Armed with a brand new pair of trail shoes and a can of bug spray, I arrived for my first trail race in the Lynn Woods on a hot and humid Wednesday night in 2018.

I had never run trails before. But that night, I pretended I knew what I was doing as I charged up steep, rocky hills and over rolling single track sprinkled with pine needles. At the end of the race, along with the new friends I had made along the way, I crossed the finish line to cheers and flashing cameras. 

That night would change the course of my running, and ultimately, my life. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just begun chasing an ultramarathon dream.