SCOTT OUTRUNS Todd in December
Scott has run over 2,000 miles four years in a row. In December, he destroyed me and crushed his previous monthly mileage record with 304 miles. In 2019, he was my toughest target for my year of pettiness where I compared my mileage to someone who ran less than me. It was his awareness that I was chasing him, and his constant one step ahead of me, literally, that inspired the outrun challenge.
Scott planned out a taco-earning month that he executed with steady determination. He kicked off the month with an amazing 10 miles a day for 10 days!
On December 19 at Winter Shoustice, he completed 141 laps which is one more than what he did last year and over 38 miles. He dug deep when hip pain showed up for miles 16-30. He completed that last lap with less than a minute before the official sunset.
On the last four days of the month, he ran 45 miles, 37 of those around Mackin Park. On December 29, he powered out a half marathon in freezing rain, sleet, and snow. He came home caked in ice.
Scott was the champion of both distance and duration for running during this year's Holiday Streakers, a challenge that runs from Thanksgiving through New Years Day. He logged 343 miles and over 57 hours of running. The next closest in distance was 220 miles.
Scott is one of the most consistent runners I know. He's so impressive. He works problems as they arise, and has a desire to keep moving forward. He's kind, witty, positive, and a tremendous running partner. I'm thrilled to see him have such a dominate finisher to 2020.
LEIA OUTRUNS Todd in November
I first met Leia running the Hawk in September 2016. I was making a second attempt at completing a 50 miler after DNFing another race two weeks earlier. Leia was running her first 100 miler. That year, the weather forced us to run on the roads, which made it faster but certainly added to the beating on our legs.
I was impressed with the fearlessness Leia charged back out for two more 25-mile loops after completing the first fifty. I was in the pressence a true badass.
In October 2019, she placed first place female and fifth overall in the Heartland 100. She rolled throughf aid stations with a fierce competitive efficiency. At one, she took off before her pacer was fully ready. She is focused and driven.
In January 2020, I had the high honor of running the Second Best 100, a self-supported 100 she and I ran based out of the awesome coffee shop she and her husband own. That day the weather was crazy cold and an ice storm coated the ground the night before. In Yak-traks and screwed shoes, we ran up and down the Trolley Trail. She brilliantly led us to finishing by problem-solving issues as they arose, keeping us fueled and hydrated, and pacing us appropriately. I made it through that incredible run riding on her legendary coattails.
Leia keeps her runs on Strava private, so we played November Leia style. We didn't look at each others milage until the end of the month when we revealed our numbers during a zoom call. She outran me 112 miles to 92.
TED OUTRUNS Todd in October
Ted is a tough competitor. In 2019, I teased him that he was my ace in the hole because I ran more miles than him most months. I felt comfortable that I could callout Ted in any month I wanted. But I knew 2020 would be a different game.
When Ted has that desire to win in his eyes, watch out! I've seen him hustle to the podium for many beer miles, and I've seen him grind through the toughest of challenges. He has summitted 20 of the 58 Colorado fourteeners plus Ben Nevis in Scotland, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, and Mt. Hood in Oregon. The dude has tons of grit and resilience.
That's why I wasn't surprised at all when he came out swinging in October. Since Ted is a former MMA fighter, when you see him swinging, it's best to cover and drop. He began running the virtual Yeti 50 miler at 12:01 am on October 1 - literally 1 minute in to our month-long challenge.
The Yeti challenge was to run 8.35 miles every 4 hours. No banking any mileage and you have to start each stage like clockwork. This ensured that I felt the pain of all 50 miles because it was six separate Strava notifications. Ding. "Your friend Ted has completed a run. Give him Kudos." Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
About midway through the month, Ted felt comfortable enough with his lead that he backed off, but even if you remove his first day 50 miler, he still ran more miles than me.
I had the honor of crewing Ted during his solo Brew to Brew run in 2018. The temperature started around 37 degrees and dropped throughout the day. It even snowed during the race (in April!). That didn't stop Ted who grinded out all 44 miles that day.
He was slated to run Leadville 100 in August, but it was one of the first races to get canceled with the rise of Covid. He's planning to run it in 2021, and I'm planning to be there to crew and pace, even though he crushed me this October.
