The steady sound of Darren Partyka’s tennis shoes tapping the pavement is about to turn into a nonstop, 48-hour thrum as the Sparks Fire Department captain jets off the starting line for the Biggest Little Ultra Marathon this weekend.
Partyka has run ultra marathons before, but he says this one will be unique. It’s a race without a finish line, so he’ll be up against the clock.
“You don’t know what distance you can do, but that’s kind of the exciting part,” he said in an interview at the Sparks Marina, where the ultra marathon is happening. “It’s 100% up to the individual. So it’s not so much a win or lose race, it’s kind of a see how far you can go.”…