Ultra Marathoner Jeff Gaft is in for the Long Run

Jan. 15, 2003

Many runners dream of someday doing a marathon as the reward for completing years of training and 10k races. But for Jeff Gaft, a marathon of 26.2 miles may be only half a race -- he is one of a handful of runners in Northern Michigan who are in for the long run of ultramarathon races totalling 50, 75, or even 100 miles.
In fact, Gaft, 47, a resident of Honor and the manager of Running Fit in Traverse City, has competed in approximately 75 ultramarathons since 1982, in addition to some 75 ordinary marathons.
And he notes that it‘s not all that different running an ultra as compared to a standard marathon -- it‘s just longer.
“You train the same as you would for a marathon,“ Gaft says. “If you can finish a marathon, you can do an ultra. You just plan to be out there all day, not to compete, but just to finish the race.“

EARLY DAYS
Gaft has been running since 1976 when he was 20 years old and recalls the early days of the running boom when 10k races attracted 20-25 participants and charged 25-cent entry fees; with no tee-shirts or post-race goodies.
Growing up in Livonia, he had a rapid introduction to distance running while attending Schoolcraft Community College.
“I began running two miles a day in junior college just to stay fit and was in gym class one day when the coach came in and said he didn‘t have enough members for the cross-country team,“ he recalls. “He asked if anyone was interested in joining and I raised my hand. The first time I went running with them, we ran eight miles, and the second time out, we ran 13. I was sore and tired, but I‘ve stuck with it ever since.“
He ran his first marathon the next year in 1977, competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association‘s Marathon Championship.
It was a tough race. “It was horrible,“ he recalls. “A really horrible situation. I was second from the last among the finishers with a time of 3:32. That was mostly because I had hurt my heel wearing a bad pair of shoes; so in that way, it was a good learning situation.“

ON THE RUN
“I started running more marathons just to see if I could do better,“ he adds. “But I always got stuck finishing just over three hours: 3:04, 3:02 -- always just under 3:10. Back then, you had to run under three hours in order to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and I just couldn‘t do it. Finally, I finished a race in 2:57, and they moved the time for qualifying in Boston back to 2:50.“
To improve his marathon time, Gaft upped his mileage, going from 60 miles per week to 90. He began running nine miles to work each way to and from his job in Mount Pleasant. With increased mileage came better finishing times. In the years since, Gaft has run the Boston Marathon many times, in addition to the Detroit Marathon and the Bayshore in Traverse City.
Although he never felt as competitive in the marathon as he would have liked, Gaft did notice that he always finished a race feeling that he had something left to give. He began reading about ultramarathons and decided to give one a try when he and his wife, Darby Moreno, took off on a three-month trip around the country one year.
His first ultramarathon was the Ice Age Trail 50 in southeastern Wisconsin.
“It was a tough race,“ he recalls. “I got lost twice and ended up running 57 miles instead of 50. It took me nine hours and 30 minutes. But next year I came back and ran it in under eight hours and was 12th overall. That‘s when I figured out that this was my sport.“

THE LONG RUN
Through the years, Gaft has had achieved feats of endurance that most runners can‘t begin to imagine. He‘s completed three 100-mile races, and ran in three additional 100-milers in which he was forced to drop out. His best time in a 50-miler on a paved surface was 6 hours, 20 minutes. His best time on a trail run (which always takes longer) was 7:45.
“Most ultras are trail runs because they‘re easier on your body and your mind,“ he says. “But they‘re also harder in that it takes longer to run on trails than on a road.“
Once, he and a friend ran more than 180 miles from Ann Arbor to St. Joseph along the back roads over a three-day period, eating in restaurants and staying in hotels along the way.
Gaft estimates that there are between 8,000-10,000 ultra runners in the country, with as many as 300 races, most of which are in California. Here in Michigan, his employer, Running Fit, sponsors the Dances With Dirt trail run in Pinckney each year, which is offered as either a 50k or 50-mile run for individuals, or a 100k team relay. Running Fit also stages the Trail Marathon race in Pinckney each year, an off-road marathon which Gaft created, serving as race director for five years.
What does it take to complete an ultramarathon? Lots of weekly training miles for starters. Beyond that, Gaft advises walking the hills, eating energy foods and drinking lots of water during the race, and taking salt tablets to counteract the loss of electrolytes.
Most ultramarathoners spend part of the race walking, he notes. “Some people have schedules; they‘ll run for 20 minutes and walk for two, or some kind of plan like that. I don‘t have a plan, except to walk the steep hills.“

INJURY FREE
Gaft also says that injuries haven‘t been a problem for him, despite the fact that he runs 50-75 miles a week all year ‘round.
“One thing I do is when my body has an ache, I back off immediately and rest,“ he says. “If there‘s a possible injury, you could be out for two or three weeks; so I‘d rather be off for two or three days than try to push through the pain when I know I shouldn‘t.“
Regarding shoes, he says it‘s best to find a pair that works well for you and then stick with the same model. Regarding how often to buy new shoes, Gaft says he relies on how his body feels to know when a shoe is worn out. He buys new shoes on the average of every six weeks, putting 360-400 miles on each pair.
But why do it? Is there any special insight that comes at the end of a 50-mile race? Any transcendent feeling that comes from pushing oneself to the limit?
“No, but what I do feel at the end of a race is a real feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment that you can‘t get any other way,“ Gaft says. “And it lasts for awhile -- it‘s not physical, it‘s mental.“
Currently, he‘s averaging two-to-four ultramarathons per year. This year, he plans on doing the Ice Age 50 again, and possibly a 100-mile trail run this summer. He‘d also like to run a marathon in three hours or under -- not a bad performance for a 47-year-old.
And for the future? Gaft hopes to keep running long distances well into his old age. “There‘s no end in sight,“ he says. “Like the Nike commercial says, there is no finish line.“