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BY PAUL JANKOWSKI
Times Correspondent | Tuesday, August 23, 2005 | (No comments posted.)
RUNNING
He didn't encounter any wild animals. He only fell down a few times, survived relatively unscathed and beat his goal time by one hour.
Chesterton's Paul Stofko successfully conquered the Leadville Trail 100-mile ultramarathon Saturday and Sunday in the Rocky Mountains outside Leadville, Colo.
Stofko, 29, did better than he anticipated. His time was 24 hours, 4 minutes, 36 seconds -- good enough for 40th place overall and fourth in the 25-29 age group.
"I wasn't expecting anything close to that," Stofko said while driving home late Monday afternoon. "You try to figure out your pace, but after a while mathematics -- adding and subtracting -- doesn't work that good."
His mind may have been a bit off kilter, but his body was in as good a condition as imaginable after having run 100 miles. The race began 4 a.m. Saturday, and he made it to the finish line just after 4 a.m. Sunday.
"When you finally get back to Leadville, you're on pavement for about a quarter mile," he said. "You can see the finish, and they were announcing names so I kind of sprinted to the finish line.
"I saw the end, and all of the pain went away. I got there."
Stofko said 478 individuals started the race, and only 213 finished within the 30-hour time limit. The last finisher was a man from Italy who crossed the tape in 29:59:59.
The overall winner broke the old course record by more than 1 1/2 hours. Matt Carpenter of Manitou Springs, Colo., finished in an amazing 15:42:59.
After finishing, Stofko and his fiance, Rachel Scott, went back to their hotel room. Stofko found it difficult to rest.
"I couldn't sleep at all," said Stofko, a 1994 Lake Central graduate. "You're up all night, all antsy and in a lot of pain. I showered and layed down, but the mind is still going."
An awards ceremony took place on Sunday. All the finishers received a sweatshirt that included their name, finish place and time.
Stofko said the change in elevation -- from about 9,000 feet up to more than 12,000 -- was difficult. But he and Scott arrived in Leadville a week early to become accustomed to the altitude.
"I thought it would be a big disadvantage," he said. "That's a detriment to us flatlanders from Indiana, Missouri and Wisconsin."
There were several aid stations throughout the course, and competitors had to reach each one within a certain deadline. Stofko said once he made it past the halfway point, and then to the 86-mile point, he knew he would make it.
"I was not looking good at that point," he said. "I was tired and ugly, and (Scott) told me I better get with it and get going.
"I was just shooting to finish in the beginning, but then you adjust your strategy at every aid station. I never felt too horrible, like I wasn't going to finish. You just need to break it down in segments."
Stofko will discuss his experience at The Human Race Sports in Valparaiso at 7 p.m. Sept. 26.
Paul Stofko
finished in 24 hours, 4 minutes, 36 seconds -- good enough for 40th place overall and fourth in the 25-29 age group.
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