I’m always willing to help a fellow scientist in his/her pursuit of knowledge:
Dear Daniel,
You might at first think that these responses are facetious, and might distort the results of your study, but my aim is simply to make sure you receive a healthy diversity of perspectives.
Why did you start ultrarunning?
I was tricked by Keith Knipling. I thought the Eagle Run was over at mile 14 when we all stopped and ate pizza. Turned out that was just the halfway point.
Why types of ultras have you done?
The shortest ones possible (although occasionally I get tricked into a little longer). The 50k distance is generally where I cap out.
Do you have a personal goal for your ultrarunning?
To run a 50k without barfing (or feeling for the last 10 miles like I’m going to barf).
Do you tend to do your running alone or with other people or a mixture of
both? Explain.
I only run alone when abandoned by my friends.
Where do you like to do runs?
Far away from the icky people (ie, not my friends) and anything that reminds me of life responsibilities (buildings, cars, computers, etc.).
What challenges do you face as a runner?
When I go into glycemic debt around mile 18-20 I get really nauseated and sometimes spew.
How did you overcome those challenges?
I have actually found that eating papaya helps. It’s known that papaya has special enzymatic properties that help to break down proteins.
For you, are there any aspects to running outside of the physical (mental,
spiritual, etc.)?
I go absolutely nutters if I don’t get to run regularly.
During your races, do you feel like you were running by yourself, with
others or a mixture of both? Explain.
Um, that depends on whether I’m running by myself (in which case it feels like I’m running by myself), or with others (in which case it feels like I’m running with others). I find that in road races I like to run alone and in trail races I like to run with a male with whom I’m not competing directly.
Describe a favorite moment during your ultrarunning.
-any aid station, particularly those manned by Quatro and those stacked with golden oreos
Describe an unfavorable moment during your ultrarunning.
-falling in the glacial river during a 55k in Iceland (2012)
-losing the lead in the last 3 miles after barfing 4x consecutively at the last aid station at Holiday Lake 50k (2012)
What does finishing an ultra feel like?
usually like hell: when I won Uwharrie they handed me a beautiful ceramic vase as my prize and I thought they were supplying me with a canister to barf into
You are hilarious.
I too was tricked into ultrarunning, by Kerry Owens. I wonder how many people actually got into it without a trickster friend?
I am really intrigued that papaya helps you not puke. For years, I’ve called papaya the “puke fruit” because that is exactly what it smells like to me.
Also, golden oreos? Magical.
Did Q supply the golden oreos?
I was not tricked into ultrarunning, but actually into the whole MMT thing by the Billy Bobs.
Actually, I believe I was told, I could not run Hardrock until I finished MMT. So I did.
So when I rolled into the Holy Cowan’s Gap aid station complaining of nausea, Marina gave me dried papaya. I resisted at first (I’m not a fan of papaya as a fruit and I always thought they had a diuretic effect), but took it down figuring I couldn’t feel much worse. It was the only 50k I didn’t want to barf at the end, and I have never doubted the papaya since! And the dried version coated with sugar goes down pretty well. Not as well as Q’s doublestuffed golden oreos, of course, but the magic properties of the DSGO’s don’t necessarily apply to the stomach.