I have a love-hate relationship with tough ultras. That is probably why I was screaming and jumping up and down with excitement last January when I found out my name was drawn in the lottery to run the Superior 100 trail race. Actually 103.3 miles with 21,000 feet of climbing (and an equal amount of decent), the race motto is “Rugged-Relentless-Remote.” And is it ever!
It’s hard to find time to write for my blog, especially with 100-mile race training going on, so even though it’s now August, let’s flash back to April. April 28, 2018 to be exact. That was the day of the FlatRock 101K in Independence, Kansas. FR 101K is a double out-and-back course on the Elk…
Disclaimer: I am don’t pretend to be a professional shoe reviewer, and these reviews are just my opinions. I have to buy these shoes and send back the ones I don’t want to keep for a refund, so I don’t get to trail test them, only run on the treadmill. But I have fun shoe…
I was surprised and honored to be asked to be Epic Ultra’s Featured Runner of the Month in January 2018! I had a blast writing the interview and I hope you will enjoy getting to know me a bit better. You can find the original article here. Please drop by Epic Ultra’s website for more…
Sander’s Saunter 50K Saturday, November 11, 2017, 7:00 a.m. There are many reasons why I love this race! First of all, they have TailWind at the aid stations and not Heed! (My apologies to Heed fans, but I cannot stomach it!) Secondly, Mile 90 Photography is there to record our race story with spectacular photographs….
Did anyone else run through the eclipse? It was not a hard decision for me to choose heading for the trails during the total solar eclipse on August 21, 2017. I live in Missouri. Yep, like in the path of totality for the eclipse. I ordered eclipse glasses online for our family and payed for…
A solid training cycle combined with cooler race temperatures were a winning combination for me!
Having birthed three children through long labors the natural, unmedicated way, I have to say that I can see a few resemblances between birthing and running a 100-mile race. For one thing, in both events you are likely to have prolonged suffering, and at some point you want to quit. When you are deep into…
This past fall, I ran two 50K trail races: FlatRock 50K and Sanders Saunter 50K. In September, it has become our family tradition to run FlatRock 50K on the beautiful Elk River Hiking Trail near Independence, Kansas. It is a deceptively hard 50K for the Midwest because of the relentless rocky terrain. If one finishes…
The trail grew rougher with larger rocks and potholes. My stomach was churning. My attitude was crashing. I started feeling like I was stuck in a nightmare of darkness, rocks, and nausea that would go on forever. My race was unraveling, and I seemed powerless to stop it.
I grew up being afraid of mountain lions, only it was never a problem living in Missouri. Now I was alone in the twilight, deep in mountain lion territory. What was I going to do?
“Does anything look familiar?” Aaron kept asking me. On the way out it had been daylight. I had been traveling in the opposite direction, following the flagging and the runners ahead of me. No, nothing looked familiar. We were lost.
