![]() “Maybe not the best idea to be sitting in the car like this for so long after a race,” he said. Of all the things he planned, he thought this was the only bad part. He’s not sure what he’s going to do with it, but he think it’ll fit in nicely with the other bibs and medals he keeps in a drawer.Ī few days after the race, Becker-who was recovering well, although he was a little sore- and his wife drove back to their Florida home, making a detour in Birmingham. But, this year, Becker received a small trophy for his efforts. Since it is a Laz race, awards are typically nonexistent. His 230 miles over 73:45:13 gave him the comfortable victory by 18 miles. With 230 laps in the books, Becker was done. “I reluctantly said, ‘What the hell,’ and in retrospect, it was kind of fun, but also total exhaustion.” “Everyone said, ‘Make it a round number, go for 230,’ and ‘One more,’” he recalled. Exhausted, Becker wanted to call it a day after just over three days of running. Just on schedule, he completed lap 229 with 30 minutes to spare before his 74-hour mark. When younger racers started to slow down, Becker finally knew he had it, but he still had the record on his mind. These words eased Becker’s nerves a bit, so he kept at his strategy, not stopping for more than a 10- to 20-minute cat nap-he took only four after that 90-minute nap 95 miles in. “So just keep running and you’ll be fine.” “He said, ‘They will either run out of time, or they’ll burn out,’” Becker recalled. A little nervous, he relied on some advice from the race’s official timer. The young bloods had been out for 16 hours, and he kept seeing them go around and around by him, making up the miles fairly quickly. The only worry came when Becker had 24 hours to go. His fueling strategy of half a bottle of Ensure every hour or two and an energy gel every hour kept him around 200 calories an hour, which he supplemented with Coke, Gatorade, and chips for caffeine and electrolytes. His legs felt fresh with the work and rest. By the next morning, he had reached 85 miles and was slightly ahead of pace.īut, not wanting to bear the entirety of the Tennessee heat, he chose to run for three more hours to get to 95 miles before taking a 90-minute snooze at his hotel down the street.Īfter that and a shower, he returned to his 1-minute intervals. This way, I could run and then recover quickly.”īecker brought this strategy to the race: On the morning of August 30, he set out at his roughly 4 mph average pace and strove for consistency over his first 24 hours. “That was the most crucial decision I made because I usually run 50 percent of a race and walk 50 percent. “I decide to run for 1 minute and then walk for a minute the entire way,” he said. So he trained on a 1-mile loop he set up near his house doing a run-walk strategy.īut this wasn’t just the traditional “stop when you’re tired, run when you’re ready” routine. Too often he burned out late in races after going out too fast. ![]() With 74 hours to work with, Becker understood he’d be out there a long time, but he wanted to be consistent. “At my age, this was the only chance in my life to make it on a podium,” he said. Now, he didn’t only think he could place: He believed he could win, and also break the record of 228 laps. He had started ultrarunning when he was 60, and despite the pride he felt completing Badwater 135 three times-including one year completing the Badwater Double, which entails running the race, climbing Mount Whitney, and then doing that route in reverse for a total of 292 miles-and other ultra and stage races, he never finished anywhere close to the top three. The age handicap ends after the 41-year-olds take off that’s when anyone younger has the final 40 hours of the race to try to catch up.īecker was drawn to the race not only for its unique premise, but also for a chance to reach a podium for the first time in his life. I couldn’t believe there were 25 people older than me.” “The oldest person gets bib number one and then it goes down the line by age. “I’m usually the oldest guy running a race,” Becker told Runner’s World. Play icon The triangle icon that indicates to play
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