At the end of 2024, my brain zeroed in on running ultras, so that’s where it all began for me. Knowing the commitment level needed to successfully complete ultra events (and I don’t mean podiums, I mean finish lines), I put serious thought into the idea of ultra running being for beginners. Is it? I wasn’t sure honestly. But I hashed out my WHY and formulated a plan with my coach – check out the full scoop here: Is Ultra Running For Beginners. Fast forward to June 20, 2025 and I find myself in the starting gaggle of runners for my first trail race – the 18K Broken Arrow Skyrace. I was so excited and terrified at the same time. I knew that was typical for newbies, but nonetheless, my emotions were running high.
Mad Elevation, Hurricane Winds, & Sheer Rock Faces
Boring you with the details isn’t what I want. Honestly it was a trail race with mad elevation, hurricane force winds, sheer rock faces and a whole lot of varied terrain in between. Ultimately, it was awesome. But this wasn’t supposed to be a race. This was a training run in preparation for my first 50K ultra in October at the UTMB Kodiak event. More important than how I did in Broken Arrow is what I learned. And it was more than I thought I would.
As I rang the finish line bell, my mind was still racing and my thoughts all over the place. It wasn’t the time to reflect. All I wanted was some food and to get out of the wind. But now that a couple weeks have passed, I need to look back and see what my take-aways are so I can perform better for my upcoming ‘A’ race.
My Top 7 Rookie Learnings
Stick to my plan
When I signed up for this race in December 2024, the intention was to get me to a starting line and through a race before my 50K later in 2025. My weekly training plan is important but feeling the excitement of race day and putting all my training and routines like food into a real event is critical to my bigger races. I knew this plan for the six months leading up to Broken Arrow… and yet as soon as the starting gong sounded, my brain went right into race mode instead of practice training mode.
I didn’t follow my plan and immediately got swept up in the commotion. And what about the rest of it? I didn’t take my time to try aid station fueling, stop to eat, push harder between aid stations, practice with my poles, etc. My mind just fixated on the fast pace of the runners in front of me and my desire to hit this arbitrary finish time in my head for no reason. Being in the event was great training in itself, but I left a lot of learning opportunities out on the trail by not sticking to my original plan.
Chewing is not for moving
Up until the race, I hadn’t had problems eating solid food for my normal week runs. But come race day, I couldn’t stand trying to chew and move. My heart rate ran so high for the entire event that chewing was a huge challenge, and my refusal to stop at aid stations to get solid fueling down didn’t help. All I wanted the whole time was fast gels and to keep moving.
Racing Myself… Not Others
And since I’ve had a couple more weeks of training since the race, I can see why this happened. On my normal runs, when I hit a steep incline and plan to hike it, I pull out a chewable item and eat it. Then when the trail gets flat or declines, I can go faster and not worry about chewing or choking. But in the race, I didn’t want any runner that I had previously passed to pass me again because I slowed down to chew or stop at an aid station. So dumb! I wasn’t racing other runners. I was there to learn about myself… and I sure did.
Moving forward for my 50K, I will make sure my water/fuel mix is on point and gels readily available. That way I can fuel while on the move but then when an aid station comes around, I will make an effort for a quick refuel that involves any chewing. I need to be able to stop at an aid station, properly refuel and then if I feel the need to, I can make up the time once I hit the trail again.
Start Mid Pack not Back of the Pack
I had a funny conversation with my coach after the race and said that I started way too far back in the pack which cost me significant early momentum. He wasn’t surprised by my choice as most beginners do that and also said had he told me to start mid-pack, I would have argued and gone to the back anyway. He was right. In my rookie jitters, I was too scared to start further up, thinking I would block everyone and get passed by 100 runners. What really happened was I got stuck at the back of the pack with primarily walking entrants and no place to pass on a very skinny singletrack trail.
Maybe I would have gone too fast and blown out my lungs early at mid-pack but it felt like I could have held on long enough for everyone to spread out as the trail widened about 2 miles in. I don’t know if this applies to a longer race like the 50K. But I’ll find out soon enough.
Speak Up with More Confidence
I’m not a shy person in general, but as soon as we all started moving forward, it’s like my lips didn’t work. I was so quiet to the point that I didn’t want to kindly state my desire to pass at the next open trail spot. I secretly hoped the runner in front of me would hear me behind them and just miraculously move aside so I could quietly pass. But that didn’t happen often. I must get better at announcing my approach and politely state that I would like to pass at the next available open moment.
I’m not sure why I felt so weird about it except that I hadn’t trail raced before. Thinking back to last summer though when I did my first gravel race, I did the same things with passing so I guess I was consistent with my shush moments. I know when other runners behind me asked to pass, I never felt mad or awkward moving to the side for them. I was totally fine with it. So why in my head with it being in the other direction of me wanting to pass was it so different and horrible. This one will just take practice for me.
Have a Designated Trash Baggie
Prior to the race, I didn’t have a strategy for my food trash. Before Broken Arrow, I didn’t use many gels as I wasn’t liking them on training runs. But as soon as that race started, gels were the only thing I wanted. What I learned real fast is no matter how much you squeeze out of the pack, there’s more and it’s about to get sticky everywhere. And it did… all over my phone and vest pockets. Why I kept stuffing my empty gel packets in the same pocket as my phone I will never know, but it turned into a gooey mess very quickly.
Now that my training runs are getting longer, I like gels more. And I am smart enough to have an extra snack bag to put all my wrappers in so no more sticky pockets to fight with. I also noticed that since I wasn’t spending any time at the aid stations during Broken Arrow, I wasn’t noticing trash cans to empty my pockets so my trash just kept accumulating in my vest till it was stuffed everywhere. At least it was only 18K with three aid stations or I could have exploded with trash in every pocket including my tights.
Enjoy the Moment
I missed the boat on this one the most. I didn’t spend enough time in the race village, talking to people and looking at all the vendors. Why didn’t I? I was there the day before to pick up my packet and hours before the race started on race day. With it being my first event, when I looked around, I know I felt like everyone else there was a veteran and I was just a silly rookie about to hit a short course. I discounted in my head that I was in a shorter race and everyone else was probably running the true ultras or multiple races.
But this isn’t fair to me. I worked hard to get to this start line. The distance may be shorter but the vertical was the most I’d done up to that point. I convinced myself anyone could run this race and it wasn’t a big deal. But it was and I accomplished something special for me. From this point forward, no matter the distance, if I hit a start line, I will relish in all the events I have, meet everyone I can, and fully embrace what I am doing. I have to remember that not everyone does this and I must be proud of myself and everything I accomplish.
My Final Thoughts
I’m so hooked on this trail running thing. I remember saying two years ago that I want to spend more time outside, actually enjoying being in nature and seeing it instead of always going so fast and not embracing where I am or what I’m doing. Mountain biking and backcountry skiing are not outdoor sports where I actually take in my surroundings and relish them. I’m always pushing so hard, huffing and puffing and focused on every step and revolution that I never enjoy where I’m going. But with running, it’s all different for me.
I know all the details of fueling, resting, gear, things like that will come with experience. But the most important part of all this is that I’m doing this to push myself and see what I’m capable of, to meet new people and encourage them, and just enjoy the journey. I can’t get swept up in comparing myself to others. Or feeling unworthy of a race. Some races I’ll finish and others I won’t. And that’s just part of ultras. But I have to always remember that I chose to do this because my heart wants to experience it all and for that, whatever the outcome, it’s all part of my journey.
