An amazing thing about living in Boulder, Colorado is that you get to be around people with the same interests as you–running, cycling, hiking, climbing, you name it. Living in Boulder also means that you’re surrounded by world class, elite athletes. And sometimes, you get to say hi.
While buying groceries the other day at Trader Joe’s, I ran into Scott Jurek and his family. Now, I’ve never really been “starstruck” before, but running into Scott Jurek, author of one of my favorite books (Eat & Run), star of the book that got me interested in running in the first place (Born to Run), and just all around vegan endurance athlete inspiration, had me at a complete loss for words. I just sorta stared at him and stuttered out a “hi.” Good enough. I didn’t want to bother him, though I really wanted to tell him what an inspiration he has been for me, both as a runner and a vegan.
It felt like perfect timing. I’d been in a bit of a slump with running and, after some foot issues, a cold, and the increasingly dark mornings, it was starting to feel like a bit of a chore. The next morning, though, I went on my long run with renewed energy and focus. This morning, I felt it again as I put down my 7 miles, watching the sun peek over the horizon a mile into my run.
The inspiration continued and I think I found a race to run in May 2019; the Quad Rock 50 in Fort Collins. There are two options–a 25 miler and a 50 miler. I think the 25 miler is more my speed right now, especially given that I’ve never actually run a race before and 50 miles feels long for a first. That said, I’ll be sad that it’s not actually an ultra. Regardless, it will also be in known territory (I’ve hiked many of the trails outside of Fort Collins that it’s run on) and it just feels like the right first race.