He is the new kid on the 6 day block, but you would never know it. He is moving easily here around the course on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon without any signs of wear and tear. It is really hard to believe, as he runs so effortlessly now, that he has been at this for more than 24 hours. As a new guy it would be easy to dismiss his speed during this still early times as reckless, but 45 year old Alex Swenson from Vashon Washington has tremendous experience in distance running and seems to have trained and planned to perfection for this race.
He has come a long way from the west coast to be here but Alex says, “there aren’t many 6 day races. That’s why I came.” He has done around a dozen 24 hour races and was eager to take on a new challenge. As we pass the board he is currently in the lead with 124 miles. He tells me that with a few laps more he will be entering into new territory in the mileage world. His personal best over 24 hours is 146 miles.
He says that he has not done anything in particular to train for this race but admits, “I have always trained pretty hard. I can’t see training any harder.” His belief is that the 6 day race will not be so much a challenge physically but rather one that mentally he will find new terrain to conquer.
“I think the most important thing I did on the advice of others is have a concrete plan how to go about running, as to, running until you feel tired. I have been running 5 hour blocks with a specific running and walking strategy. It’s been going really great.”
He has spent the last 5-6 years focusing on 24 hour races and he feels now that to make the move to 6 day running is a natural progression. His feeling was that it was important to make the big jump to 6 days rather than try 2 or 3 days. He says, “if it was rough I was afraid I might not have the guts to go up.”
As for his experience here so far he says, “the race is supremely well organized. It has this great feeling of support, and I am terribly impressed. And I think as I start to feel worse I am going be even more impressed by that support that is being offered in so many ways.”
His strategy at this point. “Sticking to my plan. The plan that I have in place and just having the courage to stick to it and ignore what other people are doing.”
There are times when you just know that something special is happening. The Self-Transcendence 6 and 10 day race is just a few hours old and already 36 year old Igor Mudryk from Vinnitsa Ukraine seems to be doing something above and beyond everyone else in the field. The bow has been barely untied from this years running and yet, in just the few hours I was there, I felt I was witnessing from him, the early stages of a remarkable performance.
Last year he ran 712 miles which was a huge increase over his previous best, something in the order of 179 miles more. Today the weather Gods are smiling on Flushing Meadow and perhaps the whole east coast of America. The temperature is balmy and the winds are mild so at this point in the race everyone looks great. There are no great struggles going on and the jabs of pain and the shackles of groaning fatigue have yet to be felt by anyone. Unless perhaps it is the crew who have worked here for close to 5 days to make sure that all the bits of the great jig saw puzzle were neatly in place.
The skies are fresh, bright, and clear over Flushing Meadow today. Below, by the rippling waters of Meadow Lake, the walkers and the gawkers are out and about enjoying an usually early spring. One in which the flowers have emerged much ahead of schedule. It seems that almost overnight that the dull veil of winter has been swiftly eclipsed by the usual bright carnival of nature,which is so typical of an often spectacular New York Spring.
It is not just that the colors of nature are so vibrant here and there around the lake. There is also an exotic blend of rhythms, smells, and sounds permeating the whole expanse of the park.
