Miles Mountain Bike Marathon

Since the Berryman marathon / 50-mile back in April - Miles, my 10-year old stud of a son, has had a goal; Ride an entire marathon on a mountain bike. A REAL mountain bike marathon......Berryman! Since then, we trained together almost every weekend - he rides, I run. His conservative goal was a marathon over two days. Therefore, we set up a spike camp at the fifteen mile, Brazil Creek, camp ground. 5-miles into the ride though, he had his mind made up that it would be a one day finish. He did it. He's a stud.

He also enjoyed driving Dad's car but that's another story.....not for Mom to know.

Ozark Trail meets Berryman

There was some uphill walking involved. Always is when biking tough trails.

And even a little bit of downhill walking.

But mostly, super, hardcore, single track!

Two very handsome men.

Pedialyte does wonders for restoring electrolytes

My nasty old legs

Technical downhill

Priceless

Yes. He rode this......clean.

First injury. This one set him back a few minutes but didn't break him.

As mentioned above, our spike camp we set up in advance, just in case he needed to bail at the 15-mile mark. Pre-race dinner was Ramon Noodles and local grown green beans

Brazil Creek crossing. 15-miles down and 11.2 to go.

Yes Mom, we read every night in the tent.

Finish Line Rock! Goal completed! What a summer.

Wiped out in the back of my car like a bowl of mush. We enjoyed long talks about how resting is where muscle and strength is restored and built. Talks of what next, what is possible? Ten years old and everything worth while in this world is in his path and within his reach. This is my boy!

Kaylan's first Century

Kaylan and I rode Bike MS (160 miles) last year and we are signed up again. This year we set a goal to ride the century option (100 miles) on day one.

With this goal in mind, last weekend we signed up for a 70-mile tour that had a 100-mile option. It was a cool, beautiful morning. I mentioned to Kaylan "you know, the weather may not be this nice in four weeks, we could do our century today" I added "no pressure though honey, if you still want to live in our house and be part of our family, no pressure". Another rider overheard us. At the next aid station he chimed in and said "you really couldn't ask for a better day, no wind, perfect temperatures, great roads". Again, I remind her "no pressure".

A little farther down the road, both feeling great, a thought strikes me. I say "Kaylan, if we wait until Bike MS to do your century, you will be 14 years old. If we do it today, you will always be able to say you did your first century at 13 years old". No significant response. I think "don't pressure her. She will do it on her terms".

Then we are speeding down this sweet downhill and see a Y in the road. Some riders are turning left, some going straight, one turning around and a couple standing over a map. I look down and see, painted on the road, the words "70 mile turn left. 100 mile go straight". Just then I say "Kaylan, it's decision time. This is the"..... Before I can finish she says "100!" and off we go. We are now committed to riding 100 miles in a single day. Did I mention she is 13-years old?


We did it! We knocked the bugger off. Kaylan, dare I say, is as good a stoker as her mother when we knocked out big miles, back in the day. What a great day. What a great kid. Kaylan Rocks! I'm a lucky Dad.

6:30am. So nervous she can hardly stay asleep in the car.

Shivers

The start


Kaylan's view for 8-hours of riding

Lucky she doesn't have to look at this mug!

Side angle view

70 mile mark and still smiling

Aid station PB&J never tasted so good...Superfood!

Kaylan freaks when she catches Dad drinking a Coke and eating Cheetos. I told her "when you are 90-miles into anything human powered - anything goes".

Training ride pictures





I'm 44 - still the Dad. Kaylan is 13 - still the teenager. But when we are cranking, chained together, literally pedaling in tandem, down country roads, we are really good friends. This is fantastic father, daughter bonding time. We train for hours which means we talk for hours. We talk about everything in her life and mine. No topics are off limits and she doesn't have to look at me. We live the good life, a mile at a time.

Advice from a friend (putting 100 milers on hold)

Ron
I have now read this email - probably dozen times. You are very thoughtful, and helpful. This is obvious, but wise advice Ron. Many of life's lessons don't have to be learned through experience, the hard way. We only have to look around and listen to others who have lived more. I'm not a religious person but I almost feel as if calling you, the work you did for us and your timely advice are meant for me.

You are a good person Ron. Thank you.

Pat
Thanks for the note and good to hear that you found a "starter" bike for Miles. It won't last long before he will want an upgrade.

In reference to the 100 milers.....you have competitiveness that I haven't felt since sitting behind a steering wheel at over 150 mph as a young man.

At some point one has to weigh the competitiveness against the most important part of a person's life: the family. We both know that your wife is already a saint (so you're covered there) but the years with the kids are much too short. Wake-up one morning and they will be grown.

When I look back on my early life with my late father, I cherish the "one-on-one" time doing things that we enjoyed in common....fishing and working in the garage. No doubt he could have been doing bigger and better things. But he gave that time to me because he loved me more than those other things. IE Priceless.

Miles needs to learn to ride off-road and for that he needs to follow your rear wheel. He needs to hoop, howler, fall down, get dirty, laugh etc. He needs to see you do the same. A special trip (not that much different from the ride with the daughter) to a distant single track isn't beyond consideration. Northern Wisconsin has some sane single track. Even Kansas. I'll find something and forward it.

As for running....why not think quality as opposed to quantity? Other than the ego thing, what does a Leadville 100 provide that a quality marathon in southern Missouri can't? Other than massive amounts of risk and pain. Reward is all internal anyway. Find it elsewhere. I threw over 10 years of trophies in the dumpster.

Lance once said: "it's all about the bike." I disagree....it's all about balance. And besides Lance destroyed one family, marched through starlets like water and now has started to mess-up a second family. Where is your balance?

You're pedaling in the right direction. Don't stop!

Tailwinds. Ron

Ron
On my run Wednesday night, I came to the conclusion that it's just too much time to keep training for 100s with the kids activities and work. Also just don't feel like I'm getting good one on one time with Miles, my 10-year old. With Kaylan, we are starting training for MS bike so she's covered, but again, how to get in the hours of running to stay in 100 mile shape? So I give up on 100 mile races for a few years (months - who knows)

Miles showed an interest in mountain biking at Berryman. I'm running along Wednesday night thinking "me, Miles, in the woods together, both learning an endurance sport together?" Yesterday we cruised some garage sales and picked up a $30 mountain bike that was obviously never ridden but left outside. I suspect the reason it was hardly used was because the fork was installed backward and the rider's feet hit the tires when turning. After a couple hours working on it together, re installing the fork, replacing the seat, adjusting, cleaning etc. Miles and I went out to my favorite mountain biking (running) trail where he could ride and I could run.

Nirvana. Life is good.

Berryman 2009

This was the third GENESYS running of the Berryman marathon and 50-mile trail race. GENESYS people give new meaning to the phrase "work hard - play hard". This year's course was more difficult than prior years due to a recent storms. These storms left over 70 big trees down on the trail as well as a whole lot of water. In spite of conditions, everyone finished and most returning marathoners bettered their time. This is an amazing group of people. A full trail marathon, on a tough course like Berryman, is no small feat. Yet look closely at all of the smiles in these pictures. The smiles say it all.

Pre-race. Nervous smiles. A cool morning following an overnight storm. The undeterred runners see a little more rain before the day is over. All agreed that rain is better than heat. These are "cup half full" people.

We had two more 50-mile bad asses this year. John Fralick and my Brother Matt both ran the entire 25 mile loop.. twice. So now the GENESYS 50-miler list includes Mike Gase, Pete Leon, Casey Yunger (2nd year) me and now Matt and John. Who's next?

Cheering every runner to the finish line are bell ringers Kaylan Perry (my daughter) and her cousin Madison (Matt's daughter)

The pictures to follow are roughly in order of finisher times. I regret that I missed Griffin Weyforth's finish (too fast). I didn't take my own photo but I can proudly say I finished 3rd overall! My best marathon effort ever.

Tim Hazlett, running friend and soccer Dad, finished his first trail marathon. Tim is a 3:27 road marathoner. His Berryman was 4:37 which supports my theory that you have to add an hour to your road time for a true trail marathon.

Don Fredericks (most improved) ran his third Berryman, bettering his time by over an hour with a 5:18. Don has suffered two broken backs and open heart surgery. He has been another of my hero's since I met him. A good person.

Pete Leon pulled off his fastest Berryman marathon yet at 5:19.

Randy Nuttall (Wolverine Fluid Power) previously a fast road-runner, pulled off his first trail marathon. And yes Randy - you did beat my first Berryman.

Dave Swift (Owens Corning) finishes with Brandon Vega. Dave's first with a very respectable time, and Brandon's second Berryman.

Belinda Roberts - Mother of our own Jonathon's Roberts, finished her second Berryman. Jonathon, who has run multiple marathons, didn't participate this year as he spent all his training time studying for his PE exam. He also sacrificed his Berryman to be in China for us. Thank you Jon. John Sr. Belinda's husband, has been training for months for his first 50-miler. His flight was canceled due to storms. Major Bummer.

Jake Hawthorne beats his parents 2007 marathon times by almost half!

Keith Davis (Owens Corning) and Jake finished together.

Angela Perry, Matt's wife, finishes just under 7-hours. She could do better but had knee issues. Angela is the strongest first year marathoner I have ever had the pleasure of training with. In spite of a rough race, she was planning her next race within an hour of finishing. I think she's converted. She's a stud.

Scott Story (Barnes Distribution) and Don Waldman (Ford Motor) finished together. Donny is my hero this year. He is a cancer survivor having endured very harsh treatment in the mid 90s. His cancer has been in remission but his lung capacity is diminished. Then, last fall, his numbers began to rise again. He and his Doctor agreed to marathon training as an alternative to a second round of more traditional cancer treatments. He didn't miss a single mile of training and his numbers haven't increased in the past 12-weeks. Think about that.

Donny also turned 56 years old Sunday!

John Kriegle (Compuware) finishes his second Berryman with a huge time improvement.

Happiness

My lovely wife Tracey finishes her second Berryman and third marathon. She improved her time and didn't get lost this year!

I'm so lucky.

Kris Dickerson and Matt Johnson finish together. This is Kris's first and Matt's second Berryman. Matt wins the award for most conservative training program.

Casey Yunger - third Berryman, second 50-miler and first to finish of the 50-mile GENESYS studs.

Matt Perry and John Fralick finishing their first of two 25-mile laps, looking strong.

Short break before going back out to finish the long run of their entire lives.

John Fralick's first 50-mile! Stud.

Deservedly Proud.

Matt Perry finishing 50-miles of rocks, roots, water and fallen trees. Budweiser in hand.

Matt's handsome son Caden.........

Matt's ugly dog.......

We were a smaller group in 2009 which stands to reason because we are a smaller company. In spite of a difficult year, this amazing group of athletes trained harder than ever and finished with attitude. Me and Donny.

My son Miles and Caden, Matt's son, try their hand at mountain biking the Berryman trail. Neither remained upright.

John brings his own person hot young chearleader.

Dave is whipped.

Randy looks like he could do it again......next year?

I missed photographing Griffin's finish. This was his second Berryman. He's ready to take on a 50 in 2010.

It's all about the the buckle, the medal, the running hardware, running bling.

Owens Corning is a better company for having these two guys as fit as they have been in thier entire lives.

You could run around in the woods with these beauty's if you sign up to run with us next year!

Me and the most beautiful trail marathoner I have ever met. Life and love is good.

For the finishers, you make up the less than one tenth of one percent of human beings who have gone the distance. For you 50 milers, you aren’t human beings at all. You are animals. And to think you guys did this together on a hilly, wet, rocky trail in a national forest. I sincerely hope each of you gained something special from the experience, not only the event but the whole experience. A marathon is not a single day. It is at the least a 16 week experience of discipline, work, cold, sunshine, wind, early mornings, soreness, snow, ice, sunsets outdoors and self awareness. At most, the experience can be life changing. As I like to say, we only get one shot at life and this is no dress rehearsal. Congratulations.

An invitation to all. 2010 training starts in seven months. Join us. Make the committment and we will help you get to the finish line.