By Steven Sellers, Courier Assistant Sports Editor:

    Imagine you’re in a 100-mile race through the Rockies. You zip into the Colorado night, dive into a canyon, scale a 12,000-foot summit, and see the sun peak over the mountains 24 hours later. Now imagine doing it all on foot.

    Jerry Turk imagines it and he does it. He is one of a growing number of endurance runners who have elevated long-distance running to an art form, mixing human endurance with nature in a sport variously called “adventure running,” the more accurate “endurance running,” or just “ultra” for short.

    “As a teenager, I was a swimmer,” says Jerry, of Guilford. “But when I lived in the South of England, running became more convenient. I loved the rolling hills and the country areas. Eventually, I moved into adventure racing. When I came to this country in 2002, I concentrated on trail running—I found them much more interesting than roads. Then other local people became interested and the whole thing snowballed.”

    Jerry liked trail running so much that he became, well, its trailblazer in Connecticut.

    “I’ve always been involved with a group of local runners,” he says. “It was nice to see people join and see their confidence increase. Then we decided to put on headlamps and it really became fun.”

    Headlamps? Some runners take to the trails at night, upping the challenge even more. And anyone faintly familiar with endurance running knows that 100-mile courses mean running all night; you supply your own illumination.

    Endurance running has become so popular that there is a “Grand Slam” for the sport. Four annual events, held each year from California to Vermont, define hardcore endurance runners. Technically they are timed races, but the victories are collective ones, measured by an ability to survive the challenge, not unlike scaling Mt. Everest.

    The first (and original) event is the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run, held each June in the Sierra Nevada of California. It is followed in July by the Vermont 100-miler, Colorado’s Leadville Trail 100-mile Run in August, and Utah’s Wasatch Front 100-mile Endurance Run in September. Most of the runs have an outside limit of 30 hours to complete the course, putting the enormity of the test in perspective.

    Each run is unique. In some, like Vermont, runners are joined on the trail by horses and in others, like Leadville, they are buffeted by winds at 12,000-foot summits. The Wasatch Run, which puts any Stairmaster to shame, features a cumulative altitude gain of 26,882 feet and a cumulative altitude loss of 26,131 feet.

    Preparing for such runs is a guessing game, Jerry explains, because “you don’t know how your body is going to react” to such extremes.

    “My goal was to build a massive amount of endurance,” Jerry says. “You learn what to do, what not to do, how to deal with feet in sneakers for that length of time, and that sort of thing. This year I’ve put on the mileage. I’d do long runs on Saturday and Sunday, five to six hours.”

    In this year’s Vermont 100, Jerry finished 27th overall out of 266 runners and fourth in the 50-59 age group. His time was an impressive 21 hours, 15 minutes, and 18 seconds.

    The Leadville 100 in July was more difficult. It proved that endurance runners must be ready for anything: weather, forest fires (the Western 100 was cancelled because of one), wildlife, and even a stomach bug.

    “I wasn’t feeling at all well the day before,” Jerry explains with an engaging British accent. “I only had two cups of coffee and half a bagel. I struggled to get enough calories. At the halfway point, I questioned whether I could make it to the end. I stayed with it until mile 77, when I could barely keep my legs up. I knew I had another 10K climb ahead so I decided to call it a day.”

    Jerry, of course, will be at the starting line of the next ultra-distance event, but endurance running is only the leading edge of his passion. He has been a strong voice for trail running in Connecticut, notably in the annual Bimblers Bash, a 10K race he organizes each spring on Guilford’s Westwoods Trails. Getting out on the trails, he says, is the key.

    “I felt that Connecticut has been underserved [in trail racing]” Jerry says. “There are plenty of 5K and 10K road races, but there’s not enough trail running events.”

    Jerry, who is a software developer for PowerPhone in Madison, has yet another adventure in the works. This time it will join three of his passions: trail running, endurance running, and the scenic open spaces of Guilford and Madison.

    “On Oct. 26, we’ll be doing the first completely off-road trail ultra-race in Connecticut,” says Jerry. “It’s a 50K run called Bimblers Bluff. I was able to get the support of eight landowners in Guilford and Madison to do the race. It’s a loop course that will go through Water Authority land, state land, and private land, following the Mattabesset trail into the Rockland Preserve in Madison. The foliage should be pretty and the intention is to expose people to the trail systems in these great open spaces we have.”

Sidelines with Jerry Turk

What’s your most memorable sports moment?

    My first race in Virginia really sucked me in. As I came over the last few hills, I knew I was close. I remember the sun was shining and I heard people cheering. It gives me a lump my throat even now. After your first race, finishes become more of a relief than a joy.

What advice do you have for would-be endurance runners?

    The most competitive trail runners are in their 40s. They’re better able to deal with the stresses and strains. The oldest entrant in the Leadville [Colorado] 100-mile race was more than 70 years old. If you prepare yourself properly and believe in yourself, anything is possible.

Pictured: Jerry Turk is a trailblazer, bringing the burgeoning sport of trail running to new heights in Connecticut.

Photo courtesy of Cathi Bosco

link to on-line version: http://zip06.theday.com:80/blogs/guilford_courier/archive/2008/08/27/jerry-turk-an-enduring-passion-for-trail-running.aspx