About delsbernd
I started out as a jogger in college. At that time 4 or 5 miles was a really long run. A chronic knee injury and family demands sidelined me for about 20 years. But when I got winded trying to keep up with my daughter on a hike, it was time to take action. First biking, then came a little jogging. With determination, the knee problem was overcome.
I began admiring another runner my brother had introduce me to, Tim Twietmeyer. He was a regular winner of Western States Endurance Run. Western States is a hundred mile race in the mountains and canyons near Lake Tahoe. I didn't understand that and I knew I could never run that far. Even finishing a marathon was an impossible dream. But in 1998, I ran his first half-marathon. Maybe a marathon was possible. This was followed by several 50 kilometer races and finally, the marathon in 1999. Now Western States called to me.
Succumbing to beginner over-enthusiasm, I was sidelined again for several years dealing with stress fractures. It was very frustrating. But eventually I recovered and began racing again. The next big step was 50 miles. Each increase in distance was daunting. But the previous long runs were no longer intimidating. I discovered what some of our ancestors knew, that we were designed to be endurance animals.
Since then, I've run over 40 ultramarathons (defined as any distance further than a marathon, or 26.2 miles). These have ranged from 50 kilometers to 100 miles, and several timed races of 24 hours, 48 hours, and 72 hours. (But still only one marathon!) This last June I finally met my dream goal, finishing Western States.
Western States is often a hot-weather race, so I started to be intrigued with another hot-weather race, Badwater. It's 135 miles in Death Valley, in July. Sheer insanity! Yet I've discovered that the human body is also designed to run in tempertatures well over our natural body temperatures, thanks to the cooling effect of sweat. Think 'swamp coolers' from the Southwest, which are very effective. While Badwater is on hold, Marathon des Sables is very much my next goal. That's a 150 mile, 6 day stage race in the Moroccan desert.
I consider myself to have very ordinary athletic abilities. If I can do these long runs, just about anyone can aspire to running ultramarathons if they have the desire. I am happy to help others learn how to run ultramarathons. I hope to still be running ultramarathons at the age of 70 and beyond.
