January 22, 2020
Attitude elevates climber, runner
By JILL DENNING GACKLE
Ryan Wagner had to think twice before remembering his age. That’s because although he’s 42, he said he feels half that.
Wagner, a former resident of White Shield since 2002, then New Town and now Makoti, considers his age just a number. Instead he relies on his attitude to motivate him to climb mountains and run record-breaking races.
“I feel 25,” he said and laughed. Even though a 30-40 mile run is not unusual for him, he said it’s not about the goal but the adventure.
“I don’t have to do it. I just want to challenge myself,” he said.
As he gears up for a Maah Daah Hey Trail Run in May, he said he knows that 288 miles up and back on the Badlands trail is nothing compared to the November 400-mile trek on Mount Everest. Wagner and two friends set a world record for the fastest time completing the Everest Mailrun.
The Everest Mailrun is a non-stop run that is from Kathmandu, Nepal (4,593 feet) to the Everest Base Camp (17,585 feet). Historically, it was an actual route to deliver the mail to people at the base camp. No one had ever completed a round trip before Wagner’s trio. The route was from Kathmandu to the base camp and back again. Up and down dizzying heights of rough terrain, they completed it in 9 days, 23 hours and 23 minutes.
Wagner’s friend from Vancouver, Wash. approached him at a California race and asked if he wanted to try something that had never been completed.
Wagner, a former resident of White Shield since 2002, then New Town and now Makoti, considers his age just a number. Instead he relies on his attitude to motivate him to climb mountains and run record-breaking races.
“I feel 25,” he said and laughed. Even though a 30-40 mile run is not unusual for him, he said it’s not about the goal but the adventure.
“I don’t have to do it. I just want to challenge myself,” he said.
As he gears up for a Maah Daah Hey Trail Run in May, he said he knows that 288 miles up and back on the Badlands trail is nothing compared to the November 400-mile trek on Mount Everest. Wagner and two friends set a world record for the fastest time completing the Everest Mailrun.
The Everest Mailrun is a non-stop run that is from Kathmandu, Nepal (4,593 feet) to the Everest Base Camp (17,585 feet). Historically, it was an actual route to deliver the mail to people at the base camp. No one had ever completed a round trip before Wagner’s trio. The route was from Kathmandu to the base camp and back again. Up and down dizzying heights of rough terrain, they completed it in 9 days, 23 hours and 23 minutes.
Wagner’s friend from Vancouver, Wash. approached him at a California race and asked if he wanted to try something that had never been completed.
