Q: Back in April, you won the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run in 15:05 - almost breaking 15 hours. You held about a 6:16 pace for the first 50 miles. What type of training did you do to achieve and maintain that pace?

A: In a nutshell, I trained really hard in late winter and early spring. Perhaps the single greatest workout I added to my training regiment was the Sunday long run with my girlfriend who was training for Boston. After I ran a hard 50k on Saturdays in March, I would do a long run on Sundays with my girlfriend as prescribed by her Boston Marathon Training Program. These runs hurt badly, but I feel they were the key in teaching my muscles how to run with tired heavy legs at a decent sub 8 minute pace. I owe this advice to my friend and mentor in the sport, Scott Jurek, who I was able to run and learn with during February’s Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica. The base building that I established in the heat and humidity was also key in my preparation for Umstead. I spent a great deal of time in the trainers’ office icing and getting e-muscle stimulation on sore and problem muscles. I think training through these minor injuries made the last few miles of Umstead bearable and even enjoyable because I knew I could still maintain a decent pace even if my legs were not 100%. A good part of Ultra Marathoning is mental.

Q: You're only 31, which is relatively young for an endurance runner…correct?

A: At 31, I am a little young but there are more and more young runners entering into the sport each year as the popularity of ultras grow. It’s amazing how many people want to push their limits! The younger runners should have a physical advantage, but again, running ultras is partially mental, so the more experienced older runners sometimes do better. Running ultras can also be an expensive hobby with the travel and time off involved.

Q: You often cross-train by swimming. What workouts do you do in the pool?

A: I try to swim at least 30 minutes each day to stretch out and work my upper body. On occasion I will do more intense intervals. Any non- impact aerobic exercise that gets the heart pumping is a benefit for my racing and training. On days where my legs are really dead and beat up, I will use pull buoys to help them float and limit the swim to an upper body session. Most weekdays, I would run and swim both in the morning and in the evening.

Q: How many endurance races have you done and how did you get started?

A: I started marathoning in 2001. Nine months prior, I could not run a mile without stopping to walk. I went from 270lbs. to 180lbs. after I stopped drinking and started running short races.I was never really fast enough to win outright, so I kept looking to the next distance. My first Ultra was in April of 2004. My fiancée Jennifer was battling breast cancer at the time and all of our “marathon trips” were put on hold. So, I had to look for more local runs. When Jen passed away a few months later, I used running as a means to deal with my grief and found solace in the long distance adventures where I could escape for a few hours at a time. I have probably run over 50 ultras and 4 stage races to date and numerous day-long runs through some amazing places on my own.

Q: Are there any rookie mistakes to avoid?

A: As I make them I will let you guys know! So far, my rookie mistakes in this first year running as a “professional” have included going out too hard, too soon. Sometimes this tactic works and I am able to break clear of the pack, but since I started using the Polar I have been able to come from behind a little better and stronger. Also if you are racing and feel terrible, chances are you just need to back off a little and let your body compensate. So many times, a few easy minutes will be all I need to bounce back. There are tons of ups and downs in ultra running, but it is important to remember that mood swings have a biochemical basis and can be avoided with proper electrolyte balance, nutrition, and hydration.

Q: You say that running ultras is partially mental? How do you psychologically prepare for a 100 mile run? Do you stay focused on form and pace or do you let your thoughts wander?

A: Sometimes in training when I get tired and close to burnout I let my thoughts wander, but when I am focused and in the zone I try to focus on form and pace. Mornings like today when it is cold and rainy out, it is hard to get out of bed and get my run in, but after I get moving I usually start to feel better. I think that the ups and downs of life are preparation enough for a 100 mile run. That distance is insane and even having won my first two races at the distance, I can honestly admit that I have no clue what I am doing out there. The only thing I know is that running is my favorite hobby and I have been blessed enough to have an opportunity to spend an entire day running, doing what I love, and I have the chance to be paid for it too—if I perform well! I realize how lucky I am to be compensated for a hobby of mine and because of running, so many more doors have begun to open in my life—including an opportunity to complete my undergraduate degree and hopefully attend medical school. I took a sports psychology class that taught me some great tricks that I utilize in the mental side of my training. There have been studies done that mood control, positive thinking, and visualization can improve elite level athletes’ performance by up to 3%. In the course of a 100 mile run, 3% is a huge difference in time! Everyone should finish a marathon at least once in their life but for some of us, finishing a 100 miler is important. I have a competitive side and for me winning at these long distances is important so I work hard to balance my life so that I can perform to the best of my abilities in all of the facets of my life.

Q: You just finished training for the Western States Endurance Run in California, one of the oldest and most challenging endurance runs in the world. The trail has a climb of 2,550 vertical feet in the first 4½ miles. How did you adjust your training to prepare for that?

A:Training for Western States has been a challenge. Because the race starts at elevation, I choose to spend a month studying for my wilderness emergency medical technician certification in Lander, Wyoming. Being in class 50 plus hours a week while trying to work out four hours a day was a challenge and required some sleep deprivation adjustment. I swam out there as well, which allowed me to get cardio workouts without the pounding as I adjusted to the hilly terrain. I often would have to run 3 times a day around 12 hours of classes to get my miles in, but since our class was held in a rural area I had hilly trails right outside the classroom. The beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains were also very inspiring. On weekends I could get up to over 9000 feet in elevation before the snow pack made running nearly impossible. I think this training program worked well because I won the Pocatello 50 Mile Run out in Idaho on Memorial Day weekend I also had the good fortune to be in class with a fellow ultra runner. We dropped some wicked elevation tempo runs some mornings before class that left me in need of some real EMS care, oxygen!

Q: You recently said endurance runs are "like a science experiment with your body." How do you stay hydrated and what do you eat while training and during endurance races?

A: Ultra Legend Scott Jurek and Anthony Almada, President, Founder, and CEO of GENr8 have taught me the importance of balancing electrolytes with nutrition and hydration. I believe the single greatest factor in distance running is training the stomach to handle the fluid and nutrition intake necessary to maintain a high output level over hours of competition. I use Gels but love Vitargo’s GENr8 because it is rapidly absorbed by the blood stream from the stomach. I use electrolyte pills and bananas as well. On some training runs I had to go without water or nutrition for hours as I often got lost purposely in the mountains to make my body stronger by having to perform hard without nutrition as well. On some days when I was reaching the peak weeks of my training out west, I simply could not ingest enough food without losing weight.
Q: How long does it take you to recover and how do you prevent injury? About 2 weeks after the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run in April, you amazingly helped pace your girlfriend in the Boston Marathon.

A: The recovery phase is something I never seem to follow through on as I am always itching to race again before my body is ready. I swam a lot the week after the Umstead 100 miler and was able to run pain-free in a week. It took me a good month to get full strength back and my immune system even longer. I don’t really prevent injury, but rather adhere to the belief that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” and my mantra while racing is sometimes “pain is weakness leaving the body.” I am lucky to have a good friend who is a chiropractor who has brought me back from some pretty painful overuse injuries with e-muscle stimulation and ice. I also have access to acupuncture and chiropractic services at my university and a great athletic training staff who brought me back each Monday and Tuesday from my hard weekend workouts.

Q: You started training with a Polar RS800sd , GPS and ProTrainer 5 software only 6 months ago. How are you coming along with heart rate training? Has it improved your performance, pacing, recovery efforts?

A: Yes to all three. The Polar training computer and software are amazing to train with. As I mentioned above, they allowed me to train harder on hard days and forced me to slow down on easy runs.� When I do track workouts, I like to go by my heart rate alone and not pace or time. I recently set an official PR at the Colfax Denver Marathon coming off an intense first week of altitude training when I strictly went by my heart rate instead of pace per mile! Perhaps the greatest learning experience for me with using the Polar has been with hill training and breathing. Perceived effort running up hills is always consistently more than what the Polar shows as actual effort for me personally! Of course, using the Polar Heart Rate Monitor was also huge as it allowed me to gauge my effort and back off to an appropriate pace on easy days, and push harder on hard days!

Q: Take a shout out lap for your sponsors! Thanks for your time and please hang out for any comments/ questions from the readers.

A: GENr8 from Vitargo, Polar and Spira Footwear along with my summer job working for Mr. Trump’s Golf Course in Briarcliff, New York. I am also very grateful to the University of Bridgeport, CT for giving me an opportunity to finish my degree and help coach!