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Lipidologist finds fulfillment running extreme endurance races
Races stretch distances of 31 miles to more than 100 miles.
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A man contemplating sprinting across a three-mile meadow while lightning strikes nearby, is not a typical marathon scenario. Standing 9,000 feet above the ground gazing up at the star-filled Wyoming sky does not echo marathon either. Yet these are a few adventures experienced by Thomas Repas, DO, FACP, CDE, since he started running ultramarathons.
Repas is an endocrinologist and lipidologist in practice with Regional Medical Clinic in Rapid City and is a clinical assistant professor with the University of South Dakota, Sanford School of Medicine. The EndocrineToday.com blogger somehow finds time to tackle ultramarathons, which are foot races lasting distances longer than traditional marathons.
These unique races are frequently completed under difficult or challenging environmental conditions and terrain throughout the country and world. Participants encounter mountains, forests, deserts and other landscapes. Ultramarathons vary in size from 10 to 400 participants, with people of all sizes and ages.
“I once met an 84-year-old man who had been doing ultramarathons since he was 65 years old,” he told Endocrine Today. “He was slow, but he was going and he was smiling.”
Running ultramarathons has given Repas a reason to smile too. The races bring about a sense of self-accomplishment and self-fulfillment.
“I do not consider myself an elite athlete at all; I do my thing and I keep going,” he said. “It is not about where you place; if you have gotten that far, you have succeeded.”
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Photos courtesy of: Thomas Repas |
Starting somewhere
Repas’ love for racing began in high school when he ran cross-country. He liked to run but was not very fast and did not like the element of competition.
“It was a very competitive activity, and at that point in my life, I was trying to get into college and medical school. I didn’t need any more competition in my life,” he said.
In college, he ran occasionally for the health benefits but essentially gave it up and focused on his education and career. Then five years ago, a look into the mirror motivated him to take action.
“I was overweight, so I started running,” he said. “I was so out of shape that I could not even run a half-mile, but after a few years, I worked my way up to running about five or 10 miles.”
Repas continued this regimen until a patient told him about ultramarathons. “When he told me about it, I thought, ‘Boy, this sounds completely insane. This is perfect for me!’ I ran my first one and never looked back.”
Since that time, Repas has made ultramarathons a key component of his life.
“I run several ultramarathons a year, in addition to the countless 20- to 30-mile training runs in the mountains I do almost every weekend during my peak racing season, which is typically March through October,” he said. “Since rediscovering my love of running five years ago, I have completed several 50K- and 50-mile races in places such as Wisconsin, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota.”
His training generally consists of running five or more miles during the week, 20 miles to 30 miles on Saturday and 10 miles to 20 miles on Sunday. Repas’ love of ultramarathons, however, goes beyond the physical component of the race. What sounds like a chore to many, Repas welcomes as a therapeutic ritual.
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More than just running
Participating in ultramarathons offers a spiritual, meditative benefit, according to Repas.
“It is a time of solace and self-reflection, where all of the worries and stress of the week fall away, and I can focus on that which is important,” he said. “I enter a trance-like, almost meditative state; it is not that I am blind to my surroundings, rather I am in a relaxed but observant state of deep concentration.”
These ultraendurance events are an intellectual and mental challenge as much as they are a physical endeavor. “Ultramarathons are about perseverance and never giving up no matter how hopeless or impossible finishing seems,” Repas said.
This philosophy translates well to his professional life, and it is a lesson he passes on to patients.
“I love food, and I was about 35 lb overweight at one point,” he said. “I understand how difficult it is for my patients to succeed when trying to decrease the amount of calories consumed, to exercise regularly and to shed excess weight.
Repas does not expect his patients to become ultramarathoners or even to pursue running, but he does encourage exercise and a healthy lifestyle.
“I do my best to motivate my patients to add regular physical activity to their lives, even if it is only walking a few times a week,” he said.
Repas finds it interesting that regular physical activity is seen as unusual or odd by many people nowadays. He stressed the importance of walking, running and being physically active, rather than being a couch potato or riding in cars for hours each day.
“Many diseases associated with modern living are directly or indirectly related to sedentary lifestyle and dietary indiscretion,” Repas said. “Exercise is truly a powerful medicine. I do my best to send that message and to inspire my patients.” – by Christen Haigh