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03/28/2007
A Man for all seasonsYear-round training is the name of the game
Brundage paddles with Barb Bradley of Wausau, Wis., during one of the tune-up races for the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon. TRAVERSE CITY — For Bill Brundage, variety is the spice of sport. The 56-year-old from Traverse City is involved in activities that often require more than one discipline, from canoe competitions to adventure races, triathlons to trail marathons. "I enjoy the training. I enjoy the workout,” Brundage said. "Doing these longer events really incorporates different challenges — getting through adversity, working things out.” "He just keeps going,” said Amy Solak, who trains with Brundage and competed with him in the Adventure Rage in Cadillac last fall. "I need him to train me up, I think. He's pretty amazing.” Brundage just returned from the Masters World Cup cross-country ski races in Rovaniemi, Finland. The races are a combination of classical and freestyle. It was the third time Brundage has competed in the World Cup, which features 10K, 30K and 45K races. "I like the trails. I like the woods,” he said. "That's why I like skiing. It's just different.” Brundage fared well in the races for skiers older than 30. He was 15th in the 45K and 26th in the 10K classic races, 37th in the 30K freestyle for the 55-59 age group. He also skied a leg of the United States' 20K relay team that placed sixth. His goal is to finish in the top 10 of his age group in a Masters World Cup race, which is in McCall, Idaho in 2008. Brundage's best so far is a 12th. While skiing is an individual sport, training for races isn't. Working with another person is what led Brundage to other events. 
Traverse City's Bill Brundage competes at the 2006 Masters World Cup cross- country ski race in Brusson, Italy. That's what attracted Brundage to adventure races, a team event that combines running, biking and paddling. There's also emphasis placed on orienteering with a map and a compass. "It's all team-oriented,” he said. "You're only as strong as your weakest link.” Solak said the team that competed in the Adventure Rage brought people from different ages and backgrounds together. Solak is a veteran canoe paddler whose family has competed in several Au Sable River Canoe Marathons. "It was such a diverse group,” Solak said of her first adventure race, which concluded with a seventh-place finish. "You had a female, 40-something, and then Bill, whose best sport is probably skiing. Then we had two other guys whose expertise was in biking.” Brundage, the human resources manager at Munson Medical Center, has taken part in a couple of longer adventure races covering 30 hours or so. He's also been in a couple of adventure "sprints” that encompass a 12-hour stretch. As with most athletes wishing to push the boundaries, Brundage, who served a two-year stint in the Army that included a tour in Vietnam, began with running races. Brundage was part of the committee that formed the first Bayshore Marathon, a 26.2-mile race along the shores of Grand Traverse Bay. After helping to get the Bayshore started, Brundage ran in it. He's competed in "five or six” over the years. The Bayshore Marathon will celebrate its 25th year on May 26. After competing in other marathons (his best time is 2:41), that ultimately led to triathlons and Ironmans. The traditional Ironman is a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run. Triathlons can be of varying distances, even though the typical one is half the distance of all three Ironman disciplines. Brundage has finished two Ironmans in the United States, one in Minnesota and the other in Cape Cod, where he logged a personal best time of 9:41. "I just enjoy the diversity of the events,” he said. "I'm not very good at anything. But I can do fairly well at a lot of things. Running I'm pretty mediocre. Biking I'm pretty mediocre. Put it all together and I do pretty well.” Although he said his triathlon days are behind him, Brundage — who credits Bikram Yoga with keeping his joints and his knees in particular working well — still likes to keep active in a number of sports, notably cross country skiing in the winter and canoe racing in the summer. The yoga Brundage does is in a room heated to 105 degrees with 50 percent humidity. Brundage has competed in the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon twice and is already planning on his third this year. Brundage isn't sure who will be his paddling partner for the 60th running of the 120-mile race from Grayling to Oscoda on the Au Sable River. Brundage teamed with Barb Bradley of Wausau, Wis. in the 2006 race. The duo placed 28th overall and fourth amongst mixed teams. "The whole thing got started just for health reasons and to reduce stress,” Brundage said. "Then I sort of got into the competition, enjoying it and challenging myself.” And don't think the competition isn't one of the driving factors for Brundage, who said it's still important to keep it all in proper perspective. "I'm still pretty competitive,” he said. "I realize I'm not going to win races anymore, but I still like to be able to finish as well as I can. "I like to beat people, but it's still about the process.” Brundage said now he leans more to events that combine technique with fitness, a way to level the playing field a little more. As for plans for slowing down, Brundage says he doesn't have one. He's looking forward to his fifth year of canoe racing and whatever else may be in the future. "Every year I tell my wife this is it, that I'm not going to do it any more,” Brundage said. "But then I do it another year. I don't think I can quit. "I know how to keep it into perspective. I'm not 40 anymore, so I can't do some of the same things. But sometimes these events don't just rely on youth.”
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