Ultra running is ‘life at its best’

Club member John Means shares his ultra experience

FAYETTEVILLE, Pa., May 25, 2013 — Potomac Highlands Distance Club member John Means, of Hagerstown, Md., placed third in the inaugural Sole Challenge 6-hour run at Norlo Park in Fayetteville. Wearing bib 103, the 68-year-old covered 28.469 miles in 5 hours, 51 minutes and 15.2 seconds.

The USATF-certified course featured a paved loop of about 1.55 miles. Means completed the loop 18 times, plus tallied another 0.623 miles before the six-hour mark arrived. Other events on the weekend included the 24-hour, 12-hour and 5K options.

In an email to the club in response to a congratulatory note, Means said the loop configuration allowed for a unique experience.

“The race was one of the best experiences of my life — not just of my running life,” said John, who is married to fellow runner and club member Mary Means, 61. “The course was a 1.5-mile, figure-eight type circuit with a 100-yard passage where each of us would meet each of the others at one time or another. In this section, everyone exchanged nods, smiles, waves and words of encouragement. It was six hours of running free from the ugliness, nastiness, envy and back-stabbing of the world. Most running events offer this kind of mutual and positive sharing, but here the configuration of the course and the length of the event magnified the good feelings.”

Means averaged 12:20 per mile for nearly six hours. It’s a challenge that is alluring, he said.

“People think we are crazy and ask why we would do such a thing as an ultra,” Means said. “Well … ‘ultra’ defines the experience well. It is an ‘ultra life.’ It is life at its best and fullest. It is a pleasure, a privilege and a blessing to be able to do an ultra. It makes me thankful to be alive.”