I know nobody is excited but me but at ~ 1:00 am local time the 2010
IAU 24-Hour Run World Championships start in Brive France.
My friend Michael Henze is running for
Team USA. His own personal record is 147.41 miles and he hopes to
better that tomorrow. (and chickies - he started this running nonsense at over 300 lbs! What a success story!)
If you want to see an impressive running log check his out. Especially
his base building period in late march and early april.
It must be very cool to discover you are talented like that! And to have a friend so talented! (Not that being a Boston qualifier is anything to sneeze at...I don't think I will ever run that fast. That's very admirable too!)
GAHH! I am getting nothing done watching this. Over the last several hours he has moved from 60th place to 40th and now is knocking on top 20. 17 hours in 112 miles down
12th overall with 154.38 miles, Second American and enough to pull the americans on to the podium for the team. Two much more experienced american ultrarunners faded in the stretch and Mike picked up the slack and kept the team in the medals. And if you want to be even more amazed, his final 5K was a 22:15. His final 2 laps (1.25K each) were the fastest 2 laps by any competitor all day.
Or for another perspective. Just a shade under 6 sub 4 hour marathons in a row.
This article is amazing. It is so hard to get Mike to talk about himself, but his struggle with food is so familiar.
Quote:
Henze's story touches on elements of obsessions and addictions, the struggle of someone who once weighed more than 300 pounds and the constant threat that he could easily balloon back to that weight.
"If, in that cupboard, there's a package of Oreo cookies, every waking hour in the house I know those cookies are there," he said.
Quote:
A tennis player in high school and solid athlete, he had struggled with weight most of his life. He didn't necessarily eat bad foods, he just couldn't stop.
He weighed 240 in college, 270 on his wedding day and more than 300 when he hit a breaking point during a golf outing in July 2003.
"It was hot, and by the 13th hole I was dragging my bag behind me because I'm out of shape," he said. "I thought, 'Who are my skinny friends?' The friends that kept the weight off were the people that ran, so I said, 'I'm going to run.'
"I started out by running a block and walking a block. I had a four-mile loop and it didn't take very long, probably about three weeks to be able to make the whole loop."
His approach to food was one he quickly applied to running: "One mile is good, five miles is better, and 20 miles is even better."
I'm just so excited!!!!!
(Not that being a Boston qualifier is anything to sneeze at...I don't think I will ever run that fast. That's very admirable too!)
