At 37, she recently ran a 150-mile, 6-day foot race in Chile’s Atacama Desert, carrying all her food and gear. Head of exercise programs at the East Bank Club, she teamed with husband Joel and friend David Kuhnau to come in 4th and raise over $10,000 for charity. She was the first female finisher.
Why engage in such insanity? We’d been doing Ironman races. After I finally hit my time goal, I really wanted to go back to the feeling I had when I did the first Ironman, which was I was just happy to finish.
Was there a best moment? The course wasn’t marked for night after this one 50-mile day. So 11 of us were lost on this mountain for about five hours. It was dark. It was cold. We all kept our heads, got into our sleeping bags and huddled together. And it was great. We sat there staring at the stars and people started to laugh because there was nothing you could do. And of course we were rescued.
If that was your best moment, we’re afraid to ask about your worst. The third day didn’t begin well. It was the start of the salt flats. We’d sink down to mid-calf or sometimes to our knees. I was having a lot of trouble just dealing with the fact that it wasn’t stable. My blisters hurt, my legs hurt and people started passing us. Then it started to spiral down and then we ran out of water. When you’re dehydrated with an electrolyte imbalance you can’t even hold it together anymore. I couldn’t stop myself from crying and hyperventilating. And I felt worse because I thought I’ve just wrecked it for my team. With 5K to go, I told them to radio ahead into camp that I’d need an IV. Joel and David carried my pack. I got to camp, fell over, and they took me into the med tent and gave me two liters of fluids.
Did you learn anything from such an experience? It was so humbling. You’d think, “My feet are killing me. I’m hot. I’m sick.” Then you’d see somebody with no skin on the bottom of their feet getting up the next day to do it again. The goal in racing has changed. It’s nice to have a good finish and be faster or do better than you did before. But it’s even better just to be out there.
We’re hesitant to inquire: Would you do it again? I’d race again with my team in a heartbeat. They’re just extraordinary people.
