[Sly Fox]

The Richmond fishwrap has another writeup on Doc Horton and his obscenely long runs:

Hitting the Pacific Crest Trail, all 2,666 miles, in record time

LEE GRAVES
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

David Horton has almost healed.

Eight of his 10 toenails have grown back.

"I would say I'm 90 to 95 percent back to normal, and I started a year and a week ago. It's taken that long, and I'm still not completely recovered."

What could take such a toll on a runner?

The Pacific Crest Trail, a 2,666-mile path along the West Coast that Horton completed in the record time of 66 days, 7 hours, 16 minutes.

The next question after "what" is "why." Why put your body through such punishment?

For the hundreds of extreme athletes who will be running and biking the trails around Richmond this weekend in the Capital One Adventure Games and the Nissan XTerra East Championship, the question is one they've asked themselves many times. And the answer is obvious and elusive.

The obvious answer is because it's a challenge.

The elusive - well, it's hard to explain enduring a challenge that makes you cry every day, that makes you talk to your toes and promise them the abuse is almost over, that gives you bad dreams and makes you wake up sweating.

That's what Horton, who teaches exercise physiology and other classes at Liberty University in Lynchburg, went through in 1991 when he ran the Appalachian Trail, all 2,160 miles, in 52 days, 9 hours, 41 minutes. The record stood until 1999, when a Connecticut postal carrier went from Georgia to Maine in 48 days, 20 hours, 11 minutes.

The AT was the first of Horton's three biggies. The second was 1995's Trans-America Footrace, a 2,906-mile test. He finished third, averaging more than 45 miles a day.

Of those three, the Pacific Crest Trail was hardest, he said in a phone interview Tuesday. It took about 13 hours a day to keep up the pace of 40 miles a day.

"I had no life. It was like, every day you're going to get out of your cage for 13 hours, we're going to beat you to death on the PCT, you're going to shower, clean up, eat, make a couple of phone calls and go to bed."

"The last three weeks, my average getting-up time was 3 a.m."

He almost gave up on Day 27 after a missed connection meant going 26½ hours without food. But he took off Day 28.

"I wouldn't have made it if I hadn't done that, and it's mentally I wouldn't have made it.

"You always quit mentally before you quit physically."

Horton is full of motivational one-liners, and he shares them in his classes and with other runners. His speaking engagements have ranged from Seattle to a talk he gave Wednesday at the Charlottesville Running Co.

He also motivates through the races he helps organize - the Mountain Masochist 50-miler, the Promise Land 50K and the Hellgate 100K.

"I stand at the finish line and speak to every single runner that crosses the finish line. Some of the people who finish in the middle or the back of the pack - these are the people I'm more glad for because, in many cases, they have achieved more," he said.

Therein lies much of the "why" behind the challenges.

"People like exceeding their limits and reaching tough goals," he said.

Horton's exploits are chronicled in books and a recent DVD, "The Runner." He also is on the board of the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club and helps maintain part of the trail.

Some critics have wondered if runners and speed-hikers appreciate the natural beauty trails afford.

"Much more so than you think," he said. "I love nature, I love it."

Horton, who went over the 100,000-mile career mark in November, has no immediate plans for another big run or record attempt. He'll be at the Highlands Sky 40-miler in West Virginia this weekend and in Switzerland in July for a 100K race.

For the athletes who will be on the trails around Richmond this weekend, he has a few motivational words.

"Enjoy it - and don't stop."

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Sa ... s!outdoors