My New Book: 138,336 Feet to Pure Bliss

It is with unbridled pleasure that I can announce today that my second book will be available nationwide on Amazon.com starting May 30th, one day before my birthday. The book is entitled

138,336 Feet to Pure Bliss - 

What I Learned about Life, Women (and Running) in My 1st 100 Marathons

Now, what is exactly 138,336 feet long?  Simple – a marathon. (Actually, a marathon, 26.22 miles is 138,435 feet.  The title referring to the more commonly known 26.2 miles, is an homage to how the marathon distance has changed so many times in its history.) What is the book about? 381 pages. (Ha!) But, let's turn over to the back cover for a more detailed answer (which everyone in the world does anyway.)

In 138,336 Feet to Pure Bliss, Dane chronicles his first 100 marathons and details some of the premier races in marathon history, all while sharing knowledge he gained about life, women and running.  Along the way, he charts the highs and lows, the successes and failures in a voice that blends wisdom, humor, and heart.

All told, Dane shows how pure bliss is discovered one stride at a time.

If you want to know more, then read the advance praise I received from some of the biggest names in running. It is a great honor and privilege to have each of them say what they have about my book.

*Dane writes with power and purposes, just like he runs. His passion and conviction are apparent in every footstep he takes and in every page he pens.
 Dean Karnazes, Ultramarathon Man

*Most runners, and writers, would think this had been enough—racing a marathon every weekend in one calendar year and then publishing a book about it. They would have settled back into smaller challenges. Not Dane Rauschenberg. His list of adventures has grown longer, and his stories about them have grown richer. Pure Bliss stamps Dane even more firmly as one of the hottest young talents in running writing. 
Joe Henderson, Longtime Running Commentator

*The more you do, the more you CAN do.  Dane is living proof. Go for it!
Kathrine Switzer, Running Advocate & First Woman to Enter the Boston Marathon

*Dane offers the passionate runner and even the occasional jogger inspiring stories of life and running, seen from every angle of the running world. One can easily tell the depth which Dane cares about the sport and wants to share all the knowledge he has learned with the reader. This book is a page-turner! 
Wayne Kurtz, Author, Beyond the Iron

*Some nice guys do weird things! Dane shares his running adventures with a mix of warm enthusiasm, sane advice, and comical humor.
Roger Robinson, Running Author & Senior Writer, Running Times

For those who cannot wait until May 30th, and wish to get their own personalized and signed copy, just contact me at danerunsalot@yahoo.com and one of the advance copies I will be receiving in just a few weeks will be yours!

Here’s to your Pure Bliss!

 

 

Changing Gears

Ever since May of 2009, when I last sent my marathon PR, my running has been on a different track. I knew, even then, I would be attempting a solo running of the 202 mile American Odyssey Relay a year later.  While the rest of the year played out with engagements and races already planned (including one last shot at a new marathon PR that was not disastrous but not great) I knew my running was going in a different direction. I would be taking on events which would challenge me like no other in my life. but they wouldn't involve speed.

In the book Death Valley 300, author Rich Benyo talks about becoming the first two people to attempt to run the Badwater 150 mile course (which includes the regular 135 mile course and then the ascent to Mt. Whitney) to and from Badwater. In it he talks about the training for this would hit his ego as he knew he would be sacrificing speed for endurance.  I know exactly what he was talking about. After finishing the 202 miler, I had already began the first steps of planning for the 350 mile run of the coast of Oregon. I "recovered" from the 202 and spent most of the first half 2011 simply trying to regain speed which never came back. I should have known with what i had on tap it wasn't going to happen. I threw in a half-hearted marathon PR attempt with high hopes here and there but nothing panned out.  In the back of my mind all that loomed was the 350 miler.

Now that 350 is completed and I am changing gears a bit. I want to run fast again, at least what “fast” is to me. I also wish to really try to get into triathlon.  I dabbled in it a little bit last year with moderate success.  My first ever Olympic Distance tri netted me a slot at the national championship race. Not too shabby.  However, my traveling last year (41 weekends on the road) made it very difficult to get cycling training in necessary to be competitive in triathlons. Everyone I know seems to loathe the swim when in reality it is such a small darn part of the triathlon it almost doesn’t exist. Only in Olympic distances does it even remotely comprise a percentage of effort overall to be worried about. No, it is about the bike.

I am still traveling quite a bit but I have scaled back my airline miles this year. With a move of locations coming up, there will also be less time than desirable to dive headfirst into tris.  But that’s OK.  You see I plan on making them more and more of a focus of my overall training for the next few years. I have shown what I can do in the running world. I will never be a “fast” marathoner. But I can do some rather challenging running feats. Now I want to see what I can do in the triathlon world. Honestly, I wish aquathlons (swim-run events) were more prevalent, because if I could ditch the bike entirely I would be a happy camper.  However, they are few and far between and the ones I have seen have an odd propensity to couple a mile long swim with just a 5k. How that isn’t at least 1 5k to make I a true test of endurance at both events is beyond me.  But I digress.

So while I will obviously still be running quite a bit, the current trajectory is to go to the shorter distance races (marathon on down) and get my butt in the saddle and into the pool. I am looking forward to the change of pace and change of athletic muscle usage. With two different 70.3s on the horizon (Boise and Vikingman) I am hoping to make a few people worried when they see my name in the registration list.

We will see how it all plays out.

Do Nothing Foolish

Saturday morning for me in Salt Lake City.  It's partly cloudy and 42 degrees. There is next to no humidity. This is one of those days where if you were to be running a marathon, and are trained well, you are probably going to set a huge PR.

Across the country in Boston, while tens of thousands of runners are getting ready to run in the most famous footrace in the world, the exact opposite is brewing. Projected highs in the mid-80s are being coupled with bright sunshine for Monday morning. For a race starting at 10 AM (mercifully moved from noon a few years ago) that means virtually everyone will be still running when the apex of the temperature and heat and humidity will be blasting down from above. Let me sum up the thought process of probably 99.9% of those runners for you: "Craptastic."

I despise racing in the heat.  Heck, I despise racing in 60 degree weather. As my years of racing have gotten a little greater, I have gotten better at racing in the heat. Please note the use of the comparative adjective. "Better" does not mean "good".  It also does not mean that I have conditioned my body to running in warm weather.  In fact, I might have made myself 10% better at it during this time. But what I have done is become a smarter runner. I now know that if it is hot, I am simply not going to be running what I want to run. I can shoot for a sub-3 hour marathon, crash from the heat and struggle across in 3:45 or decide that sub-3 is not going to happen and run a conservative 3:10 and look like I went out for a jog.  That's the difference: the mindset.

I am hoping those running on Monday have that mindset.  If the current weather forecast stays the same, use your head. If you forget to use your head and you find yourself in some dire straights, there is nothing wrong with a DNF. "DNF" usually means "Did Not Finish".  It is dreaded by many.  It is deemed to be the utmost of horrible things. However, to me, "DNF" sometimes means "Do Nothing Foolish".

My first Boston Marathon was in 2005 in conditions that were very similar to what will happen Monday.  I half-listened to myself. Not nearly as wise as I am now (it was, after all, just my 8th marathon) I went out too hard in the heat. However, when I realized it was not going to be a good day at all, I slowed the pace. I walked. I rested. At the time my PR was a 3:07. I did a 3:24 at Boston.  It stung not to do my best time but to only be 17 minutes off, mixing in walking breaks in the sauna-like conditions, was something I was very happy with.

Boston is wonderful.  It is historic. It means so much to so many people.  But it is just a race, people. Remember that.  If you find yourself needing to stop, do it. Your long-term health and long-term running career depend on you being able to use your head when you body is not working. I absolutely promise you that there will be another race down the line.

Let's have you around to finish it, OK?

Luckie's 5k recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 7; 4th Edition 
130 miles raced in 2012
Race: Luckie's 5k
Place: Atlanta, GA
Miles from home: 1871 miles
Weather: 60s, sunny, muggy

In the week following my 100 mile finish at Graveyard, I barely ran.  I did one short little 2-miler and then another softly trotted 5 miler with the club members of the Salt Lake City Track club. I then boarded a plane to Atlanta to take part in the festivities of the Georgia Marathon weekend for the third straight year. I had zero intention of taking part in any of the races for the weekend. At a reception after the first day of the expo for those involved with putting the race together, the idea was jokingly proposed that I "Beat the Bear" in the 5k the next morning.  

What does that mean, you might ask? Well, Karhu, the shoe company which sponsored, the race has a mascot of a bear. In the 5K race, a local fast runner is given quite the unenviable task of running the 5k dressed in a sweat-inducing bear suit and gigantic bear head. If you are skilled enough to beat him, you win a pair of Karhu shoes. Hence, the joke that I should Beat the Bear.

Well, then the joke became more of a reality, in spite of my persistence that I was in fact quite sore from running 100 miles in 21 hours five days previously. “But the guy wears a bear suit!” was the reply. Soon, like a teen at a party I succumbed to the peer pressure and found myself with a bib number for the Luckie’s 5K the next morning.

Race Morning:

I stood on the starting line of the race, in relatively warm temperatures, happy as heck I was just running 3.1 miles.  Then I realized that barring a 5k at the end of a sprint triathlon last year, the last time I ran a 5k in a race alone was over three years ago. I don’t run 5ks for many reasons - two of those being they hurt like heck and I am not too good at them. What the heck was I doing running this one?

I literally had no idea what to expect out of my legs.  Was this going to take me 19 minutes or was it going to take me 25 minutes?  Could I even get my legs moving fast enough to be in contention for beating that damn bear? Or would this particularly hilly 5k course tear me to shreds? The next 3.1 miles would give me my answer.

Mile 1:

Right out of the block I had to remind myself this was a fast race.  Even when I hadn’t run an ultra a week prior, it was hard for me to remind my legs that it was OK to hurt this bad as the pain would be over shortly. After the first tiny uphill, we were presented with a nice sloping downhill and I felt pretty darn good. Surprisingly good. But when that  downhill ended, so did the good feeling. The second we started our first real climb my entire body made the sound the Millennium Falcon did when Chewbacca did not properly fix the hyper drive.

The Bear ran right passed me.

Mile 2:

Fortunately, after falling downwind of the Bear, the course straightened just a touch with another downhill to boot. My legs resisted any attempt to go full force down the hill but at least I was able to pass the Bear again. Meanwhile, way up ahead, a tiny little boy of 15, Jaison was crushing the course.  Only on the longest of straightaways could I even see his skinny little frame, cruising down the street. But then another hill would get in the way and I would lose sight of him.  How can there be so many hills in three miles?!

Mile 3:

With just one measly mile to go I was doing everything I could to hold on.  My pipe dream for this 5k was to break 19 minutes and after the first two miles I somehow, against any logic, had a chance. It all depended on how much I faded and on how bad the remaining hills were. Well, evidently I faded too much and the hills were too bad because my last mile went by way too slow. It did feel like the course might have run a little long and in a marathon that doesn’t mean all that much.  But in 5k when you are hanging on for dear life it makes all the difference in the world.

Even after one runner sprinted passed me I think mistakenly thinking the race was over where it wasn’t and then promptly fell behind me again, I continued on my pace. Crossing the finish line in a time of 19:27, good enough for 8^th overall, only one thing mattered.

The Bear was behind me.

I can tell you for sure I do not wish to ever be that Bear.  I met the runner underneath, a 2:31 Marathoner, and when he took the suit off after just 3 miles of running, he looked like he was fresh from the ocean. Fantastic work, Bill! Also kudos to young Jaison who finished fourth overall.

While this concluded my racing activities for the weekend, it did not conclude the fun. I got to spend the remainder of the day at the Georgia expo, being inspired by runners and hopefully inspiring a few along the way. I had more than a handful of friends competing in the marathon and half-marathon. A particularly and uncharacteristically warm and sticky March day in Atlanta had many pushing their own boundaries.  Some more than surprised themselves with their efforts and left me in awe.  I would have melted in this type of weather and many of them stepped up their game.

During my speech, I had been asked if I thought my goal for the 100 miler the week before had been to high.  I said if I try to reach something I know I can reach it isn’t a goal but an inevitability. Goals are meant to be hard to attain, otherwise there is no point in having them.

I think many on this day felt the same way.

The Bangla-Dash

Being in the position I am, I run across more people than you can imagine who are taking on challenges, raising money for some reputable charity or pushing their limits. I wish I could just do a download of all of them onto my website and say "Check this out and this out and this out!"  Unfortunately, if I did (or even had the time to do so) my page would be nothing but links. However, once in a while something clicks which I have to share.

As you are aware, I am running 350 miles in 7 days on the Oregon Coast. The other day i received this email:

"Dear Dane,

My name is Chris Hesse, you probably don't remember me.  I first met you when we shook hands as I stumbled across the finish line of the Drake Well Marathon in 09.  (The hills, humidity and heat held me back that day!)  Our paths crossed once again in San Francisco for the SF marathon.  We chatted briefly at the expo and you blew by me at around mile 22!  (I think you were wearing a skirt?!)  [Dane note: We was right. I was wearing a Running Skirt to support my friends at runningskirts.com. Or so I claim.]

Anyhow, I am teaming up with an Aussie and we are running from Kolkata, India to Dhaka, Bangladesh.  It's around 180 miles and we plan to do it in four days.  It's not the running, but the cause that we are running for that is the big thing.  We are trying to build and support at least two schools in both Dhaka and rural Bangladesh.  If you could see what life is like here you would be blown away.

The story is pretty interesting, our training/runs are insane and it's all for a good cause.  Anyhow, if you have time, check out our website  for more information."

Well, I did and I think you should too.  Given the similarity of what we are doing in terms of miles and hoping to help the youth of this world, I felt it was kismet Chris wrote to me.  As such, I wanted to share this story so you can see it and read more about it.

Chris and his running friend are indeed doing what they can to make a positive change in the world.  I hope you do so as well.

Graveyard 100 Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 7; 3rd Edition 
126.9 miles raced in 2012
Race: Graveyard 100
Place: Outer Banks, NC
Miles from home: 2313 miles
Weather: 40s, sunny, windy


It's been quite some time since I felt that good to be done with a race.

Ideally, I would like about a week to sit back and take in the experience that was the Graveyard 100. Soak in the gentle nuances of the race. Mix stories with my one-person best friend crew, Alli. Swap tales with the other runners. But I know I have to get this recap out of the way and begin preparing for what is my biggest challenge of 2012 - running 350 miles up the coast of Oregon in 7 days. That said, nothing will take away how wonderful this past weekend was to me.

As I mentioned in my previous blog, this was my third attempt at completing the 100 mile distance. No pressure anyone can put on you can compete with the pressure you put on yourself and I was pressuring myself a great deal. At the pre-race briefing when the Race Director asked for projected finish times and got to the “16 hours? 17 hours?” portion, I raised my hand. I was hoping to sneak in right under 17 hours if things went right.  Perhaps it was too lofty of a goal but if one sets easily reachable goals, what is the point? I have no desire to go through my entire life as just a finisher. One can sit all day on a couch, die of a heart attack and still be a finisher.

As the briefing wrapped up and we left the Kitty Hawk Pier House most thoughts were on the weather.  This race would run, for all intents and purposes, due south, completely open to whatever the weather may have in store for us. The usual concerns about the actual distance were a distant second in many minds. Forecasts called for a prevailing tailwind and mostly sunny skies but until you are actually running, never trust a single forecast.

Race Morning:

A 5 . race start is bad enough for a night owl like myself.  But when you must be assembled no later than 4:30 a.m to be shuttled to the start, it is worse. Couple that with staying about 40 minutes away in a hotel and having one of the most fitful nights of sleep ever and it is horrific. I did my absolute best to try and go to bed early, actually falling asleep shortly at 9 PM. But one hour later I was up and tossing and turning until around 1:30 a.m.  When my alarm went off at 2:45 a.m. I was quite tired.  However, as I loaded everything into the car, I felt surprisingly chipper. I guess I was simply ready to get this bad boy underway.

Standing at the starting line with about 80 other people, our feet were literally in the sand. The race starts where the road begins in Corolla and ends when you run out of islands 100 miles later.  Here, with the ocean crashing not 50 yards away, and a swirling cold wind nipping at our backs, we waited for the starting gun (figuratively, of course.) Some runners, like the gentleman I met named Mike Smith, would be completing their 55^th 100 miler.  Some would be attempting their first. But everyone in between would be different by the end of the day.

First 20 miles: 3 Hours

This first section comprised the most diverse section of running for the whole day. From the pitch-black windiness of the beach to the beautiful sunrise to the varying lush neighborhoods of tourist trap Duck, North Carolina, at no point in the rest of the race would so much change happen so quickly.

I started off with a warmer jacket to brace against the wind but within a mile or so knew I would not need it any longer. As with all longer distance races, one has “plans” but they should simply be called “guidelines.”  I knew there would be water available every 6 miles or so and food every 20 miles or so. My one person crew, Alli (I was supposed to have two people but unfortunately some last minute circumstances with another crew member’s family meant some changes – luckily all is well now) was going to have her hands full. I had ridiculously overpacked supplies of PowerBar products, Beef Jerky, clothing and everything else because the last thing I wanted was to be wanting for something I did not have. My preparation helped not only me but other runners as well.

During these first 20 miles, I found myself in roughly 5^th place or so for the vast majority of the time. Two runners took off like a shot and I let them disappear into the night. Let them run their own race. A few miles in a woman passed me and we shared a few pleasantries. Her name was Brenda and I would see her on and off for the next few miles. I made a wardrobe change with Alli, which took a little bit longer than I would have liked.  But I was only 8 miles in and I was already sweating profusely.

In addition, I was ahead of my goal pace for the race so I knew I needed to take a break. I had been carrying two handheld water bottles but decided I no longer wanted to do that and switched to my backpack. This would be the first of many changes throughout the day as I went with the whims of my own mind and desires and simply tried to do what made me most happy.  

As I approached the first aid station around mile 20, I thought about what I had been doing with my hydration and fueling. Everything felt just fine. I stopped briefly and ate a PB&J sandwich. Well, half of one. OK, half of half of one. I just wasn’t hungry. But Alli noticed my shirt was drenched and I needed to change it.  Here at 8 a.m., while it was hardly a hot day (temperature in the low 40s at this point) I was already a sweaty mess.

I refueled my pack, changed shirts and set off on the heels of a few runners who jetted out in front of me. 

Graveyard 100 Approaches

I have run 202 miles without stopping.  However, I have never successfully completed a 100 mile race.

50 miles in at Umstead and feeling the heat.

Two attempts at the 100 mile distance have left me short.  In 2007, I attempted the Old Dominion 100 miler in Virginia. Ridiculous heat and humidity had me slogging along in second place until mile 75. Here I sat and watched at the aid station as two people came in looking like spring chickens (I had no idea how in the 90 degree heat and 100% humidity).  One left before me and the other after me.  In the next twelve miles as my energy ebbed and finally was completely sucked out me I had a decision to make.  I hit the 87 mile aid station and while the remaining 13 miles were on road I threw in the towel. 

I could have easily walked those 13 miles and have been well under the time needed to get a belt buckle for the event. Yet the exhaustion from the day and the fact I was going to China in twelve days to run a marathon as the guest of a shoe company named Li Ning made me decide that I needed to live to run another day.  Did it sting? Absolutely.  But this day I know I made the right decision. Ironically, the run in China was marked by food poisoning but one cannot plan for those type of things and I had a blast nonetheless.

Sweet victory.

When my life changed in late 2007, I moved across the country and soon began planning for my solo running of the American Odyssey Relay. I did not really know how one would go about running 202 miles straight but I figured a 50 mile race and a 100 mile race would be one good way. I signed up for the Rocky Raccoon 50 miler but got a horrible flu just a few days before the race.  I still went to the race thinking I could power through it but two loops went by and I was done.  I had only my second DNF ever. I went back to my hotel room and determined to find a 50 miler next week, signed up for the Ironhorse 50 in Tallahassee. One could say I recovered well as I ran, won and set the course record.  That was some sweet redemption.

One More Mile Paternship

Very excited today to announce that the manufacturer of funny, inspirational and very comfortable apparel, One More Mile, is partnering with me to take some of the sayings I have used to motivate and hopefully titillate runners and put them on their clothing!

I have been working with One More mile since last year to put together some slogans which would not only tickle the funny bone of runners and spectators but also hopefully motivate them as well. With sayings like "It's not Sweat; It's Liquid Awesome" and "I have to Keep Going.  I Parked at the Finish" we are hoping to add a little whimsical nature to apparel being worn by runners across the nation.

You can find One More Mile shirts at expos across the nation or simply go to their website and order online!

Prepping my Active at Altitude Camp

This past weekend I spent a glorious time in Estes Park, CO with Terry Chilpin, the owner of Active at Altitude camps.  As I mentioned in a posting in December, Terry and I are teaming together on a number of ventures this upcoming year and the first will be a camp in May in Estes Park.  With the camper list already half full, we felt it was time for me to get out to Estes Park and check out what we will be ding first-hand.  There is only so much a phone call and email can convey after all.

Lake Estes

I had last been in Estes Park over 5.5 years ago running the Estes Park Marathon as one of my 52 for the year.  Little had changed and all the beauty of this town remained. Terry and I spent the better part of the day checking out the trails which were runnable and scoping out where exactly our camper would be running. I immediately remembered Lake Estes and how just a few short steps away from the finish of the marathon I was grateful to be surrounded by such a glorious spectacle.

Boulder Reservoir

On Saturday we spent some time in Boulder on what turned out to be a day about 20 degrees warmer than we expected it to be.  Running around the Boulder Reservoir, I was reminding of running a marathon here in 2009 and how I had come across Naoko Takahasi- the first female marathoner to even break 2:20.  As we headed back to Estes Park, we saw none other than Scott Jurek and his friend Walt on what was probably some random 50 miler they decided to do that day.  after a small chat, We were back to Terry's lodging to hash out even more details.

Lily Lake

With Anita Ortiz already joining us to be a guest speaker, it was wonderful to confirm that Melody Fairchild would also be joining us as well.  both women would be on-hand to give their own rendition of what it is like to Refuse to Settle - the them of the camp. Those attending the camp are in for a real treat as both of these women have faced some amazing obstacles on their way to pushing themselves past their limits.   Having them at the camp will only go to sow what we all can do with out own talents, regardless of what they might be.

Outdoor Retailer Recap

This may be a little stale of a recap as the Outdoor Retailer shoe was a month ago but I have been itching to write an account of some of the products I encountered there.  Plus, as time has passed since i received the products I did at the show I have been able to give them more than a peripheral run-through.  as such, I am able to give a bit more of feedback than usual and be more accurate.  So, yeah, I planned this perfectly, thank you very much.

I was at the show as a guest of my sunglasses sponsor, Julbo. I rarely got to speak with my host because their booth was so swamped. At one point, there was quite a line to talk with and get pictures signed with Glen Plake, the very recognizable skier know for not only his talent but his outrageous hair. Nevertheless, it was an honor to be there with such an innovative and forward-thinking company and I cannot wait to see where we go together.

While some of my show-going was cut short because of unforeseebale events, I was able to get around to many of the booths and see the up and coming products of well-known brands.  What I have enjoyed the most at these shows are the smaller companies who are just trying to edge their way into the business or may not have the big market share of other companies.  The following are four of those companies from four distinctly different areas of product.