Photo by Joe King
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Without a little companionship, Scott McMurtrey’s long runs six or seven days a week would be lonely. Thankfully, he found a solution.
“I got my dog Sadie as a way to motivate me to train and run regularly. I got her a year before the Portland marathon and she trained with me,” he said.
The four-year-old border collie has run up to 47 miles at one time with McMurtrey – and still had energy left, he said.
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PULLMAN – “Join the Army, see the world,” says the longtime recruitment slogan. WSU’s Scott McMurtrey did and, while he’s no longer in the military, seeing the world – particularly while running – remains his passion.
“I joined the Army right out of high school and got to see Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. All of the training in the Army and experiences there definitely made me want to experience more,” he said.
“People go on hikes in the mountains and it can take all day to hike 10 miles. But you can see much more if you’re running,” he said.
Seeing – and running – much more looms on McMurtrey’s horizon. In March, he will travel to Chile’s Atacama Desert to run a 150 mile (250 km) race. It’s one phase of a four-part desert circuit: the driest (Atacama), hottest (Sahara), windiest (Gobi), and coldest (Antarctic) deserts in the world.
High desert challenge
His race in the Atacama will be one mile above sea level. It will involve five stages ranging from 26-45 miles and an “easy” sixth stage of 10K (6.2 miles).
“The racers have to carry their gear, which makes the race even harder. It is not easy running with an extra 20 pounds on your back,” McMurtrey said.
There are about 150 participants in these types of races, he said, and the cost is about $3,000.
“I’m fortunate to have Brooks Running and the Palouse Falls Brewing Company sponsoring me, since it costs so much,” he said. “I helped create a running club that meets every Wednesday at the brewery. From July to December, Palouse falls donated all Wednesday tips toward my Chile race, which has helped a lot.
“This race will be the most difficult challenge I have ever faced.”
Variety keeps him going
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That’s saying quite a lot. McMurtrey did his first marathon in Portland, Ore. in 2007. He has run seven marathons and 17 ultra-marathons since. He has skydived and bungee jumped, even though he is afraid of heights.
But the novelty and variety make it worthwhile. He tends to prefer new trails or routes when training for a race. He enjoys the road trips to races almost as much as the running. The unfamiliarity of his surroundings keeps him motivated and excited about what he will get to see.
Work reaps benefits of running
And that excitement carries over into confidence in his work at WSU. McMurtrey has been with the Writing Program for more than four years and has been program support supervisor for more than two years. His work consists of advising students, staff and departments on Writing Program policies, personnel issues, budget monitoring and more.
Most students who meet with him are working to complete their junior writing portfolio.
He likes the solitude that running provides as a break from his work with people. They balance each other out, he said.
“Running allows me to be in myself and my thoughts. Running has taught me a lot about myself and what I’m capable of doing,” he said. “A result of this is that tasks or projects or problems at work don’t seem quite as daunting as they might have a few years ago.”
Instead, he feels free and confident – which should prove helpful resources to draw upon for the race in Chile.
Follow McMurtrey’s training and running logs at his blog: http://www.ikeeprunning.com/. Last summer, McMurtrey ran across Idaho in a single day to raise money for the race in Chile. Find an interactive map from Washington State Magazine here.