Completing a 100-mile race is undeniably a tremendous personal accomplishment. At the same time, crossing the finish line takes a team.
When ultramarathoner Ken Weiblen prepares for a race, he puts in countless hours and miles training for the grueling physical and mental feat ahead of him. Once race day arrives, he’s far from alone. An ultra-runner assembles a crew that manages logistics like nutrition and gear changes as well as offering moral support.
Weiblen’s team also extends beyond that race-day group. When he needs the care of a sports medicine physician, Weiblen turns to Dr. Ryan Wagner, a Non-Surgical Sports Medicine Physician with ThedaCare Orthopedic Care.
“In general, as an ultra-runner, you probably know orthopedic surgeon or sports medicine doctor pretty well,” Weiblen says. “Dr. Wagner is just awesome. He really listens.”
Dr. Wagner affirms this mindset.
“Each patient is unique. Each has a different story to tell,” he says. “I strive for patient-centered care. Taking time to listen creates a strong relationship with the patient and allows for a greater understanding of their goals and aspirations.”
Chasing Goals
Weiblen, a Sherwood resident and sales consultant for American Orthodontics, has always felt driven to work toward something.
In his home state of California, Weiblen played Division II college basketball. Standing 5 feet 9 inches tall, though, he jokes he didn’t see a long-term future for himself in the sport.
From basketball, Weiblen’s passion turned to running. Competing in shorter races quickly led to a desire to run marathons. After realizing that goal, he set his sights on qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Weiblen took a tactical approach to achieving his aspiration.
“It’s all about speed, and I’m not fast at all,” Weiblen says.
Still, Weiblen trained diligently and figured out the speed aspect. The approach worked, and he ran Boston in 2009.
Seeking Something Bigger
At the same time, Weiblen was training for Boston, his mom was going through cancer. Shortly after the race, she died.
As Weiblen grieved his mom, something within him shifted. Marathon training became a grind that had lost some of its joy.
“My mom and I were very close, and I needed time,” he says. “I needed something different.”
Around that time, a friend introduced Weiblen to 50K races. He visited the Grand Canyon and completed a Rim-to-Rim run of approximately 28 miles. Runners begin at the top, descend to the bottom and climb back up to the top. The run took more than five hours, and Weiblen relished the experience.
But he still wanted more. A 50K — approximately 31 miles — felt too close to a marathon.
“I was like, ‘What’s next? I need more time,’” he recalls. “This was coming from, I love running, not that I want to compete.”
Soon, Weiblen began running longer distances, a process that proved cathartic. Putting in miles helped him grieve his mom.
“More than anything I love the process of training. You just have to figure it out,” he says. “It allowed me to run for miles on end and work through stuff in my head.”
Going the Distance
Ultramarathons became the next logical step.
“My friend said, there’s 50s, there’s 100s,” Weiblen says. “I said, let’s do 100.”
Skipping over 50s and leaping right to 100s was a bold move. When Weiblen described his plan to another ultra-runner, she shared some words that stick with him to this day: “If you don’t understand the pain you’re about to feel and know how to deal with it when it comes, you’re going to have a really bad day.”
The fellow runner’s words proved true. “I did my first 100, and it was absolutely brutal,” Weiblen says.
Nonetheless, he was hooked and soon set yet another goal for himself: securing a spot in the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. The California race is the nation’s premier 100-mile running event.
Achieving this ambition would require not only hard work but also luck. To put this in perspective, the Boston Marathon takes about 30,000 entrants each year. Western States has approximately 350 spots. Each year, anywhere from 12,000 to 18,000 brave and determined souls enter a lottery to run the race. Finally, after years of trying, Weiblen secured a spot in the 2024 race.
Arriving at the Apex
Race day was every bit as challenging and gratifying as Weiblen anticipated it would be. His crew included his son and several close friends. Their support and encouragement kept him going.
“Seeing friends and family at a crew stop is like a drug,” he says. “It’s awesome.”
Not surprisingly, running 100 miles requires both physical and mental stamina. Weiblen says he thought he had worked through all the possible kinks that may await him. However, when he got to the top of an elevation around mile 10, he realized he had a blister on every toe.
“Ninety miles of blisters,” he laughs. “It was as bad as you would think it would be, but I just kept telling myself, my son’s here. I waited 10 years for this.”
Crossing the finish line with a time just shy of 29 hours made everything worth it. Weiblen’s son ran the last mile with him, and friends lined up to celebrate him.
“It was so emotional,” he says. “I just couldn’t ask for any more. It was amazing.”
Running Forward
To date, Weiblen has completed a dozen 100-mile runs. As soon as his Western States adventure ended, he began pining to do the race again.
For Weiblen, training never ends. Throughout the process, he’s experienced all kinds of issues from shin splints to plantar fasciitis to trips and falls.
When injuries arise, Weiblen knows he can count on Dr. Wagner. He first saw him when he was experiencing runner’s knee. Later, Weiblen needed help with shin splints.
Dr. Wagner says these issues aren’t uncommon in endurance athletes.
“Probably the most common issue that can arise with long-distance running, especially ultramarathon training, is overuse,” he says. “To help with such issues, I typically recommend cross-training, incorporating rest days and gradual progression with training.”
Dr. Wagner says sports medicine specialists and physical therapists can help athletes work through overuse issues, training optimization and exercises that can help strengthen weak muscles to improve form. They also emphasize the importance of fundamentals like good nutrition, plenty of sleep and incorporating rest days.
True Partner
Weiblen says he appreciates Dr. Wagner’s personalized, collaborative approach.
“Dr. Wagner takes a lot of time and asks lots of questions,” he says. “It’s not, ‘This is what we’re going to do.’ It’s, ‘Here’s what I suggest.’”
Though Dr. Wagner acknowledges that not a lot of his patients run ultramarathons, the experience he strives to provide is the same regardless of someone’s age, physical fitness level or priorities.
“In general, helping patients to enjoy doing what they love is what drives me and makes me tick,” he says. “It’s why I love doing what I do.”
For Weiblen, that means a lot. “There’s more of a comfort coming in to see him, because I know I’m not going to get the standard treatment. I’m going to get someone who understands what I’m going through.”
