Trail titan

After slipping a water bottle carrier over the palm of his hand, Justin Morris strolled across the red-dirt parking lot at Moss Rock Preserve, pebbles crunching underfoot. 

He began to jog upon reaching a small incline, then vanished behind a wall of trees at the park’s entrance. 

Morris, a 35-year-old Hoover resident, has run countless miles on Moss Rock’s winding trails since he began training for ultramarathons in 2010. Ultramarathons are races that exceed the 26.2-mile distance of a traditional marathon, and common lengths include 50K (31 miles), 50 miles, 100K and 100 miles.

Morris has completed around 25 of these taxing tests. In June, he crossed the finish line of his fifth 100-miler, the Black Hills 100 in South Dakota, in a time of 27 hours, 20 minutes.

“It’s a mental battle at that point just to force yourself to keep going,” he said. “You’ve really got to have your mind set that you’re goingto finish.”

Morris didn’t originally plan to become a harrier of Herculean endurance. In fact, he initially swore off further exercise-induced torment after running his first half marathon, Birmingham’s Mercedes Half, nearly a decade ago.

“That hurt so bad,” said Morris of the 13.1-mile endeavor. “I took some time off after that and decided I wouldn’t do anything like it again.”

But, over time, he grew in both desire and strength.  

In preparation for a trip to Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro with his wife, Marcie, he took up trail running in 2010. He battled through his first 50K one month prior to their departure for the international expedition. 

Morris said the day after his first ultra was characterized by discomfort, as soreness soaked through his muscles. The 31-mile accomplishment inspired confidence, however, and three years later it manifested in his decision to enter his first 100-mile race, the Pinhoti 100.  

Without the aid of a pacer, Morris traversed hilly, east Alabama terrain in solitude through day and night. He said the section of the race that took place between 2 a.m. and dawn, when sky and mind both dimmed, proved themost challenging. 

Nevertheless, he persevered to the finish. 

“He’s the kind of person that, when he puts his mind to something, he’s going to complete it,” Marcie Morris said. “His determination is unwavering.” 

His energy, likewise, appears equally consistent. Justin Morris proceeded to complete two more 100-mile races within a span of 11 months after his first breakthrough. One was the Western States Endurance Run. Held in California, it is ultrarunning’s equivalent of the Boston Marathon, with acceptances granted via lottery. 

“I got lucky and got in off one ticket,” Morris said. “I think I had a six percent chance.” 

That stroke of good fortune excluded, luck is typically a fleeting ingredient in the sport of ultrarunning. Few people can fake their way through a full day of relentless forward motion. 

So Morris rises before the sun, sometimes as early as 3 a.m., and embarks on his routine training runs. In peak form, he’ll log 25 to 30 miles on Saturday and 15 to 20 on Sunday — before tee ball games and family timeand church. 

But those activities have recently overlapped. In May, Marcie Morris completed her first 50K as her husband paved the way. 

“I have no desire to run 100 miles,” she said, “but every time I see him do a race, it inspires me to push my limits to see what I’m capable of.”