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GO THE DISTANCE | News, Sports, Jobs
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GO THE DISTANCE | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo via legendaryrandyericksenfilms: Fort Dodge Senior High graduate Brady Johnson ran in the Black Hills 100 ultramarathon from Sturgis, SD to Silver City and back late last month.

Brady Johnson still remembers the feeling of running his first half marathon nine years ago in Reno, Nevada.

“I crossed the finish line limping,” Johnson said of the 13.1-mile race: “and thought to myself, ‘I could never run a full race.’”

Not long after, Johnson followed the same pattern and ran his first full marathon of 26.2 miles.

“I felt like I had nothing left to offer and that I had reached my maximum.”

There’s a pattern to Johnson’s physical and mental evolution as a distance runner, which ultimately led to him running his first Black Hills 100 race in South Dakota late last month. The first rejection of the idea. The second thoughts. The second gamble. The shrug. Education. A cost-benefit analysis. The strategizing. And finally, going all in.

Submitted photo: Brady Johnson after completing the Black Hills 100 ultramarathon with his father John, his girlfriend Emily Wood and his mother Shari.

The “100” in the title of the Black Hills event? That’s miles away.

“I know it seems crazy,” Johnson admitted with a laugh. “It’s not easy to explain to people. Even when I say it, it sounds completely absurd.”

There’s something about the thrill of the chase that excites the 2009 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate and former part-time Messenger sports reporter.

“I think you mainly learn that you can do much more than you think,” Johnson, 33, said. “We tend to put limitations on ourselves. But once you get over a lot of mental hurdles, you can really surprise yourself and achieve things you didn’t even think were possible.

“You discover a lot about who you are, and it gives you a different perspective and appreciation for life in general.”

Submitted photo: Brady Johnson, a 2009 Fort Dodge Senior High School graduate, completed the Black Hills 100 ultramarathon in late June.

Johnson was the first to tackle distance running for a few years after the Reno Half Marathon, but he took a break and didn’t return to action until 2021.

“That’s when I first discovered ultra running,” said Johnson, who currently lives in Evergreen, Colorado and works as a marketing and communications specialist for the Arvada Fire Protection District in suburban Denver. “I’ve gone into a whole spectrum of books, documentaries, podcasts, articles and race reports.”

Ultramarathons are technically any race over 26.2 miles. However, the most common distances are 50k (31 miles), 50 miles, and 100 miles.

Johnson spent much of 2023 preparing for his first 50-mile event last November. After he finished, his mind—and body—immediately switched to preparing for the 100-mile challenge.

“I trained for seven months,” said Johnson, the son of John and Shari Johnson of Fort Dodge. “Running five or six days a week, a lot of long runs on the weekends, probably 1,000 miles total … making a plan and following it.

“There’s so much to it, both mentally and physically. Your food consumption is crucial, for example; you have to eat about 300 calories per hour (during the race) without getting sick.”

Johnson found inspiration in the stories of others who reached the finish line after their own 100-mile trek.

“I read about people (previously) who thought they had nothing left, but still kept going,” Johnson said: “How do you deal with adversity and emotions when things get really tough? What kind of internal conversations do you have with yourself?

“I was just so fascinated by it.”

Johnson, his parents and his girlfriend of nine years — Emily Wood — arrived in Sturgis for the June 28-29 race. The distance isn’t the only detail that sets the Black Hills 100 apart from traditional marathons; the terrain is anything but typical, too.

“It’s a bit like a roller coaster,” said Johnson, who graduated from the University of Iowa in 2012. “A standard marathon is usually on pavement and fairly flat. An ultra is usually dirt, gravel, mountains, hills, narrow trails… (the Black Hills 100) is all of that, plus over 16,000 feet of elevation gain.”

There are several aid stations for runners along the route. Pace is everything, along with fighting the inner urge to run away.

“You have to deal with so many things,” Johnson said: “You get hungry. You get a stomach ache. Your feet become a problem. I actually did well overall with my mental fortitude and determination, but my feet didn’t hold up well at all.

“I was determined to finish it. When you get to the second day, you start to think about how far you’ve come and you realize that if you don’t make it, you either have to start over (in the future) or never try again.”

The first day went pretty much as planned for Johnson.

“You see other (competitors) and even have conversations with them to kill time,” said Johnson. “I spoke to a guy who had done 25 of these races. He was in his 50s and 60s. You try to keep your mind occupied in whatever way you can.”

Eventually the herd begins to disperse and thin out.

“Fifty-two (racers) finished (the Black Hills 100). About 40 didn’t,” said Johnson. “I’ve read that it’s quite common; usually about 20-50 percent drop out halfway through the race for one reason or another.”

Johnson admitted there were moments in the second half of the race when hesitation and doubt began to take their toll.

“When I got to the last aid station I was exhausted,” said Johnson. “I’m just falling apart. It’s impossible to go all the way without hitting those walls, physically or emotionally.”

Johnson’s support system played a crucial role in the entire process.

“I can’t say enough about my mom, dad and Emily,” Johnson said, “Your crew means everything. They’re there for you when you have nothing left to give. Every time I hit rock bottom, they were there for me. I literally couldn’t have done this without them, and my sister Keelie, who supported me from Chicago.

“For such a seemingly individualistic pursuit, running 100 miles with a team is a team effort. Finishing is a shared success.”

The final bit came when Johnson’s parents and his girlfriend actually saved the day.

“Emily was with me in the middle of the night, helping me walk and keeping me company,” said Johnson, who met Wood — a Maine native — nine years ago while working at the University of Nevada-Reno. “When I got to that last aid station and she was in really bad shape, there she was, dressed and ready to run.

“That was incredible. I really needed that. Seeing her all dressed up and ready to run the last seven or eight miles, I got that last breath of fresh air. And seeing my parents jumping and waving at the finish line… that’s a special memory that I’ll carry with me forever.”

Johnson’s official time — 30 hours and 20 minutes — placed him 26th. He had started at 10 a.m. Saturday and finished at 4:20 p.m. Sunday.

“It was a little slower than my goal, but I did it,” said Johnson.

The recovery of the race “it will definitely take a while,” he added. “Basically two days where I couldn’t get far and felt pretty broken.”

Then he laughed, “Of all the bad ideas I’ve had, this might have been the worst.”

The tables are now turned in the Johnson household. Emily is preparing for her own 100-mile ultramarathon in their home state of Colorado: the Leadville Trail 100 in mid-August.

“We are all on the same journey together,” said Johnson. “We take turns. She supported me; now it’s time for me to be there for her. It’s cool that we get along so well, though. I’m not sure it could be any other way.”

For both Johnson and Wood, the idea for the 100-mile race was planted nearly a year ago, ironically during the 2023 Leadville Trail 100.

“Emily and I were in town (while the race was going on) and didn’t know anything about it,” Johnson said: “Initially, of course, we said, ‘Who would want to do something like that?’

“But then we looked at each other and the wheels started turning. I thought about it the rest of the day, and I know she did too.”

First rejection. Second thoughts. Second guess. Shrug. Education. Cost-benefit analysis. Strategy development.

Everything in.


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