She is a gorgeous red head, she is blurringly fast - it's
Mischa Redblur - Ultra Sorceress
(an ULTRA runner who currently holds 12 ultra running course records)

June 2007                                                                          November 2009

Flying Buffalo, Inc. www.flyingbuffalo.com has been making and selling my 1965 Nuclear War game (42 years old now!) since 1972.  Owner, Rick Loomis also has a line of LOST WORLDS COMBAT PICTURE BOOKS (See: www.flyingbuffalo.com/lostw.shtml). These books are a DICELESS fantasy combat system. Each player has a book, and you play by giving your book to your opponent, who reciprocates. You each pick a maneuver from your list of options, and tell the other player the manuever's page number. You each turn to the specified page number, and see what the other person is doing. For instance, you may choose to lunge at me, while I choose a side swing. When I turn to your page, I see you lunging at me, and when you turn to my page, you see yourself getting a hit on me. After I take a specified number of hits, I have lost the combat. It’s very easy (the complete rules are included on each book) and very quick.

Flying Buffalo has been selling Lost Worlds books for about 10 years now.  Each year, 2 or 3 new character books have been added to the line.  Until 2004, each and every action pose by the fantasy characters in the books was hand drawn.  For the first time in 2004, Rick used posed photos for a character (see: www.flyingbuffalo.com/amara.htm). 

In 2005 my daughter, Michelle Barton, was introduced as the new super hero photo combat character!  Her weapons are a dagger, red magic, blades that pop out of the toes of her sandals AND because of her long red hair - a hair whip - that can wrap around an enemies neck or ankles (which was digitally enhanced by Nuclear War game artist & long term friend, Steve Crompton).  The book came out June 2005. 

Some of Michelle's Lost World's photos.
(The Mischa Redblur character book has 36 pages of photos.)

Click on any photo on this page to see the full size version.

Mischa Redblur in the medieval Lost Worlds

Always ready for anything in the Lost Worlds.

The beautiful, but deadly Ultra Sorceress!

A peaceful moment before combat in the "Lost Worlds"

Jumping backward to avoid a sword thrust .

Thrusting her dagger into her opponents vital spots!

Oh NO!  Mischa  just got knocked down!

Casting a red magic spell (More Steve digital stuff)

Hair whip attack around the opponents ankle (Steve extended her hair even further digitally for the Lost Worlds book).

The bad guy is in trouble now!

Pop out toe blades!  Wow!

Mischa is jumping above a sword (for the book, Steve digitally added a sword swinging under her legs ).

Ooops!  Mischa just dropped her dagger!

Running away - Is the brave warrior, Mischa afraid of her opponent and hightailing it out of there?

No way - NEVER!  She just had to leave the Medieval LOST WORLD to answer a call (and get a Starbucks fix)!

All of her Mischa Redblur combat photos were taken in the Badlands area of Laguna Sur overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Laguna Niguel, California.
Photos by Doug Malewicki and Chuck Specht - Copyright 2005.  Mischa's medieval warrior outfit designed and sewn by Vickie Davis.
 And of course there has to be a background story for every super hero (ultra runner athletes will recognize many familiar, though slightly distorted, names in her "official history"):

The legend of Mischa Redblur, Ultra Sorceress
Chapter IV  - The early Years
as chronicled by Sir D’Ean Karno

Mischa was the 4th daughter of King Gordian Sleigh, the beloved white bearded master of the winter lands of Idema in Scotland, and his wife Queen Asch.   Everyone knew this beautiful little baby was very special because when Mischa was born she already had beautiful locks of long red hair – a potent sign of future strong magical powers.  Kingdom shaking events occurred when Mischa was only 7 years old.  That was the year that the evil demented ice blue eyed Lord Bzawely from the far North, who was the keeper of the Book of Shadows and Master of the Giants, attacked and overran the once happy lands.

Fortunately, little Mischa was spirited away to safety by the King Sleigh’s faithful Klan warriors – Yurek and McKenzie the Scots, while debonair Knight Robin McSnare bravely stayed behind to lay many clever traps to slow down the pursuers.

After 5 years in closely guarded hiding Mischa, now 12, was taken to the secret school of the Sacred Mists in the upper reaches of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in all of the Scottish highlands.  All feared this mountain and few ever returned. The word Nevis means poisonous, terrible and ominous.  It was time to start Mischa’s long formal training in the ULTRA ways. 

Davan the Wiccan, a Celtic High Priest with vast experience in combat arts, strength and speed development tended to her years of physical training.  Her mental magical powers were coaxed slowly into great strength by XY the Wise, prosecutor of the true Celtic laws and sworn enemy of the evil perverted Lord Bzawely.  It was XY’s magic controlled lightning bolt that a decade earlier melted out Bzawely’s left eye of diamond clear dazzling blue ice.  Even with his eye patch Bzawely was a handsome striking figure.  Strutting, always strutting, as he pondered what evil to do next.

After several years of training, Mischa was considered ready for some of the less dangerous covert missions, but only when accompanied by other young ULTRA students.  Her extremely dangerous solo missions that earned her a name as a legend would come later. 

Her companions on these early adventures were Robert the Bear, Ben the Stag, Kyle the Young and Alan of the Brrrr Sea a handsome ice, water and fire magic apprentice.  Alan’s icy calm nature was very valuable in the many serious emergency situations the small team encountered.  It was Kyle the Young (who you will learn more about in Chapter VIII) who saved Mischa with a daring rescue during the battle of Hot Springs after the giant ogre Tmtweit threw her over the edge of the steep mountain precipice.  Kyle saved her life and got her mangled body back to the school of the Sacred Mists. It took her 6 months to recover and she became stronger, faster and more determined than ever. 

She was now ready to advance to the master level of the ULTRA ways.  Davan the Wiccan & XY the Wise taught her the magic of RED.  RED was extremely powerful magic to be used only when attacking an enemy.  As her red hair grew longer, it too became a useful weapon that through RED magic became alive and could reach out and grasp an opponent around the neck or ankles.   No one in the history of the kingdom ever had that power! 

The mission of the ULTRAS was to act as special long distance messengers for King Sleigh to the leaders of the rebellion alliance.  To deliver secret planning strategy messages to and between General D’on, son of Allise, and Master Gregor of the Land of Sodr, as fast as possible without attracting any attention from any of evil Lord Bzawely’s giants.  Yurek the Scot was the first member of the ULTRA guild to learn how to use magic to shift time.  To ordinary humans, it appeared that Yurek was running much faster than any horse could, plus he could easily sustain these incredible speeds for a hecto-mile (100 miles).   

Yurek, in his prime, once ran a hecto-mile in fourteen and one half hours.  Mischa while just in her mid 20’s ran a hecto-mile in just thirteen and one half hours from the North Face of the Western Highlands to the Hills of the Auburn Forest. She had to swiftly race up 18,000 feet in altitude, then blaze through dangerous snow-covered passes to cross over treacherous Satan’s thumb, then make her way 23,000 feet down through the jumbled hard rock of the Mon Trail to finally reach those beautiful auburn forests.  The ordinary humans who happened to be anywhere near her same path saw nothing but a faint red blur and felt only a cold rush of wind from her passage.  The origins of her legendary name had begun!

The complete chronicles of Sir D’Ean Karno and his first hand accounts of the Mischa Redblur, Ultra Sorceress legends can be read at: www.MischaRedblur.com.  The facts of her life, her powers, her adventurous battles and of her magical daughter Princess Sea-Air make for fascinating reading.


And just in case it seems incredulous that such a lovely lady can do well in such tough endurance events here are the numbers!
Michelle Barton - Recent ultra wins and course records as of June 10, 2007
 
Date Event Distance (miles) Elevation gains (feet) Time Place
March 13, 2004 Lake Hodges 50K (old course) 31 800 4:13:32 1st female, 2nd overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
           
November 12, 2005 San Diego 12 hour race 69.348 1000 12:00:00 1st female, 2nd overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
           
February 18, 2006 Orange Curtain 100K 62 800 10:24:00 1ST OVERALL - COURSE RECORD
August 25, 2006 Bulldog 50K 31 6,000 5:04:00 1st female, ?? Overall
October 5, 2006 Saddleback Mountain Marathon 26.2 5,100 3:58:19 1st female, 6th overall
November 4, 2006 Javelina Jundred 100 101.6 4,400 19:42:31 1st female, 4th overall
           
January 27, 2007 Winter Trail Run Series 12K 8.15 2,604 1:11:28 1st female, 9th overall
February 3, 2007 Twin Peaks Inaugural 50K 31 6,500 4:26:00 1ST OVERALL - COURSE RECORD
February 10, 2007 Winter Trail Run Series 15K 9.39 3,502 1:21:41 1st female, 8th overall
February 18, 2007 Orange Curtain 50K 31 400 3:57:00 1ST OVERALL - COURSE RECORD
February 24, 2007 Winter Trail Run Series 18K 10.65 4,020 1:34:37 1st female, 8th overall
March 31, 2007 Lake Hodges 50K (new course) 31 4,793 4:26:00 1st female, 8th overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
May 5, 2007 29th annual Wild Wild West 50K 31 5,500 4:41:29 1st female, 2nd overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
May 12, 2007 28th annual San Diego PCT 50 miler  50  6,500  8:44:36 1st female, 6th overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
May 19, 2007 16th annual Bishop High Sierra 50K 33 ? 5:03:19 1st female, 4th overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
June 2, 2007 18th annual Shadow of the Giants 50K 33.5 ? 5:22:57 1st female, 11th overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD
June 10, 2007 11th annual Holcomb Valley 33 miler 33 ? 5:20:21 1st female, 6th overall - FEMALE COURSE RECORD

These are ULTRAS folks! 
People dream of running a Marathon (26.2 miles) sometime in their life & those that do attempt it train for months. 

In less than one month (May 5 - June 2, 2007), this lovely red head, Michelle Barton, earned four 1st place female in 4 ultra races (distances over the 26.2 mile marathon distance - including one 50 miler) and set a female course records at each.  One week later on June 10th she ran a 33 mile ultra and got 1st place female again and another course record!  Now 5 races & 5 course records in a row!  This is unheard of in the ultra running world!

Here is a link to photos from her first 100 mile race win:
Javelina Jundred 100 mile trail race: www.sshs57.com/photos/061104Javelina100.htm

The OCTR (Orange County Trail Runners www.theoctr.org/ ) have lately been calling her "The iMichelle" a super ultra running prototype robot escaped from the Apple labs.  (Rumor started by Charlie Nickell's blog - www.TheRunDown.net).