Veteran adventurer sets record for cross-U.S. run
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published November 6, 2008 at 2:54 p.m.
Updated November 6, 2008 at 2:54 p.m.
Marshall has completed over 116 ultra marathons averaging over 100 miles each and completed 12 expedition length adventure races, including all nine Eco Challenge adventure races - something only two other people in the world have done.
Marshall Ulrich, 57, is the only person in the world to complete the Triple Crown of Extreme Sports: world class ultra runner, record setting adventure racer, and Seven Summits mountaineer.
Photo by © Geoff Tropple
Ulrich specialty is competing in extreme conditions including desert and adventure racing, as well as mountaineering.
Marshall Ulrich, of Idaho Springs, finished running across the U.S. in Manhattan on Election Day. Along the way he set a record for the 50-and-over age group, and beat the 40-and-over record as well.
Marshall Ulrich ran for 52 days across America, through Death Valley, the mountains of Colorado, the snows of Pennsylvania, the colors of Central Park, the whole majesty of the nation and all its wicked weather.
As word spread Tuesday that he was setting all kinds of records, Manhattanites joined him on his final triumphant miles, down the middle of Broadway to City Hall as dark crept in on Election Day.
"People cheered me on, policemen on horses gave me the thumbs-up," Ulrich, 57, who lives in Idaho Springs, said today.
"It was just after dark, about the time the polls closed, but there were so many lights I didn't need my night gear," Ulrich said. "We got to city hall and past security. I finished with my wife. Without her, I couldn't have finished it, or even started it.
"She's been an extraordinary person and wife and friend."
Ulrich, who has run more than 100 races of more than 100 miles, easily smashed the 50-and-older record for running across the nation. For good measure, he also broke the record for 40-year-olds and above.
He thinks it's the third or fourth fastest time ever. The record for the 3,043-mile trek is 48 days set by Frank Giannino in 1980. Giannino was there at the finish to congratulate Ulrich.
Ulrich ran for himself, but also for a United Way campaign to battle obesity in the United States. He's not yet sure how much money he raised, but is sure that he raised some awareness.
He started at San Francisco City Hall in mid-September, weighing in at 162 lbs.
He finished 52 days later, having lost just 4 lbs.
"My crew told me I morphed into a different physique, though," he said. "I looked cleaner and dropped body fat as fat turned into muscle."
Ulrich averaged 58 miles per day, which he is happy to point out is equivalent to a marathon before lunch, and a marathon plus a 10-k after lunch.
Often, he would be running 16 or more hours a day.
He's won the 135-mile Badwater Ultramarathon through Death Valley three times.
But he said Badwater was like a stroll through the park compared to this odyssey.
He had a crew of three to six, and an RV, with him at all times.
About a half dozen times he stopped at a Super 8 Motel — the motel chain was one of his sponsors. But more often, he simply stopped late at night, crawled into the RV and slept.
And then his wife, Heather, would wake him at about 6:30 in the morning, he'd crawl out of the RV and start running.
"In 52 days, I never sat down to a table for a meal," he said. Instead, the RV would meet him almost every mile, and he'd grab an energy bar or a nutrition drink or some other concoction that he would eat while he ran.
He was injury-free that first day in California, but battled injuries the last 51 days.
"I had plantar fasciitis from Utah to New York," he said. "And a lateral tear outside my right foot.
"I never came very close to quitting — it just wasn't an option in my mind — although I certainly felt like it many times."
He told his crew — "they were tremendous" — that focus and patience were the hallmarks of the journey.
His favorite state? "Colorado, although I'm prejudiced," he said.
He encountered "three days of howling blowing headwind" in Nebraska, "four days of drizzle and snow" in Pennsylvania.
"Pennsylvania was wonderful," nonetheless, he said. "I loved Amish country. And New Jersey was in full color" as he ran through it.
"I was very surprised by the diversity, running across America almost in slow motion, really absorbing it. I saw the beauty of the land and the pristine, wonderful clear skies."
A documentary crew from Nehst Studios filmed the journey. It may show up on Discovery or National Geographic Channel next year.
There will be footage of Ulrich running, "but how much do you want to see of a man running slow," he said. So, the majority of the film will be about "rediscovering America," he said. "They hope to reenergize people to get excited about America, with all the negative things said about it."
Back home in Idaho Springs, Ulrich said his right foot remains very sore, but "other than that, I feel wonderful."
He hasn't decided on his next great adventure, but is sure he'll lead a couple of mountain climbs in the coming months. He summitted Mount Everest in 2004 and has scaled the highest peak on each continent.
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November 6, 2008
4:04 p.m.
Suggest removal
Vector049 writes:
Great. Now get a job.
November 6, 2008
4:11 p.m.
Suggest removal
frontpage writes:
I think Viagra would be knocking this guys door down for the chance to sponser him. One long and hard dude!
November 6, 2008
4:18 p.m.
Suggest removal
Mtn__Gator writes:
just awesome, way to go!
Although this does make think of.....Run Forrest, run!!!