Beth McCurdy’s Birthday Ultra

Ah, nothing like a long ultra training run.

So, Beth texted me a few weeks ago and said, “Want to run 42 miles with me on silver comet to celebrate my 42 birthday? Good training for Hinson.” I think it took me like, I don’t know, maybe a millisecond to respond with, “I’ll be there. Sounds fun.”…I swear that’s a totally normal text convo for us.

I never think… I just do. Seems to be good for making running commitments…?
Yeah…. but anyways…
Beth wanted to start at 6:30a, and the trail is about 1.5hrs from my house. I needed extra mileage, so I asked my other psycho runner friend Beth Presten to meet me on the trail at 5. (ughhhhh 3 am alarms suck!)
We got in a fast 15 before I caught beth a few miles into her run, accompanied by a few friends: Desiree, Sean, Heather & apparently J-rog had been there at some point! (sorry I missed ya, Jason!) I’m typically not down for group running, but today it didn’t bother me at all. Eventually it ended up with me, beth, heather, and beast runner Jameelah torturing the trails.

Let me tell u a little about jameelah- this mom of 6 was out on the trail this am even before me-working towards a 100k- but the kicker? WITHOUT FOOD AND WATER…. girl is sick & has my complete respect.

I thought I was being a little hardcore running over 50 on a high mileage week with only 6 gels and some water…. Nah… Jameelah made me look like a wimp! I love you jameelah.. You’re so intense!

Soo despite the (not too bad for Georgia) heat, and annoyingly flat pavement.. We hit around 9:30’s for the majority of the run.
It was a blast seeing Heather (a new ultrarunner) tackle her farthest run yet with minimal fuel. Keep an eye out for that girl at some races coming up. She’s gonna win some, I know it.

Beth never ceases to amaze me with her pure discilpline towards achieving her goals. It was really bad out there for most of the day & we didn’t have water for several mile stretches at a time. Beth just kept pushing. What a woman- running like that for a birthday present to herself.. My kinda present. Pain. Lol!
Also vikena and george made a surprise visit bearing gifts of water!!!!! Is vikena a for real saint? Just wondering? She’s so selfless and always looking out for her fellow runners. Thanks kena.

Fun to see some friends & get in some painful pavement running. My knees hurt- I think they only function on mountains and trails or something… Again… I feel like a pansy. No soreness or anything though, I thought the mountain sprints with Brooklyn on my back fri and my fast 17 yesterday would have screwed me up a little, but I felt just fine. Thankful for that.

So all of that to say- today was good!! Fun! My zensah sleeves saved my life (err shins) again.

Happy birthday, beth! You’re a superstar athlete & a huge inspiration to me, always. Thanks for inviting me out on your crazy birthday run. 🙂