Life in the (Ultra) Fast Lane
(This story first appeared in the Fall/Winter 2000 issue of Allegheny magazine.)
For Ian Torrence '94, entering the fast lane after graduation was more than a figure of speech.
For the past six years Torrence has been a member of an elite group of distance runners known as ultrarunners, where "ultra" defines races as anything beyond a marathon. Torrence, who has competed in more than 65 ultra events across the country since 1994, has won more races within a given year than any other racer in the history of the sport. Out of the 16 races Torrence entered last year, he won 12. In May 1999 he finished nearly three hours ahead of his closest competitor in the Massanutten Mountain Trail 100-mile race, one of the most difficult in the country. A month earlier he had set a new course record-and defeated ultra champion Eric Clifton-in the Zane Grey Highline Trail 50-mile race.
Torrence says that the sport of ultrarunning is sweeping the country. "It's all over the United States," he notes. "There's a magazine called UltraRunning, and it has a calendar in the back. You can find an ultrarunning event every weekend anywhere in the United States." In addition to its calendar, UltraRunning profiles a runner in each issue. Torrence was featured in October 1999.
Torrence's career trail recently took him to Seattle, where he now works as the trail-running promotions coordinator for Montrail, an outdoor sport boot company that also sells a line of trail-running shoes. "They approached me, actually, and offered me the position," he says. Torrence believes his connections in the racing community, more than his record of wins, are what made him valuable to the company. "I know the ultrarunning community and they know me," he says. "I think that helps in the relationships with race directors."
The Montrail offer came at the tail end of a very different job: a four-year appointment with the National Park Service. Torrence had been a biological science technician at Lake Mead in Nevada, where he led a crew to rid the area of non-native plants that were destroying native vegetation.
Torrence credits Allegheny, where he was on both the cross country and the track and field teams, for the strengths that not only helped him succeed with the park service but that will ultimately advance him in his new field. "I have a B.S. in biology," he says. "I worked really hard for that. I learned a lot of organizational skills and how to manage my time. I got a lot out of Allegheny."
Not getting back to the College for a reunion is Torrence's only regret. He hopes that he'll have a chance to meet with alumni in the Pittsburgh area when he comes to the city in March to compete in the GNC 100km USA Track and Field Championships. Torrence captured a spot as third alternate for the American team this year and hopes to make the team next year so that he can compete with them in the international arena. In the meantime, alumni who hope to catch up with him will need to lace up a pair of running shoes.
- Jim Huston '91
