• Three years ago, I did not know what an Ultra Marathon is - until my husband announced that he would pick up running again and complete his first ultra in the following year.
• I accompanied him to the Running Show and I spend all day in the Ultra Zone soaking everything up that a good crew would need to know.
• Amazed how this ultra crowd was so different, welcoming and super supportive of each other.
• Crewing my first 70k event in Yorkshire mesmerized me – I could help my husband through difficult phases of his run! And again I felt so welcome despite not being a runner and just having started ‘self-guided’ speedwalking at my local Parkrun.
• When a runner asked me – 61 at the time- why I wouldn’t give an Ultra a try, it blewmy mind – literally. And it had hit a nerve.
• The idea of challenging me outside my comfort zone in a safe way and exploring what I would find took me to new ground.
• I started speaking about it at work and realized that colleagues in my age and who do not look like super fit athletes are enjoying the sport, the challenges, the journey with oneself. They all encouraged the quite self-conscious ‘me’.
• I met Kerry and that was the beginning of the end of some pretty strong ‘self-constraining’ beliefs.
• Under Kerry’s watchful and caring guidance, I have finished 3 Ultra Marathons in my first year 2024 – according to my watch I walked 1511km, climbed 17572m and spend 256h on my feet. And I love it.
• Kerry’s coaching is so well adapted to my work life constraints and private life preferences.
• First, I found a passion for exploring me on unknown territory and then for inspiring others to give it a try, to listen to your call and find your very own treasures.
• My most cherished highlights:
o After my third and hardest Ultra I heard me telling a colleague ‘I am proud’ – a feeling I had never allowed myself before.
o I always needed a lot of space between me and others – now I love immersing me in this community. I feel that being competitive with oneself and super supportive with each other enriches my life beyond the sport.
o My inner drivers ‘Being strong’ and ‘Being perfect’. They have not only made me successful at work, but they also used to cause burn out too. Endurance walking literally showed me the pain when going over the limit in a non-self-caring way and taught me how I can use these strengths mindfully and achieve more than I had ever thought possible. Thus, expanding my limits with each event.
o I am asking now ‘what is being perfect today on this ankle deep muddy trail in never-ending rain’? Haven’t forgot the confidence boost after finishing a 50k training walk in this mud – these distances allow me to travel into wonderful spaces of my being, that I had probably lost contact with at an early age. And we all have these, I am sure.
o On the long trail I love playing with different mindsets, words, approaches – it revived my curiosity in me and the playful child enjoying the moment. This new ‘skill’ is always there now, and I know it’s there even when I don’t feel it.
o We all know, that ‘being strong’ can sometimes mean stopping doing something your ego really wants or doing something we are concerned about how it will be perceived by others. Finding out by doing, how ‘being strong’ in a situation on a trail works in harmony with my goals and self-care is a life changer for me. It helps me to go the extra mile and ‘toughen it out’ and it helps me to ask for and accept help and support where I never had allowed this myself.
o And on a lighter note – this jeans and trainer girl loves wearing dresses now –the relationship to my body couldn’t have improved more 😊
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