I am flying!! Just went through the aid station not even a kilometre ago and realized I’d managed to complete the front half of this race in about 2 hours, 15 minutes. I’m in last place, which I’d expected, but honestly I’d figured I’d be so much slower – I’d guessed I’d come in at … Continue reading
I have experienced many injuries in my 43 years of life, including a broken foot, a stress fracture, calf strains, sprained ankles, inexplicable hip, knee and foot issues, Morton’s neuroma, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, ITB syndrome… And many more. But nothing comes close to the severity of a torn ACL. On October 16th 2021, nearly … Continue reading
I jump out of the car holding two bags – one to be dropped at the start/finish line (warm clothes for when I cross the finish line in maybe 15 to 16 adventurous hours) and my hydration pack (carrying substantially more than just hydration). It’s 4:55am and there’s rain falling gently from the blackest of … Continue reading
This is not a race recap or even really a running story – although it does describe why and how I started running. It’s mostly an important piece of the story that made me who I am today, and is in large part a dedication to Sparkle and how she saved me from who I … Continue reading
It’s threatening rain. I just checked the weather forecast an hour ago – on two different apps – and both said NO RAIN. So I am not wearing my hat, nor am I mentally prepared for rain. A few raindrops hit the car windshield. But I’m holding out hope. After all, as hubby points out, … Continue reading
I’ve been largely absent from any social media or blogging lately… Mostly because my time has been taken up with other things. By choice that is – I’m not claiming to be ‘crazy busy’ or anything – in fact to the contrary, for the first time in my life I am not consumed by busy-ness. … Continue reading
It’s nearly 5pm. Having started this run consisting of 5 laps (of approximately 20 miles each in McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Phoenix, Arizona) almost 11 hours ago, I’ve spent much of it under the hot, hot, hot, OH SO VERY HOT desert sun. And it’s really zapped all my energy – I’m in my … Continue reading
“I know you won’t believe me… But I’m never doing another 100-miler again!!!” I make this declaration at exactly 1:00am on Sunday, November 5th as I sit in our car, which is parked only a few spots down from the Rattlesnake Aid Station’s main tent, trying desperately to both get warm and not fall asleep. … Continue reading
We pull up to the campground that is Baker Lake 50K start line with a good half hour to spare before the race is to begin… And so far all has gone to plan. Perhaps most importantly we’ve not gotten lost or taken any wrong turns en-route to the start line, so that itself feels … Continue reading
“You know what’d be a really good idea for me to do?” I ask this of hubby as I’m madly going through information I’ve pulled up on the web. It’s a rhetorical question of course so I don’t wait for him to answer. Instead I almost shout out the answer. “Run Finlayson Arm 100K race as … Continue reading
I pop out of the bushes and onto a bit of a gravel road – I can hear people cheering. Is this the Quest University aid station already? Indeed, as I turn a corner I can see that it is. People are clapping as I run up and turn to my left where there are … Continue reading
Last year I ran the Jack & Jill Marathon (in North Bend, Washington) and despite having skipped out on speedwork came away with a near personal best of 3:32. This immediately got me thinking – if I ran such a great time not properly trained, what wonders might I be capable of running fully trained? … Continue reading
A few months ago I decided enough is enough. Have you ever allowed yourself extra ‘treats’ you’d normally pass over but all of a sudden you find yourself indulging in because you just completed a big run or better yet, a goal race? But then all of a sudden weeks have gone by and you’re still … Continue reading
When I first heard about Deception Pass 50k, it was in the context of being a race that sells out pretty much as soon as registration opens. Clearly if it was that popular, I probably needed to run it! And so on June 29th I was one of the first runners to sign up. Fast … Continue reading
Last year my furbaby Sparkle gave us a terrible scare, one week before we were set to run the Seattle marathon. We almost lost her and needless to say, with Sparkle in the vet equivalent of ICU, we did not run Seattle. So instead, we ran it this year… And I’m ever so grateful to … Continue reading
About 6 months ago I began toying with the idea of running longer than a marathon. Why 100 miles immediately became my obsession I don’t know. Last year I was obsessed with running 100 miles in one week… And it was so exhilarating to accomplish this goal. I suppose 100 miles in one go was only … Continue reading
When you’re doing something for the first time, there’s going to be a certain amount of unknowns, no matter how much research you do. I was as prepared for this ‘race’ as I possibly could be – but there were many lessons I would soon take away. Because when you run for 24 hours in a … Continue reading
This was supposed to be a training run! Ha. As I’m sure you’re now well aware, I’ve taken on the lofty goal of running Mountain Lakes 100 at the end of September. Although my original goal for Jack & Jill had been my long sought after sub 3:21, the demise of any ability to run … Continue reading
About 5 months ago I stopped trying to run fast. I know, I know, my handle is ‘runfastersarah’… Ironic, right? But I think I might be able to live up to my ‘name’ again these days! Let me tell you why… Late last year I hired a very expensive new coach. I’d just come out of … Continue reading
Upon popping out of the trails onto the Sea to Sky highway I saw two volunteers standing there, waiting to help runners cross the busy road. As they helped get us safely across, they told us that aid station #5 was just ahead. But I couldn’t see it. I thought THEY might have been the aid station but they … Continue reading
As you may have noticed from hints in my previous post, I’ve taken a little deviation from my training for a faster marathon and decided to dedicate this summer to running farther. Naturally that means ultra marathons… And as an individual who pretty much is an ‘all or nothing’ type of gal, once I looked … Continue reading
It’s been 5 months since I last popped on here to blog about my running. Frankly it’s because I’ve felt there isn’t much to talk about. Basically, I stopped getting faster and started posting times in races that looked more like PW’s (personal worsts) than PB’s (personal bests). And why in the world would anyone … Continue reading
It’s been a roller coaster of a year for me. A lot of highs early in the year, with new PBs in the 5k, 8k and 10k distances. Those were pretty sweet – especially my WestVanRun 10km PB. I was particularly thrilled with that one (yes, you’re seeing that right in the picture below – my … Continue reading
First, let’s start with the good news: my Fall Classic half marathon this past Sunday went down pretty much exactly as expected. I sandwiched it in between a 5½ km warm-up and a 5½ km cool-down for a total of nearly 32km. Overall, a great training day. I didn’t have a chance to grab an espresso before … Continue reading
RunFasterSarah (my running adventures) 