Anton Krupicka

After reading about Scott Jurek in Born to Run and then his book, Eat and Run, that was published June of this year I've read up on his career, his techniques, and diet. While I had a bit of a man-crush (that's what my wife said) on him and mimicked a lot of his daily routine hoping it would allow me to quickly up my distance running in a short period, it's been rough with the adjustments my 220lb body is putting up with as I train. Scott's disciplined approach to training and diet are refreshing in a sense compared to many people I meet that do little else except self-indulge in acquiring wealth, gorging on food and generally trying to be a douche-bag any chance they get. 

(Changing my diet this July has been the single most important health choice I've made. That's an oversimplification, I know, but the lack of beef or chicken and minimizing my dairy intake not only allows me to run without indigestion and bloating from staying in my system for so long, it really helps recovery time decrease. )

Getting to know more of the hardcore ultra runners in the sport is exciting and the third one I stumbled on was Anton Krupicka. (His friends call him Tony, but I don't have that familiarity yet).  First impressions were some hippie/weirdo guy with a beard New Balance decided to throw into a commercial who puts in some good distances. Turns out the hippie really is part of the persona, though not in the dramatic sense- it's just who he is, but his legacy is being one of the top 5(?) long distance trail runners in the world. You could ask everyone you know if the name sounds familiar (pronounced crew-pitch-ka) and would likely get "no's" and "why, whats he do?" I couldn't help but notice the similar body shape to mine and was encouraged that I may "genetically" be able to be a great ultra runner. A stretch maybe, but we find motivation in different places and it was encouraging to think about.  I've been impressed enough that it's worth some discussion time here.



Weekly he logs over 150 miles and has long runs over 30 miles.  Of course his races are anywhere from 50 - 100 miles in a single day. Reading through his blog, I'm up to the first few months after an injury kept him down for two months, but just two months later he was back up to 150+ mpw, (miles per week). 

His running form is perfection if not close to it and like the stories of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, he just glides over mountains like so many other great athletes making it look effortless. Unlike most big sport athletes he's an intelligent sort with two bachelor's degrees (one a double major)  in physics and philosophy with the second in geology, for which he also received his Masters in 2011. We as humans are physically designed to run long distances and have the most developed brains in the animal kingdom, both of which he uses as they were designed. Just awesome.

Another huge similarity we share is making things more difficult for an advantage later. In an interview back in 2010 he said:

"During training I think it is good to be almost borderline bonking to get your body used to metabolizing fats and your legs used to feeling like crap. But during a race, it is all about meeting your body’s nutritional and hydration needs. I don’t skip out at all during a race."

When it comes time for the real thing, you've worked harder than necessary and there's little chance of fatigue or poor conditions slowing you down.

One has to admire his purist approach to running and I am enticed to embrace it. Most days I feel he wants just his shorts and shoes without even a water bottle or gel as they are too cumbersome. It wasn't even until last week I started carrying a bottle because I feel the same way, but with the increasing distances it was going to become necessary. Ahead, I see a long road that disappears off into the distance filled with the solitude and calm of the long distance run, and it will be exciting for me as I transition into better racing form and experience some of the same joy Anton has so often.