Running
As many of my friends know, I am an avid runner. I ran both track and cross-country at school, but after I broke a bone in my right foot in 1962 I was obliged to take a break from running, ... which stretched into 15 years! I got back into the sport in 1976 and ran my first marathon that year in Santa Monica. After several years concentrating on achieving my fastest possible times at 10k and marathon distances, I got interested in ultra-distance races. I ran my first 50 mile race in 1980 at the American River 50 (Auburn to Sacramento, California) and my first 100 miler in 1982 at the Western States 100 mile race. This race evolved from the Tevis Cup ride, an endurance horse ride from near Lake Tahoe across the Sierra Nevada to Auburn in California which was first held in 1955. In 1973 Gordy Ainsleigh entered this ride but his horse was judged unfit to continue after 29 miles, so the next year he decided to tackle the race on his own two feet. This he achieved within the 24-hour limit allowed to the riders, and so the modern sport of ultra trail running was born. After a few years in which a small number of runners would start with the horses the Western States Endurance Run became a fully separate event in 1978. Whereas the horses have 24 hours to complete the distance, runners are now given 30 hours. However, there is a special silver belt buckle award for those who finish in under 24 hours. I am very proud to be one of only 35 people who have completed the race ten times under the 24 hour limit.
You can see some of my race results at Ultra Signup or at Real Endurance. A few results from European races are included on the DUV Ultra-Marathon Statistics page.
