Mark Tanaka

blog: ultrailnaka.blogspot.com

What are some of your lifetime running goals?:

to continue to run lots of ultras, while still being a great dad and husband. would be cool to get 100 100-milers under my belt, and to be able to finish ultras into my 70's.

Do you have a claim to fame?:

I suspect I'm one of the few, if not the only, person to finish first and last in a 100-mile race.



Do you have any vices?:

I sometimes covet others' race schedules, but for someone with my job and two small kids, I think I do pretty well. Post-long-run gluttony, though given how skinny I am, probably not a vice.

What makes you tick as a runner and in the real world?:

sometimes competition and camrederie, but more often just chances to escape the stresses of civilization or eat a lot of yummy food

What drives you to run?:

Exercise withdrawal feels too awful, and swimming laps gets boring pretty fast.

What is your favorite movie?:

I no longer have the leisure to pick favorites independently my kids' current tastes, which last week included "Up."

Do you have any nicknames? Explain:

Also dictated by my two young kids, sometimes inappropriate.

What's the longest you've gone without sleep? Why?:

about 50 hours to drive to and finish the 2009 McNaughton 150 mile trail run. This does not answer the question of Why? Why, I ask, do I do stuff like that?

If you had to be named after one of the 50 states,
which would it be?:

DC, the unrepresented non-state, in the center of it all, yet outside the box. Dakota Tanaka has a ring to it, but that's two states.



What did you have for lunch yesterday?:

leftovers. cooked by my wife. still yummy.

If you could hook up a thought monitor to your head,
would you see pictures, hear words or would music be
playing?:

all of the above, then everyone starts dancing

What really scares you about trail running?:

something happening so I could no longer do it

If your life was made into a movie, what would it be called?:

Another False Summit

Where would you live if it could be anywhere in the world?:

I like where I am (the Bay Area), but could use a bigger house with another bedroom and a real yard. Living at high altitude would help me overcome my trail running Achilles heel.

What's your worst encounter on the trail?:

whole body cramping causing me to fall onto and writhe on the ground for several minutes at mile 68 of the 2008 Rio del Lago 100 mile trail run