Saturday, 02 February 2013 06:33

Gemini News: Q & A with Jeremy Bradford, the winningest 100-mile racer in 2012!

Racing
In 2012 Jeremy Bradford ran nine 100’s, broke five course records and was declared the winningest 100-mile racer. Gemini Adventures sat down with Jeremy, and here’s what he had to say,
1) Which 100’s did you compete in this past year?
I ran nine 100’s in 2012, wining seven and setting 5 course records. The seven I won were:
1) Moab: 21:17:00
2) Coyote Springs: 22:00:53 – CR
3) Black Hills: 20:50:11 – CR
4) Happy Jack: 21:11:00
5) Grand Mesa: 20:33:00 – CR
6) Boulder: 15:42:00 – CR, PR
7) Houston: 18:11:33 – CR

I placed 5th at the Lean Horse 100 in august setting what was then a PR of 18:27:48. Much to my surprise, I subsequently lowered that to 15:42:00 at the Boulder 100. I also ran the Coyote Springs 100 for a second time in the Fall (the race director ended up having the race twice in one year), but the wheels really came off late in that race. I was leading the race from the start for about 82 miles before becoming so sick I had to stop for several hours as I could not hold down any food or water and was getting very weak. I was demoralized and in a lot of pain for reasons I still don’t understand – just have to chalk it up to a bad day. Although the race did not go as I hoped, I’m happy that I eventually got back out on the course with my wife, Natalie, for a 17 mile zombie walk to a 29 hour finish.

2) Which was your favorite?
It’s very hard to say which my favorite was because they were all pretty special in their own way. So here are some highlights in chronological order:

· Moab was great because it was my first 100 mile win, the 3rd anniversary of my first 100 mile attempt (which was my sole DNF), and it was a turning point for how I viewed my ability as a runner. I started to understand that willpower can do more than just keep you going, it can make you go faster. I stopped surviving 100s and started racing them instead. I’m fairly confident that the success I had in 2012 stems more from that paradigm shift than any other factor.
· Coyote Springs because it was only one week after winning Moab. That proved to me that I could recover much faster than is traditionally thought and it opened up the door to running a very eventful year.
· Black Hills was an amazing experience because I had to fight so hard to win. I ran on a sprained ankle from early in the race against many talented runners that on another day could have soundly beaten me. Once I unexpectedly found myself in the lead (around mile 35) I locked into a competitive mode where I was going to push as hard as I needed to in order win. I had the unexpected surprise of having a volunteer pacer, Kieran McCarthy, join me for the last 17 miles. Plus, I had a wonderful weekend with my family and made my son super happy by winning the big buffalo skull awarded to the top 3 positions.
· Happy Jack was memorable because the heavy rain was relentless and the trail conditions were awful. Finishing that race just came down to grit and determination. I was proud just to have completed that race as every runner registered for the 100 ended up dropping out except for me and Chris Westerman.
· Grand Mesa was another hard fought and unexpected win. My buddy, Ken Long, crewed and paced me. His encouragement and enthusiasm really kept me going. It was exciting to share the win with him as I normally don’t have pacers and he did such an awesome job keeping me pushing for 20.5 hours.
· Boulder was awesome because I achieved a level I had never imagined reaching. At the start of the season, a sub-20 seemed like a lofty goal, let alone a sub-16. Two years earlier it took me over 29 hours to complete Boulder. The prior year was my first time going sub-24. In 2012, I was determined to win since I had a streak going with the Triple Crown Series, but I was very surprised by how hard the eventual 2nd place finisher, Jeremy Ebel, was pushing. It seemed like he was never more than a half lap behind me for the last 50 miles and I just couldn’t afford slow down. There’s no way I could have run that hard if it hadn’t been for the strong competition.
· Houston was fun because it was literally just a run in the park with friends. The course consisted of a flat 2 mile loop and provided plenty of opportunity to socialize and revel in the camaraderie of the sport. It was also nice to achieve my goal of winning seven 100 milers in a calendar year. Karl Meltzer is a legend and to be able to infringe on just one of his many records is a great honor for me.

3) How do you train for competition?
No special secrets here. I basically run as often as I can, which is sometimes as little as 35 miles a week. I hit the hills in Golden near my office, but I wouldn’t consider it real mountain training. Every now and then I push pretty hard, but generally I just do what feels comfortable and enjoyable. In that regard, not much has changed since I started running in 2009. In fact, I think I trained more back then than I do now. It is likely experience and confidence that are paying the dividends now. Switching over to using Hokas for all my ultras didn’t hurt either.

4) How do you recover post race?
Same as anyone I suppose, I moan about how sore I am until I feel better. I try not to whine about it too much since it’s self imposed pain and I do it pretty much every month, but it does hurt. I joke that my body feels like I get in monthly car wrecks. I’ll probably take it a bit easier in 2013.

5) What do you consume during the race/s?
I’m all over the place with nutrition and hydration. Early in the year I was convinced that Hammer Gel and water was the way to go. I later took to eating Stinger Waffles almost exclusively before I realized I could probably eat almost anything and be okay, but I might be wrong about that. In my last race I was eating pecan pie while running and thinking it was the best thing I’d ever had. Really don’t feel like I’ve got this dialed in at all.

6) How do you keep injury-free?
I don’t. I’m hurting all the time. I had several injuries throughout the year that I thought were going to be more debilitating than they turned out to be. I’ll spare you the list, but I felt injured most of the year in one way or another. Pleased to say I feel fine now.

Personal
1) What do you do for a living?
I’m a marketing analyst for HomeAdvisor.com.

2) What does your family think about your training/running?
My wife wholeheartedly supports me and truly believes that I can do anything I think I can. Knowing that she believes in me really helps me to do the same. My kids think I’m crazy (very perceptive), but they enjoy all the adventures we go on. And my mother worries about me, but supports me nonetheless.

3) Where is your favorite area/trail/state to run?
That’s tough to answer because I enjoy both mountain and desert races so much – completely different feel to each, but both just so amazing. If I had to pick a state, I’d say Utah since it has the best of both, although I have yet to run a mountain race there.

4) What do you like to do for fun? Besides run.
I enjoy spending time with my family and actively listening to music. Although not a musician myself (and not for lack of trying), I’m quite keen on music. It makes me happy.

5) What do you see for the future, whether in racing, training, exploring the world, adventures, new feats…?
At this point, I’m really not sure what’s next. I’m registered for a few races, I’m going to Boston, and I’m doing Leadville again. But I’ve yet to make any big goals for 2013. Exploring the world would be great, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. UTMB is definitely on the bucket list though I’d like to do it sooner than later.

6) Who inspires you in the athletic world? Who inspires you overall?
Besides the go to answers for most of us i.e. Geoff Roes, Karl Meltzer, Scott Jurek, etc. I’ve been inspired by people I’ve actually met such as Brooks Williams, an amazing runner and all around great guy out of Colorado Springs. I imagine most people in the Colorado ultra scene know Brooks and his inspirational story. He famously pushes himself to the very edge and sometimes beyond. Gotta admire that. Also, I was very inspired by a man I met in Canada this summer when I ran across Prince Edward Island. His name is Michael Gaudet and he is one of the kindest, most sincere people I’ve ever encountered. He has a long history as an endurance athlete both swimming and running. I enjoyed getting to know him as he accompanied me for portions of the run and shared his outlook on life. He helped me plan and execute the run across island, which he then later replicated himself. His kindness towards me and my family was remarkable. Canadians are known for their friendliness, but this was above and beyond. He lives for the moment and seems sincerely grateful for life itself. I aspire to live the same way, but it ain’t always easy.

As for non-athletes that inspire me, the list is long and runs the gamut from musical icons to family members. Basically anyone who lives a sincere life while aspiring towards originality and truth is an inspiration in my book.

7) Tell us something we don’t know about you. Tell us a story.
If you ask anyone who has known me for a long time about my personality, they’d probably describe me as an all or none kind of guy. Really my whole life has teetered between extremes. As you’d imagine, this is often more harmful than good as moderation is often the best path. In school I either did very well, or I failed. And when I failed, I often convinced myself it was because I chose to fail, or rather that I just didn’t want to try. I regret that I stopped participating in athletics at a young age because I didn’t feel I could be the best, so I’d just rather not try. I’m certain that I’ve passed up many opportunities in life because fear of failure has prevented me from putting myself out there. Not that failure didn’t find me all the same, I just never invited it. It has taken a long time to learn and truly accept that welcoming failure is necessary in order to grow. This has been the story of my running, and if I can learn to apply it more broadly, hopefully can be a foundation for future growth in other areas of my life as well. If the adversity experienced in a 100 mile race can be considered a metaphor for challenges in encountered in life, then I suppose there’s reason to be optimistic.