ARTS&SCIENCE 90---ULTRAMARATHON RUNNING---FALL 1996

Professor Don Davis

SOME MAJOR ASPECTS OF THE COURSE:

1. In the early part of the course, groups of 3 will read a book and report on it to the class. You will purchase the book from me (at my cost).
   • Running the TransAmerica Footrace; about the 1992 race across the US---$13.
   • Soul, Sweat, and Survival on the Pacific Crest Trail; about spending three summers doing a solo run on a trail across the western US---$13.
   • Beyond the Marathon; about completing the four major 100-mile trail races in the same summer---$12
   • Corbitt; about Ted Corbitt, who during the 1950s and 1960s initiated modern ultramarathon racing to the US---$11
   • And then the Vulture Eats You; eight excellent articles about various sorts of ultramarathon runs---$11
   • Adventure Athletes: Runners and Walkers; articles about eight people, including marathoners Frank Shorter and Joan Benoit Samuelson plus six ultramarathoners; also training tips---$12
   • Meditations from the Breakdown Lane; about a solo run across the US. This book is out of print, so you can have a Xerox copy for $2.
2. Do some running and keep a journal. Tell as much as you wish about each run (where you went, with whom, how you felt, how long, etc.). I will read your journals several times during the semester.
3. Participate in at least one of the ultramarathon listserves (e-mail discussion groups). This will allow you to see what ultramarathoners talk about, and to seek information, if you wish. I would hope that this would be a topic of class conversation, which is one component of your grade, and I will ask you to write a short paper near the end of the semester on your experience with this and other sources of ultrarunning information on the internet. For example, Ultramarathon World at http://fox.nstn.ca/~dblaikie has a wealth of old and new news about the sport.
4. I have all the issues of UltraRunning Magazine since 1989, 10 per year. I will distribute 3 or 4 to each of you, and ask you to report to the class on things that you found interesting in them. These must be returned to me after you read them.
5. Observe an ultramarathon race and write a short paper about your experience. There will be several opportunities to do this. Transportation may be a problem, which we will have to work out. Here are some races which take place this fall.
   • Sat. Aug 31. NYRRC 100km and 50km, Brooklyn. I plan to run the 50km race. I hope a few students will come with me.
   • Sat. Aug 31. Groundhog Classic. 50 mile trail race in Punxsutawney, PA.
   • Sat. Sept 14. National championship race for 24 hours. Toledo, Ohio. (1.2 mile loop, site of my kidney failure in 1994.)
   • Sept. 8-25. 700, 1000, and 1300 mile races in a park in NYC. I think this would be an interesting event to attend. Daily results will be posted on the internet.
   • Sept. 21. 40-mile race around Lake Canandaigua, NY.
   • Sept. 29. Queens (NYC) Ultra Endurance Street Tour. 50km
   • Oct. 12. Andiamo W \& OD 45 miler. Purcellville, Va.
   • Oct. 19. National championship race for 100 km in Minnesota.
   • Oct. 20. Westchester 40 mile road race in Westchester County, NY. This is the most likely other race for me to run this fall.
   • Nov. 23. JFK 50-mile trail race in Maryland. The oldest and largest ultra in the country.
   • Nov 30. NJ Ultraruns. 50 mi/60 km/50 km. Saddlebrook, NJ.
   • Dec 14. National championship for 50 miles in Huntsville, Texas, on a gentle trail.
6. Speakers. You will be asked to write a short paper about any one of our speakers. Those lined up so far are:
   • Mike Strzelecki--a 1985 Lehigh grad who has run more than 60 ultramarathon races in the past 4 years. (Sept 5)
   • Neil Weygandt--has run numerous six-day races, and won some of them. Will be speaking four days after competing in nat'l championship 24 hour race. (Sept 19)
   • Bart Yasso--works for Runners World. Ran the Badwater 146 mile race (Death Valley to Mt. Whitney) and a Himalayan stage race. (Oct 1)
   • Barry Lewis--wrote the book about the 1992 TransAmerica footrace. Has also done well in a number of trail races (up to 100 miles) in the eastern US.
   • Jeff Hinte--has run all the major 100 mile trail races, and won Old Dominion this year.
   • Ellen McCurtin--among top three women in US during 3 of the past 4 years. 31st in world championship 100km race in 1995.
7. The text, The Lore of Running, will be used mainly as a source. It will be helpful for some of the research papers. Certain sections of it will be assigned to be read for class discussion.
8. Research paper. You can work in groups of two or three, and should produce both a written and oral report. Some possible topics are listed below. These will be introduced in class prior to the selection of research topics. You are certainly welcome to write on topics other than these.
   • The Tarahumara Indians (Mexican tribe whose whole culture is focused around super long-distance running).
   • Ultrarunning in the US in the latter part of the 19th century.
   • Arthur Newton (the best ultramarathoner in the world in the 1930s and 1940s. He was South African and British, and wrote several books.)
   • The Bunion Derbies. (Transamerican footraces in 1928-9)
   • Ultrarunning Buddhist monks, both in Japan and Tibet. The book Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei describes the former, while several books refer to the lung-gompa runners of Tibet.
   • Women ultramarathoners, especially Ann Trason.
   • The Comrades Marathon.
   • Medical aspects of ultramarathoning; e.g. kidney failure and ibuprofen use.
   • Yiannis Kouros. World record holder at distances from 24 hours to 1000 miles. This would be a tough topic unless you can find a source of information that I don't know about.
   • Western States and Leadville 100 mile trail races.
   • The TransAmerica races of 1992-5.

Here is a list of students in the class.

• Arthur Beauregard, arb7
• Alexis Bevington, anb5
• David Biddle, dbb3
• James Clewley, jacf
• Keri Cohn, kac2
• Kelly Collins, kac5
• Andrea Cutaio, alc9
• Sacha Dumont, srd4
• Russell Goss, rtg2
• Steven Gourley, stg3
• Jennifer Lasasso, jtl4
• Stephanie Nelson, san2
• Michael Rossen, mir4
• Holly Schmid, has4
• Amy Walts, alw3
• Nicole Weidenhammer, ncw2
• Leigh Wickham, lpw3
• Sarah Willett, skw3