Remembering Micah True (1954 – 2012)

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Marshall Ulrich

Micah and I met back in the mid 1980s at one of the Colorado ultramarathons. With his no-frills attitude about running and his cool name, he caught my attention right away. Both reminded me of the old T.V. western “The Rifleman” and its sheriff Micah Torrance, who was always behind the scenes working his magic and promoting the public good. He had overcome some obstacles in his life and would champion the cause of those less fortunate.

Later, I would find out that Micah True was born Michael Randall Hickman, but this and other tidbits from his bio never overshadowed my first impression, or the man he ultimately became.

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Posted in Friends & Family, Running | 9 Comments

“Running on Empty” released in paperback

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Marshall Ulrich

Woohoo! I’m as giddy as “The Jerk” on phonebook day:

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Why so happy? (Do you remember? Navin thinks he’s a “real person” once his name appears in print. Am I so different?)

My 2011 memoir, Running on Empty, has just been released in paperback!
Available now from all the cool places:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | iTunes | Indiebound

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Alive in Death Valley: Beyond Badwater

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Marshall Ulrich

The prize for second hottest place on earth goes to Death Valley, where the temperature has exceeded 130 degrees during the summer months. What, then, convinces someone to spend time out there, much less run in those conditions?

Every July, about 90 hardcore athletes go there to participate in a 135-mile footrace National Geographic has called the toughest in the world, the Badwater Ultramarathon. Since my first showing in 1990, I’ve finished this race 17 times and won it four times, and I hold the record for the old course of 146 miles, which ends at the top of Mt. Whitney. I love this event and the people it attracts — they’re like a second family to me.

Death Valley has been a proving ground, too: years ago, I was the first to run the course four times in a row, and the first to conquer it unaided and unassisted.

Forgive me for reciting my resume. My point isn’t to brag, but to give you some context for this next part:

When my buddy, firefighter Dave Heckman, who also serves as a medic at the Badwater race, revealed his plans to make his way around the perimeter of Death Valley National Park, I thought, That’s f*&@ing nuts. Continue reading →

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Posted in Badwater Ultramarathon, Death Valley National Park circumnavigation July 2012, Expeditions, Excursions & Other Outdoor Explorations, Hydration & Nutrition | 9 Comments

The Comrades Marathon: world’s largest and oldest

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Marshall Ulrich

When I was in my prime and might have raced it competitively, I didn’t make the time to run the world’s largest and oldest ultramarathon, mainly because I was obsessed with pushing the envelope of endurance and at 56 miles, it wasn’t “enough” for me then. Chalk that up to being young and foolish.

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Here’s a look at the Comrades Marathon:
“This is 14,000 champions, 14,000 winners, 14,000 heroes.”

Finally, this June I’ll make my debut at the Comrades Marathon, running from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in the Kwazulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Continue reading →

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What if your man wants to do something “crazy”?

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Marshall Ulrich

Heather and I were wed on April Fool’s Day nine years ago. Marriage is no joke (I should know), but we do have a sense of humor about it. Whenever people ask how long we’ve been married, we usually say forty years since they don’t stipulate they want to know how long we’ve been married to each other.

Climbing together in Ecuador, February 2012

Seriously, though, this is the longest I’ve ever been married, and I intend to stay that way.

Thank goodness Heather feels the same. One of the “secrets” to our relationship is that she puts up with a lot. Obviously, that’s not under wraps, as I wrote about all of this in my book, “Running on Empty,” out in paperback a couple of days after our anniversary.

A central element in the story is how we met late in life and she taught me to love again after great personal tragedy and previous marriages. I credit her not only with helping me to become a better man (to whatever degree that’s true), but also with being crucial to my completing that epic, record-setting transcontinental run.

You can imagine that being with someone like me requires a strength of its own, a special brand of emotional endurance. Heather not only puts up with my craziness but embraces it as an essential part of me. In an interview we did with AOL in the spring, we talked about our “extreme marriage” and how much I draw on her strength. Continue reading →

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Posted in Book, Running on Empty (2011), Friends & Family, Training & Tips | 16 Comments