Back in the day, a young Gordon Ainsleigh, unknowingly started a movement of such epic proportions that it would become one of the most sought after ultramarathons due to its historically enduring qualities as well as its notoriety. Existing since that first historic run, in 1974, proving that humans could indeed traverse 100 miles within a strenuous 24 hour time limit, born out of the Tevis Cup 100 Mile Ride, this has been a race that has made runners and broken runners, built dreams and broken dreams, and made men/women out of boys/girls. It has become legend and will forever live on in immortal words.
Back in 1974, Gordon Ainsleigh, who had finished the 1971 and 1972 Tevis Cup Rides, was planning on competing once again. However, in a moment of concise weakness, he gave his top ride, Rebel, away to a girlfriend. His backup horse went lame in the 1973 Ride so, at a loss as to what he should do, and encouraged by a fellow Tevis Ride competitor, he decided to make the journey on foot. He did not take this duty lightly, wanting to prove himself and accomplish the goal in epic fashion, he trained relentlessly, running the final forty miles of the trail, four times, in merciless 100 degree heat, in the six weeks preceding the race, much like the way he trained his horses to take on the challenge. Come race day, "Gordy," toed the line with his four legged and two legged competitors with a goal in mind, to reach Auburn, California in less than twenty four hours, the same task the horses and riders were aiming to accomplish.
The people at the end were looking for him, watching and waiting, and as the clock ticked down to the cutoff, the doubts of many were so gullibly confirmed. There was not much time left, yet there were still a few spectators lingering, searching the horizon, praying for his safe arrival, when all of the sudden, he burst from the trail, arriving in Auburn. . . . . just eighteen minutes under the twenty four hour time requirement. To the amazement of everyone, he did it! Gordon "Gordy" Ainsleigh, had chased down the impossible and become a legend in his own right, starting the movement that people would carry on for years to come.
There is never the "right time" to do a great thing; Gordon Ainsleigh created the perfect time and the perfect opportunity and situation, and suffered through that first run, so that others could follow in his phenomenal footsteps, wanting to do the same. Greatness is a lot of small things done well, and mile after mile, blister after blister, and doubt after doubt, embracing pain and running with heart, facing the possibility of failure, the Western States Endurance Run is the dream of many, started by only one man. Three years later, in 1977, the first official Western States Endurance Run began in conjunction with the Tevis Cup Ride. Runners were monitored by a doctor who set up stations at the veterinary stops for horses, and runners were responsible for everything except water. In the following year, interest in such mythical feats of endurance increased, and with the help of the newly created board for the Western States Endurance Run, Western States began an event, and a life, of its own. 1978 also saw the magnificent finish of the first female in under thirty hours! Back then, Western States was the only run of its kind. It piqued the interest of daredevils and endurance athletes alike and was the start of something much greater than one race, it was the start of a movement and the beginning of an epic legend so great, it could only best be told through experience of the race itself.
Huffing and puffing, along a mostly flat, nine mile route, I was headed to Chick Fil A, my turn around/bathroom break. I had started reading the book, "Ultramarathon Man," by Dean Karnazes, and had become ultra inspired. . . . . to run my first half marathon. No way in heaven could I ever run an ultramarathon, but I could do 13.1, right? My little sister was running the Atlanta Half Marathon in the upcoming weeks, and in typical Golden family fashion, it became a lethal competition of, "Anything you can do, I can do better." I was just the older sister, trying to keep up with a younger sister's speed, grace, and agility. She made running look so easy! Little did I know, what began with a simple wish and effort to run, and try to be better than someone else (keep in mind I said try there), would balloon into much greater desires to get into one of the greatest ultra races in history, embarking upon a journey of self discovery and breaking through every barrier that exists. I was running to discover that I have no limits, they simply do not exist and I will not allow them. To go any further than a half marathon seemed crazy, though I secretly relished the idea of pushing limits, tromping through the woods at night, and suffering through spastic up and down hills all day, only to reach a finish line that was not really a finish line, just the early start of something much more. Today, however, I was simply running to Chick Fil A for sweet tea and a halfway bathroom break, 4.5 miles out, and 4.5 miles back.
Flash forward two and a half years, and I was toeing the start line of an all too uncertain first year of the Georgia Jewel. That first long run of 9 miles to Chick Fil A and back seemed like a whole lifetime ago. I was at my first ultramarathon, but I was already looking to days of future finish lines ahead, and I was not just chasing my first ultramarathon, I was chasing the legendary Western States. In my mind, I was not just running 35 miles on the Georgia section of the Pinhoti, I was running my heart out so that one day I could be at the starting line in Squaw Valley. I had to make it happen. That day resulted in tripping, falling, pulling myself back up, getting to the finish, and learning that I had the ability to grow and be better tomorrow than I was today. Greatness, getting to Western States, is a lot of small things done well, race after race. I may not be able to qualify for the right to enter the lottery with that race, but it was a simple building block that would lead me to a race that would get me there. There is no finish line in my book, I am just crossing a physical line, that will lead me to another line, that will eventually get me there.
That year, I was signed up for two races, two fifty milers, that could have made me one of the youngest Western States Lottery Entries ever, but ended in heartbreaking failure. I never thought I would ever not finish, I never thought the three ominous letters, DNF would find themselves next to my name, but they did. Part of learning to be good at something is also learning how you can fail at something. I failed to finish those races and it was painful, it hurt, it made me feel like a loser. Those races did not count on one thing, I have drive and determination, and while it takes zero drive and determination to stay down and accept defeat, I was coming back and defeating both of them. Part of me being able to do ultras is that I can face the possibility of failure, but I cannot accept it. Two years later, under tough conditions of both heat and humidity and freezing and rain, I came back to the North Face Endurance Challenge Gore Tex 50 Miler Georgia, and the Lookout Mountain 50 Miler. I came back and battled everything I had to doubt and the possibility of failure, only to come out on top with finishes. I did not qualify in these two races, but my confidence in the future of qualifying for Western States was ultimately bolstered by finishing where I did not know I could. The thought of qualifying for Western States, my dream, was the reason that I had to come back to these races. My qualifying finish is out there somewhere, all I need to do is act upon it.
Day after day I run, and I hold on to the fact that being able to embrace the pain will be a part of my pride in the achievement of getting to Western States. There are 86,400 seconds in a day and I do not spend all of them running, but I must spend all of them defeating the enemy within, fighting for it, working day and night for it, getting out there so I can get to Western States one day. Throughout this post I have quoted Ray Lewis by saying, "Greatness is a lot of small things done well," and I know that everyday of work I put in, everyday of effort, excellence, and action in what I do, will build up to an eventual Western States berth. I am not there yet, but I will be, because day after day I work towards my goal. There is never a perfect moment or timing, but that is why I work towards it everyday, so i can created the perfect moment, opportunity, and situation. I am so far out of my comfort zone, and no one can do this but me. It will take me being something phenomenal, and getting there has everything to do with me; I will make it a reality. What are you going to let drive you, what are you going to do with your time? I am chasing Western States.
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