Dirtbag Inspiration at the San Diego 50 Mile Run

Another 50 mile run done! As the evening light faded away I crossed the finish line of the San Diego 50 to the cheers of a wonderfully supportive crew of volunteers, race staff and fellow runners. I collected my finisher’s medal, posed for some pictures and then greeted some of my fellow finishers; some folks I had leap-frogged with on the course. We exchanged the universal supportive, “Nice job!” The same well heard words of encouragement shouted and muttered throughout the day no matter what the recipient’s actual performance would turn out to be. Whether you’re fast and first, or back of the pack, you gave and received this greeting. It’s one of the aspects I love about ultra-running. We support each other and treat each other with the same respect regardless of ability or placing. We’re all out there doing something that so few people do—and that’s something that deserves encouragement and acknowledgement.

Participation in road races from the 5K to marathon has recently plateaued and declined— but ultra-running events and participation have exploded. And while the average age of an ultra-runner tends to be higher than a road runner, it’s falling. I was in my late 40s when I ran my first 50K fourteen years ago, and many of the runners were around my age. Now I am blown away at how young the field is—many of the participants are in their 20s. And I now in my 60s makes me one of the oldest out there. I was one of only five over 60 year olds out of the 144 finishers in the 2025 San D 50. But I finished with a time of 11.18.41 in the middle of the pack at 79th overall placing me among a lot of 20 and 30 year olds.

My age is what is driving me now to be the best ultra-runner I can be! When I ran my first 50 miler 13 years ago to celebrate my 50th birthday, I had no desire to do another one—never mind something longer. I ran a few 50Ks afterward but didn’t push myself. When I turned 60 during the Covid19 Pandemic and was diagnosed with PMR (an auto-immune disorder) I embraced ultra-running again to combat the effects of taking prednisone (to fight weight gain, combat inflammation and strengthen muscles) and upon accepting that time is moving fast and I need to live my best life—go for new challenges—acquire new achievements—and not let aging slow me down from going for it. I returned to ultra-running super charged—accepting new challenges—like running Mount Hood’s Timberline Trail (twice now), running my first 100K (62 miles for my 62nd birthday) and now training to run my first 100 mile run. It’s now or never!

I had more young runners in this race than in past events tell me how I inspired them. One told me how I helped get him going during a funk—and he ended up finishing strong and before me. But truth is that the inspiration works both ways. I am incredibly inspired to see so many young runners taking on such a daunting distance. I vividly remember years ago when I was in my 30s reading about ultra-runners and thinking they are absolutely insane—there is no way I could ever do that—nor did I have any desire to do so. I was a decent marathoner (ran Boston with a 3.03.19 qualifier) and mid distance runner (1.23 half marathon PR), but those races would beat me up. I couldn’t fathom running 50K, 50 Mile, 100K, 100 miles! Now I can—and I’m in my second act!

Non-running folks often ask me how I can run that distance. I respond back with you would be surprised with what your body can do—but half of doing something of this magnitude is mental. Ultra-runners get it! We train our minds as much as our bodies. We manage the distance by breaking it down and running one mile at a time—living in the moment and feeling totally alive. On the race course, there is no “other.” We are one. Our backgrounds are diverse. Our stories unique. Our reasons why we do this our own. But we’re one on the run and we support each other. I like to look at us as a big brotherhood and sisterhood of dirtbag runners!
And being an over 60 dirtbagger who is reaching new limits, puts me in another category—folks that authors Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenberg call “Roctogenarians,: in their new book, “Roctogenarians: Late in Life Comebacks, Debuts, and Triumphs,” In their book they profile dozens of folks who broke through late in life and didn’t view their last third of life as a time for winding things down. They found that nearly all of these folks possessed the following traits:
- They embrace new possibilities
- They persevere
- They view every ending as a beginning
- They stay in the game
- They believe in their own stories
- They believe in love
- They don’t let fear stop them
They succeed because they’re not afraid to fail! And that’s the truth. I often joke that the worst thing that can happen to me when I finally enter my 100 Mile Race is that I get tired and have to stop! I’m not afraid to line up with all of those younger runs incorporating the traits that Greenberg and Rocca point out give it my best—and reach a new limit—something I could not do in my younger years!
Of course with all of the physical and mental training, proper rest and diet is tantamount to success. And potatoes fit into my game plan as both a pre-race and post-race fuel. I typically get up early for my ultra runs and have a yogurt, fruit and scrambled eggs with peppers, cheese, sausage and potatoes. It’s a perfect blend of carbs, protein and essential nutrients to start my day.

It got me to the start line at 6 am in the dark and cold (it was in the 30s) in the San Pasqual Valley east of Escondido for the SD 50. And it got me over that first big climb up Raptor Ridge and along the San Dieguito Greenway past Lake Hodges and down through Del Dios Gorge.
As the day progressed the temps hit the high 60s and the air quality was good with no smoke from the LA fires. The course was fast in places along near level double track, and tough in other places switchbacking and steeply climbing some ridges. We ascended more than 5,000 vertical feet over the course of 50 miles. The aid stations were well stocked with energy food and liquids—more specifically Tailwind, my preferred energy drink. And the volunteers and support at the stations were superb. Great job to race director Eric Chrisman and Elevation Culture for putting on such a great race. They had it all figured out. And my fellow runners were wonderful. I met so many great folks and it was such a pleasure and an inspiration to run with ya’ll and share a beautiful collective moment of successfully completing a 50 mile run!

Another race I finished tired but not too sore. And another post-race where I glowed proud of my accomplishment and grateful of what I can do. I have my eyes on that 100 Mile Race this July! I have more races lined up as part of my training plan with another 50 miler scheduled for March. Meanwhile in February I will take it easy with a short race—a marathon! Man have I literally come a long way since I started running back in my 20s in the 1980s!

Big Thanks to the Washington State Potato Commission for sponsoring me. I am proud to be a member of Team Potato and to showcase the nutritional value and performance enhancement of potatoes as I attempt to run a marathon or ultra-marathon in all 50 states—and train for my first 100 mile run! I’ve got many miles left to go—and lots of potatoes to consume to power me along the way.