Mike Melton Gives Thanks at Across The Years 2007

Posted on the Ultralist Date:

Tue, 8 Jan 08 12:41:08 -0500
From: Mike Melton
Subject: Another ATY report – VERY long!

Echoing many other Listers who were fortunate enough to participate in the Across The Years races so recently held, I also offer my highest praise and a hearty “Job Well-Done!” to Paul Bonnett, Rodger Wrublik, Dave Combs, and the countless others who make this event the incredible experience that it is. I have been fortunate enough to run in three of the last four events, and I count myself blessed indeed to be included in the ATY “Family”. Although I fell short of my stated goal of 210 miles in the 72-hour event (just cracking the 0-mile barrier would have been more than satisfying) and I did not even equal last year’s 171-mile total with my 164-mile finish this time, I still had a wonderful time being in the presence of so many talented runners. I can take a bit of solace in knowing that other more talented athletes also struggled with missed goals (the pathetic ‘misery-loves-company’ philosophy), and it’s instructive to see how these people handled the situation. For the record, none of them whined or complained or made excuses – they either soldiered on to a less-than stellar finish or forged an orderly retreat to live and run again another day. They epitomized the word “Class”.

Thank you, each and every volunteer who pitched in and helped out, especially those such as Phil Rosenstein who jumped in on an impromptu basis to lend a hand. You people are incredible, and exemplary in your service!

My profuse thanks and gratitude go to race nurse and ultrarunner Chris O’Loughlin for literally saving my race, as he worked his foot-care and taping magic on my sore and bruised feet. His patient and tender care allowed me to keep putting in miles far and beyond my original capacity. As I run in these multiday events, I realize more than ever how critical the transition is between running and walking, and how delicate the balance is between the two. It’s imperative to be able to walk without developing blisters, and I have yet to master that skill to the extent that I need in order to finish these events strongly. Chris is not only THE BEST foot-care expert I have ever witnessed, he’s also an extraordinary human being. Along with Andy Lovy, race doctor nonpareil, these two make up an unstoppable medical team! And each of them squeezed out more than 100 miles on the course in between treating us all! Fantastic job!

Watching John Geesler, Tony Mangan, Marshall Ulrich, Tracy Thomas, Pam Reed, Juli Aistars, Paul DeWitt, Martina Hausmann, Glenn Turner, Aaron Goldman, John Radich, Dave Luljak, Brian Kuhn, Tim Englund, Scott Eppelman, Deb Richmeier (winner of the 48-hour, just like she won the Bear Creek 48-hour a couple of years ago), Lynn David Newton, Lisa Bliss, and Chrissie Weiss all run is inspiring and educational. It’s literally a clinic on ultrarunning laid out for all to see. Watch and learn!

Once again, I was awed to witness some amazing performances, among them Dave Putney’s rock-steady 131-mile 24-hour run on Day One, followed by Daniel Larsen’s silky-smooth 135-mile 24-hour winning run on the final day. What a pleasure to watch these gentlemen work their magic! Carrie Sauter was a sheer delight to behold as she blew past the 0-mile barrier in the 72-hour event (3 miles total). Carrie is not only a valiant athlete, as she rose Phoenix-like again and again from well-deserved rests to resume her push towards 0, but she’s got a million-watt smile and model-quality good looks that make her the epitome of eye candy. And Hans Bern Bauer’s strategic attack at the 48-hour title was pure race mastery at its finest.

I’m positive that I’m going to miss acknowledging some folks, and for that I apologize profusely. It’s especially fun for me to see the young people who run, from 6-year-old Gavin Wrublik taking on the family mantle, to Aaron Doman deftly putting in a smartly-run 50 miles, to Catherine Cuda hitting 100K, and Ethan Pence getting in 35 miles. These athletes are the future of our sport, and the future looks to be in good hands.

Congratulations to the entire Pence family, from Eric in the 72-hour event (183 miles), to his former spouse Anne (95 miles) along with her beau Patrick Mulvey (70 miles) as they both ran in the 24-hour race, and Ethan, for demonstrating that an entire family can still share the camaraderie of ATY despite the vagaries of the past. Since I’m a divorced father of an 11-year-old who can still claim a good relationship with his son’s mother, it was especially heartwarming to see Anne and Patrick and Ethan bring Eric a Burger King breakfast the morning of New Year’s Day, and to help pack up all the gear. The Pences demonstrate all the best that people can be!

Wendell Doman and Sarah Spelt, Aaron’s parents, did an admirable job as well, running their individual races while crewing Aaron, and the Zombies (Don at 103.7 in the 24-hour and Gillian with 126.7 in the 48) had fine races too. Don, thanks as well for the spot-on directions to Freddie’s Frozen Custard – several of us, including Juli Aistars, Craig Slagel (who put in a very nice 4 miles) and his support crew guy Paul, added some very tasty fat calories back into our systems! It was nice to see

Chris Rios (42 miles) back in action with a fine effort, and Nattu Natraj (61 miles) kept smiling despite his race problems. Rick Cheever (188 miles in the 72-hour) had a stellar race. Fine job, Rick! Robert Andrulis showed his mettle in his refusal to allow his race to be completely derailed and he finished with 144-plus miles.

Juli Aistars had a fine race, proving that she’s completely recovered from the two broken stress-fractured legs she suffered in the Sri Chinmoy 6-Day event last April, and had she not followed the ‘Mike Melton’ plan of excessive rest during an ultra, I have no doubt that Juli would have finished in the top spot in the 72-hour event. It was Juli who crawled out of her tent (which was next to mine) at 4 am the morning of New Year’s Day and announced that she was going back out, thus inspiring me to follow her lead and re-emerge myself for some more miles. Juli’s friend Todd Heideman of Chicago, a huge Teddy Bear of a runner at 6-feet-something and 240-plus pounds, set a personal record with 52 miles in his first 24-hour attempt. Way to go, Todd!

Pete Stringer showed true New England toughness in the face of adversity, and I’d expect nothing less from this hard-as-nails competitor. Give the man a pipe, a sailor hat, and a can of spinach, and he’d be the spitting image of Popeye, with all that character’s strength and charm. Pete even rolled from side to side a bit while he walked, despite his protests that he’s no seaman. Could have fooled me, Pete!

Fred Dummar (135 miles in the 48-hour event), more properly known as “Doom”, is an eloquent example of all the best our country has to offer. I was privileged to share some time with him, and I came away mightily impressed. Along with David Goggins of San Diego (an active Navy SEAL) and Tallahassee’s Fred Johnson (a lieutenant colonel assigned to General David Petreus), ultrarunning’s military men are outstanding examples of the highest and best that we can aspire to. I’m extremely glad they’re all on our side! A delightful sidebar is that Doom brought along his distaff side, and the ever-lovely Mrs. Doom (Susan) was a welcome presence whenever she was trackside. Ebullient and constantly positive, she was the consummate support crew for Fred, and I look forward to seeing her run herself next time!

A hearty thank you goes to my Starbucks buddy Stephanie Willingham, who brought me my latest craving, a venti white chocolate mocha with extra whip (according to Shishaldin Hanlen, a Starbucks employee, these babies are about 900 calories, all fat, and loaded with trans-fat, which I’m sure is why I love them!) on the morning of Day 2. Steph made sure I was caffeined up, fueled and powered to go, and she even added a slice of pound cake on the side! What a gal! She got her 100 miles in to boot, with 102.8 miles in the 48-hour! Congratulations, Stephanie! Next time bring Ken back with you! We missed him!

My thanks also go to Anne Watts (80 miles in the 24-hour race), a former Floridian now living in Colorado, for pulling me around the track for many miles in the middle of the first day. Anne is beautiful, and with the longest and slimmest legs I have ever seen on a woman runner, is as tall as my 6-feet, 2-inch frame. She, however, looks slender and willowy, while I more resemble a giant Pillsbury Dough Boy, so we made quite the comic couple as we circled! Her husband Matt was gracious in letting me borrow his wife, and his 100.6-mile effort in the 24-hour was exquisitely executed.

I also spent many, many miles concocting a new running cult with Shishaldin Hanlen from New York (who despite her name is not a follower of Sri Chinmoy) as we stumbled around the track, and the silliness that rapidly descended into absurdity took the edge off of many hard miles. Thank you, Goddess! And thank you, Fred Riemer, for all the bad jokes along the way!

It’s been four years since I finished behind Ray Krolewicz at an ultra event (most recently finishing ahead of him at the Ancient Oaks 100-Mile event a month ago), and so in the first couple of hours I trash-talked him a bit, and then I was promptly humbled by the greatest has-been runner I know. Ray K spanked me properly with his 0-mile effort, and he missed no chance to rub it in. He also schmoozed with EVERY SINGLE woman on and off the track during his three days, and for that I’m properly envious. Ray K is simply a unique addition to any race, and I’m glad to know him.

A special thanks to Marty Kennedy, who walked the entire 72 hours and still got in 161 miles, for inspiring and cajoling me to keep going despite my rapidly-fading goals. Marty was ahead of me in the standings until the final hour of the event, when my last-minute spurt of adrenaline pushed me to pass her in mileage specifically because she threw down the gauntlet with 70 minutes left in the race. Without her encouragement to surpass her totals, I would have stumbled in to a less-than-stellar finish.

Finally (!), I wish to thank Carl Hunt and Mike Brooks, for their tireless enthusiasm and for their good-natured ribbing and in the end, for Carl’s refusal to crumble in the face of my final-hour onslaught. For three days, the three of us went back and forth in the standings, with Mike eventually pulling ahead for good with 177 miles. Carl and I continued to battle down to the wire, and as I dug deep and found the energy to run strongly for the final hour, I snuck up on Carl until I was a mere two laps behind with about 30 minutes to go. Aha, I thought, I can sneak by him as he strolls around the track and nip him in the end!

But Carl got wind of my scheme and began to put on his own head of steam, and with just a few minutes left I pulled up on his shoulder but still was a lap down, and we screamed at each other good-naturedly as we pounded down the long straightaway together. I was full of the moment of competition and pumped to the maximum, and Carl was a worthy competitor. “Give it up, you bastard!”, I yelled as he called back, “No way! You’ve got to EARN it, motherf***er!” We barreled around to the start/finish line and Carl peeled off, seeing that there was a mere 2 minutes, 15 seconds left.

I was faced with a split-second decision whether to try for another lap or not, as no credit is given for partial laps. You either get all of it, or none of it. As I passed underneath the arch, Dave Combs called out “two minutes, 15 seconds left!”, and I saw that I had just done a 2:36 lap. Ireland’s Tony Mangan, who possesses both stamina (he finished a mere 109.4 miles ahead of me to win the 72-hour event) and speed, tore off on a last lap, and I sped off behind him. I thought I had it in me to get one more lap, and I picked up the pace on the long straightaway as Tony still pulled away from me and we raced on into the turns that take one past the front of Nardini Manor.

The final turn puts one about 30 yards from the finish and back into the spectators’ sights, and I heard the crowd cheer as they spied Tony sprinting into view. I heard them chanting “TEN, NINE, EIGHT,.” as I passed the front of the mansion and then I made the final turn as they were shouting “THREE, TWO, ONE,.” and I flashed though the finish arch about two seconds too late, or so I thought. At least I tried, and had fun doing it, I thought as I slowed and walked off my final finishing dash.

A few minutes later, Rodger Wrublik found me and explained that although the overhead clock had wound down to 9:00 a.m. and then past it, the timing clock used for the official results recorded the time slightly differently, such that there was always a slight discrepancy of mere seconds between the two timing devices. On the official timing clock, I had nailed it, crossing the finish line at exactly 9:00 a.m. – 72 hours, zero minutes, zero seconds – and so I got credit for my final lap. This put me exactly equal to Carl Hunt, so that we both have 164.042 miles earned, but Carl still finishes ahead of me in the standings as he finished one minute, 43 seconds before I did. Congratulations, Carl! And thank you for pushing me to my limits and beyond!

I look forward to running with you all at an ultra again sometime in the near future. It’s the people who are involved that make this sport what it is!

Sincerely,

Mike Melton

Jensen Beach, FL


Multidays.com The home of multiday running news and events.


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