Yeah, Leadville was a tough place... Full of tough men and even tougher women... (McDougall 59. The Leadville 100 mile trail run is one of the toughest races in the world, and very few people actually finish. The book makes a point about how in shorter events men usually dominate over the women, but in ultrarunning the women have potential to win it all.
To get a sense of what he [Ken Chlouber] came up with, try running the Boston Marathon two times in a row with a sock stuffed in your mouth and then hike up to Pikes Peak...Now do it all again, this time with your eyes closed (McDougall 60).
Here, McDouguall is describing the true rigor of ultrarunning, with its relentless climbs, steep descents, terrain, and altitude. All this takes an unspeakable toll on the runner.
"A runner's only hope of surviving Badwater was to have an experienced crew monitering his vitals and supplying digestible calories and electrolyte drinks" (McDougall 127). Here, Chris McDgougall is discussing the Badwater Ultramarathon, pehaps the single most difficult race known to man. It is a 135 mile death march (read: suicide attempt) through Death Valley, in July, when the temps easily go well beyond 100 degrees F.
"Vigils' notion of character wasn't toughness. It was compassion. Kindness. Love" (McDougall 92). This refers to a running coach with the last name of Vigil. His belief is that character was decided by compassion and kidness (interdisciplinary connection with Rachel's Challenge) rather than pure toughtness.
"Deny your nature, and it will erupt in some other, uglier way (McDougall 99). Here, Chris McDougall is talking about how we stopped running for fun and made it more of a chore. In doing this, we denied what we really are and it has erupted in the ugly image of extreme obesity in America.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete