Patient persistence, affection for the trails, and a strong endurance gene: descriptors that are otherwise known as traits that makes a ‘good’ ultra-runner. And if one combines ‘good’ traits with aggressive goals, a drive to leverage his personal exceptional abilities, and an unconquerable spirit? The result could be 27-year-old ultra-runner and Boulder resident, Anton Krupicka.
Krupicka, who has several ultra titles to his name, took second place at last year’s Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. He considers his second place finish to be an accomplishment and a turning point in his young ultra-running career.
Krupicka says, “I really think my biggest accomplishment so far has been the race I didn’t win: the Western States 100 in 2010. Although I finished 2nd, 6 minutes behind the winner Geoff Roes, I led for nearly 90 miles and spent the first 80 miles of the race running stride-for-stride with arguably the most talented mountain runner in the world, Kilian Jornet of Spain. I eventually dropped him at 80 miles, but the effort it took to break him set me up to falter slightly in the closing miles of the race allowing Geoff to pass me for the win. Why would losing be an accomplishment? Because I feel this race stimulated a shift in my mindset towards what it means to race 100 miles. Before Western States, I very much thought of 100 mile races as a 60 or 70 mile run followed by 30 or 40 miles of seeing who can survive the quickest. Western States showed me that it’s quite possible to truly race the whole way if one’s preparation and execution are correct.”
As he approaches his second Western States in June 2011, Krupicka reflects, “Last year I learned how to race 100 miles rather than simply finish/survive the distance. I also learned that I can very much be competitive with the best in the world in the mountains over this distance. My approach to this year’s race will be very similar to last year. Last year my main mistakes were of the mental execution variety and with last year’s experience I think I’ll be able to put together all the pieces again in 2011 to be in the position to win with 10 miles to go. The main difference is that I will be mentally prepared to still be racing hard at that point.”
“Of course, I will have several sub-goal races leading up to Western States. Ultrarunning has become quite competitive and it seems that this year several of the top runners are all coalescing around the same events. Important stepping stones leading up to Western States will be the Chuckanut 50K in WA in March, the American River 50 in April, and the Miwok 100K in May.”
As far as goals beyond Western States, “the second half of my summer will be devoted to competing at the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in Chamonix, France. After being cancelled due to weather last year the excitement for this year’s race is astronomical and the race field is a true world championship of 100 mile mountain racing including virtually every top North American and many of the top Europeans, too. It will be unbelievably exciting because the European Alps culture really appreciates and understands mountain racing so the spectator support for the event over there is tremendous.”
While many runners take to ultra-runs later in life, Anton has taken ultras on at a relatively early age. What has inspired a well-developed ultra-running resume at the tender age of 27? Anton responds, “Running in the mountains on trails has always just appealed to me more and my penchant for high mileage training has always lent itself more to success at ultra-distances than in shorter races. Plus, I honestly don’t feel I have a lot of traditional “talent” at distance running, so I’m forced to compete in the really long stuff where either my true talent really lies or the depth of competition is much shallower. (It’s) probably (a little of) both. Either way, I identify deepest with the act of moving efficiently under my own power through wild landscapes, so even if I weren’t successful at the long stuff I would still gravitate towards those races.”
Power through wild landscapes? Anton has had many opportunities to do just that; he grew up outside of Niobrara, NE and has lived in scenic locales such as Bozeman, MT; Ashland, OR; Leadville, CO. He’s been living in Boulder, CO since 2009. Crazy luck? Or determined intentionality? “Living in towns with good trails is completely intentional. Connecting with the land is one of the most important things in my life and living somewhere where that is readily available is almost non-negotiable for me. This is, no doubt, a result of growing up in such a rural, isolated part of the country and in a family where ties to the land are highly-valued and can be traced back generations.”
A connection to the land, combined with a simple approach, is a cornerstone of Krupicka’s training week: “My goal in running Sunday–Thursday is usually to get in a sizeable climb (~3000′, typically Green Mt. here in Boulder) during the course of a ~2hr run plus an evening 1hr run usually easy and flat including 2-4mi of barefoot running. A couple of days during the week I will either tack on Bear Peak to my morning run (adding another 1200′ or so of climbing) or run up Green Mt. again in the evening.”
“On Friday’s I usually just run once–2hr including an easy climb of Green. “
“Saturday I typically reserve for a long run in the 4-8hr range depending on if I’m preparing for a 50 or 100 mile race. This long run almost always emphasizes amassing a bunch of vertical gain as well, and I might summit Green Mt. as many as four times in the course of the run w/ a total gain of 8-13,000′ climbing. That’s pretty much it. “
“Right now I’m adding a single track workout each week to work on turn-over and get used to low-5min pace so that 6min pace doesn’t feel so fast in some upcoming races. It’s mostly to work on running economy at faster speeds and doing a track workout certainly isn’t “typical”. In the summer I spend a lot more time exploring the high mountains, usually in the form of a weekend long run. “
Questions about shoes and …well …. his feet … inevitably arise when talking with a man whose average mileage often reaches 180 miles a week; 10-20 of them barefoot. When it comes to running with shoes, a New Balance sponsorship helps his feet in shape. “As of December 2010, for mountain/trail runs I wear the MT101, and for flat, easy, typically evening runs I wear the MT10/Trail Minimus . For significant road running I wear the MR10/Road Minimus, the RC1440 (forthcoming road flat) or the discontinued RC152 racing flat. I do speedwork in the 152 as well. I wear the same shoes for racing (101 on trails, 152 on roads) as I do for training. Maybe the most exciting thing about being sponsored by New Balance is having such direct input on the design of a couple different models of shoes. I’m a big shoe geek and can get pretty particular about the details of my footwear, so it’s been great to work so closely with the NB designers and product managers. The two shoe series that I’ve had an impact on are the forthcoming Minimus and the MT100-series which is currently the MT101 and we’re working on the MT110 (the update to the 101). The 110 is the third iteration of the shoe and from the prototypes I’ve run in its is by far my most favorite mountain running shoe I’ve ever worn. “
Besides New Balance, Krupicka receives product support from: GU for on-the-go fuel, Kahtoola for winter mountain traction (Microspikes mostly), watches from Highgear, nutritional needs from Udo’s Oil, and acupuncture from Allison Suddard at Alternative Care of Colorado here in Boulder.
What occupies Krupicka’s mind besides running? A second year Master’s student in the Geography Dept at CU Boulder, Anton tells CRM that “a lot of my remaining brain space is spent reading, researching, and teaching mountain hydrology. My thesis work involves the reclamation of an old silver mine in Creede, CO. I use isotopic, hydrologic, and geologic techniques to characterize the groundwater/surface-water interactions of the West Willow Creek watershed where the mine is located. This semester I’m also a teaching assistant for a Snow Hydrology course which involves everything from the molecular structure of water to the crystalline structure of ice/snow to avalanches and snowmelt. My girlfriend, Jocelyn Jenks (a fellow Colorado College track/xc runner and alum), is a 2nd-year student at CU Law.”
But Anton’s ideas aren’t limited to his personal life or his Master’s thesis. He’s an idea guy on the running front and off; and he’s brought ideas such as the January’s Ponderous Posterior 50K / Front Range Fat Ass 50K Run to the Front Range. “The Ponderous was my idea. Last fall I realized that there were no “Fat Ass 50Ks” (a traditional January activity in the ultrarunning community where a very informal, free, fun “race” is staged as a kick-off to the New Year and a motivator through the winter months) on the Front Range despite there being a ridiculously thriving trail running community here. And I always thought that it would be fun to have one in Colorado Springs where there are so many fantastic trails. So, I hit up all of my trail running friends with the idea and the notion of a 3-part series was formed. They’re really not much more than semi-structured group runs that everyone agrees to attend and I think this year was a huge success starting with a long-running underground group run around Halloween in Boulder, the Chubby Cheeks 50K up in Fort Collins the week before Christmas, and finishing with the Ponderous Posterior down in the Springs in January, the traditional timing for Fat Ass events all over the country. The emphasis at these runs is much more social than competitive, but that doesn’t mean that top runners don’t participate. Along with a sizeable supporting group of mid- and back-of-the-packers this season’s inaugural Front Range series saw the participation of such national-class mountain runners as Matt Carpenter, Nick Clark, Dave Mackey, Scott Jurek, Dakota Jones, Geoff Roes, etc., etc. The Front Range is a very fecund place for talented trail runners right now. “
Anton dreamed up the concept to showcase the Colorado Springs area trails. He says,“I think Boulder gets a lot of acclaim for having an excellent system of trails when, in my opinion, in terms of sheer variety, proximity, and volume, the Springs probably beats it. It went really well. Other than my designing the course and offering the idea, most of the organization (host house, course marking, aid station) occurred via dedicated members of the Springs-area ultrarunning group Team CRUD (Coloradans Running Ultra Distances). Somewhere around 90 people showed up and ran at least some distance (there were courses of ~17mi, 26mi, and 31mi), which was awesome, and I very much hope to continue to have each leg of the series continue on into the future.
When probed for any other grand ideas being brewed up, Krupicka chuckles, “Ha, not really. But, I will say, the ultimate goal from my perspective would be to some-day stage a legitimate, competitively deep, well-attended, 100 mile event in the Pikes Peak Region. Unfortunately, the Barr Trail is largely off-limits to any new events as far as the Forest Service is concerned, but with a little cooperation from all the associated entities I think we could really pull off an exciting national-class event. The terrain for it certainly exists in the Pikes Peak Region.”
Featured article written by: Connilee Walter
Photo by Luis Escobar: Anton at the 2010 Western States 100 (Jenn Shelton pacing)