Sure, you’ve cross-country skied since childhood, earned an MBA, and been a working mom for 19 years. But can you run for 100 kilometers? In a row? Soon after her hair went silver, Annie Crombie discovered she could. And she really liked it.
Most long-distance runners look at finishing a marathon as an ultimate goal. During this podcast, we sit mostly goggle-eyed while Annie describes the thrill of running almost two-and-a-half marathons on a cold, dark trail, with 16 pounds of emergency supplies on her back.
Running (or run-walking, or power-strolling, or anything your bones can manage) seems like a perfect hobby to take up in midlife, to keep your body moving and give your mind a much-needed meditative reset. (See also: Forrest Gump.) Annie’s example shows that whenever you think your body has achieved all it can, you might be wonderfully, ridiculously surprised.
Thanks for listening to When the Flames Go Up! Please consider a paid subscription to support our writing and podcasting and perplexed awe of ultramarathoners.
We also talk about embracing a nontraditional education for our kids, trans-Atlantic eldercare, and whether Banff is the funniest-sounding city in North America.
Other links:
* Annie’s Instagram feed and her blog post about her first ultramarathon
* The Trail Society podcast (listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple podcasts)
* Eddie Izzard ran 32 marathons in 31 days and raised $500K for charity
* Candice Burt ran 200 ultramarathons in 200 days
* Diana Nyad swam more than 100 miles from Cuba to Florida at age 60
* Crossing the Pyrenees: 681.17 miles from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic
* Find a Trail Sisters running community near you.
* Liz Lemon’s mustache
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