Running through the mud in the woods in near freezing weather isn’t the way most people want to spend their birthday.

 

For Parkers Sheppard, a 2018 graduate of Bridgeport High School, there was no better way to turn 20 years old than competing in his first ever ultramarathon at the Kanawha State Forest.

 

Competing in such an event is an accomplishment in itself. Finishing the more than 30-mile race — 50 kilometers (31.069 miles) — in a time of 7:15:25.6, as Sheppard did, is quite the feat.

 

“It was kind of rough with the weather,” Sheppard said. “It was cold and rainy. When the race started at 8 a.m. it was in the 40s. The temperature dropped significantly by the time I finished (about 3:15 p.m.).

 

“There were times when I thought I was going to have to drop out. You have layers and I was wearing gloves, but you are running for so long, your gloves start getting wet which in a way is still better than your wet hands out in the cold without the gloves.

 

“I had been looking at some races for my birthday (Jan. 4) because I thought it would be cool to run a big race on my birthday. One of my friends told me he was running in a race in Kanawha State Forest and he was doing the 25k but then he told me there was the 50k which is the 30-mile race. I decided I wanted to train for the 50k and focus on it. I just wanted to do something to challenge myself and see if I could train for it and do it.”

 

Also known as ultra distance or ultra running events, an ultramarathon is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometers (26.219 miles).

 

Ultramarathons come in two basic forms — ones that cover a specific distance and others that last for a predetermined time. The predetermined time events can last as short as six, 12 or 24 hours or as long as three, six or 10 days.

 

Significant obstacles are a common characteristic of such running events and Sheppard can attest to those coming in both the physical and mental categories.

 

“Physically, to make your body run for that amount of time is really hard,” Sheppard said. “Your legs get super fatigued and sore. There was almost 5,000 feet of elevation gained in the race. In the first mile alone there was 900 fee of elevation so it hit you early. There were six big hills spread out and all were really steep. There were parts you had to use your hands to help you get up the hill.

 

“Mentally, you have to fight through the fatigue. It’s a huge challenge to push yourself to keep running after you have run 20, 25 miles.”

 

As impressive as running an ultramarathon is, how about the fact Sheppard has only been running seriously since May of 2019?

 

“I was not a big runner in high school,” he said. “I played soccer, so the only time I ran was basically for conditioning for soccer.

“When I first started I could only run a mile at a time. I lost 30 pounds over the summer when I was training for the Morgantown Marathon.”

 

The Morgantown Marathon in September was his first marathon. A few weeks prior to that, he competed in his first 5K race, the Jack Rollins Superhero 5K.

 

Sheppard also competed in a pair of spartan races — one prior to the Morgantown Marathon and one after. A Spartan race is a series of obstacle races of varying distance and difficulty.

 

“I think the Spartan races really helped in preparing for the ultramarathon elevation wise,” Sheppard said. “In the West Virginia Spartan you had to carry big weighted sandbags up hill and I one in Pittsburgh at PNC Park where you had to run up and down the stands.

 

“Originally, the marathon was a bucket list thing. I just wanted to do it just so I could say I did one in my life.”

 

Running marathons goes hand in had with another of his passions — enjoying the outdoors.

 

“I love being in the mountains, he said. “I did a lot of trail running at Coopers Rock in the mornings before class when I started training. I like being outdoors, hiking, taking pictures. I’m always outside.”

 

Sheppard, currently a sophomore at WVU and owner of his own business, PShep Media, plans to continue pursuing challenging races.

 

“I’m definitely looking at bigger ones,” he said. “I would like to do a 50-miler at some point. My grandpa was a marathon runner. He and my uncle started a 70-mile race in Pennsylvania. I kind of got my eyes set on that for the future. It might not be in the next year or so but it is something I want to do.

 

“I’m going to keep running marathons. I’m already signed up for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May. I’d like to travel and do them in other states, that’s another goal of mine. I’d like to travel and see how many states I can do a marathons in.”

 

Editors Note: Top photo shows Parker Sheppard after competing in an ultramarathon on his 20th birthday. Second photo is of Sheppard in a spartan race, while the third one comes from his first ever marathon race. In the bottom photo, Parkers is enjoying one of his other passions, being outdoors in the mountains.