Van Winkle: The Ultramarathoner

The Fairbanks coach is currently training for an ultramarathon, and everyone thinks he's crazy.

If you’re driving through the countryside of West Mansfield, Ohio during the crepuscular hours of the day, you may just see someone out running mile after mile after mile on the deserted roads. Who is it? And what the heck is he doing? And why?!? The person in question is none other than Fairbanks Cross Country head coach Mike Van Winkle. What he’s doing is training for a 100 mile ultramarathon. As for why, Van Winkle himself doesn’t even have a sufficient answer. “It all came to me in a dream one night after I was done with the second milking of my cows. I had taken a dipper of the fresh milk and drank it down, so warm. Then, an overwhelming sleepiness took over. The next thing I knew, I was racing down a hill at breakneck speed. There were other racers around me, and we were all jostling for position. Someone behind me yelled, ‘Only 97 miles to go!’ and that’s when I realized that I was in an ultramarathon.” Whether or not the milk Van Winkle consumed before his dream had any impact on his visions, we can’t say. “I remember that batch of milk tasted a little funky, but I chalked it up to the new barley that I had fed the cows that day. Regardless, I now knew what my mission was. One race. 100 miles. I knew I had to start training like never before.” The next day Van Winkle drove to the Columbus Running Company and bought five pairs of new running shoes. “You really need to have the proper equipment when embarking upon so perilous a journey. I have to look out for my arches and start to develop calluses where blisters might form. One good blister has been known to foil even the most well-prepared runner.” Sometimes, to make training a little more enjoyable and a little less lonely, Van Winkle runs with his cows. “I just open the gate, and the best cow athletes step out. I take off at pace, and they stay with me. I can’t explain it. I tried to get JP [assistant coach Jeff Powell] to join me on one of my runs, but he said that he was too busy. Classic JP.” When asked about her husband’s exploits, Emily Van Winkle just rolled her eyes and sighed. “I don’t know. Mike gets all these crazy notions in his head, and once the ball starts rolling, there’s no talking sense into him. But his training is good for the dairy business, because he downs chocolate milk before, during, and after his run.” Yesterday alone, Van Winkle chalked up 25 miles and the plan is to do another 15 today. “I’m averaging right around 8 minutes per mile. That needs to change. So I’m just going to keep attacking until that average comes down a minute or so. I can’t just show up on race day knowing that I hadn’t trained hard enough. I’m like Rocky in Rocky IV. I don’t need high tech treadmills or biometrics. Just give me a decent pair of shoes and the open road . . . and a cow or two. . . and I’ll be just fine.” Keep checking back to Substack as we follow Van Winkle on his magical mystery quest for the ultramarathon.