Confidence to Run 50 Miles

Gretchen (left) with running friend Laura

Congrats to our coaching client Gretchen Smeltzer on finishing a trail 50 mile ultra!!

Gretchen ran the Syllamo 50 Miler in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. Here is a recap she sent MTA Coach Henry. Reposted with permission.

Hey Coach Henry! Yesterday was incredible!! . . The weather was perfect. Started in the high 30’s and ended in mid 60’s.

Beautiful sunny skies. Lots of elevation and beautiful views of river valleys, Ozark Mountain vistas, Creeks and rocky craigs. Such a beautiful place!!

I felt strong all the way to the end. I can’t believe it! I faded pretty hard at my last 50k so I was super nervous about how the last 20 miles would go.

My prayer was that I would still be running strong at mile 40 and I was!! We power hiked the hills and ran steady when we could. I ate every 30 minutes and hydrated consistently.

My knees were feeling really sore at mile 30 so I had a shot of pickle juice and took two ibuprofen and felt like a champ afterwards! I made sure I stayed really hydrated due to taking the Ibuprofen. The cutoff was 14 hours so we knew we couldn’t let up the pace.

When we crossed the finish line I felt great and could have kept going. My watch only said 48 miles as did everyone else’s. I was really disappointed because I wanted to get to the 50 mile mark.

My two pacing buddies said let’s do it. Let’s get you to 50. So we hopped on another trail and ran two more miles!! I am super proud of myself. I am not even sore today!!!

My feet have quite a few blisters and are sore but other than being tired I feel amazing! And I am so thankful for all your coaching and running advice.

My body seems to finally have absorbed the training. I am so thankful for the insight InsiderTracker provided. Two years ago I would have said my body isn’t capable of going 50 miles. Especially with so much elevation gain.

Thank you for giving me the confidence that I could do what my mind and heart dreamed of doing. I am now a little more confident that I can run across Arkansas!

Thanks for everything!!” -Gretchen

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