Poway man pushes the limits as an ultramarathoner
By Michael Bower
A little after mile 50, Tony Blain had no skin left on the bottom of his feet.
Every pounding step that came after sent excruciating pain through his 48-year-old body and the Poway resident still had 50 miles to go until he hit the finish line.
He kept pushing forward.
Some 42 miles later, Blain decided he had enough. He called his son to come pick him up. But before that happened, a race marshall stopped by to make sure Blain was OK.
“The marshall basically said ‘you came all the way to Key West to run 92 miles and go home? You have two-and-a-half hours to run eight miles to get your buckle.’
“So, I got back out there and did it,” explained Blain.
He finished and collected his belt buckle, the reward for crossing the finish line of the Key West 100-mile ultramarathon in under 32 hours.
“I finished it with about 20 minutes to spare,” he said.
What most people call crazy, Blain does for fun.
An ultramarathon is any event longer than the traditional 26.2-mile marathon. The race is usually anywhere from 32 to 100 miles long and often consists of many steep hills and scenic views. Entrants usually do not run the entire distance.
Blain has completed three ultramarathons and is set to run his next one on Nov. 16, the Chimera 100 Mile Race. The event takes place in Lake Elsinore and has over 22,000-feet of elevation. The views are said to be breathtaking.
“I think ultramarathons are incredible because you get to see views and trails and things you would never get to see in your entire life,” said Blain, who hopes to finish in less than 32 hours so he qualifies for the Western States 100 Mile Race — arguably the most prestigious ultramarathon in the world.
“My belief is a lot of people run the same race 10 years in a row. I don’t plan to do any race more than once. I want to see different trails, views and states. I want to see as much as I can for how many ever years I have left running.”
Obviously, ultramarathons are extremely taxing on the body. Almost everybody walks some portion of the race — usually the steep inclines — to save their legs. Otherwise, most would not make the finish line.
Blain most recently finished the Cuyamaca 100K (62.1 miles). It was 98 degrees out and the course had a total elevation of 10,942-feet. Blain described the typical pain of such a race.
“It is mainly quad and calf pain,” he said. “Several thousand feet of elevation and the downhill is probably harder than the uphill. It puts lots of stress on the knees. My quads and calves were screaming for two or three days after.”
Blain started running when he was a freshman in high school. He did his first marathon at the age of 17 and has been doing marathons on and off since. He recently found out he was selected in a lottery to run the Paris Marathon in April.
Even though he is busy working as a physician at the VA Medical Center, flight surgeon for the Air Force Reserve and spending time at the Elizabeth Hospice Center, Blain is always prepared to take a run.
“I always keep my running shoes and a bag in my car at all times,” he said. “If I have an hour with nothing to do, I will put on my running shoes and take off.
“My main motivation for running has nothing to do with fitness,” he added. “It is just incredibly relaxing to me. Once you get into good shape, it is one or two hours of total quiet and silence and it is very relaxing. It is incredibly healthy for the body, especially the mind.”
Blain hopes to bring an ultramarathon to Poway one day. He is slowly working on finding a course that will span about 31 miles throughout the city. He hopes to avoid having runners cross streets and wants to keep it entirely on a trail.
Blain is also working on starting a Poway Youth Roadrunners Club. It would focus on elementary and junior high kids. Blain said there are about 15 or 20 Roadrunner Clubs in the county, but none close to Poway.
“I want to share the joy of running with kids,” he said.