Newport Beach’s Kelley Goes the Extra Mile--and Then Some

Not long ago, Edward Kelley spent 42 consecutive days running around a half-mile track in Queens, N.Y. He raced around that track from morning until night, averaging 130 laps a day.

The incessant pounding against the concrete path caused his feet to swell, and his shoe size varied between 10 and 13.

“Some days I would be wearing an 11 on one foot and a 12 on the other,” Kelley recalled.

It rained most of those 42 days, except on July 4, when the track became a favorite target of firecracker-throwing revelers.

Toss in a feisty 53-year-old Latvian runner who pushed Kelley to his limit, and one wonders why Kelley, who lives in Newport Beach, can’t wait to run the Sri Chinmoy Marathon again.

Kelley, 38, is an ultra-marathoner who holds world record times in distances ranging from 1,400 to 2,700 miles.

Kelley’s rise to the top in ultra-marathons began in the early ‘80s when he was the track and field coach at Cosumnes River College in his native Sacramento.

He was never a high school or college star, just a kid who liked to run . . . and run and run.

In 1985, he completed his first Trans-America road race, and by 1993 he had made the cross-country trek two more times. In 1995, he became the first runner to make the trip four times, and after the 1996 Sri Chinmoy Marathon, he became the first person to run more than 2,700 miles on five occasions.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon, named for an Indian spiritual leader, was an entirely new challenge for Kelley because it is the only race of its kind. Of the 20 runners who were scheduled to compete, only six began. Most who canceled either felt unsound physically or were scared off by the late entrance of George Jermolajevs, the Latvian who falls into a meditative state and then runs for extremely long periods.

The rules for the race differ from the standard road or 24-hour race. All runners must start everyday at 5 a.m., and the track closes at 11 p.m. each night. Participants can stay on the track as long as they wish during those hours, but if they miss a day for any reason not deemed an emergency, they’re out.

Runners must complete an average of 50 miles a day to stay in the race. They must run 385 miles the first week and complete 1,600 miles after four weeks. The first person to reach 2,700 miles within 47 days is the winner.

When the race began June 13, Kelley had trouble almost immediately. He developed blisters on his feet and the rain caused his bandages to unwrap and infections to set in. He eventually had to seek shelter during the rain, and lost about an hour each day continuously changing his drenched clothes and shoes.

“It rained some part of the day 35 out of the 42 days,” Kelley said. “Since my feet got infected early, the last thing I wanted was rain.”

Kelley would lap Jermolajevs over and over during the day, but the pain in Kelley’s feet would force him from the track several hours before it closed. He could only watch as Jermolajevs slowly surpassed his daily totals.

“I would get out of there around 8:30 or 9, and he would stay until 11 and match my miles just to make sure I couldn’t catch him,” said Kelley, a part-time actor. “I outran him, he outhustled me.”

On several occasions, Kelley and Jermolajevs would pick up the pace to try to exhaust the other. “We would break into sprints that looked like a two-mile race,” Kelley said.

Jermolajevs’ trainers, screaming and yelling, would pull him off the track and Kelley would be left winded and wondering why he got involved in such a sprint.

Overall, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon was set up for a runner such as Jermolajevs. He was more accustomed to running 24-hour, nonstop races. Kelley, on the other hand, was trained in stage races, where he would run from one point to another and then get a break until the next stage.

“This was basically his type of race,” Kelley said. “It was geared for every type of race he’s ever been around.”

Kelley knew what he had to do to catch Jermolajevs, but his body just wouldn’t let him do it.

“I should have gone over 70 miles each day,” Kelley said. “I felt I was capable of it, I had it and I hesitated. And I figure if it wasn’t for the injuries, I would have won it.”

Kelley trailed Jermolajevs by 33 miles after the first week and a little more than 100 after two weeks. After 30 days of running, Kelley had amassed 1,740 miles, but Jermolajevs had totaled 1,823.

After 40 days, 11 hours and about 49 minutes, Jermolajevs circled the track for the 4,920th time, totaling 2,700.096 miles. It took Kelley another 1 1/2 days to finish as runner-up.

Almost immediately Kelley began training for the next Sri Chinmoy Marathon, which will increase to 3,100 miles when it begins in June on the same half-mile track in New York. The race will be a culmination of endurance, mental toughness and pride for Kelley and he is determined not to lose.

His daily training schedule consists of a morning run of 15 to 20 miles, another 120 to 150 miles on a stationary bike, and an afternoon run of 10 to 12 miles.

He also trains with weights and runs underwater in the pool at his athletic club in Costa Mesa.

Kelley is considered a favorite among the 30 or so runners who will be given invitations to the next Sri Chinmoy Marathon--partly because Jermolajevs has not yet recovered from this year’s race, and partly because Kelley now has a better idea of what it takes to finish first.

“I know [Jermolajevs] was rocked at the end of that race,” Kelley said. “I don’t expect him to do any better [time-wise] than he did last time. It’s going to take four or five miles more a day to win it, and I’m going to gear myself to do that no matter what.”