Ultrarunning's winningest has no secrets to success

Midway through his 37-hour and 59-minute record-breaking victory at the 135-mile Arrowhead Ultramarathon in northern Minnesota, last February, Zach Gingerich encountered some serious problems.

"I went for a stretch of about five hours without food or water," he says. "My water was frozen due to the minus 20-degree temperatures and I'd miscalculated how much food I'd need for that stretch. It was quite a physical and mental battle trying to get to the aid station at mile 70 being so depleted. But I didn't really have much choice because I knew if I dropped out, there was a good chance I'd freeze to death."

The mental toughness that Gingerich, of Aurora, Illinois, summoned to persevere through that ordeal has made him one of the country's best ultramarathoners. At 30 - an age at which top runners tend to claim glory at the shorter distances - Gingerich notched the most male ultra victories in the nation, at eight, in 2009.

"In total, I competed in 12, which is probably a few more than most ultrarunners will do in a year." Gingerivh says.

His Kettle Moraine 100-mile win was the third fastest for that distance recorded last year (15 hours 17 minutes 31 seconds). His performances earned him a No. 6 ranking on the 2009 UltraRunning Magazine Runners of the Year list.

While many of his peers are based out West, Gingerich runs and wins primarily in the Midwest. In 2009, six of his eight victories took place at ultras in Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan or Illinois. In addition to the Kettle Moraine 100, last year he won the 50-mile Ice Age Trail Run near La Grange, Wisconsin; HUFF 50K in Huntington, Indiana; Chicago Lakefront Spring 50K; Dances With Dirt 50 Mile in Hell, Michigan; the Owen-Putnam State Forest 50-Mile Ultra in Spencer, Indiana as well as a 50K in Texas and a 50 miler in Kentucky.

A business analyst for Office Max in Naperville, Illinois, Gingerich has found success further afield too. Witness his third-place finish at the 2009 Badwater Ultramarathon, a masochistic 135-mile footrace across California's Death Valley, and a race he is currently in training to tackle again on July 12.

What does the nation's 2009 ultramarathon victory leader do for training?

"I'm not really structured when it comes to my training," he says. "For Badwater, I really went after it and ran at 4:30 every morning with my friend Reggie from Office Max. Then I'd go run again after work. I'd guess I was running 130 to 170 miles a week and probably got up to 200 a couple of times."

When asked how he fuels for such intense training, Gingerich says his eating habits aren't very regimented either. "I don't really pay attention to that stuff. I eat a lot of garbage," he says. "I'll go to McDonald's or Taco Bell the day before a race. Last night I had a steak and four potatoes. One thing I do try to do is stay hydrated."

And his beverage of choice is "one to two liters of Diet Coke each day," he says. "I don't drink water. I don't like water. If no pop is available, I'll drink Kool-Aid instead."

In talking to the affable and honest Gingerich, it quickly becomes clear that he isn't a slave to the routines, regimens, and restrictions most elite runners place upon themselves. He also doesn't get caught up in the latest training fads to improve performance. He says he doesn't stretch, doesn't lift, and aside from moving to a more minimalist shoes, has no special secrets for staying healthy. The demands of his job and running frequently leave him with no more than six hours to sleep each night.

Also surprising, Gingerich claims to have no particular focus or goal other than doing the best he can in the next race on his radar. And as a resident of suburban Chicago, most of his training is done on a treadmill or the Prairie Path along the Fox River.

"They're all flat miles," he says. "Where I train doesn't give you the different terrain you'll see in a race, even in Wisconsin."

So why is it then that this guy is so successful? It's not as if there aren't plenty of equally dedicated and talented runners gunning for him at these events.

"He's definitely mentally tougher than anybody else I've seen," says friend, co-worker and training partner Reggie Jonaitis, who helped crew Gingerich at Badwater. "No matter how far he runs or how fast, he doesn't think he's the best. He thinks there is more room to improve. He doesn't get cocky."

Gingerich, who got his ultrarunning start at Hellgate 100 in Lynchberg, Virginia, ("It was a disaster of a day, I got between 28 and 30 miles and was just dead."), doesn't seem to know exactly why he's been so successful. Perhaps it's the simplicity with which he approaches things.

"Every time I run I just try to do the best that I can," he says. "I got into the sport because I love the outdoors. I saw these races out on the trails and I thought, why not get out there, see a lot of things and get the running in."

As far as the future goes, Gingerich doesn't have things too planned out aside from his upcoming Badwater run.

"It's hard to think beyond that," he says. "I'm focused on getting in shape for that race. I want to do well there this year. Last year after Badwater I tried to keep pushing with my training. This year I'll probably take a couple of months off."

He has advice to those of us who may lack the courage to venture beyond the 26.2 miles: "Just try it. It's really not as hard as you think it would be," he says. "It isn't as bad because it's a lot of walking. It's less stressful. In a road marathon, everyone is so focused. Ultras are more about companionship on the trails; people talking, eating, having a good time."

With such a low-key, carefree attitude coupled with his success, it's scary to think what Gingerich might be capable of accomplishing as he reaches his 40s, the prime for many ultramarathoners. It means Gingerich could be a force on the ultramarathoning scene for a long time to come.