Ultra Runners and Edward Sharpe

Some time ago I was turned onto the musical powerhouse of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. I had already been an ultra runner for a few years and their music, well, it just kind of spoke to me. It fit right in with that yearning you get when you're out there on the trails, lost in the world of nature with nothing but your thoughts to distract you. So of course when I heard they would be performing on Conan, I was excited. Already a fan of Conan, I watched eagerly, bought their albums, and went on with life. Then, about two years later, I was pleasantly surprised by another appearance on Conan.

This appearance is the trigger for this post. I was watching and suddenly, the dude in the back, looked exactly like Timothy Allen Olson. At first glance, I thought it was the guy up front, on the right, but he was a little to big. Then I saw the guy behind him playing the tall wind chime things and WHAMMO it hit me. These hipster musicians are body-doubles for ultra runners.

At about 2:51 in the video above.

So that's when I decided I needed to write a post, do some research, and come up with some original content. Original content is a bit of a rarity sometimes so I thought I'd do it right. Or at least give my readers a break from reading all those boring training reports I post.

First up, we have the heart and soul of both groups, Anton "Tony" Krupicka and Alexander "Alex" Ebert. There is quite a bit of a striking resemblance. Beards and long hair aside, both are tall and thin and from what I've seen, both even prefer minimalist footwear. Best of all though? Tony has seen Sharpe in concert.

Source: http://charliebroadway.blogspot.com and http://coolspotters.com/

Next up, we have a beauty on both sides in Michelle Barton (she's the second one in this search result listing) and Nora Kirkpatrick. While not quite 20 years separates them in age, they are both wonderful specimens of youth and beauty. Some of you may have seen Nora in The Office, but she also plays accordion in the Magnetic Zeros. And what makes me think these two are body doubles? Besides their good looks? Their hair and their smile. They both stand out like a star in the night sky.

Source: vanessaruns.com and www.flickr.com

Now I feel as though this is a bit of a stretch but there is some semblance of resemblance when both of these guys wear sunglasses. Nick Clark and Christopher Richard (aka Crash) can both rock the shades. And truth be told, the more I stare at them, the more similarities I see; long flowing hair, scruffy face, nose. Anyway, you get the picture.

Source: http://www.irunfar.com and http://teamcoco.com

Next up is one that can easily be argued depending on which photo you look at. In some pictures, Rob Krar looks just like Alex Ebert with beard and dreads. And in some photos Christian Letts looks like two entirely different people, almost a before and after of weight loss. But in the end, they both sport beards and hats. Specifically, both seem to be fond of that cowboy look when they wear hats. Maybe it's a mid-western thing.

Source: http://www.irunfar.com and http://rosecitylive.com

If you took a quick glance at my list here, you may have noticed that it's a little light on women. Don't blame me, I had to work with the list I had from the Magnetic Zeros group. The worst part though was finding this one single match. While the others were easy to find doppelgangers for, I struggled for days before finding Debbie Taylor and Jade Castrinos. Now, before I get into how they're the same, I must point out that I was hesitant to use Debbie in my list. Partially because she's not an elite runner like the others I've listed even though she's still a kick-ass ultra runner. Partially because she's a pretty private person. But my biggest reason was I didn't want to piss her off. While we've never met in person, we have talked online on and off over the past few years and I respect her and her opinions and value her friendship. As for how these two ladies are alike, I think it's the hair and the smirky smile. While Deb disagreed and presented a solid argument with evidence to prove her hair is more curly than seen below, I still say it's the hair. And even though she isn't smiling below, she does have a similar smirk that makes you think there's some happiness and joy in there that's just waiting to come out.

Source: https://twitter.com/canned_unicorn and http://www.buffalonewsstore.com/

Almost to the end of our list. On tap next is Scott Jurek and Stewart Cole. No, they don't have the same facial hair. In fact, I couldn't find any picture of Scott Jurek with facial hair that seemed to work for me. Same goes for Stewart Cole without facial hair. But that's okay. As you can see below, the facial hair isn't what you really think of when you first look at them. It's that damn head of curly hair. Like a kitchen mop or something, their curly hair is quite prominent. And don't forget that infectious smile. I've caught myself grinning a few times just from looking at their pictures.

Source: http://running.competitor.com and http://teamcoco.com

My next comparison is going to break the rules a bit. But since there are no rules and I'm in charge, I say screw it. We have Catra Corbett and Josh Collazo. I know, comparing a man and a woman isn't quite in line with what I've done so far but be patient. You see, they both have tattoos. And while Catra may have more, it's pretty clear they're both fans of getting inked. Plus, they both have this burning look in their eyes that seems to draw you in. Granted, I'm a bit more attracted to Catra than Josh, but hey, that's just my preference. On a side note, there was a topless photo Catra that would have matched the topless Josh, but I didn't want to stoop quite that low.

Source: http://trailgirl.blogspot.com and http://philephotography.smugmug.com

Finally, we circle back around to the source of this whole conversation; Timothy Allen Olsen. The best match I could come up with for him was Mark Noseworthy. Yeah, Mark is pretty much under the internet radar like Michelle Barton, but he has played guitar for Pete Yorn (in case you're a fan). Tim though isn't really under the internet radar but he is apparently going to be off the grid for the near future. What else do these two guys have in common? Well, I don't rightly know because I can't find much of anything on Mark except some mentions about playing guitar and potentially being in a curling club. So I'll just stick with the whole "they look alike" thing. And they both apparently love beanies.

Source: www.timothyallenolson.com and edwardsharpeandthemagneticzeros.com

So there you have it. An incomplete pairing of ultrarunners to Edward Sharpe and Magnetic Zeros.