Fred Shufflebarger is my first nomination for the Orange County Runner's Hall of Fame, in the Ultra-Running Category. I think Fred Shufflebarger's career exemplifies the career model of champion athletes and illustrates some important points that will be useful to you when you experience setbacks in your progress toward your personal goals.

On October 3, 1992, Fred Shufflebarger won the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run, completing the race in 19:22:16, the second fastest time ever run on this very demanding course and more than two hours faster than Fred's previous best time. Many of Fred's friends know him as "Fast Fred," but Fred hasn't always been that fast. Fred raced for five years before he won his first race. And then after he had won a few races, he learned he wasn't as fast as he thought and he still had more to learn.  Fred and I talked about his race and the road he traveled to reach his lofty goal. Since Fred's experiences are so similar to those of other top runners I have known, I would like to share some of his comments. This is Fred's story:

"When I first started running, I wasn't that serious about my training, and for the most part it was hit and miss. I knew I wanted to race, but I didn't give much thought to what kind of training I needed to do to prepare for these races. In those days I would go to races and think about how hard they were. Maybe I was a little afraid of committing myself to these races, or of having to go all out, so I wouldn't really train for them. Then I would run these races, when I wasn't well prepared, but when I still had high expectations for myself, and I would usually go out too fast and die at the end. It took me a few years to learn that a lot of times the races were mostly hard because I wasn't prepared, or because my expectations were too high, and not because the races were really that difficult.

Now I know that when you are prepared, races seem easier. When you have trained properly you know what your abilities are and you are more realistic about your expectations. Your body knows more or less what it has to do, and therefore you get a better performance. You get a better performance, because you are tuned in to your body and know what to expect. The more specific training you do, the more you are in tune with your body and know what to expect.

My break though race was the San Francisco Marathon in 1985. It was the first race where I had a goal and I made a commitment to achieve that goal. That was the first time I had done that, ever. And the thing that struck me most about that race was that I nearly hit my goal of 2:45, which was a goal I just pulled out of the air. I ran 2:46, which was almost right on and quite an improvement over my previous personal record of 2:55. The second thing I noticed about the race is, I just went out and ran it; there was no drama. I didn't struggle, I just ran it. It was rather uneventful. Since then I have noticed that this often happens when I'm well prepared, when I know the course and what I have to do and when I am mentally and physically prepared; the race just takes care of itself.

The following year I won the Mule Run 50K, and that got me to thinking that I might be able to achieve something with my running. But then I ran the San Juan Trail 50 Mile and didn't run as well as I thought I could and so I ended up disappointed. Then the following February I ran the Pacific Crest Trail 50 Miles and won that, so things started looking up again. The next few years were up and down, I improved my marathon personal record to 2:38, and set a few records at the Pacific Crest Trail 50 Mile, but many of my other races were frustrating.

1988, 89 and 90 were bad for me. It's kind of hard to think about those years. In races like the Mule Run 50K, which I had won on my first attempt, I now finished a few places back. And although it seemed I had potential to run well in 100-mile races, I had a tough time finishing them. For example, I finished the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run in 1988, but I was over-trained and burnt out and my time of 23:23 was pretty disappointing. Then, after being part of the lead pack for the first 30 miles, I dropped out of the Western States 100-mile in 1990.

The Western States 100 in 1990 was another break through, because it helped me to realize that I was better than I thought, but that because I went out too fast, I destroyed my quads and then I had to drop out.

I started to think that if I was ever going to be successful at running 100-mile races, I needed to learn more about what it would take to be successful. I started the Angeles Crest 100 Mile Endurance Run in 1990 intending to run slow, finish and hopefully learn something about racing 100 miles. Everything went well until 57 miles where I started racing and ended up bonking and dropping out. This race taught me not to race "people" and how to eat properly. I learned that if you bonk you can come back if you eat something.

I went to the Angeles Crest 100 in 1991 not expecting to run real great and nearly ran away with the race. I got in the lead and had fun, but my problem was that I didn't have a plan that included me leading and therefore I wasn't prepared for leading when it happened. I did better than I expected, but I tired late and finished second. All in all I ran a good race, even considering I faltered at the end. The race taught me that if I trained properly, I could run a pace that could win and that set me up for this year.