36four times as long and experi-
ence the transcendence of what
Rice calls “being out there” in
a diff erent world. He says that
while racing hours upon hours
in an ultra, “I’m blank and
there’s clarity. It’s like medi-
tating. There’s no stress. I have
a singular focus of fi nishing.”In the New York 100, Rice is
anticipating the “surreal weird-
ness” of the 80-mile point
when he emerges from the sol-
itude of his internal rhythms
and onto the splashy Coney
Island boardwalk packed with
Saturday night revelers and, as
he says, “Brooklyn hipsters.”
While Rice fi nds the contrast
jarring, it’s a moment he trea-
sures: an elusive taste of a
cultural touchpoint while he’s
at his most vulnerable.The revelry and smell of the sea
carry Rice onward, but it’s not
his most precious race expe-
rience of all. That one occurs
hours from any drop of water, in
Death Valley, Calif., in the strug-
gle to complete the 135 miles of
the notorious Badwater. Rice
did Badwater—“the hardest
race on the planet,” he says—
in 2014, placing 25th out of
100 starters. And he did it one
month after the New York 100,
which followed three ultras,
including the New Jersey 100,
in the previous four months.“In Badwater,” says Rice,
“you’re basically racing foot
pain. With the massive heat,
your feet are constantly wet
from sweat. You can see 30
miles in front of you. You have
to calm your mind. You keepasking yourself, ‘Can I make it to
the end before my feet just give
in?’” Rice completed the 2014
race in 34 hours and 21 minutes.Before Badwater, Rice trained
about 100 miles a week but
did not do long runs of even
20 miles or more, standard for
regular marathoners going a
mere 26.2 miles. Rice uses his
monthly ultra races as training,
fi guring that each long event
functions as training for the
next one. Admitting that his
approach may seem counter-
intuitive, he says that constant
activity aids recovery and pre-
pares him for the next event all
at once.Rice’s claim of increasing pain
tolerance bears out in a string
of recent victories. Last July inTHIS PAGE: RICE COMPETED IN BADWATER
IN 2014 (TOP) AND WORLD’S TOUGHEST
MUDDER IN 2016 (BOTTOM).
OPPOSITE PAGE: THE KINDS OF RACES RICE
RUNS IN SOMETIMES OFFER UNUSUAL
AWARDS IN PLACE OF MEDALS: LIKE A SKULL
FOR THE SPARTAN DEATH RACE, OR A SPIKE
FOR THE VIADUCT TRAIL ULTRAMARATHON.“PEOPLE HAVE A MENTAL
MAP THAT SETS BORDERS.
EVERY TIME YOU DO
SOMETHING YOU DIDN’T
THINK YOU COULD DO, YOU
REDEFINE THAT BORDER.”
PHOTOS: CHRIS RICEPHOTOS: DANIEL WEISSCM0617_FEAT_CHRISRICE.indd 36 5/11/17 4:24 PM