unfailing
Born in Asheville, N.C., he moved from state to state with his mother, who was divorced, sickly and struggling to hold down work, he said. By his account, he spent his childhood in rabid pursuit of arbitrary goals. Whole days were given to throwing a tennis ball against a wall. Once he held his breath underwater until he blacked out. In high school a class schedule conflict deposited him on the cross-country team.
“I actually thought we were going to run across the country,” Carpenter said. “I thought we’d get out of school a lot.”
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He married a member, Yvonne Franceschini, in a ceremony on one of the group’s outings. The newlyweds tied cans to their backs and ran home.
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In August 2004, Carpenter entered the Leadville Trail 100, known as the Race Across the Sky. Partway through, his quadriceps gave out. Sometime after midnight, walking the last 30 miles with his knees locked up in the manner of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, Carpenter finished in 14th place.
A year later, Carpenter returned to beat his own time by seven hours, win the race and break the course record by 93 minutes.
…
“At this point, I like that fine line of balancing right between injury and not injury, seeing what I can get out of my body. Sometimes I lie in bed at night and wonder if I’ve done all I can, and if I haven’t, I go out at night and do more.”
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– At 44, a Running Career Again in Ascent (New York Times)
