Interview with Mark Norfleet 1) You’ve had a remarkable ultra running stretch over the past 12 months, including six 100 mile finishes. What’s been the key to your success? Thanks Mike! I do not consider it very remarkable, though. As you well know running 100 miles, or at least covering that distance on foot, is not as difficult as it sounds. I’ve not pushed myself much on many of those runs, except for possibly the last one and have been content to complete the distance and have fun along the way. I’m not sure there is a “key” for me. I would not claim to have figured this (or much else) out. What I do know is that I seem to be able to complete nearly all of the races I start and suppose that stems from being willing to keep moving and get past whatever difficulties may develop, which have thankfully been few. I’ve been lucky in that I do not seem to suffer the emotional lows or stomach troubles that test many folks at this distance. My only DNFs in 100 milers have both been at the Black Hills 100. The 2012 event wound up being my first real attempt at 100 miles. The temps got into the 90’s both days and that was just too hot for me to move fast enough to finish before the cutoff. I did finish the distance though, and until recently considered that DNF my best ultra running accomplishment. This year, I was slowed by the unexpected mud and made the silly mistake of following others down the wrong trail for a while, which compounded my teasing of the cutoff. I wound up being compelled to stop at mile 72 while still feeling good. 2) When did you start running ultras? Is it something you took to and enjoyed immediately? Looking at my results on Ultrasignup, the first one I ran was a 30 mile race called Clinton Lake, in central Illinois, in 2008. I tried to do a 50 miler that fall at North Country but was not feeling well and decided to stop after 27 or so miles. It was three years before I did another but clearly the seed was planted. I recall feeling that the idea of running longer distances was appealing but that I did not think I was physically capable of doing so. After my next ultra, 50 miles at the inaugural Woodstock, I felt pretty beat up but glad to have completed it and never said anything like “I’m never doing that again!” I don’t know that I took to it immediately but clearly my interest has lasted longer than memories of the discomfort of the first few. 3) The Beast of Burden course seems to suit your running style well, having completed the winter and summer 100 milers each of the past two years. That’s quite a feat, considering the difference in weather conditions. Which works better for you - the cold or heat? Without question it is FAR easier for me to manage cold conditions than warm ones, as my times pretty much show, especially from 2013. The seeming simplicity of that race is what makes it fun and also potentially a great challenge. Having spent some time in the Buffalo area during the winter, I know well what the weather can be like and I’m intrigued by just how “bad” it -could- be for the race. This year for the winter race we had fairly consistent 20-30mph winds whipping down the towpath for much of the race. You have to think carefully about your clothing choices with that sort of wind and temps in the teens and twenties. For at least the last few hours I was out there, we had 50-60mph gusts straight into our faces. There was very little snow on the ground but what was there was being picked up by the wind and you could see the gusts coming. After one such gust, I laughed out loud and said to the woman I was “running” with, “who needs hills!” The summer version for me is all about managing heat tolerance and I just cannot move quickly while doing so. There is almost no shade on the course and even when the temps are only around 80 degrees the sun during the day really takes a toll on larger folks like me. As for whether it suits my running style, perhaps, as being the size I am and living in a relatively flat area, I don’t do well on hills. I just enjoy the race, as I have most that I’ve done, and the people I’ve met there. I do enjoy challenging myself at hilly races but clearly fall closer toward the end of the finishers as a race get hillier. 4) When you’re participating in an ultra, do you seek out others to run with to pass the time or do you prefer to go it alone and just focus on what you need to do next? I’ve done both. Mostly I run alone and am perfectly content doing so. If I’m not feeling well I generally prefer to run alone so I can concentrate on what is best for me and my situation and not get drawn into running faster than I should, as I might if I were running with someone else. Winter Beast of Burden this year was an exception, though. I offered to run the entire thing with a friend, Roberta Lombardi, with whom I had been corresponding a bit, as this was her first 100 and I think her second ultra. She completed the distance with quiet, steady determination, enduring the crazy wind and over 27 hours with me without complaint. It was a fun and special experience, which I greatly enjoyed. I plan to do the same with another friend who is looking forward to completing her first 100 mile race at the 2015 Indiana Trail 100! I guess I enjoy supporting others who are beginning to find their way into this curious endeavor of running ultras. I do like running with folks I meet during the course of race if their pace and personality are suitable to where I happen to be at the time. When I do run with folks I’ve just met, I’m always careful to let them know I’m willing to part company if I happen to be annoying them or they feel, for any reason, the need to run alone. We’re all on our own, possibly complicated, journeys and I really do not wish to detract from anyone’s experience. 5) I have to ask you about your Barkley experience last month. Was it what you expected and would you ever consider running the 100 mile version if given the opportunity? I was fortunate to be able to take part in the first Barkley Fall Classic, which was held in September. It was a fun and very challenging event and I was grateful to be able to finish comfortably before the cutoff of 13:20 for (what was supposed to be) a 50k race with close to 12,000 feet of climbing. It was actually closer to 38 miles, but who’s counting… I think of Laz, aka Gary Cantrell the RD, as a kind-hearted sadist. I went into the race just to get a taste of what the real race, The Barkley Marathons, could be like and hopefully get to be around the RD some. The BFC was mostly on marked and reasonably well traveled trails in Frozen Head State Park near Knoxville. The Barkley Marathons is mostly not on trails in the same park. It is very steep and difficult terrain in places and it was a big challenge for this flatlander. Trying to find one’s way around that park OFF the trails would be a much greater challenge, especially for 100 miles and it’s one that curiously does not intrigue me much. This may in part be due to the fact that the night before the race we got to see a documentary that has been produced about the race and its history. I loved it and left the showing shaking my head and glad that I was just going to be taking on what I regard as a sampler of the real thing. The race was what I expected and a lot of fun! Especially the section known at “Rat Jaw” which involved crawling up steep briar covered hills and trying not to get too torn up in the process. The Tyvek chaps I made for the occasion served me well! There was at least one 40+ minute mile for that part of the race… This is my favorite line of the pre-race information that was sent out for the BFC: “Important course details: The worst climbs are in the second half of the course. The importance of this information will become obvious when you start doing the climbs in the first half. “ This was very true and I was glad to have not pushed too hard in the first half. I’ve never seen so many folks stopping and sitting to rest by the side of the trail. The 100 mile race does interest me in that I have considered it for a few seconds, but that might be an exaggeration… I’m not sure at this point if I could move fast enough through that terrain. While watching the movie it was clear that most people are very much challenged and beaten by the course and make their own decision to quit. I would be interested in spectating, though. Perhaps, if I were younger… 6) What’s the strangest thing that’s happened to you during a 100 miler? Apart from Roberta being willing to run with me for 100 miles despite only meeting me the night before at the Beast of Burden last January, I would have to say it was a fantastic sight I saw in the last five or so miles of my last 100 miler. It was dark and I was covering a relatively flat but rutted (from ATV use) area. I felt good about getting close to the finish of a very tough race, which I thought I might DNF, due to time constraints, when I saw a really incredible sculpture. It was of a magnificent, grotesque, grey slime covered creature, like one you might see in a wilderness scene of a Harry Potter movie. That creature was carrying a fawn that was alive but also covered in the same grey ooze. There was even a bright reflective element set in for one of the fawn’s eyes. I stopped and stared at it for several seconds, marveling at why someone would go to so much trouble in such a remote area and was regretting that I did not have a camera with me. I took a step toward resuming my race and immediately recognized that I had been looking at the bottom of a root structure from a fallen tree. 7) Tell us about your race strategy. Do you maintain a simplified approach or does each event and set of conditions require a unique and customized plan of attack? I approach nearly every race a bit differently, depending on the type of course it is, how much I think it will challenge me physically, whether or not I’m likely to be concerned about the cutoff time, and of course my goals for the race. There are some simple constants, though. I do what I can to minimize what I need to do other than run during the race. This means having my lights, batteries, fuel, clothing, electrolytes, etc., well organized and ready to go with a minimum of fussing. For example, If I think I may want to change socks during a race, I will pre-treat them with 2-Toms (Which I first tried at the 2013 IT 100 when samples were in our race packets.) and put them in a baggie. This of course makes getting ready for a race very time consuming but I don’t recall having a problem I’ve had to deal with during a race except for relieving a blister or two. If it’s a race where I will not see my stuff often, such as at Black Hills, I will sometimes put a check list in my drop bag, so I remember to at least think about the items on the list and whether or not I’m forgetting to do or take something before I leave the aid station. Also, as I’m approaching each aid station where I have a drop bag, I’ll think about what I need to do there and repeat the (hopefully) short list of items to myself at least a few times before I get there. Doing this, I’ve only made one AS mistake during a race and it proved fortunately not to be a critical one. As for my running strategy, I do what I can to start slowly. I tend to take a long time to warm up and feel comfortable anyway and if I start too fast, as I VERY much did in my first marathon, it can make for a very long and tough day. I try to have a good idea of what the terrain will be like throughout the race and apportion my efforts accordingly, hoping I have enough energy left, so I’m not crawling up hills near the end. In an event such as IT with loops, I try to go slow and treat the first lap as familiarization and warm up. After that, I just try to keep moving at a prudent rate and hope my energy level stays ahead of my fatigue level. 8) You’re one of the few remaining runners that has the opportunity to complete the first three 100 milers at the Indiana Trail 100 next April. What have you learned about the course and event over the past two years that will help you in 2015? To be prepared for a wide variety of possible surface conditions and having more clothes than I’m likely to need in my drop box. Overall, it’s a nice, runnable course and you and your cohorts do a wonderful job of building and maintaining the trails and supporting the race. The thing that surprised me this year was the lumpiness of the new sections of trail. It did not look bad at all but for some reason was really hard on my feet. I’m guessing it will be less so next time, as a year’s worth or traffic will likely smooth it out some. 9) Do you have a bucket list race planned for 2015 or later down the road? As my local running friends have learned by hearing about races I’ve done after the fact, I don’t much like to talk about what races I’m planning to do. That said, I am hoping to have the opportunity to give Western States a try in 2015 or before I get too much more old and feeble. I’m also intrigued by the 200 + mile races that the evil temptress Candice Burt is organizing. My interest in those events does seem to wane during the late miles of a 100 miler though… I’ve completed some difficult 100 milers but the one thing I’ve not done yet is try a race at significant altitude, and I would like to. We shall see... In many ways I wish I had gotten into running ultras when I first became aware of them in the late 70’s, but I don’t know if I would have accrued enough wisdom early enough to still be able to run them now. It’s something I try not to ponder too much. 10) As someone that has counseled newer runners in the sport, what advice would you give someone competing in their first 50 or 100 mile run at our event? What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received when it comes to ultras? That’s simple! Remember to enjoy the journey from the start of your training through the challenging walk to your front door after the race. Don’t forget to thank and appreciate all the volunteers and the wonderful RD who all collaborate and work hard to make this race special. Apart from training for it, START SLOWLY! If you have too much energy late in the race, you can always pick up the pace for the last 20 or so miles… ;)
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:11:19 +0000
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