The Hash and The Beast

Last weekend was a great weekend for nutjob runners.

Our first trip was to Widewaters in Lockport, NY where the Beast of Burden 100 was coming to a close. It's amazing to see the transformation at Widewaters along the Erie Canal as the spirit of the beast takes over.

 For those of you who don't know, the Beast of Burden 100 is a 100 mile race along the historic Erie Canal. It is run once in the summer and once in the winter. You can also choose to run the 50 miler or the 24 hour race.  Not your ordinary run in the park.

When we got to the Widewaters Marina the race had already been going on for 25 hours. One of the directors, Jim Pease told us there were still 10 people out there. The 100 milers had to finish the race within 30 hours.

We watched as Milko Mejia from Fresh Meadows, NY came in at 25:31. He was welcomed home with cheers, cowbells and the Rolling Stone's Beast of Burden blasting out of the loud speakers.

The race started 10:00 Saturday morning. It was now 12:30 Sunday afternoon. That is a long time to be on your feet.

Edward Broadmax from Ft. Bragg, NC ran a 12:35:40 and Kerri Haskins from Danville, NY ran a 14:22:55. Both were still there cheering in the rest of the runners. Jim Pease did fifty miles as a practice run!

Dominic Pasceri the youngest of the runners, just 13 years old ran 50 miles in 17:13:38! His proud father, Sam, looked on with pride. The day before the race Sam fell from the first floor to the basement and broke 11 vertebrae, herniated 5 other discs, broke his left shoulder and most of the ribs on his right side. Originally he was going to pace his son. Obviously he was no longer able to run in the race but nothing was going to stop him from being there when Dom crossed the finish line.

The winner of the race, Joseph Czabaranek from Dayton, Ohio came in at 14:47:30 beating the course record of 14:56:50 set by Valmir Nunes from Brazil at the Summer Beast.  Click here for the rest of the results.

Next we headed out to Gonzos Bar in Lockport NY where the Buffalo Hash House Harriers were meeting for Hash #704 - NUTS, it's Cold Out! The Hashers are billed as a drinking club with a running problem.

Barebackbullseye and Cowgirl (the man on the right is Cowgirl) were setting the trail. I'm not sure how he got the name Cowgirl but I'll bet it's a great story.

When we entered the bar I felt like we were being let into a secret society.

Having heard all kinds of strange stories about the Hashers we were expecting a bunch of crazy, drunken redneckers. Instead what we found were the nicest bunch of well read, personable runners you'd ever want to meet.

BangsforABuck and SudsandJugs were kind enough to let us in on some of the finer aspects of hashing. HeadDispenser also added some input.

Disorganization is the rule of the day. The hash officially starts at 12:69 (1:09) but in reality it actually starts around 2:30 because everybody first meets inside the bar for a beer or two and socializes before the run.

As it was explained to me, every hash is different, nobody but the hares know where the trail will lead them. You just follow the hash marks. All hashers wear a whistle (if you forget your whistle that is a penalty - more on that later). If someone is off the trail they will blow the whistle to keep everyone on track. There are no winners or losers here.

At every mile marker you drink a beer and sing.  The fastest runners wait for the slowest runners. Nobody is left behind. I hope I am getting all of the details and names right. There is a lot to learn.

Other penalties include no peeing on the trail, no hats in the circle and other violations that are made up along the way.  Any hasher can call a penalty on their fellow hashers during the run. When the hash is over everybody gathers in a circle and the penalties are doled out, one cup of beer at a time.

Being injured and on meds I decided to send a scout out on the trail with the hashers to see what it was all about. I needed someone ready to run anywhere, anytime for any reason, someone not quite right in the head.  The choice was obvious. The Cannibal quickly changed into his running clothes at the bar.

After the run he reported back to us. Having heard some of the details I wasn't sure if he was reporting accurately or just delusional from the beer and snow. It was obvious I was going to have to run this thing myself next time.

When I do my first hash I will report back with the details.

* * * * *

So what's next? Rumor has it there is a race coming up in February where the guys run in heels and red dresses. You'd have to be a real nut job to do that one.  See you there.

Rain

Yesterday it rained.  Today it is raining.  Tomorrow they are calling for rain.


A few weeks ago, I was struggling in the heat as we finished what should have been an easy four miler.


Today it is 42 degrees out.

Yeah, hard to believe, but it's time once again to  delve into the running closet and haul out the Cold Weather gear.    



 







Because we all know what's coming next.

Training For The Beast

 "You can have your friends and eat them too."

   - The Cannibal

It has been an oppressive summer.  The heat and humidity, not to mention the thunder and lightning, made for some pretty rough runs. 

As we ready once again for the Summer Beast of Burden I can't help but wonder, "What the hell were we thinking?"

I am doing the Fifty Miler and Baba is doing the One Hundred.  

Who knows what the Cannibal is doing.  He claims he's not running it but I think that's just a ploy.

He will be out there, hiding in the bushes or underwater in the canal, sucking a reed, seeking the sick and vulnerable as the race turns ugly.

But we can't let the possibility of lightning strikes or cannibalism bother us.  Training is our priority.

Through the rain, the heat and the dark of night, nothing will stop us from our appointed runs.  

When race day comes I know the Cannibal will be out there somewhere, trying to trip us up so he can have his way with our toes, but the finish line is our boss and nothing will stop us from reaching it.

Bring it on Cannibal, bring it on.

Musings of a Mule

Is it wrong to not go out for a run when the American flag is flying sideways?


   
Is it wrong to be warm and comfortable?




And is it really all that wrong to just curl up by the fire for the morning with a cup of coffee and a good book?

Apparently it is wrong.  The nut job is on his way over to pick me up for our Sunday morning run.  The thermometer reading is 17  (minus 1  with the wind chill).

It's hell being a runner.

Nut Job Update:

Though no major nut job incidents in January have yet been reported, Baba the Freak has earned a few minor points.

He received his first nut job point by getting a haircut at Sully's and then walking off without paying for it (rumor has it, Sullivan's Barber Shop now has a prepay policy).

Then he scored a half point by showing up for a run with two left gloves.  Kind of a feeble attempt at the 2011 Nut Job of the Year award, but hey, it's a start.

Have you done anything "nut job worthy" lately?  Let me know so I can pass the information on to the judges.  Let's get those nut job points rolling.

Nutgate

2009 Nut Job of the Year

There are three months left in the year.  And you know what that means.  Three months left till the 2010 Nut Job of the Year Award is decided.

It is hoped that all involved will be professional and respectful of the man, woman or beast most deserving of the title.  But having spent time with the nominees, frankly, I'm worried.

It's rumored that somebody (the Cannibal) is planting monitoring devices in the competition's clothing.

Baba the Freak was the first such victim.   "I feel so violated," he said, after discovering a GPS Spy Cam in his shorts.

And what about poor Raja Runalot who awoke in the middle of the night to find his fellow nut jobs sifting through his running log?!

Come on guys.  Sure, it's a prestigious award, but isn't friendship more important than fleeting glory?

There are three months to go before the golden squirrel is awarded.  Let's make these a warm and fuzzy three months.

By the way, great link from Shiva the Destroyer for working your core muscles:  http://www.mytrainerbob.com/blog-posts/fitness-deconstructed-planks.

Thanks Shiva.

Two weeks till Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs!

The Summer Beast Report

What started out as an overcast day with a pleasant breeze quickly turned hot and humid, then as night fell, mother nature decided to turn on the "cold driving rain" switch. 

Let me say this about running my first ultra.  I REALLY appreciated the volunteers at the aid stations every six miles.  They were the best.  They helped so much when the going got tough and ugly.  And boy did it get ugly.

Toward the end, every mile lasted forever and I may have been delusional but I swear as Widewaters finally came into sight, the geese stood down by the water on the other side of the canal and laughed at us.

Then the bushes turned into monsters.  I couldn't believe it.  I've run that towpath a thousand times but I never noticed the monsters on the side of the path before.  Maybe they only come out after midnight.

And the rain just kept pouring down. 

Finally we crossed the bridge to run the final stretch in and I thought all would be well very soon.  But somehow while we were running our last loop, somebody added extra mileage onto the winding path that leads to the finish line.  I don't know who did it or how or why, but that last mile in had to be 5 miles long.   Really nasty trick to play on a bunch of good hearted runners.

The most amazing thing I saw though, as we finished the second of our two 25 mile loops in the darkness, was watching the 100 milers heading back out into the wind and the driving rain to do their 3rd and 4th loops!

Mental toughness at its finest.

Here are a few pictures early on in the race while the running was still smooth and easy.

Great run with a great bunch of people.

Upcoming Races:

Run For Hope 5k - Saturday, Sept 4th, 9:30 AM , Tonawanda NY
Fleet Feet 15k - Monday Sept. 6th 8 AM, Buffalo NY
Harvest Moon Run - Wednesday Sept. 8th 6:30 PM, Pendleton NY

Next Ultra Up:

Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs- Saturday Oct. 16th, Oil Creek State Park PA

Appreciating Flatness

"What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it." Alexander Graham Bell

 

As I stood there listening to the three nut jobs discussing the upcoming Oil Creek 100 Ultra , I realized how truly crazy they really are.  100 miles of unspeakable elevation through woods, mud, rocks and unforgiving drop offs.

Oh, and did I mention that there are bears in the woods?

That race will take place in October.




This is August.  It is a week before the Summer Beast Of Burden - the 24 hour and 100 mile race along the Erie Canal.   It will be long and hot but it will also be one thing the Oil Creek 100 is not.

The Summer Beast will be flat.  

So after listening to the nut jobs planning their insane Oil Creek adventure I have found a mantra to hopefully get myself through next weekends sweltering Summer Beast -

"At least it's flat."

 

Upcoming Ultras:

Beast of Burden Summer 100-miler and 24 hour Ultra - August 21st, Lockport NY

Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs - October 16th, Oil Creek State Park, PA

Upcoming Races:

Rut Race 3.4 miles - Mon. August 16th 7:00 PM, Bond Lake

Moonlight Run 5k- Wed.  August 18th 8:00 PM, Williamsville

Remember, you're only nuts if a psychiatrist says so.  And even then there's always the chance that he's wrong.

Self Control

"Get Thee Behind Me, Satan" - Matthew

Training, it's all about self control.   Controlling your pace, controlling your liquid intake, controlling your thoughts.  Self control - it turns out I don't have any.  At least, not when it comes to potato chips.

I know I should be eating right.  I need to stay healthy if I want to run with nut jobs.  They run, they sprint, they do hill repeats, they run crazy distances.  To keep up with that kind of crowd you need to be in shape.

Eating potato chips is not the way to do it.  And I usually don't eat them, but last night, an unnamed friend (Baba the Freak) left a large bag of them at my house.  He was supposed to take them with him, but he didn't.  There they were right in front of me.  A whole bag of them.  Greasy, fattening, potato chips, completely without any nutritional value whatsoever!

I knew immediately that this was my chance to practice self control.  It was the middle of the night.  There was only me and the chips.  I would show them who was boss.  I would just walk right on past them without eating one single chip.  Well, maybe just one . . .

Half a bag later I realized I had to do something to stop this nutritional tragedy.  I'm a runner, I can't be doing this.  So I did the only thing I could to keep from finishing off the entire bag.  I took the potato chip remains outside and buried them in my backyard. 

No more evil chips.  It wasn't pretty, but I did what I had to do.  And that's what self control and running are all about.  Doing what you have to do.


Moral of the story - Bury temptation before it buries you.

Upcoming Races:
Mental Health 5k - Friday, July 30th, Delaware Park
Italian Festival 5k - Sunday, August 1st, Niagara Falls NY

Jason Raby Memorial 5K - Thursday, August 5th,

Upcoming Ultras:

Summer Beast Of Burden - Saturday, August 21st, Lockport NY

Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs - Saturday, October 16th, Oil Creek State Park

Ultra Runners - What A Bunch Of Nut Jobs

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough." - Joe Lewis

Ultra Runners live in a different sphere of life than the rest of us.

If you ask them, "How far do you want to run?" they will reply, "As far as you want."

Ask them, "Where do you want to run?" and they will say, "Wherever you want."

Ask, "What pace?" and you know what their answer will be?  You guessed it, "Whatever pace you would like to run."


Any distance, any time, any pace.


As for races, they seem to seek out the most challenging runs out there.  Fifty miles in the ice and snow?  They're there.  One hundred miles in the heat of summer?  Count them in.


Dante's Nine Circles of Hell?  Better sign up fast because that one will sell out for sure.

Nut jobs, it just wouldn't be an Ultra without them.

* On a personal note - I have experienced at least three of the nine circles of hell while doing long runs with ultra runners.

Upcoming Ultras:

Summer Beast 100 - August 21, Lockport NY

Oil Creek 100 Trail Runs - October 16, Oil Creek, PA

Local Events And Races:

Empire State Games - July 21 - July 25, Buffalo, NY
St. John Vianney 5k -  July 22, Orchard Park, NY
Tim Frank Memorial Canal Fest - July 22, North Tonawanda, NY
Crab Apple 5k Run - July 24, Stiglmeier Park, Buffalo, NY
The Lockport 100 Mile Team Relay - July 25, Lockport NY

Links I Like:

Don't Panic (Douglas Adams H2G2 Site)
Tackle Cat -That cat has nut job potential.

Running Wet, Running Strong

"If you are already wet, you won’t care about the rain." -  Romanian Proverb

As I lay in bed listening to the rain, I think about what I will wear for our run today. 

Then I wonder -  what do non-runners think about when they wake up to the sound of rain on a Sunday Morning?

I'll bet they don't think about going outside for a long walk.

If they look out their window and see a group of runners sprinting by, are they thinking "good for them"?  More likely it's "What's wrong with those people?".


Either way, I'm glad I'm a runner.  And I'm especially glad that I run with nut jobs.  


Sometimes it means running unforgiving hills when your legs are tired.  Sometimes it means sweating out twenty miles in the summer heat and sometimes it means getting really, really wet.


But it is always fun and it is always worth it.

If you haven't already, give a nut job a hug today.

Upcoming Races:
SFC Race For A Cause - Thursday, April 29th, 6:30 PM
Grand Island Half Marathon - Saturday, May 1st, 10:00 AM

Nut Job Ultras:

Summer Beast of Burden

Oil Creek

Interesting Links To Check Out:

Life Is Far Too Short To Drink Cheap Beer

Nutrition and Your Mental Edge
50 Things Everyone Should Know How To Do

Five Reasons Why You Should Run With Squirrels

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked. - Bernard Meltzer

There are over 365 different species of squirrels in the world.  If there was a squirrel mailing club, and the post office had Sunday delivery, you could get a different squirrel in the mail every day! 

As long as there are so many squirrels out there, running to and fro, I say let's put them to good use.

Five Reasons Why You Should Run With Squirrels:

1. Squirrels never choose the same mating partner twice.  Less inbreeding equals stronger runner.
2. Squirrels are  most active 2 - 3 hours after sunrise.  Then they sleep through the afternoon and are ready to go again 2 hours before sunset - perfect for double runs!
3. A squirrels brain is the size of a walnut.  Who's stupid enough to run 100 miles?  You guessed it.
4. Squirrels communicate through chirps and tail movements.  Great for the long run when you're too tired to talk.
5. Squirrels leave their scent on food by licking and rubbing up against it before burying it.  You'll never lose a stashed water bottle again.

But how do you find a squirrel to run with? 

Put up a bird feeder and they will come.

Upcoming Races:

Shoes For The Shelter - Sunday, April 18th, 12:00 PM
JDRF Run For The Cure - Saturday, April 24th, 10:00 AM

Envirun - Saturday, April 24th, 10:30 AM

BPAC 6-Hour Distance Classic - Sunday, Apr 25th, 8:00 AM

Upcoming Ultras:

Summer Beast of Burden - Saturday, Aug. 21st
Oil Creek - Saturday, Oct. 16th

This Weeks Interesting Links:

Squirrelz Unlimited

You Know You're A Runner When . . .

Good luck to the Cannibal and friends at Boston.  Eat, run and be happy!

Running, It's Not Just A Verb, lt's An Adventure

"Start by doing what`s necessary; then do what`s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."  St. Francis of Assisi

It all started so innocently.  It was years ago when running was just another verb in the dictionary to me.

I was talking to a nut job (my first encounter with one) and casually mentioned, "Gee, I'd like to try running sometime."

Next thing you know he has me training for a 5k.  

Then it's, "I think you should do a half marathon".

Then of course it was, "You have to do at least one marathon."

Many months of hills, miles and tears later, I finally did it.  I ran my first marathon.  I was good now.  I'd done it all.  I wasn't just a runner anymore.  I was a marathoner!  All set, right?

Noooooo.

To get a belt buckle you have to run an ultra!

So this summer I will be training with the nut jobs for my first ultra.

But what happens when I finish that?  What will these nut jobs think of next?

Ooh boy, let's pretend I didn't ask.

Upcoming 5k's:

Haiti Relief 5k, Buffalo NY, Saturday 4/10, 9:30 AM

Memorial Miles 5k,  Hamburg NY, Saturday, 4/10, 10:00 AM

Friend's of Night People 5k, Buffalo NY, Sunday, 4/11, 10:00 AM

Upcoming Ultras: 

Summer Beast of Burden

Oil Creek 100

 

Local Running Clubs:

Bond Lake Athletic Club

Checkers Athletic Club

Interesting Blogs To Check Out:
Run Dangerously 
Charlie Engle

Ultra Running Insights

Einstein and Running

" You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

Okay, so you're running a very, very long race.  You pull it's tail in Lockport and his head is meowing at Oil Creek.  Is this what Einstein meant?

Who knows what Einstein meant.  He spent an awful lot of time alone in his basement.  That's not good for anybody.

What I'm trying to say is that ultra running is a strange animal.



When one of the nut job runners first tried explaining to me why he preferred ultras over marathons I thought he was crazy (and I was right), but after witnessing a middle of the night snowstorm ultra with the three nut job amigos, I started to see the light.

The light turned out to be a headlamp, but still, an understanding had been reached.

Ultras are more than just a very, very long run.  They are a spiritual event.  A freeze frame in whatever it is that this temporary lifetime is all about.


Every moment, every thought and every physical feeling is suddenly very real.  Your every twitch is felt.  Your every emotion is experienced.


Why do people run ultras?


Maybe it's because they love to pull the tail of life and see how it feels.

Long live the Nut Job Ultra Runners!

This weeks events:

Mar 28 Sunday 9:00 AM Bemus Point 5K

Mar 28 Sunday 9:30 AM Around The Bay, 30K Run, 30K Walk, 5K

Ultras on the Slate for The Nut Job Runners:


Summer Beast of Burden - August date not official yet

Oil Creek 100  
Saturday October 16th, 2010


Coming In October: 

Second Installment of Nut Jobs Fables - "The Cannibal Meets his Match"  

Cannibal faces off against a hungry eight hundred pound black bear at Pennsylvania Ultra.  His only defense is a bell around his neck.

Baba The Freak and Raja Runalot finally get their revenge against their life long nemesis.

Sneak Preview Excerpt:

"Ring your bell at it," taunted Baba.

"Squeal like a pig," Raja shouted.

A high spirited banjo duel echoed through the hills on that fated night in the backwoods of PA.