Sherpa John: Interview

Ht: 5'6"

Wt: 165 lbs

Weekly miles: Avg of 40

Trail or road: 95% Trail

Shoe preference: Currently La Sportiva Raptors

Sponsors: Nemo Equipment, PowerBar, Nathan Sports,

 HeadSweats, Osprey, Team Animal Camp

Number of Races: 40

Injury history: None
6 month goal: Steamboat 50 Miler, Slickrock 100 and other journey runs that don't start with "S"
2 year goal: The Hardrock 100, Badwater Solo, learning to play banjo, starting a family, finishing my book.
5 year goal: Attacama Crossing, producing a new documentary, returning to race directing.

John Lacroix, Aka 'Sherpa John', describes himself as the "every day man" who runs ultramarathons. ( But Doesn't participation in this sport automatically qualify you as something very different than the every day man?) Sherpa John or 'SJ' recently made the big move from the east coast to Colorado. With his dreams, John brought a great deal of ultra experience and background in mountain trekking.  John doesn't take himself too seriously, joking that he often enjoys beer at aid stations.  Conversations with the Trail recognizes that the world of ultra is also home to those other than "elites." THE WORLD OF ULTRA is open arms to anyone who believes they can finish the race.

Q: Good morning John!  I appreciate your time for this interview. You know, I've always wanted a cool nickname but nobody has given me one. Perhaps I should join a street gang... So how exactly did you earn your nickname, "Sherpa John?"

A: Thanks for having me Jerry. It's always a pleasure to be able to talk to others about the things you're passionate about. So I got the nickname during the summer of 2004. I was hiking with my girlfriend, now wife, Sarah. We were trying to "peak-bag" all of New Hampshire's AMC 4000 Foot mountains and on the days when the mileage was a bit longer then Sarah was comfortable with, I'd remove gear from her pack and put it into mine. This was fine until the lighter weight in her pack allowed her to sprint up the trails to which I threw a hissy and said, "I'm like a damn Sherpa out here!!". He reply was, "You are.. you're Sherpa John." The name stuck and immediately became my trail name. Later I decided to use the name for promotional purposes while trying to market a documentary film I had made on hiking those same peaks titled "48."

Q: You have an extensive racing resume, having run all over the United States. I think you would be an excellent candidate to give honest feedback on races. How would you compare East Coast Ultrarunning to West Coast Ultra?

A: In my humble opinion, It's like salt and pepper honestly. Back east, Ultrarunning definitely has more of a "family feel" to the culture as a whole. The ultra-culture in the East is much more welcoming and inclusive. People talk more and enjoy the long run, together, more. Here in the West it's a different culture. It's very guarded and at times closed off. Dare I say, even a little elitist. The idea of the ultra-culture being a family seems absent from the minds of those who run out here in the West. Out East it seems very "we're in this together" and in the West it's almost too much "every man for himself." I also think that the races out East are much more grass roots in nature. There isn't a lot of flair or pomp and circumstance while out here in the West, much of the races are incredibly over-produced, too much show and it honestly takes away from the culture and takes away from the over-all experience.. again.. in my opinion. Just look at how the same West pomp and circumstance has translated into the feelings on some of the runners who are from out here?  Some of these runners are larger then life and almost too large for our culture... where the talented runners from the East go virtually unnoticed. It's all connected somehow.

Q: Wow, interesting.  The various ultras you've done must vary widely.  What events impressed you with their organization and planning?


A: The grass roots races by far. These are the races without the corporate sponsors who are putting these events on to raise funds for local or national non-profits. Or the grass roots races whose funds go towards scholarships for their running clubs to give out to runners looking to run races and can't afford to pay the entry fee. These races put a lot more heart into the organization and the overall success of the race. The major for-profit races tend to leave a lot of things out or miss the details that really makes a runner feel cared for and wanted. Most of these grass roots races are put on by runners for runners. Where as the big flashy corporate races are being put on by companies and "employees", some of whom have never run an ultra before or who have no understanding or appreciate of the sports roots. So races like The Vermont 100 or The Vermont 50s, races like The Massanutten Mountain Trails 100 in Virginia, or The Grand Teton Races in Wyoming.. those are the races I love to run and continue to strive to return to. Their organization is unmatched, their zeal and love for the sport is pure and these volunteers plan these events year round with ultra-runners in mind.

Q: What about goodie bags... Which races blew you away with their freebies and sponsored goodies?

A: I'm not one of those runners that needs all the flashy and freebies at a race. It's certainly nice, don't get me wrong, but it's not necessary. I'd rather my left-over entry fees go towards charities or making aid stations better the following year. The corporate races always have the mega-shwag. At Western States last year I was treated like a king and it was even a little overwhelming. I guess you can call that being blown away. From the shirts I received, to the finishers medial, to the buckle, to the free backpack. It was really quite amazing and yet, I think a little wasteful. Same with the Leadville 100, another flashy race with an expensive price-tag. In 2010 I got a bag and a few water bottles,multiple shirts.. the parade of gifts seemed to never end. I honestly think I'm more blown away when a race costs under $200 to enter and I get $300 in freebies and merchandise and the money I spent to enter the race goes back into the race itself or towards charities. It means more to me to be able to run in those events then the mega-price tag races where I know RD's are taking a cut as well as some of the "volunteers." I will say, though, that the best freebies I ever got at a race was at the 2007 Grand Teton 100. I got a shirt from the race.. and a home made ceramic medal that commemorated my finishing the event (this was above and beyond the buckle). It's the simple things and that extra mile.

Pulling Pages at Barkley

Q: I've come to learn about your website and regular blogging at SherpaJohn.com Can you tell me why you blog and what you hope to accomplish through your site?

A: I started blogging back in 2003 as a way to simply share my adventures with the world. Over time, I'd come to realize how many people thought that the adventures I'd been under-taking were amazing and seemingly impossible. My blog has undergone a variety of evolutions but I finally think I have it to a place where I enjoy writing it. I want people to not only read my adventures but be able to put themselves there with me when I tell the story. This is why I've created my new YouTube channel and video blogging features. It allows folks to immerse themselves in these events with me. Talking about my emotions, inner most thoughts and feelings has always been important to me because it brings out emotion in others and that's really important to me when allowing others to experience my journey through the looking glass. The major focus of my blog now is to help others realize that nothing is impossible and yes, you can do anything that you put your mind to. I also try to encourage folks to think outside the box and consider other opinions with an open mind.

Q: Were you an athlete in your childhood years? What experiences during your childhood guided you to be so driven in your early 20s?

A: I played soccer growing up. I never played for the high school or college teams at all, but I did play for numerous indoor soccer teams each winter. One winter I was on 5 or 6 different teams and all of the games were on weekends. I think what really has propelled me as a long distance runner would be my experiences during my childhood. I was the smallest kid in the neighborhood and the youngest kid in all of my classes and grades. All of my brothers and sisters were older than me by at least 8 years so while I was being beat up by my brothers, I didn't have much protection from the neighborhood bullies. I was the kid the bullies chased home every night and if they ever caught me, they'd beat me up pretty good. I still have quite the collection of scars from the beatings I took as a child from these neighborhood bullies. After awhile it became a game for me, to deliberately piss them off and make them chase me. I was in charge now. I chose when they chased me or not.. not the other way around and I got pretty good at running a mile or two without getting caught. When I first heard about needing to be stubborn and able to put up with some discomfort to be an ultra-runner; I knew I could hack it.

I also felt I had a lot to prove in my life. Even though my family brought me up telling me that I could do anything I put my mind to, I very much started to doubt that they really meant the sentiment. As I began to tell my family about my aspirations in life, the protective "you're crazy" "you have no idea how hard that is" responses began to come out. I needed to prove them that what they told me my entire life was true. I could do anything i put my mind to and was going to. this included running upwards to 100 miles, running across and entire state, graduating from a University with a Bachelors degree and moving to Colorado. This continues to be my message to others. It's true, we can do anything and there is no better time then now.

Q: Where can we continue to follow your adventures?

A: You can follow along on my blog at http://www.sherpajohn.com/ or on my YouTube Channel under UltraSherpaJohn. Keep your eye out for my book, Chasing Somedays, in 2012 and a new movie project I'm working on.

Thank you Sherpa! See you on the trails...