With the holiday season in full swing (whether we are ready or not), Marathon & Beyond is inviting you to our Cyber Monday sale on December 1. In appreciation of your loyalty to our magazine, we are offering great deals on everything in our online store - including subscriptions! In addition to the great sale prices, you will get *Free* shipping on every order. Watch your inbox for our Cyber Monday specials!

 

In our current cover story, Ken Posner tells his story of how he broke Marshall Ulrich's 2001 record of 96:07 for the Death Valley Double Crossing. Ken finished with a new record of 94:39. He writes:  

 

"In 1977, Al Arnold became the first person to run the 146 miles from the Badwater Basin in Death Valley (which, at 282 feet below sea level, is the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere) to the summit of Mount Whitney (which, at 14,505 feet, is the highest point in the continental USA). In 1989, Tom Crawford and Rich Benyo conceived the idea of doubling this feat and became the first people to complete the 292-mile round trip, which is referred to as a 'double' (Benyo 1991). In 2001, Marshall Ulrich set a record for the double of 96:07 as part of his celebrated 'quad' crossing (Ulrich 2004)."

 

Death Valley is the hottest and driest place on Earth, but in mid-summer, the peak of Mt. Whitney can become an evil cauldron of hail, chilling rain, snow, and killer lightning. Marathon & Beyond editor, Rich Benyo, tells the story of HIS double crossing with his friend Tom Crawford in the book The Death Valley 300.

Beginning in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of M&B, we will be serializing Rich's book, The Death Valley 300.

Here is just a preview of what's to come...you will be able to read the entire book in Marathon & Beyond.

It all started on July 31, 1988, at a picnic in Tom Crawford's backyard in Santa Rosa, California - the one-year anniversary of the first-ever race on the Death Valley-to-Mt. Whitney course. Rich writes:

"By the time we had eaten our by-then cremated hamburgers, everyone who had a recollection of the 1987 race was giving it, and after each story, more beer was passed around. The subject of Tom Crawford's dream to be the first person to ever do the course out-and-back came up...
"So why don't you do it?" I asked Tom.
"What? he asked.
"The out-and-back."
"Well, maybe someday I will."
"Let's do it next year," I said.
"You mean 'Let's' as in 'Let us'?" John Hollander asked.
"I'll do it if you will," I said to Tom.
"Are you sure you know what you're getting into?" Tom asked.
"Since nobody's ever even tried the out-and-back course, of course I don't know what I'm getting into."

Be sure to read The Death Valley 300 in its entirety, beginning with the first installment in our Jan/Feb 2015 issue. Take advantage of our Cyber Monday sale and get your subscription at a discounted rate. Watch your email for details of our sale.

Subscriber of the Month:
Bill Smith 

Marathon & Beyond Subscriber of the Month Bill Smith has an amazing running story. He ran his first marathon in 1980 and, like many of us, was hooked. From 1980 - 2007, he had already run 35 marathons. However, in 2008, Bill underwent open heart surgery. Since his 2008 surgery involving a triple bypass, Bill has run 57 more marathons. His goal is to run 100 marathons by the end of 2015. He already has them planned out finishing with marathon #100 at the Kansas City Marathon in his home town. The race director has already reserved bib #100 for him.   

 

Bill has had quite the running life, but we are sharing only an excerpt of his story in this issue of e-XTRA. Go to our website to read the entire story.

In 2007 I was approaching 60, and my marathon times were slowing considerably. I ran Grandma's Marathon with my daughter in 4:44 (she ran faster) and felt like things were really getting hard for me. I decided that if I started training hard like I used to, maybe I could really "kick some ass" in the M60-64 group after December 2 when I turned 60. I started training right, and it seemed to be working. I was making good progress until I picked up a cold in January. It was just a cold, but I could not totally get rid of it. Every time I ran, my lungs would burn, I would stop to walk, and then start again. I noticed that this would completely go away after about eight miles so I started goofing around like this every day to get eight miles behind me and so that I could start real training. However, the burning lung thing just would not leave. I had already entered the Shamrock Marathon on March 16, 2008, and I knew I needed to lose this lung thing if I was going to do any good at Shamrock. I quit running altogether for the month of February to try to rest up and lose the lung issue.

I went to Shamrock, and it was the most miserable race of my life so far. It was very cold, rainy,  windy, and my lungs never stopped burning. I finally finished in 5:04. When we got home, my wife made me go see my doctor. He brought out two EKG charts: one from my October physical and another he did during my visit. They were different, and something called T-Wave Inversion had developed. The doctor's office is next to the hospital so he told me to take the charts over to the ER and check myself in so they could figure this thing out.
I was in the hospital three days, and I became a museum piece. They brought in probably a half dozen doctors and doctors-to-be in to see me and meet me because my BP was normal, my resting pulse rate was about 44, and all my enzymes and other markers were good. They knew something was wrong but could not find it. Finally, the attending cardiologist wanted to do an angiogram just to eliminate artery blockage. He prepped my wife and me for the remote possibility that they might want to insert a stint.  When I woke up, it was a whole new world. My three main arteries were 85%, 95%, and 100% plugged, yet I never had a heart attack and was able to run a sub-8:00 minute one-mile and finish a marathon. The cardiologist said that the only thing that saved me was my massive set of collateral arteries that I had developed over the years through all that running. Thankful for that, whatever it is.

Read the rest of Bill's amazing story on our website in a post called "On my way to 100 marathons."

Our M&B Midcap by Headsweats is perfect when the weather starts to get a little chilly. Comfy, breathable. One size fits all. Current color choices: Black with white lettering, blue with yellow lettering. One size fits all.

 

Subscribe to Marathon & Beyond print or digital edition and get a *FREE* Marathon & Beyond Midcap. Call our office at (217) 359-9345 and use the code word e-XTRA Midcap. Or, order online and put the code word e-XTRA Midcap in the comment box. Be sure to specify your color choice.