I am an Ultra Runner! Words I never thought I would say!

My journey with running began the day after I passed my dissertation defense in 2022. It was probably because I was on a high from achieving the biggest milestone in academia, but at the same time, it was also to see if I could mentally handle it. I have been an athlete my whole life, and I knew what my body could do and how hard I could push it. The question was whether I could stay mentally strong for 26.2 miles!

Fast forward three and a half years and many miles under my belt, I decided to register for the Shawnee Hills 50k Trail Race. Up to that point, I had run 11 marathons all over the country, as my goal is to run one in every state. I have completed many training runs, but anything over 26.2 miles and on trail has never been something I have experienced. Not knowing how to approach the training block, I did some research and asked friends who are experienced ultra runners for advice. Their answer was: it is not that different from a marathon training schedule! So, I started by doing my 5 days a week runs for about 2 months before the big day. Some runs were easy runs, had lots of hill training or hill repeats and obviously the long runs were always the ones that closed each week of training.

The day before the race I was super nervous, and I could not believe that I registered to do this. I kept asking my friends why they let me register and why they didn’t stop me? When I picked up my race bib at Camp Ondessonk and saw all the runners that came to the race, I felt so unprepared. Sleeping that night was hard and I settled on just trying to finish the race no matter what. I remember calling my mom and telling her that if I must to crawl to cross the finish line, that is what I would do. The scariest factor for me was that I have never done this type of race and I did not know how to approach it. When I run a marathon, I know how to break the miles, when to take in nutrition, when to drink my electrolytes, and when I can push, but this was all new.

The big day was here! I got there one hour before the race started to see the most amazing humans attempt the 100 mile race. I wanted to be inspired and give myself the motivation I needed to feel good during the race. One hour later we all lined up in front of the start line and off we went. The beginning was a lot of fun and it was a big party. We were all basically doing an Indian run through the beautiful trails on Shawnee. Vibes were good, body was feeling great when I reached the first aid station at 6 miles. I ate everything they had to offer, from peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to pickles and bacon. I got an ice bandana and off to the next aid station I went. Once I reached mile 12, the next station, I had some more pickles and nerd clusters and danced on their 80s playlist. After I reached the half way point (around 17 miles), I could not believe how good my body was feeling and how much I was enjoying this race. I refilled my water bottles and got more ice and a popsicle and off I went. By this point the runners were more spaced out, so I ended up running by myself for the rest of the race. I decided that I could push harder and go a bit faster to see if I could finish the race in my goal time of 7 hours and 30 minutes. I crossed paths with some runners, and we would encourage each other along the way.

It was such a peaceful solo run, with no music or distractions. Just me and nature and happy to say no snakes! My next stop was at mile 25 where my amazing friends were volunteering. They gave me all the snacks I wanted and refilled my water bottles and made sure to encourage me and push me to finish strong. One more aid station to go and then the finish line! I left mile 25 feeling refreshed and excited. I was somewhere in the Shawnee when I reached mile 27 and I screamed “I am an ULTRA RUNNER!” and turned around and realized there was no one around me. I was so proud of myself for achieving that goal and started running even faster. I made it to the last aid station and they were so positive and encouraged me to keep up the good work. They were all surprised this was my first ultra race and trail race and congratulated me for running it. I was only 3 miles away from the finish line and I was finally starting to realize that I am about to finish a 50k race. I took another popsicle to go and off I went. With each beep of my watch telling me I completed another mile, my heart rate was speeding up and all the emotions were coming at me all at once. As I was inching closer and closer, I started to hear cheers and cowbells and I could see the end. As I made the final turn and saw everyone and how excited they were, I started smiling and sprinting through the finish line. I hugged everyone and received my medal and it was official: I had completed my first ultra race and I beat my goal time too! I finished my race in 7 hours and 3 minutes and 36 seconds! I did it!

I am forever grateful to the running community and friends I have made along my running journey. Everyone volunteering at this event and all the runners I have met have been amazing and have motivated me to try to run the 100k next year. There are no words to describe the feelings that I have experienced during the entire 7 hours I ran: nervousness, happiness, excitement, doubt, fear (mostly because of the snakes, but I did not see any), but overall I am PROUD! I will continue to push my body past its limits and run with my friends for as long as I can.