Brad Mitchell’s life completely changed on June 13, 2002. That’s the day he attended his first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. In the six years since, Mitchell has become one of the best ultra marathoners in the U.S.
Mitchell, 38, a WoodRiverValley resident for 15 years, sums up the transformation on the user profile of his blog, a personal writing and communication project he started just this past February to describe his running and training experiences.
By the way, the blog’s name is addicted2running.blogspot.com.
He wrote, “The short story: First AA meeting June 13, 2002. That day changed my life. It was then that running became my outlet. Shortly after that, racing became my ‘rush.” But it’s not always about the rush, it’s about the journey to get to that point, the people we meet and the wild places we get to go.”
And Mitchell has experienced quite a journey in 2008. Not only did he conquer two 50-kilometer (31-mile) trail runs in March to prepare for the 112th running of the Boston Marathon, he finished 174th overall of 21,948 runners in April’s granddaddy of marathons in Boston.
Eight days after Boston, Mitchell had hernia surgery, which caused about a six-week break in his usual rigorous training schedule. Still building his base after serious surgery, he then had an extraordinary stretch of three races in less than a month, from July through August.
He was third overall in the 16.5-mile Elephant’s Perch Backcountry Run July 19, finishing behind only a couple of young U.S. Nordic Ski team hopefuls, Mike Sinnott and Taylor Sundali. On July 26, he again finished very respectably in the USA “White River” 50-Mile Trail Championships at Crystal Mountain, Wash.
And, on Aug. 16, his season peaked when Mitchell placed sixth among USA Track and Field (USATF) entrants in the Where's Waldo? 100-kilometer (62-mile) ultra marathon that doubled as the 2008 USA 100k Trail Championships at Willamette Pass, Ore.
Foot problems during the Grand Teton 50-miler Aug. 30 limited Mitchell to 25 miles and ended his season, so he could heal properly.
“As I reflect back on this year of training and racing I can honestly say that even with having surgery in the middle of it all and thinking my 2008 was finished at the end of April, I still managed to have a pretty good season,” he wrote on his blog.
He added, “I was able to get into some wild and remote places with good friends and training partners, race some fun races with acceptable finish times and, again, have moments of self discovery that will probably never be forgotten.”
Not only is Hailey resident Mitchell proud of coming to terms with his drinking problem and finding a big outlet in running, he is proud to be the husband of Kelly Mitchell, a retail director and buyer for Sun Valley Company, and the father of 10-year-old Macy Mitchell, a Hemingway Elementary student.
But one of the most remarkable things about his running progress and development into an ultra marathoner since 2002 is the fact that Mitchell is a lunch-pail worker. Since 1997, he has worked for the street department of the city of Sun Valley.
Mitchell said, “I’m a working guy and a family man, but I can still compete with those who aren’t.
“Being a full-time employee and having a family puts a whole different twist into it, because there are certainly runners in the ultra scene, well, that’s all they do. We make a lot of sacrifices, myself and those in my training group. We run every day. But that’s what we like to do.”
He’s hopeful of stepping up the distances in 2009, possibly competing in his first 100-mile races. They are the Bighorn 100-miler June 20 at Sheridan, Wyo. and the Wasatch Front point-to-point 100-miler Sept. 11 from Kaysville to Midway, Utah.
Training at all times of the year
You might think that with two feet of snow on the ground in the Sun Valley area, Brad Mitchell and his training partners might forgo early-morning or lunch hour running jaunts. Think again. It’s year round.
Mitchell was a one-year member of the Montrail Running Team in 2007, which required that he compete in six ultra marathons. The son of a retired Marine, Mitchell’s final big race in 2007 was the Oct. 28 Marine Corps Marathon. He was 66th overall in 2.46:34, 13th in men’s 35-39.
Due to demands of his job, Mitchell didn’t leave the valley from Halloween 2007 until early March, when he traveled to northern California near Auburn for the 12th annual “Way Too Cool” 50k trail run. Last winter he built his base mileage and approached training shape.
“I pat myself on the back for sticking through tough winter runs,” he wrote in his blog. “Snow, wind, below-zero temperatures and 20-mile runs wearing Ice Bugs. I keep telling myself it makes you tough.”
About his training partners who include Hank Dart, Andy Jones-Wilkins, Daryl Fauth and Mike Stevens, Mitchell said, “It’s a huge commitment. Not only do we keep training logs, we get up and run at 4 a.m. and do things like run Galena Summit in February. It can be brutal. Many times when the closest resemblance we have to a trail is the dirt on the shoulder of the road, I think spring could be a long way off.”
Certainly the cold and wintry training conditions in the valley can alter your perspective about a cool, damp morning for the Boston Marathon. Mitchell said, “I know when I was huddled in the first corral at Boston in 2007, I was of a very small group of people not worried about the Noreaster that was forecasted.
“I attribute that positive attitude to the type of training we are forced to endure living in the mountains.”
Mitchell’s training for his 2008 season started last Dec. 2. First off, there was six weeks of base building—keeping the pace at a “quick conversation” level and one long, quality run per week. Next, three weeks of quicker paced running incorporating an additional two quality runs. Weekly mileage approached 75.
His next step, mileage nearing 90, was four weeks of transitional racing with three to four quality workouts—a long run, a tempo run, long-hill repetitions and interval work.
Finally, his final seven-week phase before Boston—peaking at 110 miles per week, was four quality workouts and two 50k trail races. In late March, three weeks before Boston, he did a 20-miler in snowing conditions up and over Galena Summit—listening always for snowplow trucks and trying to avoid getting slushed from passing vehicles.
Mitchell said he likes variety, but he enjoys mountain running the best. On Aug. 2, between his White River and Where’s Waldo races, Mitchell and LavaLakeLand and Livestock president Mike Stevens had a great training day in the remote Pioneer mountains east of Sun Valley.
They met in Hailey at 4:30 a.m., drove out East Fork to Federal Gulch and were running by 5:30 a.m., in the dark. After a full day of magnificent scenery, switchbacks and river crossings, they were back at the car, nine-and-a-half hours later. The tally? A total 37.1 miles, 11,939 feet of climbing and 11,944 descending.
His finishing time was 10 hours and 43:54 minutes. The men's winner by over four minutes was Neil Olsen, 41, of Central Point, Ore. in 10.06:54. And the top woman was Prudence L'Heureux, 37, of Bend, Ore. with a time of 11.12:36, good for 10th place among the USATF entrants.
In all, there were 83 finishers in times ranging from Olsen's winning 10 hours, to 19 hours and seven minutes for the 83rd place runner. There were 22 DNFs. Ages of the finishing runners ranged from 25 to 69.
Part of the Oregon Trail Ultramarathon Series, the Where's Waldo? Race was a challenging 100k loop-style course starting at Willamette Pass Ski Area 70 miles east of Eugene, at elevation 5,120 feet.
The course climbed up several mountains including Fuji, The Twins and MaidenPeak before returning to the ski area. The route was 97% single-track trails with some fairly remote sections and many incredible view of pristine WaldoLake.
For Hailey’s Brad Mitchell, running in the winter is just something you do to get ready for a full season of long dis-tance racing. Photo by David N. Seelig
