Sherpa Shenanigans

  "Since you were a little girl, I always knew I couldn't keep you from the mountains. It is the way you let your spirit free." An hour to starting my 100 miler, my friend Laura gave me a letter from my mom with the above quote. To say my mom was excited for me to race a 100 miles in the mountains would be quite far from the truth. The letter, however, was exactly permission I needed to get lost in the woods and finish this dang adventure. In November of last year, I started to flirt with the idea of doing a 100 miler and my friend Mort sent me the link on IMTUF.  I saw picture of baby GOATS (or what I thought was baby goats) and I knew this race was for me!  Ironically, at the time, I was pacing another friend at his 100 and mentioned IMTUF to him. Although he was not trying to be discouraging, he told me that is not a first time one hundred miler and I would never finish. Ever since I was a little girl running in the mountains, no one te...

The definition of challenge states:  "Something needing great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully, or the situation of facing this kind of effort."  So often, we are faced in a world that honors and respects those who overcome the biggest challenge.   But, I'd like to contest that idea and ask the real question which is: who hasn't faced a challenged? My challenge this month is not so unique. Injuries: we all get them (physically and emotionally). Some of us more often than others. So, what happens when these types of challenges enter in your life? Do you succumb to the pressure and  give up, or grow from this challenge? I am notoriously impatient and reckless when it comes to my body. I love that thin line in which I so often straddle between ludicrously and pain. I somehow manage to find some moments of peace while I am there until it breaks. Often this break happens at the most inconvenient time, one in which you are more heavily relyin...

In my wildest dreams, I often think that at some point writing these race reports can land me a sponsorship and maybe, I can finally afford to buy some running shoes that are Danielle -proof. Then, reality hits and I realize that no shoes will ever be Danielle-proof. Anyways, in response to all my free time (and secret desire of sponsorship), here is my race report: Adventure: “an unusual and exciting, typically hazardous, experience or activity.” That definition pretty much sums up my weekend of racing Cat's tail Marathon. In order to really explain the Cat's Tail Marathon, I should start this tail (har, har) a few weeks prior to the race. I had convinced my good friend, Stacy, to run the race after spotting it on facebook and hearing that: “the Cat’s Tail is a rugged mountain marathon” (which is just my style). My usual MO prior to a race is to show up on the day of the race without much knowledge. However, due to the strict requirements of the race and the special ...

                It is 2:45 AM and a million thoughts are spewing in my head. I try to fall back to sleep for hours and around daybreak, I head for the trails to clear me of my fears. Some people fear the dark in the woods, I find solace and hope. Plagued by uncertainty of the future, sleep is not an inviting place. I have decisions to make about my future and I am uncertain how to proceed. Do I take the safe comfortable way or put everything out on the table? As I am moving to make a choice, I catch a nasty case of the should's.       The should's generally show their ugly face when taking a new life path and when being confronted by other's questions about my life and my future. Lucky for me, this has been happening a lot lately! As my Facebook page illustrates, I have not been working since June when I volunteering choose to leave my job. My original plans did not pan out and I have been enjoying incredible adventures in the...

At mile 37, I had what I considered the Absolute BEST idea for my race report and decided to repeat this over and over until I reached my pacer at the next aid station. After running 37 miles, every idea seems astonishing. As I look back on most of my discoveries during this race, they are not as impressive as I once believed. But nonetheless, I'll stick with my original title of: Heavy Heart, Hurt Hammie and Soaring Spirit. Since Cayuga, I have been debating running Twisted Branch. Unsure how my body would tolerate the heavy milage, I held off on signing up until the very last moment (possibly the last second). A few weeks prior to signing up, I messaged one of my adventure partners (Jason) and asked him if he was interested in being my pacer. A day before the race closed, Jason finally messaged me and basically was like, “ What is it going to be!” And I thought, what a beautiful way to say goodbye to the East Coast by running a 100k in the Finger Lakes and signed up. (Si...

          Some experiences are difficult to explain using words, the vastness of the experience is just too great to capture. Usually I can do a pretty good job somehow finding a way to describe it but trying to come up with the right words for my Squamish experience has been utterly impossible. As a part of my TrailsROC's sponsorship, I was asked to complete a race report and I have just struggled to get my shit together and write something that completely captures the experience. Here is my futile effort at describing something that can't be described:             Back in August, my friend, Tammy, started to research races and spotted a race called SQUAMISH. Like any good runner friend, she told me to look up the race. She said something about mountains, it being called Squamish and I didn't need to look up the race, I just told her I was in. This is how most of my trail adventures start, limited knowledge about the actual race...

The mountains of Tennessee are calling.... Sometimes I am a very organized, responsible and planned person... Other times, not so much. Generally when it comes to running, I like to show up and run. The whole planning aspect is not something I enjoy and this does not really work for 50k's. One should and must plan for this (ESPESCIALLY if it happens to be many many miles away). On a whim (a whole two weeks before the race,) I decided to go through with Stump Jump 50k in Chattanooga. Now, I had been training for the distance but was not sure if logistically I could manage traveling that far. Also, most importantly, I need to be safe and healthy going into this race. After brainstorming with a few friends, I thought I feel good, why not? So I packed up drove 6 hours to my friend, Rachel and then drove 6.5 more to my friend Debbie in Tennessee. To help me along the way, I picked up a book on tape which happened to be Nora Roberts. For those who don't know, Nora Roberts is so...