Lunching with Legends

My wife Cindy and I had the opportunity to knock two things off of our mutual Bucket List not long ago when we discovered Neil Young was going to be in concert at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.  Once we found out it was only a couple of days before flights were booked, reservations were made and concert tickets were purchased.  It was our first truly spontaneous vacation in all of the years we’ve been married. 

We stayed in a hotel in Evergreen the first night, about a 15-minute drive from the amphitheater.  Both the concert and the venue were magnificent and well worth the time and money spent.  The day after the concert we had the pleasure of having lunch with two of the more notable people in the world of endurance running: Marshall Ulrich and his lovely wife Heather.  Marshall’s main claim to fame--although trust me when I tell you it’s only the tip of the iceberg—is his double-digit finishes in the Badwater Ultramarathon.  Heather’s name became somewhat of a household word when she rose to prominence as Marshall’s crew chief, support, and go-to person during his 52-day, 3,063-mile run across the United States in 2008 (an adventure chronicled in a book as well as a movie).  Believe me when I tell you the four of us had a lot to talk about.

Marshall spoke about some of his more memorable adventures (for the life of me I don’t know how he was able to pare his extensive athletic resume down to a half-dozen or so) and some of the people in the world of endurance athletics that he admires before seguing into asking me about my running.  (While my experiences in the sport pale in comparison to Marshall’s, I will have you know that we’ve shared many of the same physical as well as psychological ailments over the years.  So we’re much more alike than you might imagine.)  Marshall also mentioned that the wear-and-tear of his run across the country, now almost seven years ago took a much bigger toll on Heather than it did on himself. 

Heather spoke about her experiences ‘being there’ for Marshall through the years in his quest to test his limits.  In fact she gave up a rewarding full time job so she could support her husband’s interests.  She spoke of wanting to be there to support Marshall and that when he was hurting, so was she.  While not actively participating in the event per se, she knew exactly what her husband was going through.  In other words, it was a challenge being in love with a person who willingly subjected themselves on a regular basis to the most demanding physical and psychological challenges just to see what they were capable of.  Cindy mentioned that she completely understood; after all, she married someone with the same mindset as Marshall’s.

We spent almost two hours reliving the past, dreaming of the future and talking about how much Colorado—the Ulrich’s home—had to offer.  Marshall mentioned how they had recently moved from Idaho Springs to Evergreen.  They had been living at 10,000 feet elevation and the extreme altitude was making his running more and more difficult.  (Evergreen was at slightly over 7,000 feet elevation and after my run earlier I couldn’t imagine how difficult running at 10,000 feet would be.  I don’t want to find out, either.)

Our first 24-hours in Colorado were absolutely amazing.  Cindy and I crossed two things off of our Bucket List and we got to spend some time with perhaps the most notable couple in the world of endurance running.  I also wondered how much pain and suffering I’d inflicted on Cindy over our years together as I crossed one thing after another off on my personal Bucket List of Running.  I thought about how much she’d been with me, literally and figuratively every step of the way. 

After lunch we all walked over to Evergreen Lake to take photos of Marshall and I for a forthcoming book I’m authoring and that Marshall is featured in.  Cindy and Heather placed us in several spots for ‘just the right picture.’  I asked for a shot of the four of us but the wives insisted the photo should simply be Marshall and I. 

It was at that moment it dawned on me that I had just eaten lunch with two of the true legends in the sport of long distance running.   

Marshall was pretty special, too.