About 5 months ago I registered for an Ultra marathon called 24 the Hard Way. An Ultra marathon is more than a full marathon which is 26.2 miles. I hadn't planned on doing anything like this and just finished only my 2nd marathon running the Oklahoma City Memorial. I had broken most of my personal records in racing times this year after getting back into running shape. I know 6 months ago that running a 12 hour Ultra would be another challenge and one for the record books.
24 the Hard Way Ultra marathon took place at Bluff Creek park on October 23, 2011 at 6:00am which consisted of a 6, 12, and 24 hour races on a 1 mile asphalt loop. They had a tent setup for us at the start which all spectators and friends were going to be. They had food and drinks for all runners when we ran under the tent. I ran the 12 hour race that started at 6:00am. It was dark when we all got started and I wore my headlamp for an hour and a half, before I retired it!!
There were many friends and supporters out there that were very helpful and encouraging which was a real blessing while doing a 12 hour race and definitely shouldn't be compared to any of the shorter distance races!! A mile per pace isn't the same in an Ultra as it is in a 5k or 10k race and is not a speed run. Who ever thinks that, hasn't run one yet or might not ever get there.!! After running the Ultra it seamed like the full marathon was a much shorter race and should be a much easier race next time because of the Ultra!!
I had running buddies that ran with me that day, Laura Ward and Kevin Lynes ran start to finish and we all got bracelets from the race!! I had no problems during the 1st 8 hrs of the race. I aggravated an old injury in my right foot that slowed me down to a walk/run. My personal goal for the Ultra was run 60 miles in 12 but I did 46 miles and 48 laps!! Adding an Ultra to my running status has been awesome. Doing 2 marathons and an Ultra as long races within a year has been very intriguing. I actually enjoyed this race and would like to do it again next year. If your looking to do run an Ultra I recommend this race.
All the volunteers and supporters were awesome in the race. They really took care of me and other runners during the race!! I wanted to say thank you so much if u were reading. My next race is Rt 66 Tulsa half marathon the weekend before Thanksgiving.
God bless u all and live long and prosper
RLBJ
Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Ralph Breckenridge Jr (The person)
Hello Everyone!
I thought I'd do this blog a little different and do it about myself. Some of you who don't know me and know of me as the runner from Facebook and always posting stuff about running I'll have a full story of who I am.
I'll start with my name which is Ralph Breckenridge Jr. I'm the youngest of 6 kids in our family!! I was born in a little town NW of Okc named Okarche, Ok but raised in Kingfisher, Ok so I'm really a full blooded Okie. I'm an African American male so far as i know though my forefathers was said to have other stuff mixed in. Don't know what but who knows I could be a black Irishman for all I know.lol I was born with a respiratory lung disease called asthma that I struggled with most of my childhood and part of my adulthood. I was a quiet kid growing up never bothered anyone unless they bothered me first. My first activity growing up was riding the bike. My step dad bought me a bike when I was 6 years old and I just loved it!! It kept me from running and triggering my asthma at times. The asthma was totally out control and I ended up in the hospital a number of times trying different medications but my asthma was also triggered by allergies too. I felt like I was going to die at times from the respiratory disorder and it didn't seam to be a cure!!
In elementary school I got to running around on the playground and found out I could run, and very fast too!! A lot of my classmates was calling me the roadrunner and I kinda liked it cause I watched the cartoon on Saturday morning. I was getting so fast one of my school friends called me the Six Million Dollar Man!! I didn't know what that was at the time and he told me about the TV show that just came on TV at the time. I was hooked after I started watching it. That was pretty cool back then the show seamed real!!!
I started to really love to run even though the asthma kelp me handicapped but I was stubborn and refused to let that stopped me. I rode the bike for so long even though I had a couple of crashes with it but I didn't let a hurt stop me doing what I love to do!! If I got severely injured in a car accident I'm not going to stop driving the car unless I was dead or paralyzed!
In 1975 my parents took me to the Okc Allergy clinic to be tested. I took allergy shots in both arms for 14 years and took breathing pills, and used an inhaler for the asthma until 1995!! I stopped taking them thinking I had outgrown it at the age of 29!! I had went to college in Weatherford and the campus nurse gave me my shots at the college. I don't have the asthma attacks anymore unless I'm around cats or hay. I had some really neat friends in school, never had any problems seamed like we all had great friendships. I took track in high school after running so well in Little Olympics in junior high and didn't do so well!! It seamed like I was getting slower the older I got and I was a sprinter. My muscles were tight cause I didn't like to stretch and it was slowing me down. High school was alright but could have been better. I didn't date anyone at the time but had my eye on a couple that I liked and wanted to ask to the Prom but refused to go. I didn't say a whole lot in school but talked more outside of class and hung out with my classmate and friend Gary Price. Sometimes played volleyball at his relatives house. When I did say something I always like to be a practical joker. Mr. Funny guy hahaha!!
I have no idea why I've been single all my life and it's a very difficult question for me to answer. One thing I do know is when i became a Christian in the fall of 1984 it changed my whole life including that special someone the good Lord had for me. I've known a lot of women but dated one once in college which only lasted a day!! I think the lord has something else for me! God is good!! I got back into running later after a 10 year layoff but that's part of another blog I've already done. I'd like to take a vacation soon, always wanted to go to Hawaii to run a marathon.
Well I'd like to tell more, maybe in another blog. Thanks for reading friends!!
Love ya RBJ
I thought I'd do this blog a little different and do it about myself. Some of you who don't know me and know of me as the runner from Facebook and always posting stuff about running I'll have a full story of who I am.
I'll start with my name which is Ralph Breckenridge Jr. I'm the youngest of 6 kids in our family!! I was born in a little town NW of Okc named Okarche, Ok but raised in Kingfisher, Ok so I'm really a full blooded Okie. I'm an African American male so far as i know though my forefathers was said to have other stuff mixed in. Don't know what but who knows I could be a black Irishman for all I know.lol I was born with a respiratory lung disease called asthma that I struggled with most of my childhood and part of my adulthood. I was a quiet kid growing up never bothered anyone unless they bothered me first. My first activity growing up was riding the bike. My step dad bought me a bike when I was 6 years old and I just loved it!! It kept me from running and triggering my asthma at times. The asthma was totally out control and I ended up in the hospital a number of times trying different medications but my asthma was also triggered by allergies too. I felt like I was going to die at times from the respiratory disorder and it didn't seam to be a cure!!
In elementary school I got to running around on the playground and found out I could run, and very fast too!! A lot of my classmates was calling me the roadrunner and I kinda liked it cause I watched the cartoon on Saturday morning. I was getting so fast one of my school friends called me the Six Million Dollar Man!! I didn't know what that was at the time and he told me about the TV show that just came on TV at the time. I was hooked after I started watching it. That was pretty cool back then the show seamed real!!!
I started to really love to run even though the asthma kelp me handicapped but I was stubborn and refused to let that stopped me. I rode the bike for so long even though I had a couple of crashes with it but I didn't let a hurt stop me doing what I love to do!! If I got severely injured in a car accident I'm not going to stop driving the car unless I was dead or paralyzed!
In 1975 my parents took me to the Okc Allergy clinic to be tested. I took allergy shots in both arms for 14 years and took breathing pills, and used an inhaler for the asthma until 1995!! I stopped taking them thinking I had outgrown it at the age of 29!! I had went to college in Weatherford and the campus nurse gave me my shots at the college. I don't have the asthma attacks anymore unless I'm around cats or hay. I had some really neat friends in school, never had any problems seamed like we all had great friendships. I took track in high school after running so well in Little Olympics in junior high and didn't do so well!! It seamed like I was getting slower the older I got and I was a sprinter. My muscles were tight cause I didn't like to stretch and it was slowing me down. High school was alright but could have been better. I didn't date anyone at the time but had my eye on a couple that I liked and wanted to ask to the Prom but refused to go. I didn't say a whole lot in school but talked more outside of class and hung out with my classmate and friend Gary Price. Sometimes played volleyball at his relatives house. When I did say something I always like to be a practical joker. Mr. Funny guy hahaha!!
I have no idea why I've been single all my life and it's a very difficult question for me to answer. One thing I do know is when i became a Christian in the fall of 1984 it changed my whole life including that special someone the good Lord had for me. I've known a lot of women but dated one once in college which only lasted a day!! I think the lord has something else for me! God is good!! I got back into running later after a 10 year layoff but that's part of another blog I've already done. I'd like to take a vacation soon, always wanted to go to Hawaii to run a marathon.
Well I'd like to tell more, maybe in another blog. Thanks for reading friends!!
Love ya RBJ
Monday, May 9, 2011
2011 Okc Memorial Marathon "A Run to Remember"
The Oklahoma City Memorial marathon has special meaning in all of Oklahoma's hearts because it's in remembrance of the 168 people who died of a vicious evil act. I had been looking forward to running this race since I ran my first marathon last November at Route 66 in Tulsa. Even though I trained for Route 66 I was completely out of shape and almost let the Tulsa race defeat me. I wasn't going to let that happen again as I started training for the Okc memorial marathon. I was my own coach as always and started my goal to run a 4 hour marathon in 4 months!!
A change happened in my life first by giving blood after Christmas. I found out I had a very high cholesterol count and I needed to get it down. It was around that time I changed my eating habits and started eating more fruits and veggies to get better control of my cholesterol and at the same time lose some weight!! I quit eating out but when I did eat out with friends I looked for healthy choices. My goal for my 2nd marathon was to be better, stronger, and faster than my last one, and that's going to continue. After 4 months of training, and reaching my racing weight for the Okc memorial marathon of 160 lbs I was almost ready. I didn't gain the flexible i wanted to get my 4 hour marathon but I was 55 lbs lighter than my last full marathon.
On the day of the marathon I felt like I was ready and I was going to run this thing no matter what the weather or anything else. God blessed us with cool weather that day with plenty of hydration falling from the sky and that was enough for me. I ran in name of Randy Guzman, the marine on the 6th floor, my niece"s fiance. I met up with one of my disciples from my running group at the beginning of the race Sarah Knief who was running her 2nd half marathon! We took off together at the 10 min per mile marker but didn't see her again in the race. The rain and the cold didn't bother me most of the marathon as I made it to the 13.1 mark in 2hrs 14 mins which tied my PR for the half. I kept a 10 mins a mile pace until I got at Lake Hefner and started developing cramps in my calves. I took electrolyte pills and they seem to work and I ran another 10 miles before I got cramps again. No injuries in this race stayed healthy the whole way even tho it hailed. I had no problem with the weather maybe somebody else did but the only thing I was concerned about was cramps and tight muscles. As long as my legs were going I was going to finish in 4 something hours. I was so into the time factor in this race and not just finishing which I did in 5 hrs 25 mins which broke my old record of 6 hrs 51 mins in Route 66.
This was a great race and I had a good time met some good people along the way. If you ever think about doing your first marathon this is a great one. Never give up on your goals and this was a good one even if you don't run the interest is there. Crossing the finish line in my 2nd marathon was even more wonderful a feeling and planing to do White Rock Dallas marathon on Dec 4!! Thank u for reading and God bless u all!! See ya on the running trails!!
Ralph Breckenridge Jr
A change happened in my life first by giving blood after Christmas. I found out I had a very high cholesterol count and I needed to get it down. It was around that time I changed my eating habits and started eating more fruits and veggies to get better control of my cholesterol and at the same time lose some weight!! I quit eating out but when I did eat out with friends I looked for healthy choices. My goal for my 2nd marathon was to be better, stronger, and faster than my last one, and that's going to continue. After 4 months of training, and reaching my racing weight for the Okc memorial marathon of 160 lbs I was almost ready. I didn't gain the flexible i wanted to get my 4 hour marathon but I was 55 lbs lighter than my last full marathon.
On the day of the marathon I felt like I was ready and I was going to run this thing no matter what the weather or anything else. God blessed us with cool weather that day with plenty of hydration falling from the sky and that was enough for me. I ran in name of Randy Guzman, the marine on the 6th floor, my niece"s fiance. I met up with one of my disciples from my running group at the beginning of the race Sarah Knief who was running her 2nd half marathon! We took off together at the 10 min per mile marker but didn't see her again in the race. The rain and the cold didn't bother me most of the marathon as I made it to the 13.1 mark in 2hrs 14 mins which tied my PR for the half. I kept a 10 mins a mile pace until I got at Lake Hefner and started developing cramps in my calves. I took electrolyte pills and they seem to work and I ran another 10 miles before I got cramps again. No injuries in this race stayed healthy the whole way even tho it hailed. I had no problem with the weather maybe somebody else did but the only thing I was concerned about was cramps and tight muscles. As long as my legs were going I was going to finish in 4 something hours. I was so into the time factor in this race and not just finishing which I did in 5 hrs 25 mins which broke my old record of 6 hrs 51 mins in Route 66.
This was a great race and I had a good time met some good people along the way. If you ever think about doing your first marathon this is a great one. Never give up on your goals and this was a good one even if you don't run the interest is there. Crossing the finish line in my 2nd marathon was even more wonderful a feeling and planing to do White Rock Dallas marathon on Dec 4!! Thank u for reading and God bless u all!! See ya on the running trails!!
Ralph Breckenridge Jr
Monday, February 7, 2011
My First Long Distance Race of 2002
I just wanted a chance to tell you all about a change in my life that happened nine years ago, this coming March. How I got started back into running again. In high school I was a short distance runner in track so in school I ran no longer than a 440 dash and my classmates called me roadrunner cause of my speed. And because of my severe case of asthma I didn't perform as well as did the other runners because I got out of breath very easily. Since that time I got away from running a bit just going jogging occasionally and riding the bike.
Over the years I started gaining weight and developed something call hypoglycemia that kinda gradually came on when I didn't have a good meal. I had times when I collapsed and past out in public including church as my health and weight was out of control. At one time I was at a lifetime weight of 220 pounds in May 2001. I didn't do anything about it the rest of that year until the New Year of 2002. I set goals to get better and try to get active. One day in March 2002, I was listening to the Sports Animal on the radio, mentioning something about a race called the Red Bud Classic. They were giving away free registrations at a cell phone company in Edmond. I got to thinking, oh boy this is a great opportunity to start running again. So I registered for the 2 mile race that they had at that time.
The day of the Red Bud Classic there was a forecast for rain sometime that day and there was cloud cover. When I got to the race that day I was amazed at how many runners that came to run on that cloudy day, it was incredible. Anyway channel 9 and Gary England was there and said it wouldn't rain until after the race, but guess what. It started as soon as we lined up for the race. I wasn't worried about the rain as long as no tornadoes came about that day.
When the race started it seam like the rain came down a lot faster, and my cotton shirt and shorts were sucking up that rain water like a sponge. A mile into the race I began to wear down a bit from the race and the rain soaked clothes. Someone told me I ran a mile during the race and I was half there but where. I had rain in my eyes and I couldn't see very clearly. So I was just hanging on and trying to follow the other runners. When I finally get to the finish I thought I was going to collapse but I manged to make it to the massage table where I almost didn't make it on my feet because of leg cramps. They didn't get really bad until I got in the car and tried to drive home. I got the worst Charley horse cramp when I tried to push down on the gas pedal. I ended up getting cramps in both legs and wasn't able to drive for a while. It was an interesting day indeed but I had fun and met new people.
My time for the 2 mile race was 26 mins 30sec. Today I look at the time and laugh but didn't go by time back then just effort. I never forgot the older gentleman that pat me on the back during the race and said see you at the finish line. I could of sworn he was in his 70's.
Since then I never missed a Red Bud Classic race I got every metal from 2002 to the present. I guess you could say that race has sentimental value to me every year in remembering how I turned my life around. It was the only race I ran in until May of 2005 I did Sooner State games and four more races that year. I lost 40 pounds that summer running the lake. I join the Okc running club in the summer of 2004 when I discovered them at Lake Hefner's Stars and Stripes park.
Since I've been running I met some wonderful people who I thought help me and pushed me to become better runner. Even saved my life on a hot summer day one of the times I didn't run alone. And my health has been much better. My weight has been struggling of late because of the holidays but that's changing.
See you all of you on the trail. And thank you for reading. God bless!!
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