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BY JOHN BURBRIDGE
jburbridge@nwitimes.com
219.933.3371 | Saturday, August 26, 2006 | (No comments posted.)
GRIFFITH | Sometimes you look for sympathy in the wrong places.
When this reporter mentioned his gruelling 1.4-mile trek from Highland to Griffith -- yeah, it was an overcast 72 degrees, but the morning's humidity had to put the heat index in the 80s -- former Marine and current ultramathoner Connie Karras was hardly impressed.
Typical male.
"OK, men are faster. You have to give them that," Karras said. "But women have better endurance. They can take pain more. They tend not to complain as much during the race."
Though the Highland certified trainer is quick with the disclaimer that not all male ultramathoners snivel. There are even a few she has great respect for, and plans to follow their beaten-and-burned-soles footsteps.
Recently, Karras was a member of Team LaDieu at the Badwater Ultramarathon -- a 135-mile trek through Death Valley.
"You could say we're kind of like a NASCAR pit crew," Karras said of the "roadies" who helped Harrisburg, Pa. resident Bill LaDieu complete his second Badwater race -- this one in less than 55 hours.
"About all ultramarathoners need a crew for Badwater," Karras said. "There's only a couple who have done it unassisted."
A crew member's job description is varied.
"We help pace the runner, though we have to run from behind and not abreast," Karras said. "We spray the runner from the front and behind to keep them cool. We make sure their electrolytes are in balance. We even weight them on the course.
"If their body is swelling up and gaining weight, they could be suffering hyponatremia," Karras said of sometimes fatal affliction that occurs when taking in too much water while washing out the body's sodium reserves.
Of course, it doesn't help that they hold Badwater at the height of summer -- July 24-27.
"They wanted to make it as extreme as possible," Karras said. "Then, at this race, you had Mother Nature helping out with a electrical storm the night before. So the usual arid conditions of the desert were now humid."
Now, Karras is forming her own crew to attempt the Badwater next summer. But there are plenty of miles to cover before that.
Karras is set to compete in the Hood-to-Coast 197-mile relay Aug. 25-26 in Oregon; the Badgerland F/X 24-Hour Track Ultra in Sept. 2 in Greendale, Wis. where she hopes to cover at least 105 miles; the Glacial Trail 50-Miler Oct. 8 in Kettle Moraine State Forest, Wis.; the Javelina Jundred 100-Miler Nov. 4-5 in Arizona; and the 72-Hour Track Ultra to close out the year Dec. 29-Jan. 1 in Litchfield, Az.
Two weeks after assisting LaDieu in Death Valley, Karras recently completed the Howl at the Moon F/X 8-Hour Ultra in Danville.
Fellow Calumet Region Striders Betty Funkhouser and Jack Potter, as well as non-member Jim Jarascz, also ran and completed Howl at the Moon.
"We ran it in memory of Jennie Hamilton," Karras said of one of the top long-distance runners in the region who suffered an untimely death earlier this year.
Now 40, Karras took up long-distance running shortly after a collegiate tennis career.
"I'm always looking to go farther," Karras said.
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