Sitting in his dentist’s chair one day, Mark Rodriguez had the idea that he would do a 50-mile run. The decision came shortly after Rodriguez, an 11-year veteran of the Loudoun County police, finished his first marathon in 2009. The JFK 50 Mile run would begin his insatiable thirst for even longer and more grueling treks, like the 100-mile Rocky Raccoon in Texas.
“You just never know if you’re going to finish,” Rodriguez said of the 100-milers. “It’s the unknown.”
Even with a family and his job as a school resource officer, Rodriguez commits to doing these ultramarathons.
And some are even tougher than others. On his most recent 100-miler, in August in Lockport, N.Y., he was tested by 92-degree heat, thunderstorms, dehydration and blisters. For a moment, he took shelter from the pelting rain underneath an overpass, but continued.
“You have to decide,” Rodriguez said. “Do you hunker down, or do you go?”
He trains with friends and had a nutritional plan set up for him.
“Most runs you can get by on joe and bananas,” said Rodriguez. Not so with the 100-mile treks. At 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds, Rodriguez says his body will burn 800 to 1,000 calories an hour during a run. Though he says he never takes a day off, he concedes that when he’s not running he eats Subway, Chipotle and grilled chicken.
“It’s like the oven’s on high all the time,” he said.
Rodriguez says mental strength motivates him more than nutrition, though.
“Ninety percent of it’s mental,” he said, “and the other 10 percent is mental.”
The camaraderie of his fellow runners has also helped Rodriguez push through the last half of these races. When listening to music fails to motivate him, he often strikes up conversations. A more select group than marathon runners, Rodriguez has begun seeing the same runners at various races.
“To me it’s just fun,” Rodriguez said. “Some people play golf, some people play basketball. I’ve found my niche.”
