Sneakers

Man who began running to quit smoking finishes 100-mile race

Picture a map of Massachusetts. Andover is in the northeastern corner of the state, near the New Hampshire border. Pleasant Bay on the Cape is roughly 100 miles away by car.

Picture running there in one day, from Andover.

Crazy to run 100 miles? Impossible?

Not for Andover resident Kevin Sullivan.

He completed the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run on July 19, finishing second in his class.

"I felt a great sense of accomplishment," he said. "It was a long road to get to that point, not just the 100 but all the training and setbacks. In the end, I ran as well as I could have that day and it was a great result, even better than I expected."

For this run, Sullivan's goal was to run the route in 16 hours, 16 minutes. He actually beat his goal time by running 16:15:19.40. According to the Web site, many of the runners finish in about 24 hours.

Sullivan has been running ultra marathons, he said, for the challenge.

Sullivan began running long distances more than 10 years ago. After graduating from law school, he needed to find a way to quit smoking, so he exchanged cigarettes for sneakers. He started out running a mile a day and then two years later ran his first marathon.

But he didn't stop there. He began running longer and longer races.

"I was motivated to push myself," said Sullivan.

The Vermont 100 Mile Endurance run accepts 300 runners. Unlike the Boston Marathon, the route of the race takes runners on dirt roads and hiking trails. Little of it is flat. Sullivan said over the entire course, there was around 1,500 feet of climbing up and down.

To train for something as grueling as running 100 miles, Sullivan did his homework, reading different training manuals. He found that training for this endurance run was much like training for a marathon, which he describes as "tough, but not as tough as some people might think."

He also has 10 marathons, five 50Ks, three 50-milers and a 100K race under his belt.

In the weeks prior to the race, Sullivan logged 80 to 100 miles a week. About 80 percent of the miles he ran in training were on local trails such as through the bird sanctuary at Phillips Academy.

During his training sessions, he usually was out the door before 5 a.m. When he is not training or competing in races, Sullivan works long hours as a corporate attorney and partner at his firm.

There is no time for stop to catch your breath in the Vermont 100-miler; there is a time limit to complete the course. Runners must finish within 30 hours for their time to count. Sullivan said he ran consistently, but he walked through the 29 aid stations along the route. He also said few runners can actually run the entire course without slowing to a walk.

Running 100 miles would be a mental challenge as well as a physical one. Sullivan kept himself focused by playing mental games while running.

"I broke it (the route) down in little pieces," he said.

Nutrition, says Sullivan, is extremely important for running 100 miles. Since he couldn't really stop for lunch or dinner, he literally had to "eat on the run." In addition to water, electrolyte drinks and energy bars, he said that during the race he ate two burritos, a banana, chips, watermelon and a cookie. He also ate pieces of crystallized ginger throughout the race, which he said settled his stomach while he was running.

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posted by Eugen @ 1:27 PM