My Transition Into Ultras

Becoming an ultra runner was not something I had set my sights on when I first started running about 6 years ago, but like anything else, the more you do, the more you want to do. The initial goal was to train for and run a marathon and that is exactly what I did and then I kept running them.  To this day I have completed 10 marathons and 10 half marathons.  I know it may not seem like a lot to so many others that run, but it was never my plan to run race after race.  I would focus on a few each season and train for them.  It was after I ran my 9^th marathon, the Cleveland Marathon, in May of 2014, that I knew it was time to challenge myself with more.  With that in mind, I registered for the 50k at the Clearwater Distance Classic that was taking place in January of 2015.  I trained hard over the summer, logging many miles and very long long runs and by the time January rolled around, I was ready as I ever would be.  I ran the race not as well as I had wanted to, but I knew I would complete my first ultra this day and that is what I did.  I am always humbled when I cross that finish line no matter how many races I have run.  I am someone who is fortunate enough to be able to do something I am passionate about and I do not take it for granted at all.  It’s always a very emotional moment for me because I am so thankful.

It was after completing that 50k that I knew this is what I wanted to do.  I wanted to run all the distances, 50k, 50m, 100k, 100m 12 Hour runs and 24 Hour runs.  I am motivated by the challenge.  It is what drives me and inspires me.  On a whim, I signed up for a 12 Hour run, The Whispering Pines 12H/6H run, that was only about an hour from where we live.  It was actually free and only a small donation would suffice for the food and venue.  It took place in April on the trails in a state park.  I figured that I would run as much as I could and see how I did.  I surprised myself by staying in the run for the whole 12 Hours, logging just shy of 50 miles.  Funny thing is, I actually could have continued if the race wasn’t over.  I felt that good.

There was a stage race though that I had been looking at for a while now that looked so cool, but I just could never wrap my mind around it.  When I completed that 50k in January, it was like the switch was flipped and my focus became crystal clear.  I was going to run the TransRockies Run.  www.transrockies-run.com I reached out to Linzie that night to see if he wanted to run it with me as teammates.  He was the person that first told me about this stage race.  He was so psyched that I wanted to run it with him, we broadcast it on FB.  The initial plan was to aim for 2016, but recently we have decided to push it back to 2017.

At this time I am presently training hard to run my next 50k in October, the Mutual Mine 50k http://www.ultrasontrails.com/mutualmine.html and then my big one, my first 100k in February, The Iron Horse 100k http://www.ironhorse100kmclub.com/info.html.  

There was something I had been thinking about for a while now though that I wanted to do, but was trying to see when the best time to do it would be.  It just so happened that I had to take a few days off from work since Kasi was going to be away for a conference and it all fell into place.  I was going to challenge myself to run the distances of the TransRockies Run (20.8, 13.4, 24.3, 23.6 and 22.2) over 6 consecutive days.  What a challenge this would be for me.  This might be easy for some, but not for others.  I would start on Thursday August 20^th and finish on Tuesday August 25.  It was not going to be easy by any means, but with determination, I plan on completing this challenge with the hopes of inspiring people to show them that you can do anything you set your mind to.  So, come on this ride with me and lets see how I do.  Keep checking back for the updates from each days run to see how I did.