Stratton challenge is keen race

I had a phone call last week informing me that my cousin, Bill Caddoo, had won the Stratton Mountain race.

This was a nice piece of information that I had another family member that likes to run.

Looking into the race for some more information I was amazed at what this race is.

This is not your usual 5K, 10K, or even a marathon race.

The number 29029 kept appearing in the web page.

This stands for the height of the mountain.

The challenge is to run this 29,029 foot mountain enough times to make the equivalent of running to the top of Mount Everest.

Each trip requires a runner, or hiker, to run or walk 1750 feet in elevation up this mountain.

This makes running 1.35 miles uphill 17 times to reach the top of Mount Everest.

As much as I disliked running up hills this was an unbelievable challenge.

To add to the challenge of running a total of 22.4 miles uphill the weather was cold and rainy for much of the race.

Bill commented that he had never been so cold and wet in his life during this race. Each runner has 36 hours to complete the challenge.

My cousin had three runners in front of him near the end when they decided to take a break and get something to eat.

Bill kept running until 3 a.m. and finished in first place.

There have been comments from non-runners that runners are somewhat on the crazy side to run anyway. And those that enter a marathon race of 26.2 miles are certified crazy.

After reading about running up hill for 22.4 miles in cold and rain just added fuel to their argument.

I almost had to agree with these non-runners for anyone willing to take on the Stratton Challenge.

Another fact about this race was that it was sold out and entries closed. This just proved that there are 1,000 crazy runners out there willing to take on the Stratton Mountain challenge.

If you are interested in accepting this challenge the race is in Stratton, Vermont and early registration starts Nov. 2, 2023 for the 2024 race.

From all indications early registration is an essential requirement as it is usually sold out early. There is one minor requirement for a runner or hiker to enter this race. The entry fee is $4,995.

This includes the hotel room, a few gourmet meals, and some other amenities. Instead of a tee shirt for entering the race the runners get a red ball cap with the race name on it. This is one cap that is worn with pride if you complete the race.

It is true that there are a large number of runners that do not complete all 17 trips up that 29,029 foot high mountain.

What I found interesting is that the route changes to include other mountains in the world for different number of trips up the mountain. This route was one of the steepest of the different options but any route will be over 20 miles of running up a mountain.

For runners the biggest challenge was running a marathon. The point is that you only have to run one marathon to tell your friends that, “Yes, I have run a marathon.” For the Stratton Mountain challenge a number of the runners and hikers keep trying year after year and work to improve the number of trips they can make each year until they finally complete the entire distance.

It makes you wonder what makes a person even want to run this challenge even one time, much less doing it several times until they get it right.

After thinking about runners accepting challenges in running there are a number of other races that defy common sense for the average person.

Only a small percentage of total runners ever run a marathon. Then add a 50K distance, or a 50 mile distance to the list and the challenges grow. One of the most difficult runs is the Western States 100 mile race.

The race has a mountain to run over, a dessert to cross, and even some streams and rivers to forge included in the 100 miles. This seems like it might be close to the Stratton Mountain race for a challenge.

Are runners crazy? I guess it comes with any physical activity a person tries. Weight lifters keep adding weight to the bar to get better. Olympic athletes keep adding weight to the bar to lift over their head.

Track athletes keep raising the bar in high jumping and pole vaulting to see if they can go higher. Mile runners are always trying to run faster to break 4:00 minutes.

For an athlete there is always another challenge on the horizon for them to strive to better their last attempt.