Power of Run
by Mark Jimenez
I’ve been lucky enough to witness the highs and lows of running lately. Running is a curious thing, it can make one man weep, and make another man sing.
Yes, I just borrowed some lyrics from the legendary Huey Lewis. Pardon me while I go on, making one small change to the lyrics.
You don't need money, don't take fame
Don't need no credit card to ride this train
It's strong and it's sudden and it's cruel sometimes
But it might just save your life
That's the power of run
The ultra marathon is something that I’m just not interested in. I’ve run two 50k's, and I have actually performed pretty well in them, but I don’t have a desire to do that again. I watch with a sense of awe as people take their body to the limits, running 50 miles, 100k, and even 100 miles. I know how much running 26.2 miles hurts me, and I can’t imagine the pain of running 100 miles.
A couple of weeks before President’s day I saw a Facebook post from Red Rock Running Company Ambassador Alex Kasprzak saying she was going to try 100 miles at the Jackpot Ultra. Alex and Andrew are friends, so I reached out a few days later and asked how I could help. I had commitments on Saturday but I was available to help pace on Sunday. As it turned out, I ended up pacing Alex the last 10 miles of her 100 mile race.
I went to sleep with my phone next to me. Alex had been sick just a day before the race started, and I kind of expected to wake up to a text saying that she didn’t finish. However, when I woke up bright and early on Sunday there was a text from Andrew saying she was still going strong. I headed out to Cornerstone park and arrived just in time to help Alex start mile 91.
I pulled Andrew aside and asked him how I should cheer her on. I didn’t know what to expect from somebody who was 90 miles in to a 100 mile race. I could only go on how I would act. I’m somebody who doesn’t even like staying up past 10pm, I couldn’t imagine being up for over 24 hours and running the whole time. I imagined Alex would be cranky and tired and that there would be a lot of walking.
“How should I encourage her,” I asked Andrew. I felt that if I was 90 miles in and somebody was trying to encourage me, anything they would say would feel like they were patronizing me.
“You need to push her,” he told me.
“Ok,” I said.
Then Alex came in and she grabbed some gear, and before I knew it I was pacing her.
I was immediately surprised at how fast she took off. Jackpot is a 2.5 mile loop, and with 10 miles to go I got to run that loop 4 times with her. She set an amazing pace, running 10 and 11 minute miles for much of it. I was completely surprised. Don’t get me wrong, I always knew Alex as a strong runner, but I couldn’t imagine anybody being able to keep going 90 miles in.
I didn’t push Alex at all. She pushed me. We chatted a bit and I tried to keep her mind off of things. I’m pretty good at making a fool of myself. I ran one lap with my dog Daisy and we waived and said hi to people as we went by them or as they went by us. Time flew by and before I knew it we had 2 laps to go.
That’s when Andrew told us that Alex as close to the leader and had a real chance of taking first place.
The last two laps were hard. I know that the last 10k of a marathon seems like an insurmountable distance. I can only imagine what the last 5 miles of a 100 miler must feel like. I spent some time telling Alex not to worry about anything except where we were. “Don’t look ahead,” I’d tell her, “Just stay right here.”
With one lap to go she was in the lead. I ran with her right up until the end when I peeled off and watched her cross the finish line, the first female finisher.
You can only imagine the emotions.
Photo by Kevin Youngblood
I am so impressed. There just aren’t enough words to describe how amazing it is to watch somebody accomplish something like this. 100 miles. 24 hours of running. I have no doubt that my body would break down. Alex didn’t just do something amazing, she did it with a positive attitude. To me, that takes what she did and makes it even more impressive. I am so incredibly mentally weak. The more uncomfortable I became the more rude I would have been to people around me. If I would have made it to mile 90 (very doubtful, I probably would have quit), there is no doubt that I would have pissed off everybody around me with my negativity.
I didn’t see Alex negative, not even once. She stayed positive the whole time.
That’s the power of run.
We have Alex on one end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, the power of run can affect you on the other end of the spectrum as well.
I have a friend and co-worker who is very passionate about running. I love watching him with customers. Whether it’s the customers first time running or it’s a veteran runner who has run every race there is, my friend is excited to help them. He is especially good with the kids that come into the store. He takes time to make sure they are in the right pair of shoes and he is excited to hear about how they did when they come back into the store.
He is also an amazing runner.
Recently he came off a pretty serious injury that required surgery. He’s been cleared to run again and his recovery has been going great. But the other day at work he let me know that the injury might be making a comeback. Not the LL Cool J kind of comeback either, the bad kind. Seeing the pain and anguish on his face made me hurt for him. I hope that this is just a setback and that it isn’t as bad as he fears. I wish I could somehow make it better for him. Injuries are something we all deal with, but to see somebody (potentially) deal with two injuries so close together is very heartbreaking.
Running gives, running takes away.
My friend, being an incredible person, is staying optimistic. I hope it all works out for him, but I know that he is the kind of person who will stay positive even if he gets bad news from his doctor.
Running is a mysterious thing.
I love it.