EDITOR’S LETTER
3 Welcome!
Endurance Racing Magazine is a vehicle for communication, so
that endurance athletes all over the world can connect, learn,
and explore.

COACHES’ CORNER
6 Inner Competitor® Training, Part 4a
Jay Markeiwicz’s fourth in his series of competitive training covers the issues of pain and suffering during competition and how
to turn pain into opportunity.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS
7 Ghislain Marechal Attemps His Own Personal Challenge International Iron-distance triathlete, Ghislain Marechal, designed his own personal “X Challenge” to test his will and raisemoney for children with medical issues.

CONSERVATION
8 Climbing for a Cause
Ginna Kelly’s organization centers around using endurance
climbing and hiking to raise awareness for environmental issues.
Soon, Climbing for a Cause will add Running for A Cause.

RACE RECAP
10 2014 Badwater 135
Harvey Lewis and Aly Venti were the winners of the men’s and women’s divisions of the 2014 Badwater 135 race through
Death Valley.

14 The Falmouth Mile
This year’s Falmouth Mile competition before the New Balance Falmouth Road race added a children’s division in addition to
the high school and elite athletes as well as wheelchair racers.

ATHLETE PROFILES
16 Eric Friedman: Thrill Seeking: When running isn’t enough
Eric Friedman decided he needed to do something new. His race event, Sky Dive Ultra, challenges athletes to start their first mile by
jumping out of a plane.

18 Double Badwater Finisher, Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner set out to run the original Badwater course through Death Valley. While he didn’t specifically set out to beat the record against Marshall Ulrich, he did.

22 Badwater Quad Finisher, Lisa Smith-Batchen
Lisa Smith-Batchen became the first woman to complete the Badwater Quad, or four passes up and back through Death Valley. Her effort garnered her respect amongst her peers as well as continued to raise awareness for her organization, Badwater4Goodwater.

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Alix Shutello, Editor

This issue was a lot of fun to produce. First of all, I was given the opportunity to cover the Falmouth Mile before I went off to run the New Balance Falmouth Road Race this year. The Falmouth Mile is not as popular, but the folks in Falmouth are hoping to raise awareness about this event; many elite athletes compete in this race. I’ve covered this race for two years now, and thoroughly enjoy watching the athletes.

Before and after the New Balance Falmouth Road Race, I was able to get some photo coverage of the wheelchair athletes and others. It was a thrill to see Krige Schabort, who I met last year. Schabort, who is featured in this issue, is one the world’s best renowned wheelchair athletes and has an extensive resume – including having competed in the Kona Ironman race, as well as countless others in more notable endurance-distance races.

Aside from preparing a race recap on the Falmouth Mile, I also covered some of the athletes who competed at the Badwater 135 race. The course had to be altered this year after much controversy, thanks to the National Park Service. Two new winners emerged: the veteran internationally recognized endurance runner Harvey Lewis, and newbie Aly Venti – who, unlike Lewis, had never competed at Badwater before.

While 100 athletes were preparing for their Death Valley experience, two other athletes – Lisa Smith-Batchen and Kenneth Poser (who is coached by Smith-Batchen) – broke records this year for their racing efforts in Death Valley. Smith-Batchen, 52, became the first woman to ever finish a Quad Badwater (yes, that’s four times up and back through Death Valley).  Her student, Kenneth Posner, completed the Double Badwater in record time, beating Marshall Ulrich’s time. Ulrich is also a Quad Badwater finisher.

This issue boasts a couple new sections; we cover both international and regional news. Internationally, Ghislain Marechal of Brussels set out to challenge himself and raise money for children’s causes. Like Smith-Batchen, who raises money and awareness for her Badwater4Goodwater campaign, Marechal developed his X Challenge to complete a DECA Iron experience in Europe this year as we go to print during the month of September 2014.

Regionally, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rick Amernick, founder of the DC Capital Striders – a prolific running group in the DC area that has training runs in Virginia. I met Amernick for the first time at the North Face Endurance Challenge in Virginia this spring. He’s recently transitioned into ultra-running and completed his first 50K this June.

There are a few other articles in this issue that were just a thrill to produce. When Eric Friedman, skydiver/runner, contacted me about his Sky Dive Run challenges, I got back in touch immediately. Of all things – combining sky diving and running! Read and relish this piece!

We have our fourth article in a series by Jay Markiewicz on Mental Training. Markiewicz has become a staple for the magazine in Coaches Corner. We also want to introduce our writer, John Glynn, who had the task of interviewing some of the world’s most  dynamic names in endurance racing – like Wayne Botha, who we feature in this issue for his world record achievements in barefoot running. Glynn, who is an important asset to ERM, wrote an extensive piece on “hitting The Wall” – definitely a good read for all athletes, new and veteran alike.

Botha, who is on our cover this issue, achieved two barefoot records in one day for a single race! The New Zealander set out with a goal to get the World Records in barefoot running for two distances, and achieved his goals. Like so many of the runners we interview, he put in his head that he would succeed. Guess what? He did!

And as always, special thanks to all the folks who contributed to this magazine.

Best Regards,

Alix
Alix Shutello, President and CEO
[email protected]

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Thrill Seeking: When just running isn’t enough

Eric Friedman was a marathoner turned ultra runner looking to do something different with his athletic endeavors. After reading Dean Karnazes’s book, “Ultra Marathon Man”, Friedman became introspective and took the book at face value.

“I couldn’t believe humans were capable of running like that,” he said. “I had to see if I could do it myself.”

So what did Friedman do? He morphed skydiving and ultra running together; and, while he was at it, developed a whole new kind of race that people now sign up for and compete in (for starters).

How did a mere marathoner turn to such extreme sports? Well, he was always extreme. Before conceptualizing the SkyDiveUltra, and, driven by a desire to push his limits, Friedman trained for hours with his best friend, Smith Jean (Smitty) Baptiste. Every Thursday night, he and Smitty would head out at 11pm and run until 5am; the two would run countless hours and hundreds upon hundreds of miles together.

“We would then head back to our houses, shower up and head to our jobs for the final workday of the week. This Thursday (work), Thursday night (run) and Friday (work) would simulate the perfect 100-mile training, including lack of sleep, etc.,” Friedman explained. “We would get up and pull tires three times a week, from 1am to 5am, because that was the time we had available. He’s the only one crazy enough to run at those odd hours with me, and we banked some serious miles together.”

The idea to actually sky dive and then run an ultra race came about during one of those overnight runs with Smitty in 2012.

“I’ve always been a skydiver, and we got to talking about what would make a really cool race, and the thought of jumping out of a plane to start a race was pretty crazy. I went to my drop zone the next weekend and poked around the area to see if I could come up with a course to run, and then started laying out some details,” he said.

A couple months later, Friedman conducted a test run of a sky dive-run event with a group of friends. Eight jumped and ran. In 2013, Friedman organized a much bigger event, launched a website, did some real marketing, added some additional distances and directed a race – complete with insurance, medals, buckles and the whole deal.

“I was really shocked at how much effort actually goes into pulling off a race,” Friedman observed.

Extreme Athlete, Extreme Diet

If you ask Friedman, its beer.

“I’m a big supporter of carbo pro and beer on my runs…I actually completed a 50-miler on nothing but beer…but that was just for giggles, and to see if I could do it. I have dabbled with all sorts of diets and am mostly paleo[C2] ….I was also a ketogenic runner for a couple months. I’ve run the gamut on nutrition.”

On the flip side…

“I’ve been the guy who ran 20-plus-mile runs on just water and a mixture of chia/hemp hearts and salt. I would bring a single handheld and a small Ziploc baggie of the seed mixture and go for hours, filling up my water bottle from the shower heads along the beaches.”

To Friedman, it really it just kind of depends on “where he’s at” with his personal diet when it comes to what he will, or more likely won’t, eat. For example, Friedman spent 60 days on a pure juice diet leading up his Keys100 race. “I brought a small nutribullet to that event, and my crew gave me fruit smoothies and icy blended drinks,” he said.

Then again, he’s a 50-miler on nothing but beer and water.

When it comes to all his athlete endeavors, Friedman doesn’t describe himself as a competitive guy.

“I’m not the most competitive runner. For me, it’s all about the camaraderie in the sport. I love my ultra running friends and their real, raw, honest attitudes. The conversations we have on the course are very special. I’ve never had any problems with the training aspect, because I had the company of really amazing people to share the hours with. Whether it’s race day or training day, it’s always the same…I’m just enjoying the view, the vibe and the company.”

And what about these extreme races he competes in?

“Reading “Ultra Marathon Man” was my tipping point. It’s taken a while, but I’ve figured out why I do all the crazy things that I do: I do them out of fear. I’ve trained in mixed martial arts, done jiu-jitsu, skydived over 150 times and run these 100-milers…all in the name of fear. I’m afraid of them. I’m afraid of the challenge. I have recently determined that I am compelled [C4] to do what I fear to show that I can overcome myself[C5] .”

SIDE BAR – SkyDiveUltra 2014

The SkyDiveUltra on February 1, 2014, had folks camping out in tents the night before for the super thrill of their lives. The event was hugely successful, boasting a motivated and eclectic crowd from both the U.S. and abroad: 72 Floridians, 2 locals from Belle Glade, and participants from New York, Tel Aviv Israel, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Tennessee, New Jersey, Virginia and Mississippi.

“We had two cancer survivors successfully run the 10k and 26.2 division – both having had chemo treatments within the previous 10 days,” Friedman said.

There were:

• 63 total skydivers out of 94 entrants.
• Athletes ranging in age from 22-60 years (46 females and 48 males)
• 30 volunteers, including families and children.
• 4 people who came just to skydive while their friends ran.
• 50 hotel rooms booked in the surrounding local areas.
• Local news/press in attendance.

Side Bar 2

Helping A Man Become An Ultra Athlete

One of the most exciting stories is that of a buddy of mine from grade school who I started talking to again in August of 2013. He weighed approximately 350 pounds, and he was very depressed. I talked him into coming out and doing a few miles with me one weekend, and then somehow talked him into letting me coach him through some weight loss and exercise. Well, silly him, letting an ultra runner guide him through that! I essentially got him to do a marathon, as well as my next 12-hour overnight event (Son of a Beach) 30 days after we started talking; he was 345 pounds at the time. Then I talked him into agreeing to try to lose 80 pounds over the following 6 months and running the SkyDiveUltra 50-miler. We trained our butts off! I had him pulling tires and doing lots of plyometric work as well as lots of walking and jogging. He ended up losing the 80 pounds, and got down to about 274 by February; and he ran the 50-miler. He ended up grinding it out and finishing the event in about 18 hours, I think. It was really inspiring. (You can search facebook for “Joel’s Journey” to see a page we created to document everything.) Just recently, on the one-year anniversary from the beginning of this weight loss, he committed to come back this year for the 100-miler.

Here’s a link to the video from the first SkyDiveUltra event:

http://vimeo.com/60795869

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJaNvRuAne0#t=19

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A Motivational View On Pain and Suffering

By Jay Markiewicz

I want to share with you the two quotes I say to myself when I stand at the start of every race. The first one is, “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” The second is, “Only in times of suffering are we closest to our consciousness!” And bam, does that get me fired up to race!

Because look, no matter how much we try, no matter how much we talk about theory, tools, applications and mind-sets, the bottom line is that we all find ourselves, at some point or another, on the edge of suffering. And it’s in those moments that we get to see the deepest part of our spirit.

Standing at the start of an endurance race, I wonder: What part of me is going to show up today? What will I learn about myself that I don’t already know? Some people shy away from pushing too hard to prevent crossing into that realm. Me, I do it to see what I’m made of. Endurance racing is as much spiritual as anything. There is a gift in that. The gift is we get to peek into our soul when we’re on that fine line between Pain and Suffering.

Let me share with you some thoughts on pain, suffering, and our consciousness.

The first quote gives us the key – “Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.” Every single athlete out there on the race course is living that quote, over and over again.

“Pain is inevitable…”

Pain – a biological signal to the brain of a distressing sensation

Inevitable – unable to be avoided, sure to occur, certain

“…suffering is optional.”

Suffering – a mental interpretation and emotional response to that pain signal

Optional – not required, elective, something we can choose

The simple truth: In endurance racing, pain will be certain; suffering is your choice.

And how, again, is suffering a choice? Suffering is a choice because it is your mind’s interpretation of the signal coming from your body. A mind-set.

Maybe it would help to identify some interpretations of the pain signal.  Imagine it’s late in your endurance race and you are full of pain signals. How do you interpret them?

And there it is. The moments in the race that we straddle the line between pain and suffering is when we are closest to our consciousness. It’s also the moment of choice.

The moment of choice is your performance edge. Recognize those moments; and when you choose a mind-set of pain over suffering, you will be able to push to a higher performance edge.

I challenge you to choose to push your performance edge.

Jay Markiewicz is an endurance athlete and Fortune 500 Leadership Coach, Sports Performance Coach, and founder of Inner Competitor® – an organization that works with clients who want to perform better and enjoy their life more. You can contact Jay at [email protected].

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By Alix Shutello

Kenneth Posner, 51 from New York, decided to do something different this year – run a double Badwater. After completing a 350-mile thru-run of New York’s Long Path, a well-known hiking trail from Fort Lee Historical Park in New Jersey to John Boyd Thacher State Park near Albany in New York.  The Long Path, a thread connecting many of New York’s parks, preserves, and state forest lands along a bucolic trail, was a the perfect setting for an ultra-athlete to test themselves in managing longer distances.

“Completing The Long Path gave me the confidence to set my sights on longer distances,” Posner said.

Also, his coach, the well-known Lisa Smith-Batchen was planning to run a Badwater Quad (which she completed, making her the first female to do so) and that inspired Posner head back out to Death Valley to attempt a Double Badwater along the original course.

To prepare for his double Badwater attempt, continued the interval work Posner uses to prepare for marathons, then integrated long runs, races, or going out and exploring interesting road routes and trails of 30, 40, 50 and even 74 miles.

“Exploring new routes turns a long run into an adventure,” Poser said.  “At the same time, I experimented with different nutritional strategies and even ran some long runs without calories in order to further develop my fat-burning capability and reduce my dependency on carbohydrates.”

And to prepare for the heat, Posner completed several months of sauna training with light calisthenics to adapt his body to cooling itself under stressful conditions.

Where you looking to beat Marsh or did that just happen by chance? 

Marshall Ulrich is clearly one of the world’s most prolific ultra-athletes. He has completed the 135-mile Badwater ultra numerous times including one double and one quad crossing. In 2013, Ulrich ran Badwater and then circumnavigated Death Valley. (https://tighthams.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/circumnavigation-of-death-valley-a-go/)

Posner researched a website that tracks all known 146-mile crossings from Badwater to Mt. Whitney (https://sites.google.com/site/badwater146info/).  Out of curiosity, Posner scanned the times, noting that Ulrich had also completed a Quad crossing.

“When someone pointed out Ulrich’s double Badwater time to me, it looked like it was right on the edge of what I might be able to achieve — but only if everything went perfectly.  It gave me a stretch goal to aim for, helped me stay focused during training, and pushed me to give everything I had on the course,” Posner noted.

Marshall has been a huge inspiration to me (and countless others).   For me, the double was about doing the best I could possibly do, out of respect for the people who came before me and showed the way.  I think Marshall was excited to see someone get out there and try to improve the record.  It’s part of how much he loves the sport and shows how meaningful his legacy is.

Overcoming Challenges during Badwater

Heading up Towne Pass on the afternoon of the first day, I started to run low on energy, as I hadn’t eaten a lot during the day.  It’s hard to eat when it’s so hot (127 F), and the carefully selected and tested foodstuffs I had brought with me no longer were palatable.  I started eating Gatorade Carbo Chews, but the sugar content was too much for me, causing an insulin spike and shutting off fat-burning and leaving me weak and quivering.  I sat down on the ground and waited for my my crew to catch up.  My two chiefs, Diane Grecsek and Lynne Hewett forced me to try a bunch of different foods until I found something palatable (a strange combination of hard boiled eggs and chia seeds).  That got me up and moving again.

During the last night, when it should have been a flat, easy, relatively cool final 45 miles, we encountered ferocious headwinds, which blew all night.  I don’t know how fast they were, but the creosote bushes on the side of the road were jumping and whipping around and all you could hear was a howling in your ears.  This being my second night without sleep (only 4 hours during the entire 94 hour run) I was losing my mental focus and struggling to maintain the speed necessary to set the new record.  My two pacers Deanna Culbreath and David Staley made a huge difference by getting me to run forward (slowly) into the winds — something I didn’t think was possible until they showed me the way.

From these two examples, you should be able to tell that my crew played an enormous role in helping me overcome challenges and without their decisive contribution, there would not have been a new record.  Dan Khalili, Chris Dooley, and Laura Casner were the other members of the crew.

Did anything unexpected happen during the race?

The headwinds (blowing from the south) were unexpected.  But since I had been out on the course three times before, I was able to plan for and execute the course with a good understanding of the challenges.

What were three good things that came out of your completing this distance.

This was a tremendously positive team experience.  We had an ambitious goal, a detailed plan, a team of good people who were all committed to the mission and who all made different contributions to getting it done.  This left us with a very special feeling about the experience.

As part of the run, I was able to raise a little bit of money for New York Road Runners Youth Programs, which organizes running instruction and events for young people in underserved areas, who may not have much access to organized sports at school or in their neighborhoods.  In today’s sedentary world, it’s really important to get the next generation introduced to fitness, not only for health reasons, but so they can develop that spirit of focus, discipline, and determination which is so important in life.  Anyone who would like to learn more about or support these programs can visit my website  http://www.runwithtfk.org/Member/PublicPage/3176

Beyond Batwater. Preparing for the Future

Posner is currently training for the New York City marathon, hoping to shave another few seconds off his time. He’s also researching some other possible adventures…looking for records that seem impossible, and possibly finding ways to beat them. But that process, Posner notes, is still in the works.

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