“…even looking back, I scratch my head sometimes and wonder how I pulled it off” – Russell Secker on the Transeurope Footrace

Texas ultra athlete, Russell Secker, the only American athlete that participated and completed the 2920 mile 2009 Transeurope Footrace was recently interviewed by an Austin radio show called INNER VIEWS.

Secker talked about what brought him to ultrarunning and his 64 day experience in Europe.

Here are a few of the moments that caught my attention.

Planting The Ultrarunning Seed

• Prior to ultrarunning, Secker ran 5 km, 10 km, and marathons like most normal people.
• The event that started his ultrarunning journey – The book, Running the Trans America Footrace by Barry Lewis. This book was about the 1992 Trans America race.

It is always fascinating to find out about the trigger that causes people to make a change in their life. Over 10 years ago, a friend asked me to go mountain biking with him and I said, “yes.” That started my endurance sports journey.

The 2009 Transeurope Footrace

• Preparation – Ran 3-4 hours a day at the peak training.
• Race miles – Each stage consisted of ~30-60 miles per day. This translated to typically 6-14 hours for Secker. (We are talking about a 64 day event!)
• Mind games – Secker’s approach to dealing with the magnitude of each day and the event would be to visualize himself forward in the event, whether that was the end of the day or crossing the finish line.
• Complete runner – This kind of event is 100% mental and 100% physical. Small physical imbalances over 64 days become big problems.
• Worst weather – Towards the end of the race in Norway, running against 20-40 mph headwinds joined with periods of sleet/hail.
• One of the Best days – The day before the worst. Secker ran 10 miles with a herd of reindeer.
• The experience – Secker wrote a book called Running Across Countries, that captures this huge ultrarunning experience.

To simply have the courage to attempt and then finish an event like this is amazing (…long pause…). Oh, the layers of self you must witness, and most likely layers of flesh (ouch!). Insightful interview and inspiring stuff.

To listen to the complete audio interview:  Inner Views – Russell Secker Interview

Be active – Feel the buzz!

David - EnduranceBuzz.com

(Photo: Courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulsimpson1976/ / CC BY 2.0)

Related Articles:

• TransEurope-FootRace: Let’s Go Run 2920 Miles
• TALON Dirt and Distance Tidbits – Austin Trail Running and Secker Off To Germany
• TRC Post Oak Lodge Trail Run 2010 Results

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