LEAD PHOTO BY: Becky Miller

This is the ninth edition of The Duluth Runner Interview Series, where we 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

Today’s guest is a Duluth runner who now self-identifies as a “hobby jogger.” As a 15 year old from Esko, she won a Minnesota State High School League Championship in the 800 meters. Later she competed for the Minnesota Golden Gophers as a cross country and track and field (captain) athlete.  She now trains for and races marathons, qualifying for Boston last year, while balancing herself with regular yoga practice.

She’s a registered nurse who is back in school, earning a Doctorate in Integrative Health and Healing at the University of Minnesota while managing her side job as a blogger.  Check out her work at The Foundation Blog…today’s guest is Kate Eskuri!

Interview

Why is running important to you?

It took me a bit to come up with my answer because my relationship with running is soooooo deeply intertwined into who I am and truly impacts every. single. area of my life.

But essentially it boils down to the fact that running is the ultimate form of “me time”.

It’s the most versatile activity– no matter what I’m needing that day: a time to clear my thoughts, a place to push my limits, a place to feel confident, feisty, driven, focused, humbled, reflective… I know whatever I need that particular day, I’ll find it when I lace up my shoes.

What are the top two or three things that you do to prevent injury? Have you been susceptible to certain injuries in the past?

OOOOH, the golden question!

Speaking as someone who has had their fair share of injuries, I can proudly say that I have officially been injury free for over 4 years.  *knocks on wood* And as much as I wish there was ONE magical answer to how I made this happen, I truly believe it is a combination of a few key things: 1) quality, nourishing food, 2) strength training, and 3) yoga.

As runners, it is frighteningly easy to believe the lie that undereating and overtraining is the key to improvement. I fell into this exact train of thought for years– even though I was finding myself in a perpetual cycle:  Eating less. Running more. Getting a little faster. Annnnd then, getting injured. With time, I’ve realized that undernourishment is trap. Your body cannot rebuild and get stronger without proper fuel. Taking charge of my nourishment has been absolutely one of the biggest priorities in my training and injury prevention.

I also am a major believer in strength training. As a speed-sided runner who gains muscle easily, I resisted strength training for a long time because it would make me “bigger” and therefore, “slower”. In reality, introducing a regular strength training routine made me faster, more durable, and less prone to injury. I love doing quick HIIT-style cycles after runs to get a blast of strength training, while still keeping my heart rate up.

My third injury-prevention magic trick is yoga. I can’t express how game-changing yoga has been to my running. Not only does it promote recovery, joint health, and stretching, but you also get in some quality strength work (especially targeting your core, quads, and hamstrings). I go to yoga 2-3 times per week and I 100% correlate it with faster recovery, fresher legs, ….. and not to mention, some really wonderful quiet time.

Have you been susceptible to certain injuries in the past?

Unfortunately, yes. One of the highest points of my running career was winning the 800 meter state title in high school. Coming off such a high point, I fell down an unlucky rabbit hole of injuries that put a major damper on my final years of high school running.

A pulled muscle here, a stress reaction there, a foot surgery there, a bout of mono mixed in– simply put, it was not the way I wanted to finish my high school career. I kept trying to jump back into training before I was fully healed and that just kept the vicious injury cycle rollin’.

I found myself entering a division I program in the worst shape of my life-  barely able to string together 5 consecutive miles. I went into college with a foundational goal to simply 1) get healthy and 2) get CONSISTENT training.

Obviously I felt self-conscious entering a Big Ten program in terrible shape…. But I’m proud to say I gave myself the grace to be slow, to put the work in, get healthy, and just build an endurance base that would last.

….annnnnd little-by-little I was able to build consistent fitness– and become faster (and healthier!) than my old self.

It taught me that when I’m injured, I have to let myself truly heal. AKA deviating from my past mentality of “ooh, I’ll be ready to run if I take a few Tylenol and ice it right after”. No. If that’s the case, you’re not truly ready to start running again. Injury is a beautiful time to press pause, cross train like hell, and silence the ego. Give yourself the time and space to truly heal and it’s amazing how the endless injury cycle will come to a halt!

What keeps you motivated when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run?

Being a nurse offers the biggest dose of life perspective. Life is short– and I want to run while I can. Seeing patients that would give anything to go outside, to go on a run, to breathe in the fresh air. It really helps ground me and remember that running is an absolute privilege.

Many people do not have bodies that allow them to go for a walk– much less go for a run! I am so lucky! Being vividly reminded of the true GIFT of a healthy, capable body is about the quickest butt kick of perspective you could ask for.

Who is in your running support group (training partners, people to bounce ideas off of, etc.)?

I have the world’s best training partner in my hubs, Adam Eskuri! Even though he is the ultimate two-stepper *eye roll*, I love having him as my partner– both in training and in life. As a 2:48 marathoner and a 1:15 half marathoner, the kid can MOVE.

We live in a little cabin on a big lake and log a lottttt of miles on these quiet, dirt roads together.  We have such different strengths as runners- he can log the loonnnng monotonous miles and just crush long tempo workouts… while I prefer short’n’speedy intervals, repeats, and strength work. I’ll ask him to pace me on days where I am wanting to force myself to get some long tempo work in. I can just pick a pace, he’ll lock in, and drag me along for the ride!  #MarriagePerks We may or may not have an ongoing “discussion” over who would win in an all-out 200 meter. (psst: it’s me).

My running network truly touches every area of my life. The Esko coaches were soooo stinkin’ special (Tim Lindquist, Dennis Rengo, Scott Antonutti, Gerald Zimny)– they invested in me and always kept things FUN #dreamteam. Greg Hexum, my high school principal turned running mentor turned life-coach/makeshift therapist/all-around go-to guy.

Gary Wilson and Sarah Hopkins, my coaches at The U. These two truly invested in me and were SOOOO patient as I crawled my way out of the injury-hole. Not many Division I coaches (ahem, none) would’ve tolerated my crazy nursing clinical schedule, and I am forever grateful for their flexibility and adaptability with me!

I could go on a complete tangent about all the special teammates I’ve had, BUT to sum it up, running has introduced me to the world’s best friends, roommates, teammates, bridesmaids… and even my husband! I am so thankful.

When/what is your next race?

I am all signed up and ready to go for the iconic Grandma’s Marathon! After coming off of a few casual marathons where I didn’t train too seriously, I am thrilled to give this distance another go!

As a mid-distance runner naturally, the marathon has been an absolute beast to approach (You better believe I toe-strike every. single. stride. of those 26.2 miles!). BUT I am happy to report that I have a little extra zip and passion in my long runs as I think about running this iconic Duluth race!

I am also going to dabble in the Duluth trail series this summer just as a way to get some fun tempo work in and wander around those magical Duluth trails. I am also sooooo excited for the Minnesota Mile in the fall. I have been dabbling in and out of some casual road miles since I graduated, but I’ve never truly trained for one.

It’s funny because as a track runner I would’ve neverrrr looked forward to a mile (800 meters was genuinely the furthest I’d race!), but in the community running world a road mile is just about as short as it gets– and I’m excited to get reacquainted with my old friend lactic acid!

Do you prefer roads or trails and why?

I prefer C) the track! You can take the girl outta mid-distance running, but you can’t take the mid-distance outta the girl! I will NEVER get tired of the magic of rounding the final corner, grittin’ the teeth, and surging towards that finish line. It is genuinely my happy place.

The beauty of running is that even though my competitive track days are gone, I have soooo many options to continue racing: 5K’s, half marathons, full marathons. Even though these longer distances don’t come naturally to me, I love that running never has an “end point” like a lot of sports do. There are always new distances to try, new goals to set, to challenges to take on

… track or no track, I’m in this sport for life!

What is your most memorable race or running achievement?

I’d have to say it was the 2016 Drake Relays 4×800. In high school I had always raced very bold and fearlessly, but I lost a little bit of that gumption in college.

In my collegiate junior and senior years, I was finally gaining the confidence to put myself in contention and not to play small. I remember lining up next to some truly stellar athletes running my relay leg: the Big 10 mile champ Katie Hoevet from Purdue and the NCAA 400 meter record holder Courtney Okolo from Texas…. But I felt calm, prepared, and ready to race.

I got the baton in 14th place and handed it off in 5th. It was two laps of pure instinct– not paying any attention to splits and just passing people one-by-one. I distinctly remember when I got up to Katie Hoevet and had a moment of “I can’t pass her”. But I just told my logical mind to shut up and passed her anyway. And guess what, I held her off!

That race was my first time cracking that elusive 2:10 barrier, with a 2:09 split. and more importantly, it was one of the rare races in college where I raced with true confidence + boldness in a competitive field. I will remember every detail of that race forever!

Name one racing experience you would like to forget (please describe).

I can genuinely say that there is not one race that I’d want to forget, but the Boston Marathon 2018 was a DOOZEY. Adam and I trained hard and fundraised $2,620 for Save The Boundary Waters. Running for a cause was sooo exciting and I was just picturing Boston being the “perfect” day.

… then I saw the forecast. Now, full honesty, I am not someone who gets freaked out by weather. I’ll run in anything. But the TWO INCHES of rain, 30 mph headwinds, and near freezing temperatures was unlike anything I’ve ever ran in (and this is coming from a year-round outdoor runner in Duluth, Minnesota!)

With weather, I kind of roll my eyes and say “how bad could it actually be???” But I really think it’s hard to understand unless you were there. Raining so hard you couldn’t open your eyes, wind that felt like it was pushing you back to 1999, and the border-line freezing temps… YIKES.

Let’s just say I didn’t even hit my “goal pace” in the FIRST mile (that was 100% downhill, mind you)… When weather impedes on any race it’s a bummer– but it’s especially not fun when it’s a marathon that you’ve been training four months for and you only have limited chances to race.

Not pictured: Adam getting hypothermic to the point that he turned around and was running backwards on the course…. At the finish line, the medics grabbed him and he had a body temp of 91. Degrees.  (anything under 93 is high risk for ventricular tachycardia so this was a major YIKES).

Long story short– it definitely wasn’t the “picture perfect” Boston day, but it was one of  the grittiest races we’ve ever ran… AND we raised $100 per mile for Save the Boundary Waters. But it will forever be etched in my mind as a “gosh what time would I have ran on a 55 degree day with a 5mph tailwind???” typa thing 🙂

What is something non-running related you would like to share with readers?

First off, I love The Duluth Runner blog. I am such a fan of hearing realistic stories about what it means to be a runner for busy, everyday people. Love. it!

Annnnnnd I actually have my own little corner of the internet over at thefoundationblog.com where I talk about all things well-being, holistic health, nontoxic living, and mindfulness. Again, I’ve tried to make this space realistic and approachable– small, easy, (and affordable!) tips + tricks you can use to live your most healthy, vibrant life.

Here’s a little sneak peek:
if you’re ready to learn about what all the “fuss” is about with nontoxic products, you might just need to take a peek at my most popular post to date: Armpit Detoxes : Yes, They Exist. (And Yes, You Need To Do One…) orrrrrr if you’re cravin’ sweets but training hard, you should check out my all-natural, protein-packed, and gluten-free Faux Cookie Dough recipe (you’ll never believe what it’s made out of!).

Closing

Many thanks to Kate for agreeing to stop by The 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!