Never mind that Army Sgt. Kyle Curtin just won a 101-mile ultramarathon. Or that he beat the trail race record by about an hour.
Or that — even with the fastest time yet — he was still running nonstop, through cold creeks, across rocky ridgelines and up and down 10 Empire State Buildings' worth of Missouri highlands, for more than 17 hours straight.
If nothing else impresses, be amazed that he ran the Ozark Trail 100 without inflicting a single blister on his otherwise slightly sore feet. Not so much as a hotspot.
That's a far cry from the first time he tried to run a 100-mile race, just two years ago, also at the Ozark ultrarun.
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"I destroyed my feet. They looked like someone had hit them repeatedly with a hammer," Curtin says. "I had blisters, bulges and black spots all over."
An avionics mechanic for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Curtin already was an avid marathon runner.
"I was one of those guys that got brainwashed by the book 'Born to Run' that said everyone could run 100 miles," he says with a laugh. "I said, 'Yeah, that sounds like fun.' I just figured I'd train up and try to do it."
Curtin did do it, but barely, crossing the finish line after an epic 28-hour slog and just four hours shy of the race cut-off.
"I'd never done anything like that before, and I didn't know what I was doing," he says. "I cramped up — it was so much pain — but there were also raw physical limitations because I hadn't trained properly for that kind of race. I've learned a lot since then."
Indeed, last year he ran it again, shaving more than five hours off his time and claiming a second-place finish.
30-second focus
Curtain's showing at the Ozark Trail 100 marked his ninth ultrarun. This year he won Wisconsin's Kettle Moraine 100 and came in second at both the Land Between the Lakes 50 Miler in Kentucky the Rock/Creek StumpJump 50K in Tennessee. He says he was gunning for the Ozark win from the very start.
With 13 aid stations spread along the route, where distance racers often rest for extended periods, Curtin said his goal was to spend no more than 30 seconds at each pit stop, barely time to grab enough food and water to make it to the next station.
"Thirty seconds may not sound like much, but if you add that up, you're still adding more than six minutes to your time just stopping at aid stations," he says.
In a race where it's not uncommon to see more than half the starters fail to make the finish line, Curtin's focus on the details speaks volumes, Ozark Trail race director Paul Schoenlaub says.
"Kyle has obviously learned something each year and trained better and better. He looked like he knew what he was doing from start to finish," Schoenlaub says. "In the aid stations he would get what he needed and get out. It was very fast. He was focused, but didn't look stressed. He ran a very smart race."
With the previous course record set at just over 18 and half hours, Schoenlaub says Curtin's win — and new course record — marks him "as one of the most improved runners in the history of this race, if not the very most."
Schoenlaub credits a mix of both mental and physical toughness.
"A lot of people say ultrarunning is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. I totally disagree with that. You have to be in good shape to do it well. I would say when it comes to winning, it's a good 80 percent training and physical and 20 percent mental. But that mental part becomes very important. In the end, it becomes how much pain are you willing to tolerate."
And all too often that pain comes in the form of increasingly shredded feet as runners lay on the blisters with each mile. Aid stations and finish lines are usually covered in their oozy, bloody mess.
Blister-free running
An avid ultrarunner himself, Shonenlaub swears by a homemade ointment developed by Dr. Andy Lovy, a Missouri osteopathic physician.
"I have run literally scores of ultras — 50Ks to 100-milers and up to 252 miles in a 72-hour race once — with absolutely no blisters using this cream," Schoenlaub says.
In online write-ups, Lovy advises mixing equal parts Vaseline, Vitamin A and D ointment compound, and Destin ointment to form a smooth paste. Then add in smaller amounts — less than a third of the original parts — of Vitamin E ointment and Aloe Vera ointment, and mix it into a cream that's firm — not runny.
"I apply it to my feet for a couple nights before the race, then apply it to my feet pre-race, and usually apply a little extra cream once during a 100-miler if I feel any hot spots starting," Schoenlaub says.
Curtin says his secret to blister-free running — as well as long-haul road marches and hiking — is a little easier. After that first race, he did a lot of research and asking around and after some field testing found what worked for him.
"I just slather on a good layer of Vaseline," he says. "In trail running, your feet are going to get wet. But Vaseline is a water repellent, so the water isn't actually getting to your foot. It's also great at preventing hotspots."
And he wears Injinji toe socks. "They spread the toes out a little, which reduces friction — and I think also helps with footing," Curtin says.
Good shoes are also critical. He likes Altra's Lone Peaks.
"The Altra brand is known for their really wide big toe box. That's what I like about them. You want your foot to move as naturally as it can. Also, they're a zero-drop shoe, so the heel and forefoot have the same amount of padding in them, so it helps keep a more natural stride."
He super-glues the insoles into the shoes to prevent any slippage.
Finally, like most long-distance trail runners, he wears gaiters — a fabric ankle wraparound — to keep dirt, pebbles and debris from sneaking into his shoes.
Curtin says he next plans to tackle the infamous HURT 100-Mile Endurance Run in Hawaii in January.
From there he's got his sights set on an even longer test.
Set to get out of the Army in March, he's planning to hike the entire 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. While it takes most through-hikers about six months to complete the AT, Curtin — unsurprisingly — thinks he can make better time.
"I want to do it in four months," he says. And, he's hoping, without any blisters.
Jon R. Anderson is an OFFduty and Military Times staff writer.
