Just Another Runner’s Story December 2024 Written by Gale Fischer
Self-Reflection
“There’s no way to un-run an ultra marathon. The world is the same but your view of yourself is now fundamentally different.”
—Paul Butzi
Ultra runners are certainly a rare breed. Spending hours at a time running distances that many would consider too long to drive for a day trip is a mind-boggling scenario for the non-runner. As challenging as it may seem to run thirty, fifty, or even one hundred miles at a time, the focus required to complete such a daunting task comes down to a very simplistic approach. It all boils down to moving forward one stride at a time while ignoring your body's plea to stop. To keep moving for twenty to thirty hours at a time requires an extreme effort physically, but the mental determination becomes just as difficult. One must step away mentally. While completing an ultra event there are periods of time that become out-of-body experiences. When out on the racecourse for hours at a time running through daylight and into the darkness, opportunities for self-reflection are abundant. If you desire to learn things about yourself that you may not already know, running an ultra-marathon might be something to consider. This month’s featured runner, Scott Struck, has learned more about the human spirit than any book could teach, while self-reflecting en route to finishing several ultra-marathons, including fourteen at the one-hundred-mile distance.
Scott would have never imagined running such extreme distances as a teenager or young adult. He began his journey in our sport as he approached middle age. “I had recently turned thirty-eight and felt like I was getting old. I needed to start getting active. My kids were old enough to leave alone for an hour or so at a time. I started running shorter distances on my own.” Eventually, Scott decided to sign up for a 5K race. “I ran the Run for the Greyhounds, a 5K race put on by a greyhound rescue group. This was a few years after I started running. I continued to run on my own and participate in some local races. For the first few years, it was just shorter distances around 5K.”
Although Scott had participated in some local races he hadn’t established any connections with the running community. Running on his own was therapeutic and he enjoyed it, but it was inevitable that he would be introduced to social running. “I started meeting local runners in Battle Creek and also began running with the Urban Herd every Wednesday in Kalamazoo. Eventually, I connected with Teresa Fulcomer Brian Trainor, and Lorenna Trainor. I would run with them weekly. Teresa and I became running partners and have run and raced together through the years.” Scott, Teresa, Brian, and Lorenna would meet up a few times each week in Battle Creek to run three to five miles. Longer distances would soon pique Scott’s interest, however. “The four of us gradually edged into the half-marathon distance. We hooked up with the Kalamazoo Area Runners (KAR) Beyond training group and started bumping up to the marathon distance.”
Scott and Teresa got their feet wet with the marathon. They both seemed content with keeping it to this distance but their mindset would change. “Teresa and I had done the half-marathon at Run Woodstock, a weekend highlighted by trail races of various distances near Ann Arbor, Michigan. We were intrigued by runners completing the 50K race, so we decided that we would try this distance. Our logic was that it wasn’t much further than a marathon.” A seed was planted and Scott’s journey as an ultra runner began. “We signed up for the Huff 50K in Albion, Indiana. It was a two-loop course. Teresa and I ran it with Lisa Piper, another local runner.” There was a tiny glitch for the three of them on race day but this didn’t scare Scott in his future pursuit to keep upping the distance. “We ended up getting off course, Eventually, we started seeing runners coming opposite of us and decided to turn around and follow them. This added three or four miles to our first 50K.” Over the next few years, Scott and Teresa gained experience at the 50K distance, running the Huff 50K four consecutive years. They also tried a longer race, running the fifty-mile option at Run Woodstock.
Running the fifty-mile was a learning experience for Scott. It changed his game plan for longer distances. “I remember thirty-five miles in being gassed out. I figured out that to have a better experience with ultras I needed to slow down. Teresa and I walked from mile thirty-five to forty-five and then we were ready to run again. I needed to refuel and regroup. I had a hard time digesting what I would eat. I feel that the pace I was running was too fast and creating GI issues. I really had gotten into the ultra distance without really knowing how to pace and how to keep nourished.”
Running several 50Ks felt like a small step up from the marathon for Scott. It wasn’t as if it was easy but it seemed manageable to keep going a few more miles without changing how he trained and raced. The fifty-mile race changed his mindset. He became intrigued with ultra running and was hungry to learn more about preparing and completing distances of fifty miles and more. “I started listening to podcasts on Trail Runner Nation and reading Trail Running Magazine. I began to get insight into how to train, race, and take in nutrition. I learned a ton from experienced ultra runners, nutritionists, and doctors who made appearances on these podcasts.” One race in particular that was discussed in the magazines that Scott was reading and in the podcasts that he was listening to became a source of curiosity. “They talked a lot about the Western States One Hundred-Mile Ultra. I became curious and intrigued about Western States but at the time never considered running one hundred miles. I didn’t think that I could do it.” Scott may have underestimated how many miles he could cover continuously but perhaps subconsciously a seed had been planted.
The idea of running one hundred miles may have been a goal on the horizon for Scott with his race crush being the Western States Endurance Run. His interest in this event intensified while on a vacation with one of his children. “In 2014 I went to Lake Tahoe with my daughter, Samantha to participate in the Tahoe Trifecta. She ran the 10k. I did three half-marathons in three consecutive days. We also did a lot of sightseeing. One of the days we went over to Squaw Valley (Palisades at Tahoe). The Western States trail goes through this area. I decided to check out the trail and ended up running eight miles.” Scott was like a little kid in a candy store. He felt a combination of excitement and nervousness in being able to run a segment of the Western States course. It seemed that this eight-mile section was as close as he would come to running his dream race. “I was enamored to be able to run this trail but just about died. I was not at all prepared for the elevation and incline. This confirmed my hypothesis that I could never run one hundred miles. I didn’t have the endurance and I wasn’t a mountain man. I realized that running Western States was just a dream. The fifty-mile distance seemed to be my ceiling.”
Training for and running one hundred miles takes a mental mindset that requires confidence. It seemed that Scott had a desire to try the distance but he didn’t see it as a possibility physically. He would finally take a leap of faith a few years after visiting Squaw Valley. “Teresa and I had done some fifty milers and 100ks and finally, in 2017, we decided to try a hundred miler. We both finished our first one-hundred-mile race on the Hennepin Canal State Park Trail in Central Illinois. Teresa’s knee was giving her a lot of pain. We made it to fifty miles and met up with Matthew Santner who was going to pace us for the last half.” Matthew, Scott, and Teresa evaluated the situation and made a difficult decision. “Teresa wanted Matthew and I to go on and she insisted she would continue on her own. Matthew and I got to the next aid station and lingered for a few minutes eating food and warming by the fire waiting to see when Teresa would come in. She was hurting but she still wanted us to go on. We ran as long as we could and walked to last twenty-five miles. I finished in the twenty-eight-hour range. I was so tired and so beat up but I was thrilled with what I had just accomplished.” Scott was brimming with confidence having completed one hundred miles but didn’t celebrate too long. Both Matthew and Scott turned their focus to Teresa. They waited anxiously and finally, Teresa hobbled in a few hours later, making the thirty-hour cut-off with only ten minutes to spare. Teresa and Scott had conquered the mental and physical hurdles but their bodies had been beat up. Before getting some much-needed sleep both agreed that this would be their only one-hundred-mile race but when Scott awoke later he was ready to find his next one-hundred-mile race.
Teresa was not as fast to flip the script on her decision to retire from running one-hundred-mile races. Scott didn’t press her but his influence would help Teresa to forget about the misery she suffered on the Hennipen Trail. “We both ran the Tunnel Hill One Hundred Mile Ultra a year later. Teresa had to drop out at mile seventy-seven due to severe knee pain. I finished with a faster time than at Hennipen. Teresa and I had heard about run/walk intervals. We decided to implement this strategy into our training for Tunnell Hill and used it on race day. We played with the interval lengths for a while. We settled on a combination of five minutes of running and one minute of walking. I have since transitioned to an interval of three minutes running and one-minute walking.”
After finishing Tunnell Hill Scott continued to participate in a variety of ultra events including several one-hundred-mile races. Scott began to feel more comfortable with the distance. It's not that ultra running was easy but it turned into a combination of a routine and addiction. As he gained experience running one hundred miles he began to think more and more about participating in his dream endurance event. “I qualified and earned a lottery spot for the Western States Endurance Run 2024. I ran it but missed the cut-off time fifty-eight miles in. Around mile forty I got a bloody nose due to the elevation and dry air. I could not get the bleeding to stop and was swallowing blood which caused nausea.” Scott’s pace began to slow considerably and the possibility of not hitting the cut-off time at the next checkpoint became a reality. He was frustrated and discouraged but kept moving forward missing the forty-mile cut-off time by five minutes. “Although it was discouraging I was thrilled at the opportunity to go out and try. I was out of my element with the elevation, incline, and terrain but I am grateful for the entire experience.”
To date, Scott has completed fourteen one-hundred-mile events. He doesn’t necessarily have a goal for how many he will complete but just goes by feel. “Each time I say to myself that this is the last one but then I change my mind.”
Running has become a passion for Scott, especially the longer distances. He has learned and been inspired by many in the running community and has tried to give back in the same way he has been blessed. “I have paced half-marathons and full-marathons. I always sign on as a pacer for a pace that I am comfortable with. Pacing is important because you can provide so much help to other runners. It allows me to chat with people which is fun but it also allows me to encourage when it is needed.”
Through the years Scott has found other ways to share his knowledge and mentor other runners. “I got into coaching back in 2013 with the Battle Creek Fast Track program, a training program for the 5K distance. I have also volunteered for several training cycles as a team leader for the KAR Beyond Marathon and Half-Marathon training group. I have been certified as a running coach through the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) for five years.” As Scott gained more experience as an ultra runner he expanded his coaching to those seeking to tackle a distance longer than a marathon. “I began coaching virtually for Ornery Mule Racing two years ago. We work with all kinds of runners but most of my clients are first-time ultra runners. I have had about sixteen clients through the years, throughout the USA and overseas as well.”
Coaching has allowed him to use his experience as a runner to mentor others but has been as positive for him as it has been for those he has coached. “Coaching is a great way to give back to the running community. I have been blessed by running and learning from other runners. This is my opportunity to pass on what I have learned from others. It provides peace of mind to others in a crazy world. I want to share this with my running peers. When I first started running I made a lot of mistakes. I want to prevent people from making some of the mistakes that I have made.” Scott has enjoyed a career as a psychologist for many years. The skills he has developed in this role have benefited him as an ultra runner and in coaching others.
Scott has learned many life lessons with all of the miles that he has run. Running has helped him to evolve in his perspective of life and advice to others. “Stick with it and ask people for help if you have a problem. Join a running group and get into the running community. Runners are friendly and like to share their sport with others. It is important to approach running with the mindset that I get to run not that I have to run. Cherish the opportunities that running creates.”
As a young adult Scott would never have predicted that one day he would enjoy running. He started as a way to stay active as he entered mid-life. Running distances up to one hundred miles would have seemed absurd but here he is nearly two decades into his running journey with fourteen one-hundred-mile runs under his belt. The hours of training and racing have introduced him to acquaintances and friendships that will last a lifetime but just as important is each cumulative mile has taught him things about himself he would never have known if he had never become an ultra runner.
Everyone has a story. Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.
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