chance. Cross your fingers.
If you want to see the WS100 splash page (pretty cool) then click on the belt buckle below:
WS100 Silver Buckle if you finish under 24 hours. A less-awesome bronze buckle is awarded if you finish between 24-30 hours.
Okay, so here is to inspirations, and Jamie is my homage to trail running. In the sport of triathlon Kenny Souza appeared on the cover of Runners' World wearing this kit:
Okay, I will save discussion of my triathlon inspiration for another time.
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