For an unpretentious local race that never aspired to be anything more, the eighth Boulder Backroads Marathon figures to generate more buzz Sunday than the other seven put together.
San Francisco ultra-runner Dean Karnazes, dubbed the “master of the attention-grabbing ultra stunt” in the current issue of Runner’s World magazine, will run Backroads as part of his quest to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days.
Karnazes began his marathon odyssey Sunday at the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Charles, Mo., and aims to conclude it Nov. 5 at the New York City Marathon.
“The mission of this event is to encourage others to be their own personal best, to inspire others to adopt a more healthy and physically active lifestyle,” Karnazes said. “It’s about others joining in camaraderie and running the marathon with me.”
Karnazes was surprised last week when he found out one of those joining him in Boulder will be Pam Reed, another high- profile ultra-runner portrayed as his rival by some media outlets.
Reed was persuaded to do Backroads after approaching race director Lesley Kinder about securing a booth to peddle her new autobiography, “The Extra Mile.” Kinder encouraged Reed to take on Karnazes and said she would donate $500 to a charity selected by the runner who posts the faster time.
“I thought it would be fun,” Kinder said, “because they’ve had this low-key competitive thing going on, I guess.”
Reed said neither runner figures to be in top form Sunday.
“We’re both going to be really tired,” said Reed, 45. “He will be on his eighth marathon, and I just did my third 100-mile run in four weeks.”
Both did the Leadville Trail 100 last month. Karnazes finished 27th (23 hours, 24 minutes, 29 seconds) and Reed finished 140th (29:05:24).
“If it’s for charity, I’m game,” Karnazes said of the Backroads duel. “I’ll try my best to beat her, but she’s a good runner.”
When Reed won the 135-mile Badwater Ultra across Death Valley for the second time in 2003, the favored Karnazes finished second. With the CBS news program “60 Minutes” featuring their rematch the following year, Karnazes won and Reed finished fourth.
“We’re friends,” Karnazes said. “The media has made a lot more of the story than ever existed. I think the world of Pam. I think she’s a very gifted runner and racer.”
Reed blamed the alleged rivalry on “60 Minutes,” which portrayed their Badwater confrontation as a man vs. woman duel.
“It was completely made up,” said Reed, who recently moved from Tucson to Jackson, Wyo. “We have no rivalry. We don’t really know each other….I think both of us are trying to bring ultra-running to the forefront. His 50-state thing is great. He’s trying to promote health and fitness.”
On weekends, Karnazes will run organized marathons. On weekdays, he will run existing marathon courses.
“Given what I’ve done over the past 14-15 years, I certainly have a sense of what I’m in for,” Karnazes said. “I’ve never suffered from an over-use injury, so I’m not that concerned about stress injuries to my body. I think I’m up for the challenge, but you never know. It’s somewhat unprecedented in format.”
Actually it’s not. On Aug. 19, Sam Thompson of Bay St. Louis, Miss., finished his multiple- marathon trek which began July 1 in Leadville. Thompson, who wanted to dramatize the ongoing struggles of Hurricane Katrina victims, ran 51 marathons in 50 states – plus the District of Columbia – in 50 days. He ran D.C. and Maryland the same day.
“I like to think we’re brethren,” Karnazes said of Thompson. “We’re kindred spirits.”
Kinder is no fool when it comes to race promotion, but the Boulder Backroads Marathon doesn’t need the publicity Karnazes and Reed will bring. The half-marathon has attracted more than 2,000 entrants (Kinder closed entries for the half 10 days ago) and the marathon about 700.
“It’s very flattering,” Kinder said of the acceptance her race has garnered since 1999. “My whole aim was to put on a fun running event on the roads I love to train on. I saw an opportunity because Boulder didn’t have a marathon or a half-marathon.”
Because of limited parking at the Boulder Reservoir, Kinder doesn’t want the race to grow.
“Then it wouldn’t be the Backroads,” Kinder said. “It would be the Bolder Boulder. When you have too many people, it’s not the race I envisioned.
“I’m not trying to be elitist, I’m just trying to provide a good race.”
Marathon man
Ultra-runner Dean Karnazes started his 50-marathon circuit of the United States on Sunday at the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Charles, Mo. Here are a few of his journey’s highlights:
* Will run the Boulder Backroads Marathon on Sunday, and will pass the 200-plus miles mark there.
* The halfway mark is the Boston Marathon, Oct. 11.
* The approximate number of steps Karnazes will have taken is 2,250,000.
(SOURCE: WWW.ENDURANCE50.COM)
