My Story
My fiftieth birthday was spent in quarantine. Covid quarantine. Ironically, as a Nurse Practitioner working in a walk-in clinic and in a nursing home, I treated hundreds of covid patients over the previous three years but never contacted covid. So funny it would find me right before my 50th birthday. And right before both of my kids’ high school graduation ceremony. And right before my first ever 50k race. It was a Triple Whammy.
I started to get into trail running in my late 40’s after I went on an Alaskan cruise. How does a cruise, where we mostly sit, and eat, and eat more, motivate one for trail running? Well I took an excursion by helicopter to a glacier and was in awe. That beautiful scenery made me want to get in better shape to get OUT THERE MORE. The Alaskan Wilderness is WILD and it demands fitness to explore. I was a decent runner and ran my first 10K race when I was eight. But I had kept it up minimally in my 20’s and 30’s while starting my nursing career and raising children. Mostly for my sanity. For 27 years I never ran more than 5 miles at a time, three days a week, and several of those years included pushing a stroller or dragging a dog on a leash. But in my late 40’s I attended a trail running camp and ran for longer. I learned that trail running includes a lot of hiking (ha!). I expanded my miles and it felt good. Then came the long volcano runs. Timberline Trail around Mountain Hood: Check. Loowit Trail around St. Helens: Check. Wonderland Trail around Rainier: Check. But I never really had the motivation to run an ultra race until my 50th birthday.
I settled on a local 50K race near Mountain Hood called the W ’yeast Wonder. I knew the route, and most importantly, I had a high probability of making the starting line! I managed to recover enough from Covid to run the race two weeks later. My first 50K race in the bag! And just like the amnesia that settles in after childbirth, I dismissed the pain and quickly signed up for another one. This time it was The Backcountry Rise on Mount Saint Helens in Washington. It is a beautiful and challenging route, and after the race I learned I was one of the few runners who didn’t get stung by yellow jackets. I loved the energy, scenery, and comradery and I was hooked.
Hence the 50-50-50 project was born. What better way is there to get to know the ultra running community and explore some of the most beautiful country in the United States? As I sit here typing, it sure feels like running 50 ultra marathons in 50 states during my 50’s might be possible. My plan is to stay healthy and get it done within the next five or six years, but at the latest I am aiming to be done before I turn 60. My pacing will vary depending on how I feel and how my body holds up. I plan to run some of the races at my race pace, others at a more casual pace, but all have to be done before the cut-off times in order for the race to count.
But I don’t want this project to be just about myself. I realize that life is fragile, and time is not infinite. If there’s any doing to be done in our lives, it’s best to get going. And In my going I will think of the people I know who have affected me positively, given me strength, or inspired me in different ways, and I will thank them. Many people I know are no longer going, or might be barely going, and the day-to-day grind is a struggle. I think of people with mental illness, families touched by suicide, breast cancer, or even the wounded Veterans who have fought various wars who are no longer able to use their bodies the way they used to. These people are my daily reminders that life is challenging, and that we are at the mercy of our environment and circumstance, and that I must not take my days for granted. If this project succeeds, I hope to raise money for charities that support the resilient people I’ve met as they are my inspiration.
In the meantime, my plan is to keep on running.
