“I was born running — it’s just being out there and the freedom to go where I want.”
When I came to Flagstaff in the Summer of 1973, Nat White was the one answer you got if asking, ‘who’s the best around here?’ I like to ask, so I know who to stay away from. Ha!
Nat was The Man all the way from south of Sedona to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. And parts east and west to the state lines. He OWNED Northern Arizona.
We were both members of the legendary Sisu Striders, Flag’s first running club. I was editor of our newsletter and his name topped many a race result.
Nat White definitely lived up to his reputation. Which grows still.
JDW: When did you start running and why?
NW: Country kid who ran across fields and woods to lakes and friends’ homes. Basically ran as soon as I walked.
Toughest opponent?
No one particular, always ran for the fun, to see how fast, and to often win.
Most memorable run?
There are several. For one was winning a National Senior Olympic 1500 coming from a third of lap behind in the last lap to win.
Biggest disappointment and why?
Final lap of college mile relay team that decided a championship, I caught my baton in the shorts of my competitor, lost the baton, stopped to pick it up and still finished second but lost the championship.
What would you do differently if you could do it again?
Put the baton in my left hand and win the race.
Favorite philosopher? Quote?
Do onto others as you would have them do unto you.
Special song of the era?
What era? I am still running!
JDW: Then I will just say anything by Bruce Springsteen or Kid Rock.
Favorite comedian?
Currently, Stephen Colbert.
What was your ‘best stretch of running’? And why do you think you hit that level at that time?
I have always run for fun and competition. There are times when i have trained intensely and times I just kept running. Usually trying to get ready for a particular event. In the old days it was college competition, later it was road races, and now often mountain trail challenges.
What was your edge?
My edge is leg speed. I could always come from behind being a sub-50 400 meter and sub-1:50 800 meter.
That explains a lot. What supplementary exercises did you do?
Full-body strength, multiple sports.
What was your toughest injury and how did you deal with it?
Achilles tendon and related knee issue in college. Orthotics cured it.
Of course, any thoughts about the sport, then and/or now are welcomed.
Never stop running. The definition of running may change for oneself, but keep running.
Notice I am missing something. Your personal records?
Age group PRs? I don’t keep a list, so would have to search through my inconsistent record keeping and do the best I can. I always ran for the fun of it.
Off the top of my head:
My best marathon of about four I ran over a period of twenty years or so was about 2hrs 28ish minutes. Finished third in the Deseret News marathon, Salt Lake city.
Ran south Kaibab trail from River right black bridge in 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Ran a 1500 at about age 42 in California at a Masters meet in 4:01. Also 1:55 for 800, same meet.
Held at least four of the age group records for Imogene Pass Run. This year oldest to ever run it and finished at 84 years, 7 months.
Best 400 was in graduate school at OSU, 48 plus seconds.
Nat White: A Tinkerer Out To Help People Think Ahead
Dec 31, 2013
RANDY WILSON Daily Sun Editor for the Arizona Daily Sun
Once you learn that Nathaniel “Nat” White is a lifelong, top-flight distance runner, it all makes sense.
Yes, White is also an astronomer, with his eyes on the skies and a bird’s eye view of Flagstaff for 37 years from his house atop Mars Hill.
But it is those 10-mile runs around the city that White says developed his appreciation for trails, open space and the close-in forest — and just how fast what was once a small city was closing in on them.
“The hardest thing to do is to think ahead,” White said, adding that he often brings a tape recorder with him on runs to record his thoughts before he forgets them.
“I was born running — it’s just being out there and the freedom to go where I want,” White said. “It’s where I do all my thinking.”
White is being honored as a 2013 Arizona Daily Sun Citizen of the Year for not only thinking ahead but doing something about it. He served on the City Council from 1988 to 1992 and two regional plan steering committees. He helped to found Friends of the Flagstaff Future to lobby for managed growth, championed the urban trail system and led two efforts — both unsuccessful — to add a thousand acres to Buffalo Park (the land is now occupied by Lockett Ranches).
“While generally on the green side of the equation, Nat has always listened to all viewpoints and has been willing to compromise in the name of community improvement,” wrote Bill Towler, a retired county planning director, in one of many nomination letters for White.
John Sliva, a retired city planner, agreed.
“In his Birkenstocks and Levis, he has prowled the halls of the City with an eternal smile and words of encouragement, always working the positive side of the issue, and respectful of all sides of a debate,” Sliva wrote. “Nat established himself as someone you always wanted on your side of any community initiative, particularly if it related to sound community growth management, sustainability and education.”
Along with planning issues, White also has found the time to get involved in raising funds for the city library as foundation board president, organizing science days as a board member of the Flagstaff Leadership Program and serving on the board of Coconino Community College for the last 15 years. He learned to play the trombone in his 50s and now plays in the Flagstaff Community Band and a polka band, too.
White says his natural curiosity about how things work — he describes himself as a “tinkerer” — accounts for his involvement in so many ventures. He says Flagstaff generally has thoughtful people with well-thought-out positions, which can lead to lively debate.
“It’s when people are just repeating slogans that the sides divide and they just don’t talk anymore,” he said.
And White is anything but a sloganeer, according to those who nominated him for the award. He is known for doing his homework and spending long hours in the audience at meetings, weighing the testimony and awaiting his turn to speak.
“In all of his roles, Nat has followed a quiet way of listening carefully and suggesting creative ways in which various positions on an issue can come together and be reconciled,” wrote Ron Hubert. “He is the type of leader Flagstaff badly needs in these difficult times, and he should be recognized.”
Asked if he felt he has made a difference in the way Flagstaff has developed, White recalls herding dairy cows in the evening as a boy on a neighbor’s farm in Rhode Island.
“They know they want to go home and they know the direction, but they need a little coaxing along the way,” White said. “That’s where I’ve been somewhat successful: in coaxing people along in the direction they want to go anyway.”
Nat and his wife Jean have three grown children, all of whom live and work in Flagstaff. He retired in 2007 after nearly four decades at Lowell Observatory, the last 20 as scientific director of the U.S. Navy Precision Optical Interferometer atop Anderson Mesa. He holds several national age group running records in the middle distances and plans to run Imogene Pass again next year.
Imogene Pass Run
I am happy to say when I was a resident of Flagstaff I had no idea that this race – the Imogene Pass Run – existed. Hurt plenty enough on flat surfaces, thank you.
The Imogene Pass Run (IPR) is a 17.1 mile point-to-point mountain race within the western San Juan mountains of Colorado, run along a route which connects the towns of Ouray (7810 ft.) and Telluride (8750 ft.) by way of 13,114 foot Imogene Pass. The IPR is held on the first Saturday after the Labor Day holiday, at the seasonal transition from late Summer to early Fall. Mountain weather at this time is famously “squirrelly” (rapidly changeable), and participants through the years have encountered a variety of weather conditions ranging from virtually perfect to terrible. This spectrum of weather during the race is in fact part of its lure and mystique. In good weather years the challenge of the mountainous traverse is rewarded by unsurpassed vistas and no small feeling of accomplishment upon crossing the finish line. In bad weather years, the wind, fog, rain and/or snow along the course make the successful arrival in Telluride a virtual rite of passage into the realm of true mountain running.
Each participant should keep in mind that the IPR is a mountain run in every sense of the word, and that “The Mountains Don’t Care”. The reality is that despite whatever emotions we may have for the mountains and their environment, they are in fact unfeeling objects and they follow the natural rules of physics which are not always benevolent toward living creatures, great or small. It is up to the participants themselves to be properly prepared for the challenges of this alpine foot journey, fair weather or foul. Despite the enthusiastic volunteer support at intervals along the course, each participant is ultimately responsible for his or her own safety and risk.
Except for short pavement stretches at the start and finish and a short trail section immediately below the pass, the IPR is run along a course consisting of normal to 4×4 dirt road. This is a traditional summer travel way between Ouray and Telluride and there may be minor vehicle traffic during the race. A total of six aid stations will be manned during the race (including one at the summit), support personnel will be stationed at critical junctions along the course, and numbered orange traffic cones will be placed at every mile interval from the start to the finish.
HISTORY
On September 29, 1974, six runners participated in the first “Imogene Pass Mountain Marathon”. Rick Trujillo of Ouray, five-time winner of Pikes Peak Marathon, was the first to cross the finish line in Telluride in 2:21:18. The Walking Division was implemented from 1989 to 2000 with mixed success. Due to the huge popularity of this event and the challenge with the weather to our volunteers, it was agreed to maintain this event as a run, still open to anyone who can meet the qualifying cut-off times.
Through the years, the participants in the Imogene Pass Run have encountered a variety of weather conditions. This spectrum of weather during the race is its lure and mystique. In good weather years the challenge of the traverse is rewarded by unsurpassed vistas and in the bad weather years, the wind, fog, rain, and/or snow along the course make a successful arrival in Telluride a virtual rite of passage into the realm of true mountain running.
Of the 44 Imogene Pass Runs, half have been conducted during good weather conditions (sunny to partly cloudy skies, warm temperatures in the valleys with cool temperatures on the pass, calm winds and a dry course). Three events took place in good weather years but 1-4” of fresh snow above timberline and cold temperatures over the pass existed. Other years were conducted during moderate weather conditions (partly cloudy, cool to freezing temperatures, gusty winds above timberline, some rain and occasional fog).
In 1992 50+ mph winds blew some runners off their feet at the summit. Four runs have been conducted during bad weather conditions (cloudy, cool to cub-freezing temperatures, gusty winds, rain at any section of the course, light to heavy snow falling above timberline with occasionally fog and whiteout conditions). These runs began in moderate weather with indication of improving conditions, instead the weather deteriorated with fast moving snowstorms typical of early Fall.
Two to eight inches of snow fell at the summit during the running of these races, taxing rescue support as well as the life systems of many runners; several improperly dressed runners were treated for hypothermia on either side of the pass. In 2006 the race was contested entirely on the Ouray side finishing in Ouray Town Park. This was due to impassable conditions at the Imogene Summit.
For the security of the race participants THREAT OF POOR WEATHER will recommend all participants to have adequate jacket, gloves, and hat in order to proceed past the Upper Camp Bird check point.
Source: http://live-raceresults.com/imogene/race-history/
Nat White’s Guide to Training for Imogene
Flagstaff is a brilliant place to train for the Imogene Pass Run. Here’s some advice from one of the town’s most illustrious runners, Nat White.
Things I have done that probably were not the most efficient training:
• Run until tired every day.
• Focus on lots of mileage.
• Long, hard runs high on the Peaks.
• Training at high altitude.
• Sleeping at altitude.
JDW: He goes on – see link below – to explain some more efficient techniques.
Nat White is the CURRENT IPR record holder for the 70+, 75+ and 80+ age groups.
Of course, he is. He’s an OGOR – Original Gangster Of Running.