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CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee
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Communicators Outside the Lines Feature Series
This is the next profile in a series entitled
Communicators Outside the Lines: Better Yourself, Better Your Community produced by the CoSIDA Goodwill & Wellness Committee. Read past profiles at
CoSIDA.com/CommunicatorsOTL.
WE NEED YOUR IDEAS!
If you have any ideas for this series, which will revolve around CoSIDA member volunteerism and health and wellness, please contact Goodwill and Wellness Committee chair
Chris Mitchell, Washington University in St. Louis Assistant AD for Communications, at (618) 560-9280 or
mitchell@wustl.edu.
Click here for information about the #CoSIDA2020 Virtual 5K Fun Run/2-Mile Walk and Community Service Project.
Q&A with Kevin Buczek
North Carolina Central University, Assistant Sports Information Director
by Joe Browning, Senior Associate A.D., UNC Wilmington
Goodwill and Wellness Committee Member
Kevin Buczek grew up in the shadows of New York’s majestic Adirondack Mountains in tiny Hope, N.Y. That’s probably why he hears the call of the wild quite distinctly in his treks as one of CoSIDA’s few ultra-marathoners.
From running “extra” mileage in a 31-miler to carrying bear spray during a 50K jaunt in Alberta, Canada, Buczek has collected some interesting tales since taking up running just eight years ago after his father underwent heart bypass surgery. Today, he welcomes the challenge of running long distances and it’s been a life-changing transformation that has resulted in 11 marathons, several ultra-marathons and, soon, a 24-hour race in southeastern North Carolina.
Kevin, in his fifth year at NCCU and 17
th year overall as an SID, participates in the CoSIDA Fitness Challenge. He recently celebrated his 41
st birthday by running 41 miles along the scenic American Tobacco Trail in Durham.
Q. What prompted you to begin running extended distances?
Buczek: I first got serious about running in 2012 after my Dad had quadruple bypass heart surgery, and I wanted to get out of the family history of being overweight with blood pressure and cholesterol issues. I also have rheumatoid arthritis, and I found my body handles aerobic workouts much better than weight/strength straining. Once I moved to the Triangle area and started working at NCCU five years ago at the beginning of 2015, I started to get interested in longer distances like the marathon and ultras.
Q. With the parameters of your job, how do you find time to train for ultra-marathons?
Buczek: First, I’ve learned that you must make time for things you find important. If it is important enough to you, you can make it happen. Secondly, my boss Kyle Serba is very supportive. He has been an SID at NCCU for over 20 years and he understands how important it is to have a work-life balance. As long as I put in the hours and get my work done like I am supposed to he is very flexible to allow me to find time to train. The hardest part is when I travel with our teams on road weekends. My coaches are great about giving me hotel info and trip itineraries in advance so I can start scouting potential running routes on google maps before the trip even begins. I will also drive separate numerous times per year, so I can have vehicle access to get to trails early in the mornings before the Saturday and Sunday games.
Q. What training advice would you give someone who is interested in ultra-marathons?
Buczek: I’ve learned there is no true golden training plan, but instead make a plan that works for you. A lot of times I’ll get outside for a long run on a Wednesday or Friday instead of Saturday if my weekend is full of games. I’ve also learned to put my phone away and enjoy time outside and away from work to decompress. It’s an amazing stress reliever. Enjoy it. Don’t make it a job.
Q. What was your first marathon and how many have you completed?
Buczek: The Tobacco Road Marathon (March 2016) in Raleigh was my first marathon. I’ve now completed 11 marathons. My last two were back-to-back trail marathons in consecutive weekends just before races started to get cancelled due to the coronavirus (Umstead Marathon and URE Marathon this March). My PR was the Marine Corps. Marathon in October 2018 (3:34).
My first Ultra was the Black Hills 50k (31 miles) in the summer of 2018 and I’ve since completed nine ultras in the last two years. My favorites include my first 100 miler at Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run that I was able to complete it in 21:48 for a sub-24 hour first buckle, the Grizzly 50k in one of the most beautiful paces on the planet in the Canmore/Banff, Alberta, Canada, region and finishing fourth place in the Nutcracker 12-Hour Endurance Run (ran 68 miles in a half day).
Q. How important is nutrition in your training for long distances?
Buczek: The best part of ultra-training compared to training for something like a 5K is you need more calories during the process. This works for me as a foodie. Hydration is the key to success (not just the day before a race, but throughout training every day). And who doesn’t like to carb load? I could write a book about that. I love food and eat anything. I don’t believe in a restrictive diet, but I would say I eat much better now in my 40s than I was in my 20s, and running is what helped lead to this important dietary change.
Q. Do you have a mentor or personal coach who helps you train?
Buczek: I do not have a singular person. With my busy schedule, I don’t like the idea to follow an iron clad schedule. But I would say the running community in the Raleigh/Durham area is amazing and all of my friends that I’ve met through running in the area are my inspiration and coaches. I would love to give a big shout out to House of Hops Run Club for being so instrumental in my running progress.
Q. What are your future goals as it relates to ultra-marathon?
Buczek: I was training this spring for the Bryce Canyon 100 Mile Ultra in Utah scheduled for late May, but just backed out of it due to the coronavirus. I do feel that I am best suited for the longer distances, so I want to complete another 100 miler when it is socially allowable, hopefully this fall. My other goal is to continue to combine running with travel to see those amazing places in our country and throughout the world.
Q. What are the keys to success in completing ultra-marathons?
Buczek: The biggest key to me is that it’s a race against yourself. Set goals for yourself and try and obtain them. No matter how fast you are, there generally is someone out there faster than you. Don’t worry about them. The feeling of meeting and surpassing a personal goal is just as rewarding as winning a race in my book. I battle rheumatoid arthritis daily so I will never be the fastest. But there is no reason why I can’t get better with each step.
Q. What is more important in running ultra-marathons, physical strength or mental toughness?
Buczek: I think each runner will answer this differently. I feel the mental strength needed at the end of a race is something that I see a lot of distance runners struggle with that makes it more important. But keeping your body in the best form possible is critical as well. I am much more likely to hurt myself or be mentally weaker when I carry an extra 10 pounds that I sometimes have.
Q. Do you have any unique stories you would like to share about running extended distances?
Buczek: I should have known a couple years ago when I first ran an ultra I would want to runner even longer distances. In my first ultra, the Black Hills 50k, I got off trail within the first few miles and ended up overachieving by running 32 miles instead of 31 miles. I didn’t let it bother me and stopped looking at my watch and just decided to enjoy the wonderful scenery in South Dakota.
I completed my only 100 miler, the Umstead 100 Mile Endurance Run, in Raleigh, N.C., in early April 2019. I started my training at the start of the New Year and I never ran more than a full marathon (26.2 miles) in one day during my training. The lesson is that cumulative total mileage during training works just as well, if maybe not better than just running really long runs on the weekends (especially when you have in a job that doesn’t allow for you run all day on a Saturday).
Also, all runners at the Grizzly 50k in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, in October 2019 were required to carry bear spray. If you did not carry it at all times you would be disqualified. I did not see any bears.
Gallery: (5-15-2020) Kevin Buczek, Ultra-marathoner
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