Runner’s Spotlight published on the official Run 4 Kids 24 Hour Ultramarathon Website

Runners Spotlight: Björn Kampmann

This week McKenzi of www.TayloredPhotoMemories.com interviews Björn Kampmann, Ultra-Runner and Ironman, and a registrant for the Run 4 Kids Ultramarathon in support of the 100 Mile Club!

Question: Have you always been so fit?
I was not very much into sports until I moved in 2006 from Germany to the US. Before, I would complain about having to walk if someone would park the car too far away from a restaurant. Don’t get me wrong; sometimes when I was a kid I used to go hiking, but running in a rigorous sense was never part of the program for me as a young person. The fact that I now live in California has a lot to do with how I got into running and triathlons, and my progress over the years. It is just a lot easier to train in an environment where you have over 300 days of sunshine and lots of opportunities to train outdoors. This helped me to get started.
At the beginning, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know much about proper training, injury prevention or nutrition. So it’s no wonder that when I signed up for my first Half-Marathon, I wasn’t prepared properly. As a result, I hurt myself and wasn’t able to walk for about 2 weeks. Then, I applied for the New York City Marathon and won one of the spots in the lottery. This was in 2008 and was the beginning of my starting to train in a more systematic way. Having the New York City Marathon as my first marathon inspired me so much that I got hooked. Since then, I have done 6 Marathons, 2 Ultra-Marathons, 2 Half-Ironmans, 1 Full Ironman and several other races.

Question: How many miles do you put in per week?
I don’t have much time to train during the week, so I have to put in most of my miles on the weekend. During the last couple of months, I’ve done one long run every Saturday and another one on Sunday. Combined, these runs total between 30 and 50 miles. Since I also have a very strong passion for trail running, normally my shorter run on Sunday is in the mountains with lots of elevation gain. For me, this back-to-back training seems to work, even though I will have to include some runs during the week in order to further improve in the future.

Question: Why is 100 Mile Club® important and why do you support it?
In order to keep me motivated, I always create my race schedule at the beginning of the year. Also signing up for these races early on helps me to stay committed and focused on my training. This is similar to what the 100 Mile Club does. One of the greatest strengths of this club is to encourage children to be active from an early age, which we hope will have an effect on them for the rest of their life. Our goal as Ultra-Runners is to serve as role models for these kids, to inspire them and additionally to raise necessary funds to help support this program. This will hopefully give these kids the necessary motivation to start training and possibly become the next generation of Ultra-Runners.

Published in March 2011 on the official Run 4 Kids 24 Hour Ultramarathon website.


Please help us with your donation and by giving these kids the necessary motivation to start training and possibly become the next generation of Ultra-Runners. Every dollar counts! To donate for this great cause, please visit my Fundraising Page.