Cell Biologist Is On the Run Pathology Professor Participates in 30-Hour Ultramarathons

Since he began running during the 1970s, Ryerse estimated he has put at least 50,000 miles on his body. Many of those he logged while preparing for and participating in what some consider an extreme sport: ultramarathons, any run over the standard 26.2-mile marathon.

His favorite "ultramarathon" distance is the 100-miler, which can take up to 30 hours to complete.

"Some people think I have a screw loose, but what I have is a passion for what I consider a positive addiction," said Ryerse, who came to the University in 1980. "Running keeps me sharp. I sleep better, food tastes better, my life seems richer, and I have more confidence in myself. After you've run through the night on a pitch black mountain with coyotes howling nearby, dealing with something like a broken-down car or a leaky faucet is nothing."

Long-distance running did not start out as an addiction for Ryerse. He ran cross-county in high school and recreationally in graduate school at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. But at the University of California-Irvine, where Ryerse did his postdoctoral studies, the weather was always perfect for a run. He began training and racing on a regular basis. Ryerse stuck mostly to 5K, 10K and 10-mile races until a friend talked him into a marathon in 1978. He was hooked, and since that time has run nearly 50 marathons, including three in Boston.

"Initially I loved the competition of racing," Ryerse said. "I tried to make the best time in my age group and set personal records. But eventually the satisfaction wore off. Running wasn't about the destination anymore, it was about the journey."

That was when Ryerse turned to ultramarathons, where the focus is more on endurance than speed. Instead of competing with other runners, you compete with yourself. He started out in 1996 at the age of 51 with the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. While everyone else was putting together teams of eight to 10 people to walk, Ryerse registered as a team of one to run 50 miles. He circled the track at Vianney High School 200 times in 11 hours to finish.

While it was his first, it was not his most memorable ultramarathon. In 1999, Ryerse entered the Rocky Raccoon 50K trail run in Huntsville State Park north of Houston with his daughters Tashya Ryerse and Amy Moser, who was two months pregnant at the time.

"It was special having three generations of Ryerses in the same race," he recalled.

His confidence lifted by the 50K and 50-mile runs, Ryerse graduated to 100K races and in 1998 he ran his first 100-mile ultramarathon in Wisconsin. It took him 27 hours and 10 minutes.

"It was a high I'll never forget," Ryerse said, "and in some ways I still feel like I'm on it. Running long distances on woodland trails is a great way to keep in touch with the natural beauty of the world around us, and it's a terrific stress reliever."

Ryerse also said the distance gives him time to think through problems. If he is having difficulty with an experiment at work or a problem at home, he usually has it figured out by the end of the 100 miles. And because the pace is slower, Ryerse said runners are able to carry on conversations during the journey to pass the time.

"If you can't run and talk at the same time in an ultramarathon, you're probably running too fast," he said.

Only elite ultramarathon athletes can run non-stop for 100 miles. "Most runners, including me, walk between 20 and 30 miles of the 100, but we never stop moving forward."

Since 1998 Ryerse has entered 10 100-mile ultramarathons, finishing all but three.

"My nemesis is altitude," said Ryerse, who recently dropped out of a Colorado race that is run between 9,200 and 12,600 feet. "My back and legs cramp on the steep mountain trails, and I can't go on, but I'm training to rectify that."

After all, Ryerse said, pain is temporary. Pride is forever.

"The only thing that will stop me is if I stop having fun, and right now I'm having a blast."

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