Santa Fe man experiences fun of running 100-mile races
“Some people who are more qualified will give up mentally,” he said. “You can’t undo what happens. You have to overcome.”
To distract himself from pain, Smith said he’s mainly “just enjoying the scenery.”
“You’re very concentrated on the trail, the roots, the rocks,” he said, adding that sometimes he is most focused on beating a cutoff time and not getting lost. If something in his life requires reflection, Smith said time on the trail offers a chance for meditation.
“It’s thinking through — if you have any challenges — it’s a new perspective,” he said.
Smith said one of his top priorities is longevity in the sport. He said he has not increased his training but is able to squeeze in more races.
“I am more motivated to complete different races in different parts of the world,” Smith said. “If I take care of myself, maybe I’ve got 10 more years of this.”
Most of his life, he said, revolves around either recovering from a race or preparing for one — there is “no real off season” — and in the interim, he said he can be found running local trails such as Aspen Vista or around Las Campanas.
Smith jokes that he feels “lazy” due to what he calls his easygoing training schedule and slow race pace.
“I’m never really competitive. I’m not the fastest. But I finish,” Smith said, adding that he has not finished several races because of missed cut-off times.
“We sometimes joke he’s the oldest fast guy or the fastest old guy,” Sandra Smith said with a laugh.
But for Mike Smith, it’s not about winning medals. Instead, “it’s the people … I keep collecting friends, because it’s such a neat community.”
In the spring, Smith will run the Umstead 100 in North Carolina for the 19th time, “not because it’s the greatest course — it’s not — but because the people are so great.”
Smith admits his lifestyle might be a bit abnormal, but it’s what makes him feel the most alive.
“It’s hard to explain to people,” he said. “It’s more about the total experience, not just finishing [a race].”