Jim Garcia
 Date of Birth: June 30, 1958
Place of Birth: West Lafayette, Indiana
Current Address: Westford, Massachusetts
Job: Mechanical Engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) R&D Lab.
Marital Status: Married
Children: Two boys, 17 and 14.
Height: 5' 8 1/4" (Used to be 5’ 8 ¾”)
Shoe size: 10 ¾ (Used to be 9)
Weight: 147 (pretty stable the last 25 years)
Worst features: Big nose, crooked teeth, bad skin, hairy legs, graying hair, receding hairline, nose hair, burnt out eyes, concave butt-cheeks, leg length discrepancy, a couple of broken toes. Starting to get bushy eyebrows.
Best Feature: Upper legs
Religion: Catholic
Educational Background: BSME from M.I.T. in 1980, MSME M.I.T. in 1990. Favorite Book: History books
Favorite non-running magazine: Time, Solder of Fortune
Favorite movie: Cross of Iron (a cool WWII movie from the Germans’ perspective).
Favorite television show: Nash Bridges
Favorite actor/actress: Clint Eastwood
Favorite music: 80s rock, new country.
Favorite musical performer: Lots. I’m not particular.
Book you are currently reading: A book on the history of the Ottoman Empire.
Hobbies: Fixing cars.
Collections: I save a lot of things, but collect nothing.
Make of car you drive: ‘87 Ford Ranger (I have a ‘98 Ranger and a ‘96 Windstar, but I usually get stuck with this one.)
Greatest recent adventure: Climbing Mt. Fuji in Japan with Mark Godale and Wayne Vereb in 1998 after the World Challenge 100 Km.
Greatest old adventure: Dangerous stuff in the Alaskan interior as a teenager.
Favorite spectator sport: Women’s tennis, early rounds.
Favorite non-running sport: Tennis (played in high school and college).
Favorite vacation destination: Mountains
Favorite time of day: High Noon
Favorite item of clothing you own: A down liner that I can stick inside all my USA jackets to keep warm.
Most prized possession: Health. It used to be my mental powers, but I lost those in the canyons at the ’96 Western States 100.
Political affiliation: Staunch Republican.
Personal hero: Anyone who fought in Vietnam.
Favorite famous quote: You are only as good as your last race.
Personal philosophy: Shut up and do it! Works with wife, but not kids.
Short-term goal: Win an open national championship.
Long-term goal: Try to keep from burning out mentally and physically.
Achievements of which you are most proud: Getting through MIT alive, Airborne School at 19.
Favorite subject in school: Physics
Least-liked subject: Advanced college math. I still have nightmares that I’m halfway through the term and never went to a class.
Least liked household chore: Organizing all my running stuff.
Pets: None
Pet Peeves: Rude New England drivers, mega-super-stores, auto repair shops.
Ultra Pet Peeves: One-course wonders, bad course marking.
Favorite non-running leisure activity: Fixing cars, yard work, house work.
Greatest fear: Loss of leg turnover.
Happiest memory: 1994 Boston Marathon PR. Oh, I’m supposed to say something about my wife and kids here, aren’t I?
Secret ambition\fantasy: Winning one of the “must-do” trail 100s in the last hundred yards on the track.
Personal strengths: Tenacity
Personal weaknesses: Disorganization, (also temper and sloth).
Running
PR's:
5 km:
15:13 (track)
10 km:
31:22 (track)
Half marathon:
1:09:35
Marathon:
2:25:46
50 km:
3:15:08
50 miles:
5:36:56
100 km:
6:55:27
100 miles:
14:35:27
Years running ultras: Eight
Number of ultras finished: 25 or so.
Best ultra performances:
- 2000 Old Dominion 100 Mile; first place, 15:50. Ran the last few miles at sub seven-minute pace.
- 1995 World Challenge 100 Km; second American, 6:57. Broke seven hours, second man on silver medal team.
- 1996 Sunmart 50 Mile; second place, 5:56. Caught Mike Morton with a half-mile to go.
- 1999 Chancellor 100 Km; first place, 6:55. Caught and bumped into the leader with 10 yards to go.
- 1994 Nifty Fifty Mile; first place, 5:36. Come from behind win.
Most memorable ultra performance and why: Old Dominion 2000. Won the race with no pacer, no crew, and on a course with tough (for me) trail sections.
Typical training week a month or two before a major race: 70 to 80 miles per week, with 40+ on the weekend.
Chronic Injuries: Minor back and pinched nerve and knee problems,
Favorite running shoes: Zoom-air Nikes and Reebok Fusion DMX
Favorite food/drink during an ultra: Cheese and crackers, beans, GU, Pepsi.
Favorite handler: None
Favorite pacer: None
Favorite type of running surface: Long steady ups and downs.
Favorite place to run: Doesn’t really matter, hilly forests, I guess.
Ultrarunning idols: Eric Clifton and Courtney Campbell for their any time, any place racing mentality; Tom Johnson for his training focus; Kevin Setnes for his consistency; Mark Godale for his daring; Ian Torrence for his looks.
Why do you run ultras: Competition. It stopped being fun a long time ago.Any advice you would give to other ultrarunners (based on your experiences): Work on your speed. Do back-to-back long runs on weekends. Never wear the same shoes more than two days in a row. Do sit-ups.
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