This started as a much shorter article, but there are so many great stories to tell I decided to make it a blog. Sorry if it is a little long.
Our 5th Anniversary race was a special one in many ways. We had a record number of runners, ran our first 100 mile event, and our runners raised over $55,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. It was a representative from the SOWF, George Ferkes, speaking at the awards ceremony that got me thinking about what it takes to put on an event like this. He mentioned my immediate family, including my brother who directs the 24hr and 100 mile events, my father who does all the photography and ads for this magazine, and I think all the runners know my mother either in person or from Facebook. But what he didn't mention were the other groups that have become part of the Destin Ultras family. We handed out six 5 year sponsor awards to business leaders who have believed in us from the beginning and supported every step of the way, Tops’l Resort, ResortQuest, Graffiti/Funky Blues Shack, The Back Porch, Pompano Joe’s, and Run With It; they all are part of our family. Each year we have dedicated volunteers return to donate their time- at crazy hours of the morning, day and night to the cause, (I wish I had room to list every single one of them here); they are part of our family. The Walton County Sheriff’s officers have become part of the family and treat our runners as if they were their own brothers and sisters. And, of course, the amazing runners are the largest part of our growing family.
Our 5th Anniversary race was a special one in many ways. We had a record number of runners, ran our first 100 mile event, and our runners raised over $55,000 for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. It was a representative from the SOWF, George Ferkes, speaking at the awards ceremony that got me thinking about what it takes to put on an event like this. He mentioned my immediate family, including my brother who directs the 24hr and 100 mile events, my father who does all the photography and ads for this magazine, and I think all the runners know my mother either in person or from Facebook. But what he didn't mention were the other groups that have become part of the Destin Ultras family. We handed out six 5 year sponsor awards to business leaders who have believed in us from the beginning and supported every step of the way, Tops’l Resort, ResortQuest, Graffiti/Funky Blues Shack, The Back Porch, Pompano Joe’s, and Run With It; they all are part of our family. Each year we have dedicated volunteers return to donate their time- at crazy hours of the morning, day and night to the cause, (I wish I had room to list every single one of them here); they are part of our family. The Walton County Sheriff’s officers have become part of the family and treat our runners as if they were their own brothers and sisters. And, of course, the amazing runners are the largest part of our growing family.
You can look through the results and see the amazing individuals that top each list. Joe and Eileen Czabaranek have been with us since the beginning and seem to be collecting our 105mm awards as Joe won his 5th straight Destin 50 mile this year and Eileen scored her second. Our 50K male winner, Troy Howard, has been making the trek from Colorado to join us for 3 years now. 24hr female winner Jean Hofschulte and her husband John have become fixtures at our races (John even walked me off of Hope Pass after I failed to make the cutoff at the Leadville 100 a few years ago). Female 100 mile winner Christy Johnson joined me on my low carb/high fat eating journey two years ago and has since become an even more amazing athlete. These folks and many, many more sprinkled throughout the entrants have become members of our family and are very important part of our success.
Just as we celebrate our top fundraisers with huge trophies, we annually celebrate those who inspire and welcome them to the family. Scott Schaller is a police and EMS dispatcher from New Jersey. Due to a physical handicap, you probably wouldn't guess he was a runner at all. But he has completed 10 half marathons and one marathon. Now, with his 50K finish, he is an ultra runner and had this to say about the race, “the course absolutely destroyed me, but it was such a pretty course- on an awesome day- and every one of the volunteers and runners were some of the nicest I've encountered.” It was my great pleasure to present Scott the Race Director’s Inspiration Award this year. As most females I know can attest, I’m not the most emotional person ever. But when I saw Scott dragging his unwilling body down the beach to the finish I got goose bumps. A volunteer I had been severely overworking all weekend summed it up, “seeing him finish just made this entire weekend of work worth it.”
Scott knocking out his first ultra.
Patrick Slevin also notched his first run longer than 15 miles this weekend, finishing the 50 mile race only two weeks after completing radiation treatment for aggressive prostate cancer. Do you have a hard time getting motivated to train? Despite the side effects including fatigue, weight gain, hot flashes and no testosterone, he would leave radiation to hit the gym or run to train for this race. He ran to punctuate his hopeful victory over cancer and “convey to others you don’t have to submit to cancer and let it change your life for the worse. You’re still alive and it’s important to live your life despite the crosses we carry.” After losing a friend this winter to her long fight with cancer, Patrick and his run were of great inspiration to me.
Patrick and his guide through the dark.
Then there is Joshua LaJaunie “Louisiana Fat Boy” who weighed 400lbs before he started running. In 2011 he decided he had had enough and heard running was great way to remove body fat. By the time he actually started being able to run he was down to 340lbs and signed up for a 6.2 mile race. Although this race ‘handed my ass to me’, he caught the running bug. Fast forward to 2014- Joshua had completed his first marathon and a couple of friends who were former military talked him into signing up for our race. He trained for Destin by running 4 marathons. The Destin Ultras tested him, “the last leg found me crying, laughing, and talking to myself in both anger and pride.” Patrick was able to carry the thoughts of someone else with him throughout the day, his Bam Bam (grandfather) who served in the Korean War. “The whole event made me feel like more of an American than I ever have in my life. I’m proud of the men and women who make the dream of ‘the land of the free and the home of the brave’ the truth. I will never forget Ratchet 33 and I will never forget my first ultra.”
Photo I stole from Joshua's blog
The more time one spends with the ultra community, the more it becomes apparent that it is one big family. Almost no where else can you find runners that care as much about other’s success as their own and volunteers willing to brave cold, wind, and sleep deprivation to support people they have never met. I’m very proud that the ultra family has taken me in as one of their own and I’m more proud that I have been able to introduce hundreds of new runners to the ultra family and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation family. In the end this race is a little about running and a lot about these families. It will continue to be that way as long as I am around and surrounded by all the rest of my Destin Ultras family.
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