Alexander Kramer, Ultra Winner; Gem in the Hills
“He is nearing 40 and can run a single 5 minute mile at the same time he is one of the best ultra marathon runners. His humblenessshyness gives him a look of non caring or conceit but there is a fire inside, a quest to explode in running and life. He is eager to listen and learn about running even though he is already superior. In training he runs many miles alone in complete darkness at Greenfield ranch……”
Rodger Swartz- President for Life- North Coast Striders ( Nov, 2020).
There was about 2 minutes between Alexander Kramer’s bust- out time of 58.28 minutes last year in the Willits 10 mile Classic and the second runner to finish. Kramer’s 5:53 per mile mark was close to a record for the 25 year old event, run every winter come rain/sleet/snow or wandering cattle. It was Kramer’s seventh Classic and raised nary a clamor. No wreaths at the finish line, marching bands, pies in the face, no Bruce Anderson’s pontification nor Tom Allman’s costumery. But, Kramer’s margin of victory underscores his superiority in northern California circles. He often runs way ahead of the pack-alone!
Such is the quiet life of a regional class ultra runner, who plies his trade in the silence of the terrain he adores.
Kramer is not a flash in the pan, despite having run for the Ukiah High School State Champion cross country teams in the late 1990’s, which featured the wizardry of coaches Jamie Connerton and Jerry Drew and the pure dominance of distance stars Ryan Mack and Josh Otto.
“I did run a sub 5 minute mile in track one year in Santa Rosa or El Molino High School on a dirt track. I didn’t take training seriously, at the time; I was just with a bunch of fast people and wasn’t in that esteemed group who I deeply admire from those days-josh Otto and Ryan Mack.”
Kramer dropped running to slay dragons as a youth at UCLA, later in New York, and back to the Bay Area, before returning to the solidary sport at about 27 years old. “I thought a healthy competitive hobby would be fun, and learned through mistakes and chatting people up after races,” continued Alexander. “In 2010, I returned to Ukiah and ran in local and regional events, training at home, running 10 miles a day with one longer run each week. It was the love of the ritual of doing it; the consistency without any off days.”
In a surreptitious “Covid- era” 100 miler in June 2020, called “Big Loco; Go Big or Go Home” in Butte Meadows, Kramer avoided all aerosol plumes to head a pack of 70 intrepid ultras; 25 of whom finished. “I had done it before and it was 85 percent fun and 15 percent horrible, as I hobbled to the end in 20 hours plus. There were a lot of ups and downs; and I was alone for most of it. You get to watch the sun come up and then go down, during the most daylit part of the year. There was no support team, but ample aid stations. It’s hard to predict how certain things will respond.”
“After the race at 2 a.m.; you’re kinda in this weird delirious state so you sit down for a few hours; you don’t just fall asleep; stay up and talk to people and enjoy not moving; sit in a chair. After a couple of hours I scooted over to my tent and fell down to rest for the remainder of the morning.”
Preparation for a 100 miler. “I run the same mileage year round; about 70-90 miles per week. Say 10 miles per day and one long one per week. For a 100 miler, you shift things a bit, trail running slower to accommodate metabolism rather than big muscle firing. You get your ligaments and tendons ready to carry what you’re going to do and adapt with a larger gas tank and bigger battery. You build more mitochondria in your cells for a long one and bigger capacity to exert that level of energy. You slow down so you can talk to anyone, so it’s a fun event and can be a conversational one.”
“In a shorter race like a 400 meter race or mile, you’re exerting a lot of energy where your body systems are really under siege. But, longer ones attract people who do absurd things. I’m really a small fish in the scheme of things. I’m decently good, but an amateur compared to many longer-crazier events. The greatest dangers come in training or racing in summer months. It can be a risk to your kidneys because of dehydration, or you can hurt ligaments/tendons if you’ve not built up to things properly. Usually people who do it are aware of the developmental process to avoid injuries.
Alexander Kramer seems to have taken the leap from peripheral observer in high school to mid-pack runner to winner in most of his competitions now. His five year plan is to “still kind of run fast while I can; having a good baseline now to take advantage of….fast=fun! I may pursue reaping the benefits of being in good shape, by doing road events to really go fast for a while.”
“I have to create my own goals right now with the pandemic. There are mental and physical challenges ahead to run a fast mile. At 41, that’s kind of difficult but I’ve set the next several months aside to trim times down to get to a fast mile. Yes, I’d love to do a sub 5 minute mile on a track. There are whole mental and physical challenges ahead to run a fast mile.”
I asked Alexander how he became such an intense and competitive runner . Kramer: “I’d love to answer that. It’s good to have a sense of humor. So, getting next to somebody who is running with you and turning the temperature up just a little bit… he is suffering as much as you and it’s fun to watch that take place. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t and you drop out. You can push yourself and you see the edges, without hurting yourself. And when somebody else is doing that, you can observe and integrate that information. It’s a competitive sport, not a personal thing; but it is a sport!! And you have a ton of appreciation for that person that you’re challenging, because you know how that feels. I have a ton of admiration for that person.”
Next I posed a question that Kramer literally jumped at: Tell me about the more memorable events that you’ve been involved in: Kramer: “At a trail race early on in my running career at Angel Island, the race was full, but I showed up anyway. I just jumped in which I wouldn’t do today.
It felt effortless that day, as I floored it from the beginning to the end of this 12 Kilometer race. It was one of those races where there was almost no limit
to the amount of effort you can put in. I pulled up about 100 yards before the end, to not officially finish.”
“Another was my first 50 miler. I had never run that far in a race, but it was a day where nutrition, hydration, weather, rest, optimal training all aligned perfectly. I had always been satisfied finishing deep in the pack, but I led the entire race, from 8 am until 2 pm. I couldn’t believe it the whole time. Rarely has an ultra felt so perfect. I went 7 hours and 50 minutes for the 50 miler. It was the Dick Collins Fire Trail Race near Castro Valley.
Another was a 50 kilometer in Marin County which was rainy and foggy. It was a challenging course, but there was no bottom to my speed and energy that day, so I put the gas pedal down; there was just no limit. A lot of variables came together that made for a peak performance.
What would you like readers to Take-away from this feature?
“Probably, memories about training runs that you can direct as you go. When I travel, there is usually the opportunity for cool adventures. So, we were visiting Serejevo, the capital of Bosnia, hit by war in the 1990’s. I ran into the Olympic Stadium in Serejevo. This is also where WWI began when Franz Ferdinand archduke was assassinated, in 1914. It was prohibited to enter the stadium, but I did a couple of laps on the track there, which was warped badly since the 1984 Olympic Games were staged there. The janitor finally chased me away with arm signals. But, It’s part of what makes traveling exciting to me.
Nothing can go wrong. You run around, wander about and add extra miles to your daily routine. I follow Jack Daniels’ Training Book; his research and advice and I watch to see what great runners have done in training. And I watch to see what elite runners have done. Also, watching a track meet; what meets your eyes. It’s sort of a site test. See where your eye is drawn. Who is moving fast and how are they accomplishing that? Below are a few of Alexander Kramer’s recent races:
Strawberry Ultra Trail Challenge 100 Kilometer 1st place. All single track trail at high elevation near Tahoe. Small event which means 10 of the 11 hours of running were alone.
Bay Ridge 100 kilometer 1st. 2018 Very nice event
with views of the east bay. Almost the whole event I had one person only a few minutes behind me. Led to a fast time though.
Eldrith Gosley 50 kilometer was on Mt. Tamal
pais and was a very memorable day because my preparation was very good and I felt great the whole time. This rarely happens for long races.
Number One- Dick Collins’ Fire Trail Race- 50 miler
Winner- 100 mile Butte Meadows Race.