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Story Last modified at 1:47 p.m. on Thursday, January 29, 2009
“That race is feared,” Hone said. “My goal was to finish.” The course is a 20-mile loop with 10,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, which racers lap five times. It’s covered in roots, bamboo and river crossings, and there are sections that require runners to use ropes to pull themselves up. All that’s in addition to the potential for wild boar encounters. Hone started out the HURT at 6 a.m. on Jan. 17 at a conservative pace, dropping back in the pack of runners. When night arrived, he made his push, inching his way up in the standings. “The tougher the conditions, the easier it is for Alaskans,” said Hone, who routinely trains in the dark. Early on in the race, his feet blistered, but medics bandaged them up and he pressed on. Also, Hone’s quadriceps began to feel fried. “But, you know, I committed to the race, I was going to finish no matter what,” he said. At aid stations Hone chugged Mountain Dew, chomped on Pay Day candy bars and downed packets of energy goo. He experienced one mental lapse at about mile 40 when he began to calculate the hours remaining, but he quickly snapped out of it and kept himself focused on the idea of one step at a time. Running long distances is mostly mental; you have to keep yourself positive, he said. Hone also kept himself moving. He was afraid that if he sat down, his whole body would seize up. At mile 90 Hone became flush with the realization that he would finish the race, and kicked it into high gear. He landed himself a 10th place finish with a time of 28 hours, 52 minutes. Fellow Alaskan Geoff Roes placed first and broke the course record. “Nothing brings that same kind of satisfaction like completing 100 miles,” Hone said. “It was an amazing feeling when I finished.”
Hone is tall and wiry with sandy hair that falls across his ears. Tattoos wind around his right arm. He works as a sales representative for a company the makes chemicals. He has an unassuming, but confident demeanor, and his voice becomes alive when he talks about running. “I just love the challenge of the mountains. I always have,” Hone said. Hone started running four years ago when he signed up for a race on a whim. Ten kilometers later he was hooked. Now he runs twice a day and covers about 100 miles of rocky, snowy and steep terrain each week. He tries to get in as much elevation as possible - sometimes by running laps up and down Mount Baldy - but avoids a strict regimen. “If I were to get on a training program, I think I’d loose a lot of love for it,” he said. For Hone running has become a lifestyle. “It’s not like I schedule my day around running. It just happens,” he said. He points out that people watch on average three hours of television each day. “That’s 20 miles for me right there,” he said. Hone strives to inspire others to pick up running. His sisters and brother-in-law have followed in his footsteps; his brother-in-law just ran his first marathon. “I think man’s happiest when he’s active,” Hone said, adding that he once thought it would be impossible to run 26 miles, what alone 100. Hone’s advice for new runners: Don’t overdo it. Take it slow and just have fun. Hone’s favorite time to train is at night. Nobody else is out - it’s just him and his pit bull Ernie - and there’s nothing quite like watching a northern lights show on top of a mountain peak, he said. Hone plans to head back to the HURT next year. “I’m going to take a couple of hours off my time,” he said. In the meantime he’ll be cruising Alaska’s peaks, logging elevation and miles. “The body is so much more capable than what the mind tells it it can do,” he said. To read more about Hone’s running adventures, check out his blog at www.evanak-onemoremile.blogspot.com. Hone said he’d be happy to help people get going on a running schedule (free of charge). To get in touch with him, e-mail him at evanhone@gmail.com. This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, January 29, 2009. |
