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A spirit that is not afraid

People of The Plains: Ansick Tackles 'World's Toughest Footrace'

He gets bored running more than 15 miles on a road.

So he decided to run 135 miles in Death Valley.

Will Ansick, senior in health administration, is the youngest Alabama resident to be accepted as a runner in the Badwater Ultramarathon. He's 23.

"They only take 90 runners from around the world every year," Ansick said. "It's been something I've been shooting for for a couple years."

While Ansick played soccer and wrestled in high school, he did not focus on running until about six years ago when he got to college, and he "got fat."

"I guess one of the things that really attracted me to (running) is, with a team, there's always someone that can hide and get by by their team pulling up for them," Ansick said. "When you're running, whether it's triathlons or duathlons or marathons, it's you, by yourself, against the elements and the other racers."

Ansick met his wife Emily through running. He said they love marathons so much they named their now 19-month-old son "Miles."

To gain acceptance into Badwater, Ansick had to have run at least two races of 100-miles within a certain time frame within the last two years. He said there are other qualifications, but what helped him is having acted as a pacer for a Badwater runner during the last few years.

"Leading up to my first 100-miler I had a lot of anxieties, a lot of doubts," Ansick said. "Even though I trained my butt off for it (it was still kind of scary)."

Ansick said he is also feeling some nerves looking toward Badwater. During the race temperatures can blaze up to 130 degrees, and the pavement can get so hot it melts the racers sneakers.

Ansick said he thinks he can complete the race in 33 to 40 hours. He said racers typically drink a bottle of fluid every mile. His favorite running drink is grape-flavored Motor Tabs.

Ansick said racers complete the race through a combination of running and walking the 135 miles.

"During that week (I got accepted) I was going back and forth the whole time," Ansick said. "Because it was something I really want to do, but I almost hope I didn't get accepted so that I wouldn't have to go out there just because it's so scary. But at the same time it's really exciting."


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