This is the fifty-fourth edition of The Duluth Runner Interview Series, where I get in touch with (mainly) local runners and athletes to share a bit of their story while inspiring others to pursue an active lifestyle.
Intro
“Hi! My name is Alex. I was born in Seoul, South Korea, grew up in the cheese curd capital of Wisconsin, went to undergrad at the University of Minnesota Duluth, went to grad school at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health, and currently work as a public health planning analyst for a local health department. I started running when I was 13 years old because I didn’t want to wear spandex volleyball shorts and was told I needed to choose a fall sport. Little did I know spandex shorts know no bounds…”
Today’s guest is…Alex Elizabeth!
Interview
Why is running important to you?
Running provides me time and space to experience life at my own pace, in my own way. When it comes to adventures and racing, the longer the better. More time out on the trail allows for more time to suffer and learn. Life outside of running is largely full of comforts and conveniences (I recognize this is a privilege to be able to say this).
These events teach me to adapt and to do more with less and that there is comfort to be found and felt in discomfort, that pain is a label that we are often quick to apply and quick to let limit ourselves, and that you can always take one more step. These lessons translate to everyday life and have helped me through really tough times.
What are the top two or three things that you do to prevent injury? Have you been susceptible to certain injuries in the past?
- I take at least 1-2 rest days per week and run relatively low mileage (approximately 50 miles per week).
- I have learned (through trial and lots and lots of error) to distinguish between good and bad pain and how to respond accordingly.
Some of the readers may remember your name from your Superior Hiking Trail FKT from 2019 – in less than 10,000 words, describe what those 6 days, 12 hours, 32 minutes were like 🙂
In May of 2019 I attempted to set the female supported FKT on the Superior Hiking Trail in northern Minnesota. There was no female record at the time, and I wanted to put a time out there to motivate other females to get out there and go after it. I made it 200 of the 310 miles and had to drop with an ankle injury that prevented me from being about to walk.
In October of the same year, I returned to the trail for another attempt. On the first day, a strong storm moved through the region and wreaked havoc on the trail and surrounding areas. A section of the trail was completely closed down due to flooding and thanks to my amazing, endlessly talented, committed crew, we were able to create and follow a reroute that respected the trail closure and also allowed us to continue to move forward with the attempt.
FKT recognized it as a successful attempt, but the part that I am most proud of is that we were able to continuously adapt as a team and to move forward with whatever obstacle was thrown at us. We got to redefine success and what the experience meant to us. I am forever grateful to the crew that made that experience possible.
Who is in your workout support group (training partners, coach, people to bounce ideas off of, etc.)?
My partner, Jared, provides an incredible amount of support to me, on and off the trail. Running is a central part of our lives, both individually and together. We structure our days and weekends and vacations around training and racing and I am very grateful to have a partner who not only shares my passion for the sport, but also pushes me to be my best. He has been an integral part of the success and growth I have experienced in running, from planning and dreaming up adventures and setting big goals, to crewing (and living) out of the back of a smelly car for 4 days and pacing me through the last slow miles of a 200 mile race (after crewing out of the back of a smelly car for 4 days).
I have worked with my coach over the past couple of years to establish a daily sitting practice, as so much of our sport is mental. I have put a lot of time and effort into training my body, not as much care has gone into training my mind. I have learned that when things start to go wrong during a run, a race, or in life, it is ok to have negative thoughts or doubts, that these are natural and perfectly ok. While so much is out of our control, how we react to a given situation is completely up to us. The sitting practice has helped me move from knowing this to actually applying this.
When/what is your next race?
I am planning to try out these Minnesota lungs at the Ouray 100 on July 30th (last week). After that I hope to get out to IMTUF, to attempt to keep my Hardrock qualifier going!
Do you prefer roads or trails and why?
Trails! Walking is so more acceptable on trail “runs” 😉. Also, the trails are a great teacher; they are humbling and demand adaptability and respect.
What do you think about while you run?
II think about whether or not that crashing sound behind me was a bear, whether the eyes reflecting in my headlamp is a mountain lion, whether the mountain lion is now stalking me, what I will call my run on Strava if I survive the attack, and how to make the trails a more inclusive and welcoming space for women.
What is your most memorable race or running achievement?
My most memorable achievement was my first finish at the Arrowhead 135. Finishing was a huge accomplishment for a number of reasons, the primary one being that I came in 26 minutes under Jared’s finishing time from the previous year, after declaring pre-race that I intended to beat him. Another notable thing that happened during that race was a (functional??) hallucination that I had over the course of a 60-minute mile in the last 30 miles during which I had a conversation with what, in hindsight, could have only been a 6-year-old version of myself. We argued about pace and time of day and I had to continuously convince her (me) to quit stopping and sitting on the sled, that we had to finish sub-48 hours if we were going to beat Jared’s time.
Name one racing experience you would like to forget (please describe).
Over the years, I have had a lot of really miserable experiences during races. They have ranged in duration from minutes to hours to days. From excruciating blisters within blisters within blisters for the duration of the Tahoe 200 to torrential downpours and flooded, muddy SHT trails and wild, sleep-deprivation-induced hallucinations for the last 30 miles of Arrowhead, I don’t wish any of it away. In every instance I learned something incredibly valuable to apply to the next experience: my Tahoe shoes were a half size too small, climate change is real and going to greatly impact the way in which we are (and are not) able to experience the trails, and a 20-minute nap is a powerful tool.
What is something non-running related you would like to share with readers?
Science is real ✌🏽
Closing
Many thanks to Alex for agreeing to stop by Duluth Runner and share some of her knowledge/experiences with everyone. I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Interview Series – stick around for more to come!