-"Battling to maintain the delicate balance between hyperfitness and physical collapse."-It's astounding, time is fleeting Madness takes it's toll But listen closely, not for very much longer I've got to keep control." - from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"-"Ultras, where the athlete pays and the spectator gets in free."-"Keep the rubber side down."-"Don't out-run your stomach."-"Those of us who finish near the back make the rest of you look good."-"I refuse to tip-toe through life only to arrive at death safely."-"I decided to go for a little run." - Forrest Gump, submitted by Chase Squires"Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal." "You can never run a hill too hard, you will collapse before hurting it."-"BTW, I still think the WS trail is one of the most beautiful places thatI have vomited."-"Every man dies, but not every man really lives." - William Wallace (as played by Mel Gibson in "Braveheart")-"The way to heaven leads right through the depths of hell." - Peter Bakwin (from Andrea Feucht)"I wasn’t a truly genuine trail ultrarunner until March 7, 1992 at theWild Oak 50 near Harrisonburg, Virginia. It was a rainy day andsimultaneously, while I was piddling on the run, chewing on an energybar and washing it down with Mountain Dew, my nose was dripping and Ifarted. That was the ultimate defining moment in my trail runningcareer, if not my entire life."- Bob Boeder-"Don't fear moving slowly forward ... fear standing still.""It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is notto beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition isagainst the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."- George Sheehan"If you run hard, there's the pain -- and you've got to work your way throughthe pain ... You know, lately it seems all you hear is 'Don't overdo it' and'Don't push yourself.' Well, I think that's a lot of bull. If you push thehuman body, it will respond."-Bob Clarke, NHL Hall of Famer"I would rather exercise than read a newspaper."- Kim Alexis"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from theexperience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclinationto do so."- Douglas Adams"Find the level of intolerance you can tolerate and stay there."- David Hortonearlier addition(s):"I don't remember this bit"- Ross Walker (while scaling a cliff about 25K into an "easy" 20K trail run)"The thing I don't like about Western States is that you show up at thestarting line in the best shape of your life and a day later you are inAuburn in the worst shape of your life."- Andy Black, on Western States"Perhaps the genius of ultrarunning is its supreme lack of utility. It makesno sense in a world of space ships and supercomputers to run vast distanceson foot. There is no money in it and no fame, frequently not even theapproval of peers. But as poets, apostles and philosophers have insistedfrom the dawn of time, there is more to life than logic and common sense.The ultra runners know this instinctively. And they know something else thatis lost on the sedentary. They understand, perhaps better than anyone, thatthe doors to the spirit will swing open with physical effort. In runningsuch long and taxing distances they answer a call from the deepest realms oftheir being -- a call that asks who they are ..."- David Blaikie"You're not puking and nothing's broken so get going."- Vivian McQueeney to her husband, Scott, in the middle of the climb to Whitney Portal during Badwater 2000"The luxurious ache of tired but not weary limbs."- Michael Fairless, 'The Roadmender'."It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strongman stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. Thecredit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marredby dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comesshort again and again, because there is no effort without error andshortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows thegreat enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthycause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, andwho at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so thathis place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neithervictory nor defeat."- Theodore Roosevelt, Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910"Come on, you sons of #####es - do you want to live forever"- Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly, USMC, Belleau Wood, June 1918"Just go out there and simutaneously piss in your shorts, fart like afoghorn and drink from your mud-caked bottle. While you're at it letsome liquid dribble down your chin onto your shirt, look up at thestarry night and laugh like a raving lunatic. Fook em all. You're doingwhat you love to do and no one can stop you."- Michael Musca, as told to Will Brown"You guys just shuffle from concession stand to concession stand!"- Helge Zimmet, said to Karen Claire at Way Too Cool"There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing."- Ben Zander, according to aspiring ultrarunner Sophia Lewis"Running fast requires conditioning your body, absorbing proper mechanics tothe point where they're second nature, and then forgetting the details andletting it rip. It may sound funny to someone who hasn't been there, butthe more you can let go, the faster you can go.Look at films of Mohammad Ali in his prime and you'll see how he had thatlittle wrist flick on the end of his jab; if he had to think about doingthat, he couldn't have done it. People have things inside them they don'tknow about until it comes out. When somebody asks me how fast a human beingcan run, I tell them that however fast they think it is, it'll be faster."- John Smith, UCLA track coach"I gazed in envy at ultra runners whose quadriceps had the kind of definitionthat tells you Secretariat is somewhere in their family tree."- Liz Zelandais, writing about the Dam 50k Run/Relay"The difference between me and Rick Hogan is that I always leave therattlesnake for the next guy."- Andy Petterson at Old Dominion, referring to a snake killed by Rick near the Peach Orchard aid station"The moon was out and I saw some sheep.I saw some sheep take a walk in their sleep.By the light of the moon, by the light of a star,They walked all night from near to far.I would never walk, I would take a car."- Dr. Seuss"You can be out there having your worst day, but at the same time the personnext to you is having their best day. So there's really no room for crankinessin the sport. At least I try to minimalize it"- Suzie Lister, after '98 Western States"When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into thedarkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen.There will be something solid for us to stand on, or we will be taught to fly."- Patrick Overton"Well, there *used* to be a trail here somewhere ... "- Kent Street"Do you think we were supposed to turn back there?"- Skip Eastman at Mackenzie River 50"Ow."- Stan Jensen at 1995 AC100"Look Mabel, here comes one who's running!"- Unknown"You'll be wistful for the "wall" of the marathon,when you hit the "death grip" of the ultra."- Bob Glover"Why couldn't Pheiddipedes have died at 20 miles?."- Frank Shorter, 1970"If you see a fork in the road, take it!"- Yogi Berra"You can't be a schmuck and have great friends."- Buzz Burrell"If you can see the light coming out of the other ear, you're an Ultra runner.- Unknown"I was starting to hurt, but then I burped and took a crap and am feelingmuch better"- Unknown, heard during the 1997 AR 50"My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he wasright. I feel ten years older already."- Milton Berle"A 50K on trails is easier than a marathon on the road."- Unknown"I swear, I'll never do this again."- Unknown"If you can't see over it, walk it."- Unknown"You're better than you think you are and you can do more than you think you can!"- Ken Chlouber at Leadville"It all comes down to knowing how to handle situations that are thrown at you inan ultra."- Kevin Setnes"These nuts got guts."- Jeff Stegeman, writing for Durango paper 7/10/98 about Hardrock"We'll tell you when to start and we'll tell you when to stop. In between, don'tthink, just keep running."- Ken Chlouber at Leadville"A man must love a thing very much if he not only practices it without any hope offame and money, but even practices it without any hope of doing it well."- G. K. Chesterton"If you under-train, you may not finish, but if you over-train, you may not start."- Tom DuBos credits Stan Jensen with this one"The best long distance runners eat raw meat, run naked and sleep in the snow."- Alaska Airlines advertisement honoring Iditarod dogs (from Dana Roueche)"There are times in our lives when we are drawn uncontrollably to some dangerous source of misery."- Suzi Thibeault, in a letter to David Horton during his conquest of the Appalachian Trail: 2144 miles in 52 days, 9 hours, 41 minutes"Common sense is necessary ... more so than high tech. Race to thefinish not race from the start, pace yourself, run your own race anddon't get sucked into someone else's, walk when you need too, run whenyou can, eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we will hurt."- Kevin Sayers"I love running cross-country ... You come up a hill and see two deer going:'What the hell is he doing?' On a track, I feel like a hamster."- Robin Williams, film star/comic/runner"When you are 99 miles into a 100-mile running race, your brain is notthe same brain you started with".- Paul Huddle"Your talents are wasted as an engineer, Stan. Your calling iselsewhere."- Alex Feldman' AC97 report"Nobody should ever run a race where they are lapped by the sun."- friend of Alex Swenson, referring to 100 mile races"O.K. when you come over the top of Casey Peak look straight down from thetop of the mountain and you'll see a tiny blue square down in the valley[Casey Meadows], that's the tarp at the aid station. Run to it ... there'sno trail just run down through the boulders but don't go too far off tothe left or you'll end up trying to go down a cliff."- Jim Pomroy, R.D. Elkhorn Mountain 100K 1997"The Barkley, of course. It was 20 hours longer".- Mark Williams, when asked whether Hardrock or Barkley was harder"Any idiot can run a marathon. It takes a special kind of idiot to runan ultramarathon."- Alan Cabelly"Last is just the slowest winner."- C. Hunter Boyd"... so as we walked along the river toward Rucky Chucky, I said thewords that most men say to a pretty woman as they walk along the riverunder a starry night on their first date: "If you were a real hardass,you'd stick your finger down your throat and clear your stomach and ifyou won't do it, I will."- Stan Jensen, pacing Sarah Lowell at WS'97"Rewards are on a level with the effort, and the effort is extreme."- an unidentified "Utah runner", from Red Fisher"Don't work towards freedom; let the work be the freedom."- Dogen Roshi, philosopher"Oh man! They should just put me out to stud!"- Len Kuentzm just after finishing his first 50-miler"Anybody running beats anybody walking, and anybody walking beats anybodysitting."- Tom Bunk"Despite what seems like the extraordinary nature of these events, in theend, they make you even more human.- Joel McNamara"Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop anddrop out. You don't want to be out there saying, Well gee, my leg hurts,I'm a little dehydrated, I'm sleepy, I'm tired, and its cold and windy.And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based onhow you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision."- **** Collins"The Quitter"When you're lost on the trail with the speed of a snailAnd defeat looks you straight in the eyeAnd you're needing to sit, your whole being says quitYou're certain it's your time to die.But the code of the trail is "move forward don't fail"Though your knees and ego are scarred.All the swelling and pain is just part of the gameIn the long run it's quitting that's hard!"I'm sick of the pain!" Well, now, that's a shameBut you're strong, you're healthy, and bright.So you've had a bad stretch and you're ready to retch,Shoulders back, move forward, and fight.It's the plugging away that will win you the day,Now don't be a loser my friend!So the goal isn't near, why advance to the rear.All struggles eventually end.It's simple to cry that your finished; and die.It's easy to whimper and whine.Move forward and fight, though there's no help in sightYou'll soon cross the lost finish line.You'll come out of the black, with the wind at your back,As the clouds start to part; there's the sun.Then you'll know in your heart, as you did at the start.You're not a quitter. You've Won!!- by Gene Thibeault"You can sleep when you die."- Roger Rehwald (seen on a T-shirt)"Ultra-runners don't compromise ... they cope."- Bob Sharpley"Exercise is for people who can't handle drugs and alcohol."- Lily Tomlin"As long as you keep making RFM (Relentless Forward Motion), you willfinish."- Stacey Page"Find your limits and exceed them."- Lynn Strickland"Road sucks!"- Skip & Tracey"Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue.Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functionsindependently of logic."- Tim Noakes"Beware of the chair!"- Unknown"I never knew I could DNF and still have so much fun."- Gregg Heinrichs"For all the hardship, I was still excited to be on the trail, testing myendurance, feeling especially alive as strength and fatigue flowedalternately through my limbs."- Colin Powell"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success,although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finishmarathons with no brains than with no shoes."- Don Kardong"The runner need not break four minutes in the mile or four hours in themarathon. It is only neccessary that he runs and runs and sometimessuffers. Then one day he will wake up and discover that somewhere along thethe way he has begun to see the order and law and love and truth that makesmen free."- George Sheehan"... slowed my pace to the point that I could have been rear-ended by asleepy snail."- Dave Olney"If a frog had wings, he wouldn't bump his butt."- Keith Woestehoff"When you're afraid of failure you're more likely to do it."- Gordy Ainsleigh"Succeeding makes you forget the failures."- Harry Cordellos, blind athlete (2:57 at Boston in 1975)"Science can be useful, or it can just get in the way."- Karl King"I want to thank the rest of you for making me look normal."- Gordon Ainsleigh"Far away, there in the sunshine, are my highest aspirations. I maynot reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe inthem, and try to follow where they may lead."- Louisa May Alcott"Nothing ever fatigues me, except that which I dislike."- Jane Austen"Runners can get through the weary and lonely hours only if they are atpeace in themselves."- Ayers"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."- Bagehot"No matter how well you know the course, no matter how well you mayhave done in a given race in the past, you never know for certainwhat lies ahead on the day you stand at the starting line waitingto test yourself once again. If you did know, it would not be atest; and there would be no reason for being there."- Dan Baglione"If I can't go faster I'll go longer."- Doug Barber"Self-destructive is doing something to hurt yourself. It is doingpermanent damage to yourself. I have done neither. As for beingobsessive, I am. I love to run."- John Barltrop"The longest hill must end in a valley."- Henry C. Beeching"Don't worry - you're supposed to walk the uphills."- Shelley Black"Speed is sex ... distance is love."- David Blaikie"The road to excess leads to the place of wisdom, for we cannever know what is enough until we have experienced too much."- William Blake"In ultrarunning, the pain is inevitable, but the suffering isoptional."- Al Bogenhuber"If someone says, 'Hey, I ran 100 miles this week. How far did yourun?' ignore him! What the hell difference does it make? ...The magic is in the man, not the 100 miles."- Bill Bowerman"You can't die from a stomach ache. The worst that can happen is thatyou'll throw up. Then you can eat some more and start running again."- Jack Bristol"A man's reach must exceed his grasp, or else what's a heaven for?"- Robert Browning"Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see."- Jimmy Buffett"I like those people. They are calmer and cooler, I think. Personality-wise, they are rich. An ultra runner is not somebody who is normallygoing to wish you bad. On the contrary if you are down an ultra runnerwill help you."- Michel Careau"Vincit qui patitur: he conquers, who endures"- Percy Cerutty"If it hurts, make it hurt more"- Percy Cerutty"I think the novelty has worn off."- Jack Chapman"The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them."- Arthur Clarke"The number of miles I have run since I was a toddler would havetaken me around the world several times, and I still cannot defineprecisely my joy in running. There is no sacrifice in it. I leadwhat I regard a normal life. In my case, I thoroughly enjoyrunning 100-odd miles a week. If I didn't I wouldn't do it. Whocan define happiness? To some, happiness is a warm puppy or a glassof cold beer. To me, happiness is running in the hills with mymates around me." - Ron Clarke"Follow me--I know the way"- Herman Cohen, as he led at large group astray at Nugget 1994"If you think you won't finish, you won't."- **** Collins"Champions are born with the right stuff, but still must suffer thestresses of training to achieve full potential."- David Costill"The purpose of training is to stress the body, so when you rest it willgrow stronger and more tolerant of the demands of distant running."- David Costill"Speed and strength are of diminishing importance at greater and greaterdistances."- David Costill"The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle.The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."- Pierre de Courbertin"You can't get lost on this course!"- Joe Dabes"A runner's creed: I will win; if I cannot win, I shall be second;if I cannot be second, I shall be third; if I cannot place at all,I shall still do my best." - Ken Doherty"To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it islike trying to explain color to someone who was born blind."- Jerome Drayton"How many days does it take to run a hundred miles?"- Skip Eastman"The only way to be who you want to be is by being what you haven't yetbeen."- Sally Edwards"Great spirits often encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds."- Albert Einstein"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how farthey can go."- T.S. Eliot"Do the thing and have the power"- Ralph Waldo Emerson"Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience"- Ralph Waldo Emerson"The people that I have met are not foolish; they are aware of howtired and cold and hungry and frightened and hurting and discouragedand disoriented and how possibly injured they will become. They knowthey will face great physical, mental, emotional, and possiblyspiritual challenges as they make their way to the finish. This iswhat they are racing against. This is their challenge. This is whatI admire."- Carolyn Erdman"The race continued as I hammered up the trail, passing rocks and treesas if they were standing still."- Red Fisher, Wasatch '86"If at first you don't succeed, you can always become anultramarathoner."- Bruce Fordyce"A race is just a race, but a friend who paces you is a friend for life."- Joseph Franko"Trails with high passes and girls with nice asses."- Doug Freese"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep."- Robert Frost"Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it.Action has magic, grace and power in it."- Goethe"If Klingons were runners, they would be Ultrarunners."- Bryan Hacker"The 10-K is a race. The marathon is an experience. The ultra is anadventure."- Bryan HackerI cannot do everything, but still I can do something and because Icannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that Ican do."- Edward Everett Hale"I'm tired."- Jussie Hammalainen"A man's got to know his limitations."- Dirty Harry"Drink, drink, drink! Pee, pee, pee!"- Ed Hart"The gulf between what we feel we are doing and what others perceive usto be doing will remain the most ultra of all distances, one that noamount of miles or words can finally bridge."- Hart"Why would anyone want to do this a second time?"- Sue Haupt"The more of us that do it, the harder it is for them to dismiss usas just a bunch of really weird people. Especially when we otherwiseappear so normal."- Dan Hawthorne"There's a lot to be said for LSD -- long, slow distance in this case."- Joe Henderson"Why am I doing this?"- Don Herres"It's not the races you enter that count. It's your runs in trainingand sticking with it. It's how you adjust to injury and how you recoverthat makes you a good runner."- Dave Hladysh"Run hard, run long!"- Jay Hodde"Boredom and fatigue are very similar experiences."- Al Howie"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."- Dolores Ibarruri"Because I can." (when asked "Why do you run 100 mile races?")- Tom Johnson"We (ultra runners) alternate between depression and stupidity."- Don Kardong"Grizzly bears eat people without the benefit of music."- Don Kardong"If you run 100 miles a week, you can eat anything you want - Why?Because: (a) you'll burn all the calories you consume; (b) you deserveit; and © you'll be injured soon and back on a restricted diet anyway."- Don Kardong"Security is mostly a superstition; it does not exist in nature. Lifeis either a daring adventure or nothing."- Helen Keller"All the disruptive arguments among my friends as to whether or not Iwas sane when I took up marathon running have been entirely resolvedsince I ran my first 50-miler."- John Kendall"Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced"- Kierkegard"If you can't fly, then run.If you can't run, then walk.If you can't walk, then crawl.But whatever you do, keep moving."- Martin Luther King, Jr."Enjoy your pain, you earned it!"- Pauli Kiriu"You run an ultra largely on concentration ... not letting your formdrag and continuing to run. Your body quits and the mind takes over.It's not like a marathon where you think, maybe I can gut it out."- Georgs Kolesnikovs"My advice is that you should use your brains more and train less."- Yiannis Kouros"There is another type of strength. It is being able to extend yourenergy for a very long distance."- David LaPierre"If one could run without getting tired I don't think one would oftenwant to do anything else."- C.S. Lewis"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we will findthe way."- Abraham Lincoln"You've got to be a little bored to be doing really good training."- Marty Liquori"Just remember this: No one ever won the olive wreath with animpressive training diary."- Marty Liquori"The endurance athlete is the ultimate realist."- Marty Liquori"Fatigue makes cowards of us all"- Vince Lombardi"Fear is a part of everything you do ... You have to take great risksto get big rewards."- Greg Louganis"You hear about how runnin' ultras is all mental; well, I sure wi####'d hurry up and get mental, 'cause it's feelin' awfully physicalright now."- Ken Loveless"I never met a carbohydrate I didn't like."- David Lygre"Running is a big question mark that's there each and every day.It asks you, 'Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to bestrong today?'"- Peter Maher"It's the pain of the consequences that's all out of proportion."- Kenny Moore"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. The winds will blowtheir freshness into you, and the storms, their energy. Your caresand tensions will drop away like the leaves of autumn."- John Muir"No matter what hurts at the beginning, by the end of the racesomething else will hurt worse."- Bob O'Connor"Pain is good. Extreme Pain is Extremely Good ..."- Navy Seals"Never judge a day by the weather."- Dave Nelson"That which does not destroy me makes me stronger"- Nietzsche"Whoever fights monsters should see that in the process he does notbecome a monster. When you look long into the abyss, the abyss alsolooks into you."- Nietzsche"It just doesn't get any better than this."- Chris Nymann"Never look back, someone might be gaining on you"- Satchel Paige"The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What weobtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only thatgives everything its value. I love the man that can smile in trouble,that can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection."- Thomas Paine"Each time you run you will receive lessons. You have enrolled inthe school of ultrarunning. You may like the lessons or think themirrelevant and stupid. What you think makes no difference; thelessons will be presented until they are learned."- Keith Pippin"When you run there are no mistakes, only lessons. The art andscience of ultrarunning is a process of trial, error andexperimentation. The failed experiments are as much a part of theprocess as the combination that ultimately works."- Keith Pippin"Once that distance had been passed in training, an important physicaland psychological threshold had been crossed. It was no longer aquestion of *if* it could be done. Rather, it became a question of*how fast* it could be done."- Mike Plant (about Dave Scott)"Self-conquest is the greatest of victories."- Plato"You will get through the tired times, don't give up. There is lots oftime. Walk and in a while you will be running again."- Rolly Portelance"The mind learns the body can go at least a bit farther even though itfeels increasingly uncomfortable."- Pritikin"Sometimes you should overcome the tiredness and speed up when you'dnormally slow down. Great source of strength and power."- Pritikin"If the bone's not showin', just keep goin'!"- Joan Risse at Angeles Crest, 9/95"Happy trails to you, until we meet again"- Roy Rogers and Dale Evans"You must do the thing you think you cannot do."- Eleanor Roosevelt"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how thestrong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done thembetter. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena;whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strivesvaliantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows thegreat enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in aworthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of highachievement; and who at the worst, at least fails while daringgreatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timidsouls who know neither victory nor defeat."- Teddy Roosevelt"Too much is better than not enough."- Kyle Rothweiler"I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line,we're all cowards."- Alberto Salazar"The will to do, the soul to dare."- Sir Walter Scott"Sweetness and release can only taste the way they do after onedeserves them."- Shapiro"The body is given out on loan - don't waste it and expect to use ittomorrow."- Shapiro"Ultra runners are daffy about practical matters."- Shapiro"A dozen extra steps becomes a tremendous aggravation when you arepushing your edge out hour after hour."- Shapiro"Enjoy the training and memories of race day, endure the race."- Shapiro"I have met my hero, and he is me."- George Sheehan"Have you ever felt worse after a run?"- George Sheehan"Success rests in having the courage and endurance, and above all,the will to become the person you are. . . " - George Sheehan"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the wholeidea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn thatthe competition is against the little voice inside you that wantsyou to quit."- George Sheehan"Some think guts is sprinting at the end of a race. But guts is what gotyou there to begin with. Guts start back in the hills with 6 miles to goand you're thinking of how you can get out of this race without anyonenoticing. Guts begin when you still have forty minutes of torture leftand you're already hurting more than you ever remember."- George Sheehan"I won't last forever, but I'm damn well going to know that I was here!"- George Sheehan"Nothing is more certain than the defeat of a man who gives up."- George Sheehan"That which does not kill us, cripples us for life"- Fred Shufflebarger"Let him that would move the world first move himself"- Socrates"Start slow, then taper off".- Walt Stack"ARRRGH -- what in God's name ever possessed me to think this would be agood thing to do?"- Charles N. Steele"I never met a hill I couldn't walk."- Larry Stice"I will not follow where the path may lead, but I will go where there isno path and I will leave a trail."- Muriel Strode"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."- Alfred Lord Tennyson"I have to find another port-a-tree."- Ellie Thayer"If you start to feel good during an Ultra, don't worry - you'll getover it."- Gene Thibeault"It's the quitting that really is hard."- Gene Thibeault"Above all, train hard, eat light, and avoid TV and people with negativeattitudes."- Scott Tinley"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."- Thoreau"Finish with a smile on your face."- Joe Trask"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse."- Ann Trason"People think ultra is some kind of spaghetti eating contest for peoplewith no talent to do anything else. But there's a lot going on. I breakit down into the physical, the mental and endurance. Physical is theonly gender-specific area; men have more muscle mass, the strongest manis always going to be stronger than the strongest woman. But I thinkphysical is only a small percentage of ultra. The mental part includespreparation, strategizing, problem solving. How do you deal with 22miles through snow, then overheating? How do you avoid allowing someoneto lure you into running their race? You have to learn how to run overrocks downhill without trashing your quads; it's like skiing or dancing.And then endurance. An ultra is not about pain - I think a marathon isabout pain, about intensity - but it's about hanging in throughtiredness and about staying nutritionally fueled. There is some evidencethat women may use fat more efficiently. And you have to want it, youhave to have the passion, you have to be willing to take the risks. Youcan never be sure you'll finish."- Ann Trason"There's no tangible reward in anything I do, certainly not in runningWestern States. It's just an interesting challenge."- Tim Twietmeyer"Run slowly, run daily, drink moderately, and don't eat like a pig!"- Ernst Van Aaken"When you weigh as much as I do, the downhills are glorious!"- Kelly D. Wason"Any race you can walk away from, is a bad race"- Coach Pete Waters"You move from doing things to show other people you could, to where you do things to look into yourself, into your soul, and see who you are and what youre all about."- Scott Weber"There are victories of the soul and spirit. Sometimes, even if youlose, you win."- Elie Wiesel"Too much knowledge can hold you back. Ignorance on the other hand, nowthat was something that could get you to the finish line."- Mark Will-Weber"You'll have no trouble keeping up. Remember, I'm a 35 minute miler."(when discussing a training run)- Mark Williams, first of 253 people to finish Barkley 100"Anything worth doing is worth doing to the extreme."- Bruce Wise"Long May You Run"- Neil Young"If I can see it, I can run to it."- Randi Bromka Young"If you get tired on a trail run, lie down in the middle of the trail insuch a way that no one could pass you without waking you up - it willinsure your finish line position."- Glen Zirbel"If you can dream it, you can do it."- Angeles Crest motto"May the road rise up to greet you, and the wind always be at your back"- Irish proverb"26 miles 385 yards is where racing ends and ludicrous extremes begin."- from "Runner's World""For yesterday is but a dream,And tomorrow is only a vision,But today well-lived makesEvery yesterday a dream of happiness,and every tomorrow a vision of hope.Look well, therefore, to this day!Such is the salutation of the dawn."- from "The Sanskrit""The pain is temporary, The pride lasts forever."- Unknown"If you can't learn anything from losing, don't lose."- Unknown"Always enjoy yourself. Never give up. Don't think of being tired.Keep on going until you cross the finish line. Don't be upset if youdon't win."- Unknown"Stick a fork in me, I'm done."- Unknown"It used to freak me out when I threw up, now I don't even slow down."- Unknown"Your biggest challenge isn't someone else. It's the ache in your lungsand the burning in your legs, and the voice inside you that yells'CAN'T", but you don't listen. You just push harder. And then you hearthe voice whisper 'can'. And you discover that the person you thoughtyou were is no match for the one you really are."- Unknown"The second 50 is done with the mind."- Unknown"Well, dear, I hope you know what you're doing."- Unknown"I run distance because I want to be in good shape when I die."- Unknown"Look honey, here comes one that's still running!"- Unknown"Adversity introduces a man to himself."- Unknown"Running is a four weather sport."- Unknown"What doesn't kill me sure does make me hungry."- Unknown"Not bad for an old guy."- Unknown"Opportunity is often passed up because it is disguised as hard work."- Unknown"Everywhere is within running distance ... if you have the time."- Unknown"The finish line is just ahead.""The aid station is just ahead.""Trust me ... this is the last hill.""You're almost there.""The trail is well marked."- Unknown"If we do what we did yesterday, we'll be OK. If we do something newwe'll be competetive. If we are always looking for new and innovativeways of doing things then we will be the best."- Unknown"There are clubs you can't belong to, Neighborhoods you can'tlive in, Schools you can't get into, But the roads are always open."- Unknown"It's easy to imagine how you will act when things go according to plan,that's why you must always prepare yourself for what you will do whenthey don't."- Unknown"The finishing line isn't given; it is earned."- Unknown"God, I must be crazy."- Unknown"It's not the beginning or the end of a race that counts, It's whathappens in between."- Unknown"I get to eat *anything* and don't have to worry about putting onweight?"- Unknown"Fear, like pain, may only be God's way ... of hurting us."- Unknown"In an ultra you should eat like a horse, drink like a fish, and runlike a turtle."- Unknown"His IQ drops 50 points every time he laces up a pair of running shoes."- Unknown"The race isn't always to the swiftest, but to those who keep onrunning."- Unknown"If you can't run fast, run far."- Unknown"Frank Hanson promises nothing in his runs, and by God he delivers."- Unknown"If you want to play the game you have to train."- Unknown"Action cures fear"- Unknown"Those who say it can't be done are usually interrupted by others doingit."- Unknown"To achieve all that is possible, we must attempt the impossible - to be as much as we can, we must dream of being more."- Unknown"Been there, done that, don't need to do it again."- Unknown"At some point it doesn't get any worse."- Unknown"Positive mental sickness."- Unknown"The greatest of all victories is to be victorious over yourself."- Unknown"Lead, follow or GET OUTA the way!"- Unknown"Respect the distance or it won't respect you."- Unknown"I didn't go out to fast, I just died too soon."- Unknown"Anyone who thinks the sky is the limit has a limited imagination."- Unknown"Some people dream of worthy accomplishments while others stay awake anddo them."- Unknown"Nothing beats experience."- Unknown"The amount of time the body needs to recuperate is not a sign ofweakness but a fact of life."- Unknown"Mental fortitude is more important than physical endurance."- Unknown"A pounding heart is a sure sign you are putting forth your best effort."- Unknown"A runner thinks less in terms of beating others, than in simply runningthe best he has within himself."- Unknown"The duration of an athletic contest is relatively short, while thetraining for it may take many weeks of arduous work and continuousexercise of self-effort. The real value of sport is not the actualgame played in the limelight of applause but the hours of doggeddetermination and self-discipline carried out alone, imposed andsupervised by an exacting conscience. The applause soon dies away, theprize is left behind, but the character you build is yours forever."- Unknown"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it mustoutrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning inAfrica, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than theslowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whetheryou're a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you'd betterbe running."- Unknown"There is no future if we only repeat the past."- Unknown"All things in moderation."- Unknown"All things in moderation, including moderation."- Unknown"MOST things in moderation"- Unknown"No brain, no pain"- Unknown"The first 50 miles are run with the legs, the second 50 miles with themind."- Unknown"90% of ultrarunning is 100% mental."- Unknown"Nobody is going to finish this damn thing for me, but me."- Unknown"If you look up, you're going down!"- Unknown
Although, sadly, I do stupid things like that when I'm sober.
The eruption should begin anytime now.
First thing I thought of when I read that story, too. 
Why this wasn't my first thought is beyond my comprehension.
Thank you. And lots of good points, gruecd (such as higher fee: more funding for charity, so allows more entries). They probably ARE loving the publicity about this ...it certainly enhances the mystique.
Thank you. And lots of good points, gruecd (such as higher fee: more funding for charity, so allows more entries). They probably ARE loving the publicity about this ...it certainly enhances the mystique.
I already think it is to expensive.
I already think it is to expensive.
Thank you. And lots of good points, gruecd (such as higher fee: more funding for charity, so allows more entries). They probably ARE loving the publicity about this ...it certainly enhances the mystique.
It's all been said already, so I won't bother repeating.
).
