Brian Morrison at Western States - from Leah Jurek

[rune163]

Hey folks,

From the US ultra list here is what Leah Jurek had to say about what happened at the finish line of Western States with Brian Morrison.

"They are lined under the starting banner at Squaw Valley. It's
> > 5:00 AM. They run, walk, and crawl to make it over the 100 miles
> > ahead of them. Some of them give up. Some of them give it almost
> > everything they have. Some give it their all. Some make it to
> > Foresthill. Some to the River. Some all the way to Auburn. They
> > are all adventurers looking for challenges and growth. They are
> > all better people for preparing and daring to be there on that day.
> > They use their bodies to grow their souls.
> >
> > They run with the determination of a warriors. One warrior is a
> > two time loser in the lottery. He has big dreams for this third
> > year. He trains with Scott Jurek. Rather than competing with him,
> > he absorbs information like a sponge. He does his homework and
> > trains like a maniach. He manages a running shoe store, proposes
> > to his girlfriend, plans a wedding, is a son, a grandson, a friend
> > to many, a good citizen. He is unselfish, but he knows what he
> > wants to do on this June 24th of 2006 and what he needs to do to
> > prepare.
> >
> > He wants Scott Jurek to pace him, but is too shy to ask. Why would
> > I deserve him as a pacer, he asks himself. I say, Scott, will you
> > pace Brian? He can't decline as this young man, if not yet a
> > champion, deserves to be.
> >
> > Our warrior, Brian Morrison, runs the race to the edge. He comes
> > near his limits, but stays smart, backing off when the heat is on
> > in the canyons. He runs like a champion down to the River, passing
> > the three men in front of him. He makes up 22 minutes in 12 miles.
> > Winning this race is no longer a dream. He is making it a reality.
> > He takes care of his body and his crew hears no complaints. They
> > see a man running with determination to be the first to Auburn.
> >
> > Running in first, one has no idea how close someone is behind you.
> > In second, you know just how close someone is in front. At Hwy 49
> > Brian is running in first and is told they are breathing down his
> > neck. The crew doesn't know. They find out as the eventual winner
> > comes in five minutes later. At No Hands he is told they are
> > breathing down his neck, because they now know. Before the race he
> > was told the winner is who wants it the most and is willing to hurt
> > the most. He is feeling strong and pushes harder and harder. He
> > is determined to win this race.
> >
> > He pushes even harder up Robie, fearing the runner behind him will
> > catch and pass him. He gives an effort rarely seen. He rounds the
> > last turn. His crew sees him start to stagger slightly. He's
> > moving so fast. They've all had a goal to get to this track. He
> > stumbles into the curb, tripping and falling. The track is right
> > there. He gets up, continuing to move fast, but staggering. They
> > are yelling to slow down, it's okay. Calm down, no one is behind
> > you. Here is the track. Enjoy it! You've earned it! Be careful!
> > Why is he staggering?
> >
> > The champion enters the track. He collapses, eyes rolling in their
> > sockets. The former champion says, Brian, can you get up? Can you
> > crawl? He says no. They help him up. They say, can you walk?
> > They let go. The warrior's legs that brought him to this track can
> > not maintain his weight. They are done. He is not done. His legs
> > continue to propel him forward. Only they cannot maintain his
> > weight. Something in the warrior is still running, his legs are
> > moving. Something else in the warrior is done. The pacers are
> > scared. The crew is scared. They start moving him forward along
> > the track. One says, can we do this? No one answers. They know
> > the answer. They see in the warrior that he is still running, even
> > though his body is not physically able to. They are heartbroken.
> > They are scared. They don't speak. They don't think. They bring
> > the warrior where he is trying to go. This is no longer a race.
> > This is an emergency situation.
> >
> > I am more scared than I have ever been. I have seen some heroic
> > performances in endurance racing. I have seen none like this.
> > Brian gave it his all. And that is tough to do. Maybe he gave a
> > little too much. How does one know until they've pushed that hard?
> > I beeline to the finish area to hear, can they do that, can they do
> > that? Why isn't anyone helping, I think? Can't they see the
> > trouble? Why is everyone concerned about this race? Maybe they
> > don't see what we see. I run to Scott because that's all I know
> > how to do. He is smart and will help. They are now 30 feet from
> > the finish. I tell him they say we can't do this. He says, what
> > else are we going to do? There is no time. I turn around and see
> > everyone standing at the finish. Why aren't they doing anything?
> > Pacers decide to give Brian one last try to do this on his own.
> > For dignity? It's what they do. He's on the ground. They pick
> > him up. I spot Dr. Lind in the crowd. I sprint to him and tell
> > him what started happening when we rounded that last corner before
> > entering the track. Brian is swept up and taking to the medical
> > tent. We know he's not the winner. But we know he's a champion.
> > He's unconscious. He doesn't know the difference.
> >
> > Medical is doing their job, quite possibly saving the warrior's
> > life. Brian comes around and an ambulance is on the way. We hear
> > on the loudspeaker that he will more than likely be disqualified.
> > We know that. We don't want the warrior, the champion, to know
> > he's not the winner. We are scared for him. We want him to be
> > better. We promise to let him get better. We want him to feel
> > like a champion. Scott will tell him in the morning.
> >
> > Brian ran this race with heart, soul, determination. He proved
> > himself here. Scott paced him, but Brian did the work. Brian
> > pushed himself, ran this race for himself, and ran it smart.
> > Pushed too hard? How do we know for sure? Something happened, and
> > it happened quickly. He will decide. We were scared, as there appeared to be no warning signs.
> > And it was so severe. Scott would never push anyone past their
> > limits. This warrior was running his own race.
> >
> > We honor every rule and the true spirit of the sport. It's clean,
> > it's pure, it's full of heart and good people. We get so much from
> > it. Why would we violate anything in order to win? This race was
> > over. We can lose. It turned in to an emergency situation. We
> > were acting viscerally. We would rather have people asking why we
> > picked him up than asking why we didn't. Maybe we should have done
> > something differently, but letting him get there on his own was not
> > an option. Bringing medical to him or him to medical didn't occur
> > to us until later. We were all racing for that finish line. The
> > Western States Board and rules didn't lose this race for Brian.
> > Nor did his pacers or crew. His central nervous system did.
> >
> > We congratulate Brian. We congratulate the winners of the race,
> > Graham and Nikki, and everyone who made it to Auburn, or somewhere
> > in between there and Squaw Valley. You are all heroes. This is
> > why we love to sit at that finish line every year until every last
> > finisher arrives. We love to see and feel the energy of everyone
> > fulfilling a dream. We didn't try to cause controversy. We didn't
> > try to take away from anyone's finish. We feel badly that some
> > were overshadowed by this. We were just working from our hearts for
> > our hero of the day. He will be back for more and we hope everyone
> > can see what a special, kind, talented, and humble human being this
> > champion is.
> >
> > ******
> >
> > One can't blame a man for opening his heart and soul. For putting
> > it all out there on race day. One can't blame the people that love
> > him for picking him up when he's fallen. As athletes, let's keep
> > putting it all out there. As humans, let's keep celebrating each
> > other when we succeed. And let's support each other when we fail.
> >
> > I'm not sure what hurts the most. The fact that we could have lost
> > Brian? The heartbreak of losing the race? Or that anyone would
> > question our motives? This was extremely traumatic. And following
> > the trauma was heartbreak. When one opens their heart, it's more
> > vulnerable to breaking. When one puts it all on the line on race
> > day, they're more vulnerable to breaking. Let's keep encouraging
> > these men and everyone else in the sport to keep living with an
> > open heart and to keep racing with passion. To everyone who put it
> > all out there on race day, I can't wait to see you next time.
> > You're all champions.
> >
> > Leah Jurek"

[seuss]

wow!

[deb]

that was an awesome write up....thanks for posting that!

[clocker]

Thanks Rune. Along with your recent report, this left me filled with a sense of the integrity of the participants.
Ian