Running

TODD Outruns Barrett in April

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Barrett Kroll is a certified badass! His powerful limp to the finish of the Ozark Trail 100 is one of the most inspiring moments I’ve ever witnessed. I’ve summoned that image many times when I don’t feel like taking another step, and it’s always given me the strength to take one more.

Week 1

  • 4/1 - Barrett starts off with an aggressive 10 miles.
  • 4/2 - He grows his early lead with another 8, and I’m still recovering from my final push with Peter.
  • 4/4 - The Tour de Everything’s Canceled starts. It’s a 21 stage race. I sign up, think I’m unbreakable, and go out like an asshole running the first three stages as fast as I can. Barrett crushes the Tour by completing all 21 stages with impressively fast finishes.

Week 2

  • 4/9 - I learn I am breakable, decide to give myself more rest, and take my first penalty in the Tour.
  • 4/10 - Barrett grows his lead to 27 miles, the biggest variance for the month.

Week 3

  • 4/13 - We both enjoy a rest day in the Tour. Barrett leads by 25 miles.
  • 4/17 - I take my third Tour penalty. Barrett runs three times.
  • 4/18 - Biggest run in the Tour - 25 miles.
  • 4/19 - I start making my move by running 9 miles more than the Tour stage for that day.

Week 4

  • 4/22 - Barrett sees me gaining and begins to add regular mileage to his Tour runs.
  • 4/25 - I run 14 miles with Gilbert and Taylor during their 50 miler and make solid ground in closing the gap.
  • 4/26 - Last day of the Tour, and I close the gap. Both Barrett and I cross 200 miles. Barrett is at 210.8, and I’m at 210.7.

Week 5

  • 4/27 - I take one last rest day, and Barrett resumes the lead by 6 miles.
  • 4/28 - Barrett gets landlocked with work schedule and family priorities, and I take the lead by 7 miles.
  • 4/29 - Barrett fights back with a 20-mile day. He breaks his previous monthly mileage record of 222. I see his mileage while on my run and keep going, managing to tie up our total mileage again.
  • 4/30 - Barrett runs 6 miles morning, afternoon and night. I run 20 out at Wyco on one of the most beautiful nights of the year, so far. I finish around 10:30 with howls from fellow wolf packers Bob, Casey, Gilbert and Scott.

FINAL NUMBERS

  • Barrett ran 256.2 miles with 14,261 feet of elevation in 39 hours and 40 minutes.
  • I ran 258.4 miles with 20,060 feet of elevation in 48 hours and 18 minutes. It took me 10 hours longer to run just 2 miles farther. Barrett is fast!
  • Barrett led for 26 days, we tied for 2, and I led for 2.
  • I win by the narrowest margin yet, 2.2 miles.

My strategy from the beginning was inspired by Ali’s Rope-a-dope. Settle in to a defensive posture, take his punches, and stay close in mileage so that I have plenty of energy and strength to hunt him down at the end. I was impressed by how much Barrett still had to give at the end. He ran hard and consistent throughout the Tour, and still pushed me those last 4 days. The dude ran a mid-week 20-mile day back-to-back with an 18-mile day, all on top of working hard and being an incredible dad to three young kids.

TODD Outruns Peter in March

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“This isn’t the March madness I was expecting. But it’s the March madness I got. I gotta admit, it has been pretty entertaining.” ~ Paul Orth

TAPER CHICKEN Peter and I planned to run Potawatomi 200 on April 2, so the outrun challenge was who would run the most during the taper leading up to that race.

  • 3/1 - After traveling to Pekin, IL for the weekend, Peter and I ran a course preview with the race director. Recovering from a nagging shin injury, I cut the preview lap short and Peter took an early 3-mile lead.
  • 3/4 - Peter held the lead and took a big step forward by running two runs that day. His lead grew to 12.8.
  • 3/5 - My shin recovered, and I began running 10 miles a day for the next 8 days.
  • 3/7 - Peter ran one bridal loop with Ted, then a second loop with me growing his lead to the highest point of the month, 16.7.
  • 3/8 - Both Peter and I ran 10 miles that day. Peter announced, “Last big week of miles before tapering for Pot 200. Previous aches and pains have vanished and I’m feeling sooo excited for the race.”
  • 3/9 - Peter appeared to taper hard taking three days off. Behind the scenes, he caught the flu and was out of commission. I caught Peter and took the lead.
  • 3/12 - last day of my 10 miles per day, I grew my lead to 19.7 - the highest variance between the two of us for the entire month.

RACE CANCELED

  • 3/13 - the race is canceled due to an announcement from Illinois Governor Pritzker banning events of 250 or more people.
  • 3/14 - Peter took the lead briefly by 2.7.
  • 3/15 - I ran 30 miles at Weston with Leia in a Social Distancing Group run. That was my last group run. Peter showed up with Suzie and ran 11 miles. I led by 16 miles, and the race cranked up in intensity.

MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION

Peter and I no longer had a race to taper for, and we were both trained and ready for a 200-mile race. Over the last 16 days of the month, Peter and I collectively ran 466 miles. That’s 14.5 miles per day for each of us.

  • 3/20-22 - Huge weekend. Peter ran a 50k on Saturday and another 29 miles on Sunday and breaks his most miles in a month record. From Friday to Sunday, I run sixteen 4-mile runs totaling 64 miles. From this point on, Peter didn’t take a single rest day. I took two.
  • 3/23 - my first rest day. Peter took the lead by less than half a mile.
  • 3/24 - I jump back in first with an 11-mile run and break my most miles in a month record.
  • 3/28 - Peter ran four 10-mile runs for a killer 40-mile day. The lead becomes his at 5.2.
  • 3/29 - My second rest day. Peter broke 300 miles and grew his lead to 15.2.
  • 3/30 - I broke 300 miles and closed the gap to 4.8 with 3 runs totaling 20 miles.
  • 3/31 - We headed into the last evening of the month with Peter in the lead by 14 miles. I figured he would run at least 10 and potentially 20. I gave it everything I had and managed to run 30. Peter ran 12, and I eeked out a win by 3.6 miles.

FINAL NUMBERS

  • Peter ran 350.4 miles with 22,636 feet of elevation over 66 hours and 12 minutes.
  • I ran 354 miles with 27,060 feet of elevation over 67 hours and 3 minutes.
  • Peter led for 14 days, and I led for 17.
  • The variance between our mileage was less than 5 miles for 10 days.

In Peter’s first beer mile, he beat me by 1 second. On the final lap he caught me, and we both dug deep and sprinted to the finish line. It’s my fastest beer mile ever, and I wouldn’t have achieved it without the pressure from Peter.

In a month, when everyone’s races were canceled, and the motivation to run dried up quickly, Peter’s pressure once again prodded me to greatness. I ran 132 miles further in March than I have ever run in a month before. I’m so thrilled to have a friend like Peter who will push me further, to run me faster. And I must admit, I’m pretty delighted to win this month.

BOB Outruns Todd in February

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Bob was a beast besting me by 118 miles! He started strong with a 50k at the White Rock Classic and finished stronger with a 100 miler at Lovit. I thought he might rest a bit after that 50k. But no, he kept at it hard. Then I counted on him tapering a little before Lovit, and that was not the case. The closest I got to catching Bob was 18 miles.

A couple of stats from Bob's beatdown:

  • He ran for 57 hours and 51 minutes. That's 8% of the month of February!
  • 20 runs in 29 days.
  • An incredible 30,282 feet of elevation!

What's most impressive about Bob's victory is the silent manner in which he crushed me. Not a single word of trash talk throughout the month. He just went to work, mile after mile.

I would like to take a small bit of credit, and offer a much larger dose of congratulations for Bob setting a new personal record of the most miles in a month. This is his first time breaking 200, and boy did he break it!