Meet Tim Tollefson, professional ultramarathoner

Workout: 12 M at the Meadows

This morning started out great with a nice cool run. Legs still felt a little tight from the 22 miler on Saturday. I have gotten used to running this route in that the uphills have become easier and I have all the rocks, turns, and roots memorized so I can run a bit faster without stumbling. I'm sure that by tomorrow my legs should feel good to run well during track practice.

Pointillism drawing - it took lots of patience, focus, and a steady hand

Tim Tollefson is a professional and well-known local  ultramarathon runner who was the 2014 50K trail Champion and is sponsored by Hoka. He completed the famous UTMB 105 mile race about a week ago, which has an elevation gain of 3500 feet. Tim began the race conservatively and picked up the pace at mile 70. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to pick up the pace after running 70 miles and then maintaining that pace for 30 miles! He was head-to-head with another man for just about the whole race and placed 3rd. Only six American men have stood on the podium since it started in 2003. He said that the hardest point of the race was when he had a few more summits to climb. He also said that unlike marathon running when your body wants to quit at around mile 20, during an ultra you may feel beat at the beginning in just realizing that you have a long ways to go, but it depends from person to person. His training involved doing lots of uphill runs on the trails, running up to 110 miles in a week, and doing long runs of up to 35 miles. One 35 mile run involved running up Mammoth Mountain 4 times, which is 10,000 ft total elevation gain. This past year he even ran in sub-zero weather during a snow storm! Usually in the winter months he runs in high 20s to low 30 degree weather on the streets that are cleared of snow or go to Bishop where it is a little warmer. He has a fun, friendly personality and is also a physical therapist. His wife is also an ultramarathon runner who typically runs 15 miles a day and placed second at the Ezamimak 5K last month.