Dr. Stalter lived life to the fullest

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January 27, 2012

Anonymous Daily Star The Daily Star Fri Jan 27, 2012, 02:24 AM EST

My dad was 91 when he passed away. During his last few months, we spent a lot of time talking.

One of the most memorable things he told me was, "I can't believe that 91 years has gone by so fast. You'd better do all the things you want to do, because life is too short."

Ken Stalter was far younger than my dad when he went to meet his maker. I'm sure he had a lot more things planned, but his time ran out too quickly.

Most of us know Dr. Ken was a great physician and surgeon. He left two long, faint scars on me in the past few years. And, as you may have read in his obituary last Saturday, he was a great athlete and adventurer. As a tribute to such an elite athlete, I'd like to expand on a few of his extraordinary accomplishments.

Ken ran in many marathons, which are 26.2 miles in length. Besides those, Ken participated in Iron Man Triathlon competitions, which are far more demanding than marathons. To finish, you must swim 2.4 miles, bicycle 112 miles and then run 26.2 miles. And you do all of that in one day.

Last July, Ken beat his previous year's mark at Lake Placid by 51 seconds, finishing in 14 hours, 7 minutes. But, I guess those were preliminary events for his bigger races.

Ken also ran the Marathon de Sable. I knew he had run a race across Africa's Sahara Desert, but I had no idea how difficult a feat that was.

The Marathon de Sable is said to be "The Toughest Foot Race on Earth." It's a six-day run over 156 miles of rock and sand. Everything you need along the way must be carried with you, except for water. Your food, clothing, medical kit, sleeping bag and more is on your back through the blazing-hot, midday sun and the freezing-cold desert nights. Dr. Ken finished that race well up in his class.

This past October, he competed in the Furnace Creek 508, which is no ordinary bicycle race. It's known as "The Toughest 48 Hours in Sport."

This race is the world's premier ultra-cycling event, which covers a little more than 500 miles of grueling mountains and stark desert. Leaving from north of Los Angeles, the epic journey takes the riders across the Mojave Desert, through Death Valley and onward to Joshua Tree National Park, crossing 10 mountain passes with an overall elevation gain of more than 35,000 feet.

Ken did it in just 37 hours.

As you may know, Dr. Ken summited Mount Everest on May 21, 2008.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, reaching 29,035 feet into the heavens. It took him three tries to accomplish this great feat. Ken had a purpose in climbing Everest, however. It wasn't because it was the highest place on Earth.

Ken was "Climbing to Cure Childhood Leukemia." Ken did this to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia Foundation in memory of his daughter Leah, who died of leukemia in 1991.

Many people have died attempting to summit Everest. Ken knew that.

He said, "The attraction to high mountain climbing is hard to explain. … a large part of the reward comes from the planning and preparation that starts months before the actual attempt. The summit can be elusive for reasons beyond control of the climber."

He went on to say that "success is not synonymous with reaching the top. It has little tangible value."

But he added, "The challenges faced daily by children with this disease are far greater than any I will encounter on this climb."

Most of us set goals, but Ken set his a little higher. Certainly his early passing will have a profound effect on his family, colleagues, patients and many, many friends. He was a great man and an outstanding athlete.

Ken may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. He certainly will be missed by all.

Rick Brockway writes a weekly outdoors column for The Daily Star. Email him at robrockway@hotmail.com.