Local runner enters first 100-mile competition
Brian Harvey is said to be crazy.
He will run this weekend in the Angeles Crest 100-mile Endurance
Run down in Southern California, an ultra marathon that will be
non-stop from the starting point in Wrightwood to the finish line
in Pasadena.
His goal is to simply cross the finish line.
Harvey has also been described as inspirational, a term that may
be non-existent when initially reacting to his
”
crazy
”
story, but one that eventually comes along, slowly,
nonetheless.
Local runner enters first 100-mile competition
Brian Harvey is said to be crazy.
He will run this weekend in the Angeles Crest 100-mile Endurance Run down in Southern California, an ultra marathon that will be non-stop from the starting point in Wrightwood to the finish line in Pasadena.
His goal is to simply cross the finish line.
Harvey has also been described as inspirational, a term that may be non-existent when initially reacting to his “crazy” story, but one that eventually comes along, slowly, nonetheless.
He previously weighed 240 pounds, and only started running – and found comfort in running – to get back in shape.
That was about four years and 70 pounds ago.
“I think it’s kind of crazy that he’s running 100 miles,” said Harvey’s mother-in-law and Hollister resident Arlene Martin. “But it’s pretty cool. I can’t wait to see him at the finish line.”
Although he probably won’t be shattering any world records in the race – this will be the first time he’s ever eclipsed 68 miles – Harvey has already broken through many of the barriers he originally thought would hold him back.
If he ever thought something was impossible, that simply laid the foundation for him to eventually accomplish it.
“Why not set up these, what I would view as impossible goals, and try and go for it?” Harvey said. “I’ve found that there’s a lot of self-imposed restrictions on what you think you can achieve. It’s really up to you to decide whether or not you want to make it.”
Harvey, 32, is not a motivational speaker. An industry marketing manager with Akamai Technologies, Harvey is responsible for the marketing plans of the company, which works closely with the video game industry.
A graduate of Gilroy High, Harvey, interestingly enough, was a self-described skater, spending his days not on the track or the cross-country team, but in the parking lot or on the ski slopes snowboarding.
“As I continued to grow, I’ve realized the whole skater mentality, punk rock-type thing, it wasn’t limiting, but at the same time, I feel now I’m capable of accomplishing what I want to go after,” Harvey said. “With every single run, when I head out the door, I just remember why I’m out running. It’s mainly just to enjoy the run, to enjoy life, and just get out there and that freedom of movement.
“I’m a slow runner. I don’t like to hurt myself. But I find that as long as I have a goal, it’s pretty easy for me to go out there and get through my workouts.”
One night, before the age of 30, Harvey decided to run up to a friend’s house in Sunnyslope Village for, what he said, some stogies and cheap wine. It was just a couple of blocks away, and Harvey, at the time, was 240 pounds.
“I couldn’t get to the second stop sign without my lungs burning. I almost gave up that night,” said Harvey, who quickly committed himself to getting in shape the following weekend, but noted that he started and stopped his training about six times before fully committing himself.
“I started reading about all these people that would do these 100-mile races,” Harvey added. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy. These guys are nuts. There’s no way I’d be able to do something like that.’ But I guess with that, it’s like, ‘Why not? Why not set that as a goal?'”
Harvey’s outgoingness inspired even his mother-in-law, Arlene Martin, who is set to race the Rock ‘n Roll Half-Marathon in San Jose in October – her first such race.
“Just watching him grow as a runner was very important,” said Martin, who has also battled weight issues. “He’s a pretty persuasive young man. It’s easy to get caught up with what he’s doing and I’m glad I did. I am a happy 52-year-old.”
Harvey has been training for the last 3 ½ years for this century race, a short time in the running world, but he says he’s pushing it just to see if he can.
For the last year, Harvey has been running one to one and a half hours a day, four days a week, approximately six miles a day. On Saturday or Sunday, he’ll run anywhere from three to six hours, putting his distance anywhere from 25 to 30 miles. His personal record in a 50-mile race was eight hours, 53 minutes.
Training at the Hollister Hills Nature Area, Henry Coe State Park or the De Anza trailhead in San Juan Bautista, Harvey even does his errands by running, sometimes meeting his wife by foot at the Costco in Gilroy, or sometimes even running to Moss Landing to have lunch with the family at Phil’s Fish Market.
“I don’t nearly have his distance,” said Harvey’s friend and Morgan Hill resident Clay Causin. Causin is one of the few runners in the area that has actually trained with Harvey, whose running sessions can last from six to eight hours at a time.
“When we go hiking, he’ll run from Hollister to Morgan Hill, and they we’ll hike up El Toro,” Causin said. “He definitely runs more with me than me with him.”
Although he just wants to cross the finish line in the allotted time of 33 hours, Harvey’s numerical goal is to break 30 hours at the Angeles Crest 100, a time that would place him 55th out of 89 finishers in last year’s race.
Breaking 30 hours would also mean Harvey would have to average a very below-average 18-minute mile. Of course, when you factor in bathroom breaks, eating, changing socks and, perhaps, sleeping (something Harvey has said he won’t do), an 18-minute mile becomes more of a feat, especially, say, during mile 95.
The 100-mile course includes 90 miles of trails and 48,310 feet of total elevation change. It will start 5 a.m. Saturday in Wrightwood and end at approximately 2 p.m. Sunday in Pasadena.
“Failure exists to prove how much you want something,” said Harvey, quoting the late professor Randy Pausch. “I haven’t hit a failure point. If I do drop out of this race or I get hurt, it’s not gonna be the end of the world. It just means that I’ve got to try one more time and prove how bad I want something.”
While researching the race on the event’s Web site one day, Harvey noticed that his name was mistakenly placed in the “Dropped” list, which contained the names of runners who had withdrawn from the event.
It turned out the Web site was simply testing the program before the race started, but Harvey quickly printed out the page.
“I saw that and I was like, ‘No way. I’m not gonna let that happen,'” said Harvey, who seems to find motivation in just about every instance.
“It inspired me,” he said.
