Running for Resilience: Susan Devine's 24-Hour Ultra Marathon Journey to Aid Disaster Relief

In this episode of Extraordinary Strides, we’re joined by ultra-runner Susan Devine as she prepares for an incredible 24-hour race—yes, 24 hours of running! But Susan’s mission goes beyond just endurance. She’s raising funds for the Old Fort Strong Fund, a cause dedicated to helping families in Old Fort, North Carolina, recover from devastating flooding after Hurricane Helene.

Tune in as Susan shares her inspiring journey into ultra-running, the mental and physical challenges of such long-distance events, and her passion for using her platform to support her community. We’ll hear about the power of resilience, the importance of community, and what it truly means to push the limits of what’s possible.

Support Susan’s Fundraiser: Help Susan make an impact by donating to the Old Fort Strong Fund here. Your contribution will help families rebuild and recover. Every donation, big or small, makes a difference!

Key Topics Covered:

• How Susan got started in running and her journey into ultra-marathons
• The strategies she uses to tackle a 24-hour race, both mentally and physically
• Why the Old Fort Strong Fund is close to her heart and how the community has come together
• Fun moments from the trail and the support system behind her success
• Life lessons learned through running that go beyond the sport

Get Involved: Want to make a difference? Support Susan’s fundraising efforts for the Old Fort community by donating here. Your generosity will help families rebuild after the floods, and together, we can support this amazing community effort.

Don't miss this episode of Extraordinary Strides—a story of endurance, heart, and hope!

Chapters

• 0:00 Ultra Runner Susan Devine's Journey
• 7:21 Trail Runner Discovers Ultra Marathons
• 11:44 Endurance Festival Fundraiser Preparation
• 26:27 Ultra Runner Fundraiser and Inspiration

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome back to Extraordinary Strides, the podcast where we celebrate the incredible journeys of ordinary people achieving extraordinary things. I'm Coach Christine and today I'm thrilled to welcome ultra runner Susan Devine to the show. Susan's preparing for a 24 hour race. I know that sounds absolutely insane 24 hours of nonstop running but she's doing it for a fantastic cause raising money for the Old Fort Strong Fund, which is going to help families in Old Fort, north Carolina who were recently impacted and had a lot of devastation due to recent flooding with the hurricane season. So Susan's story is not just about running. It's about resilience, community and pushing the limits of what's possible. We're going to dive into that today and, trust me, you're going to be inspired. Before we start, I want to let you know you can support Susan's fundraiser and the incredible community of Old Fort, north Carolina by utilizing the link in episode notes that I've included here. But welcome on in, susan. Hi, thank you so much for inviting me. It's great to be here.

Speaker 1: 1:02

So, friends, I've had the opportunity privilege of talking to Susan over the Zoom call world for a few years now and it's always been so much fun to get to chit chat with her. I'm always left inspired. I can't wait for you guys to have the same inspiration and a little extra pep in your step that she provides for me. But we're going to dive into a little bit of a fun icebreaker. You're going to be tackling this 24 hour race and I think it's going to be your first, but I want to know if you could run with any one person, or have this one person crew you for the entire 24 hours. Alive or from history celebrity or somebody in your circle who would it be and why? Well, I have done a 24 hour race before, but you have. Okay, so it's not your first.

Speaker 2: 1:41

Okay, can't wait to get into that, it's going to be my second, and it's funny that you should ask that, because, as I was thinking about who that might be, I thought well, it's got to be a runner, not just somebody that I admire because I want to run.

Speaker 1: 1:55

Smart, yeah, smart. I don't know that I would be that smart with my answer. Okay, so it needs to be a runner, right?

Speaker 2: 2:01

So I chose Sally McRae runner Right, so I I chose Sally McRae. Oh, I love that. Tell me why she is such an incredible person. She's positive, she uplifts people, but she's also very real and she's not afraid to be. You know authentically herself. What's funny, though, is that she's actually going to be at this event. Are you getting a little nervous? I'm getting really excited because it's a three mile loop. It's a looped course, okay, so I'll probably get to run a few steps with her. I'll probably be behind her. We'll have some time together, for sure, on that race course.

Speaker 1: 2:40

Did you know that when you chose her as your person, or is that something I feel like? Talk about manifesting the awesomeness, like that's so exciting. Yeah, okay, that's really cool. I do want to dig into how you got into this world of ultra running, and I think, though, before we get to the 24 hour of nonstop running, or continual running or your ultra races, let's get it all the way back to the very beginning.

Speaker 2: 3:05

When did you first get into running and what got you into it. I don't really know how I got into it. I remember my first run, though I was 12 or 13 years old and I remember just I don't know if I'd seen something like a track and field thing on TV or whatever, but I felt really inspired to run. So I laced up my whatever they were PF flyers or something, and I'm dating myself with those shoes and I ran down our driveway, which is about I think it was two tenths of a mile. Someone told me later it felt like I had run 20 miles because there was a hill and I remember getting to the top and going wow, that was hard, that was fun. So I ran back down and then somehow I just launched into running.

Speaker 2: 3:53

I wasn't on a team, I didn't have friends that run, Nobody in my family was really into running. My brother played basketball but I just took to running. We had trails that went through the woods where I lived. I'd run on those and then, as time went on, I just started going down the road. I can't believe this was in the early seventies. You know, here's a young girl running on the road by herself. I didn't have any of the gear, water, nothing just running, and I didn't have a watch. I don't know how far I went, but I would be gone for several hours and come home.

Speaker 1: 4:31

And I just kept doing that. So you had a calling. Essentially, Did you consider yourself athletic before this? Not really.

Speaker 2: 4:38

I mean not particularly athletic. I had taken ballet when I was really young and I was into riding horses, so I rode horses a lot. That was a passion. I'm not sure where it, where it came from, but and I don't consider myself talented by any stretch I was never particularly fast, but I definitely had endurance and I could just go and go the distance and I just loved it.

Speaker 2: 5:02

And just doing that was its own reward. I didn't. I wasn't interested in competing, or in fact I didn't really have a lot of confidence. Growing up. I think the idea of racing or competing was just not something that interested me.

Speaker 1: 5:18

So I want to touch on so much here because, first and foremost, you mentioned from the early seventies to now not having the gear. So much has changed, I feel like from when I first started running, which was in, I don't know the late 1900s I can't believe I'm saying that, but yes, in the late 1900s and it was a simpler time and now I feel like there's so much more gear and stuff attached. What would you say are some of the biggest differences from when you first started running to now, either in the community or just personally, how you've approached it?

Speaker 2: 5:50

Well, certainly there's been tremendous change. Back in the 70s, running was becoming really kind of a popular sport, but primarily for men. Women weren't, women weren't as involved in running back then. Certainly we've learned a lot about technology, gear, shoes, all the things, and I think that's been helpful. But it can also be a little bit of a hindrance, I think I think back being just sort of free about running and just enjoying it for what it was, and now we've got all the metrics and the carbon shoes and all of that stuff. And while there's a place for that, I think you know, dialing it back to a little bit simpler approach to running is probably finding that balance between the stuff that helps us versus kind of losing sight of what we're, what our goals are here, why are we doing this?

Speaker 1: 6:47

Yeah, I love that because I do think that we are seeing folks almost become obsessive about the metrics or what Strava says or what their GPS watch says, and it's a taking away the freedom and also the intuitive listening to ourselves. This is the one time that I feel like we have autonomy over every aspect of what we're doing and able to truly tune in without outside interference. So it sounds like finding that balance is something that you probably feel very confident in doing now, because you've been doing it for some time and you've seen both worlds.

Speaker 2: 7:18

I feel more confident in it now than I did for a while. I kind of got caught up in that stuff too, and that was before I really transitioned into the kind of training I do now, when I started running ultra distances, which was actually fairly recent. I think I'd probably run a lot of long distance miles, but I didn't run my first ultra until 2018. So once I transitioned to really enjoying that aspect of running, I became less focused on my pace and all the things that I had sort of gotten sucked into because of you know what was popular and what was happening with the running world. When I moved into more of the trail and ultra running community, I sort of took a step back from some of that and got back into that kid that was running through the woods growing up.

Speaker 1: 8:14

Oh, that's so interesting because I do think that there's always that focus for a lot of road racers to add in pace or speed or maybe even distance. And since you have found like a more harmonious blend, what made you pull the trigger on the ultra marathon distance? What called you to that in 2018?

Speaker 2: 8:34

At the time I was living in Montana and I was running with. I'd met some people that were doing some trail running and I really wanted to run with other people going out into the trails and that's what they were training for. So I decided I hadn't run a marathon at that point. I think I had run a half marathon and that was the furthest race I had done. But I decided, oh, what the heck, I want to keep running with them. I like the trails, this is fun, so I'm just going to sign up for an ultra. So I did.

Speaker 1: 9:09

So what was it? May I ask? It was a 50K.

Speaker 2: 9:13

It was on a rails to trail in Montana. It was actually really hard. Rails to trail sounds easy but it was very rocky. It wasn't like the crushed limestone that a lot of them have and there was definitely some climbing. But it was a tough race because I had never. It was my first one, but I loved it and I actually placed in my age group.

Speaker 1: 9:37

Congratulations. Okay, so it was your very first one. Would you say that that one kind of what you hooked at that point, did you know this was what you were going to continue, or was it at that point Were you thinking one and done? Walk us through that experience.

Speaker 2: 9:50

Well, now that I think back, I'd actually did a trail marathon about a month before that one and that really got me going. I was like, okay, I'm doing this. So then I did that one and then I had another one a month later which was really a tough race. It's called the Beaverhead Endurance Run. That one was really challenging, but I knew that I loved it. I had found my community. People were so supportive and welcoming. It didn't have and I'm nothing against road runners, you know I think that as long as you're running and you're getting out there and you're running, walking, doing something active, I support all of that. But it just really wasn't my vibe. So when I found the trail running community, I just felt really like this is it, and I loved how I felt during the event, not only during the finish line but during during the event and the challenge of it, and I love the training. So I knew that was what I was going to do.

Speaker 1: 10:46

Okay, so you again. It feels to me like there's almost like this pathway that you're called on to and you just heed the call my friend like from just going out and lacing up for your first two tenths of a mile to your very first 50K and now learning that you have tackled endurance hours, 24 hours. How does what does that mean for folks that aren't really a hundred percent understanding what those endurance events look like? What does that mean to run for 24 hours in three mile loops?

Speaker 2: 11:14

Well, it means different things for different people. Now there's the 24 hour event I did in August, but that was a crazy race For some people. They are going hard for 24 hours. The person that won that race ran 105 miles. Now, for me it's a little different. I'm not fast, I want to enjoy it. So for me it's a different, a whole different approach For that particular race it was.

Speaker 2: 11:44

It was crazy. It was so hot, it was close to 90 and just dripping humidity. I had met with some friends there and one of them fell and got injured pretty early on in the race. So that sort of put a damper on things and at that point I didn't go into the race, even knowing what my goals were for it. When the temperatures climbed I decided I think I'll be good at a 50K today, and then I reached that point and I thought, oh, I'll keep going. So I just kept running. And then, when the sun went down, it was like I'd been reborn. It cooled off, it was dark, it was amazing, and so I just kept running. Typically, I think people have more of a choose your own path as far as how that race plays out for you.

Speaker 1: 12:43

I mean, you could take a nap if you wanted, I mean, I would definitely take a nap. I can guarantee that nobody wants to see me going without a full 24 hours without trying to get some rest. I would definitely become just the worst human ever. So nap time would happen for me. I love how you talked about me.

Speaker 2: 13:04

Well, first of all, when you said August, I was like why do you not, why would you torture yourself? I was asking myself that, that very thing, it was miserable.

Speaker 1: 13:12

It's a little challenging. So again, friends, for Southeast specifically, I know there's humidity throughout the US and in other parts of the world as well, but I do feel like the Southeast does bring a little bit extra on that humidity front. Definitely, compared to what you were having in Montana, there's definitely quite a bit more humidity, so I think that's extraordinary all of its own. But I love how you talked about the sun going down and feeling reborn and being able to kind of move forward. Is that part of the appeal for you with ultra, that distance is that? It sounds like what I'm hearing you say is it challenges us to go past that limitation that we have on ourselves.

Speaker 2: 13:49

Absolutely. I love it. In fact, if it's, I almost crave that experience now. I like the feeling of pushing through what were my perceived limitations. You know my self-imposed limitations about what I'm capable of. If you had told me a few years ago that I was going to be training for a hundred mile event, I would have laughed and said there's no way I could do that. But now I absolutely love it. I love the feeling of pushing through those tough times.

Speaker 1: 14:22

So I feel like, talking on tough times, is that what calls you to the specific fundraiser taking something that is challenging with a 24 ultra endurance race and really helping people through some of their toughest times with Old Fort Strong? Can you tell us more about that?

Speaker 2: 14:38

Yeah, helene was. You know, you see things on the news, but it has devastated this part of the country in ways you just can't even imagine. I mean, I see little things on TV, but there are so many small communities that have been impacted Nobody could have prepared for that.

Speaker 1: 14:58

Well, we didn't see it coming. I mean, like we knew that it was coming but we didn't think it was going to the scale in any fashion. There was just no way to really even wrap our minds, even seeing it. Now it's still hard to kind of wrap our minds around it.

Speaker 2: 15:10

Right and living right here. I mean, I live 20 miles from Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, where there was, you know this completely wiped out Chimney Rock, which was a very popular tourist destination Homes just swept down downstream. It's been difficult. This event that I'm going to is I just felt like when Helene hit first, the grief and angst I felt I couldn't even find words for, and I was fine, my home was fine, my family was fine, but my body, every part of my body, just ached. I remember telling my husband I feel like I'm 90 years old. Everything hurts. I don't know what's going on here and I think I was just feeling the heaviness of what had happened.

Speaker 2: 16:00

So when I learned about this event, I thought, wow, you know I had helped with unloading planes and and boxing up supplies for people. But when I heard that we were doing it was a fundraiser for a community that was going to go right into the money, was going to go right into these people's hands, and it was we get to run and celebrate that part of our lives while doing something powerful like this I thought that's me, I got to do that. So to me it shows how the trail community can come together and support something that is so much bigger. It's not about getting a medal or partnering. It's about supporting this community, and this is just one of many communities impacted.

Speaker 1: 16:49

So was this entire event fashioned specifically for the purpose of a fundraiser.

Speaker 2: 16:56

Absolutely. It's actually not. They're not even calling it a race, they're calling it an endurance festival. I think there is some sort of buckle or award for someone, anyone that does a hundred miles that won't be me, by the way, but someone will do that but it is really for raising money, which is just so exciting.

Speaker 1: 17:17

So what I am reading, or have read a little bit about the old Fort Strong Fund is, as you mentioned, they're attempting to raise about $2 million that will go directly to the individuals that were impacted, because, of course, there were people who lost I mean everything, everything. They lost everything. I think when you hear that, it almost feels too surreal. But it's just put yourself, walk through your home right here and now, look at all of your memories that you've accumulated throughout your possessions, or look at all of the like your little nook that creates a little bit of safety, or your little sanctuary that is your home that's gone for these individuals. And to know that it's going to make me emotional, because to know that you're doing this, it's just so beautiful.

Speaker 2: 18:02

It is devastating. It's people lost. They found a horse from downstream. Someone's horse had just washed downstream. That's the sort of thing that they're turning up and it just think about that on this huge scale.

Speaker 1: 18:18

It's unfathomable. So I love what I love specifically about this cause, and one of the reasons that I'm so excited to help support you in any way that I can is because we have to, as a community, support our communities, and I know that, while there may be I don't want to get this political we may be hoping for other people to step in or the organizations. This is not going to be one of those cases where we can wait for others to come save us. We have to do it ourselves. So thank you so much for you doing this. I'm so excited about it.

Speaker 1: 18:46

Tell me where you are at in terms of being prepared for this race, what you're looking to do in terms of this endurance festival, which is such a great phrase, because I think what I'm hearing is let's celebrate the willpower, the resiliency and the endurance of the people of this community and the people that are helping to fundraise for it. So tell me where you're at with your fundraiser In terms of how much I've raised, how much you've raised, how much you're hoping to raise personally, how people can maybe and we could also talk about friends if you can't necessarily donate cash, we could ask you to help support by sharing this on your social media, help get the word out. It doesn't necessarily have to be. We obviously know that finances can be tight for a lot of individuals, but there are so many ways to help support this specific fundraiser.

Speaker 2: 19:31

Yeah, so I registered about a week ago. So far I've raised $305. As of today, they'd like each participant to raise $1,500. Okay, so, and there's 400 spots for this race, so there's 200 runners and 200 mountain bikers and they're going to have two different loops, so about 400 people raising funds for this. So, yeah, if we can get the word out, that would be so helpful. If you can spare your Starbucks money to make a donation just for a day, that would be helpful. It all adds up. Doesn't have to be a huge amount, just whatever you feel called to donate, be greatly appreciated.

Speaker 1: 20:12

So again, friends, just that link is in episode notes and if you have any questions and you need me to send it directly your way, or how you could share it, feel free to reach out to me. I'm happy to help with the links, but tell me about how you feel in terms of preparation physically for this endurance festival. I forgot that part.

Speaker 2: 20:30

I'm feeling really strong. I have really worked on my training as far as making some modifications to how I train my approach now, and so I'm feeling really balanced and strong and I'm looking forward to being out there. It's going to be so cold, but I'm looking forward to it. I feel like I'm ready. I've got a few more weeks to go, but physically I feel strong.

Speaker 1: 20:54

Tell us how your training changed, what it looks like now. I feel strong. Tell us how your training changed, what it looks like now.

Speaker 2: 20:58

Over the past year it's really changed. I used to run, you know, like six days a week, just run, run, run. Lots of miles, got to get the miles, and now I have a more balanced approach. I run four days a week. I do a big emphasis on strength and mobility, so that's part of every day. I do some mobility. I'm working with a coach. That's been a huge change in my life.

Speaker 1: 21:25

The last year. Coach Megan, who we had on the podcast earlier this year, right yes From she Runs Ultras. Yes.

Speaker 2: 21:32

Yes, I've coached Megan. She's excellent. So I've been training with her for a year now, and so it it's really like less is more when it comes to the running. For me now I was just running myself into the ground, so now I do spin twice a week, strength training twice a week, uh, yoga, and then the four days of running and then some, lots and lots of walking. I found that walking has been really helpful because in these ultra events you're gonna be walking, you. I found that walking has been really helpful because in these ultra events, you're going to be walking.

Speaker 1: 22:01

You're going to be walking, You're not? I mean really everyone, definitely even to the elite level.

Speaker 2: 22:06

There there's going to be some walking, going on, so walking going on, yeah, so walking has been really instrumental in helping with endurance and muscle balance recovery. So my week is pretty full with training, but I feel like I'm training smarter and I'm 63 and I haven't felt this good in gosh 20 years.

Speaker 1: 22:32

That is phenomenal. That is so great. I love how you're talking about it, approaching it from a balanced perspective which allows you to still maintain that endurance and that aerobic capacity to go the distance, but also strengthening and staying mobile. We tend to think of our running specifically as like it lives in a silo, but there's so much more to it in terms of nutrition and stress and even our social aspects. So how has that changed at all?

Speaker 2: 23:12

The stress has changed, or the decrease in stress has been significant in my life the last six months or so. I was laid off from my job, which was initially devastating, but as a result of that, I've found that I my stress level has gone down, so I'm better able to train and recover. I'm sleeping better. I'm really focused on nutrition primarily plant-based nutrition, but I focus a lot on that and sleep and rest and all the things that are so important, that we know are important but can become really difficult to put into practice when we're overwhelmed by stress, when I thought what it was going to be just. This horrible, devastating blow in my life has actually turned out to be a blessing, because I feel so much better physically, mentally and emotionally.

Speaker 1: 24:00

I think that's such a great lesson, absolutely. That's such an incredible lesson for every aspect of our lives. So I do want to bring it back to specifically running and the lessons that running has taught us. So, in your journey in the world of running in the aspect of your life again has spanned for quite some time. In the world of running in the aspect of your life, again has spanned for quite some time. What's a lesson, or maybe a few, that you've learned about yourself that does carry into the other parts of your life?

Speaker 2: 24:24

Well, I mentioned when we were first starting out, I wasn't real confident. As a child growing up and as a young adult even. And I know, through running I have just discovered I am so much more capable than I ever imagined. I'm stronger both mentally and physically, and that was an aspect that certainly carries over into everything I do. You know, Henry Ford said whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right, and I love that because so much of my resilience I have learned through running. I draw on that.

Speaker 1: 25:04

What would you say to somebody who's starting off their running journey or considering maybe making the leap from road running to trail running or ultra, with some advice that you would give them? And speaking of quoting memorable individuals, I know there's the Alexander Wolcott quote that comes to mind, where the worst vice is advice. But right here and now, I think that there's always a little bit of room for growth, mindset and learning from individuals who have walked or run the road before.

Speaker 2: 25:32

You know, I hear a lot of women in particular say you know, oh, I could never do that, or I don't think I'm not strong enough, I'm not fast enough, I'm not this or that. And I would say don't let fears or those self-imposed limitations be a roadblock. I did that for too many years and you waste a lot of time with the wondering if you can do something. And so if you can just set that fear aside, just get out there and do it those irrational fears and thoughts that we can't do things, they can become such a habit and so they're sort of ingrained into your nervous system. So I would challenge anyone who's thinking about doing something like running or trail running or maybe even tackling a longer distance just put all the doubts aside and just get started.

Speaker 1: 26:26

I think that's perfect. I'm going to ask you we went from a minimalist approach because, again, running has changed quite a bit, to maybe where we live in a world where there's too many options. But what is one piece of gear that you would say every burgeoning ultra runner should consider having in their back pocket? Not literally in their back pocket, it could be on their vest, but whatever the case may be, what would that be for you?

Speaker 2: 26:50

Well, obviously, good shoes are essential. I do wear a watch, I cannot lie.

Speaker 1: 26:57

You cannot tell a lie. Okay, that's fine.

Speaker 2: 27:00

I love my Coros, but you certainly don't need one, right? So, aside from a good pair of shoes and some clothing that doesn't chafe, you put on your sunscreen and your sunglasses and go out to have in your back pocket.

Speaker 1: 27:29

So let's talk a little bit more about fun and lighthearted aspects of running, because I know some of my best stories have come from running adventures gone, I won't say awry because they led to so much fun and levity in my life. So with that, I'm curious that if you could create like a custom snack station for one of your coming up races, what would that have?

Speaker 2: 27:49

Oh, I can tell you what that would be from my last race.

Speaker 1: 27:53

I'm going to pause you really quick because I want to clarify for folks that don't know, because I think that primarily most of us that are part of this audience are road runners. I have to iterate that what road race aid stations look like and what ultra, especially trail or these ultra endurance events have are very different. Like the snack stations, that in of itself is it's a whole other barbecue, quite literally. There might even be barbecue at some of them, so it's a buffet. Yeah, there's a lot of real food options. So what would you have as your go to snack station?

Speaker 2: 28:23

Okay, so, I'm not really into the sweet world. I used to get the sweets out of the way early on in a race because I get tired of them. I get palate fatigue very easily. So I would have hash browns those kind you get from like you know that are terrible for you, like McDonald's, the ones that are all, yes, yes, the patties, the hash brown patties. Okay, they're great after 30 miles. Lots of salt on those Avocado Yum Quesadillas.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Watermelon, Cold watermelon if possible, and after midnight, iced coffee. I didn't even think of iced coffee in the middle of. Oh my God, I'm signing up for your race, Whenever you decide that you're creating your own. If there's an iced coffee station, I'm absolutely signing up for it. That sounds incredible. So with that, do you listen to music? Do you kind of listen to audio books? Do you have a go-to mantra? What do you keep in your ears to keep you moving when it does get tough?

Speaker 2: 29:21

Yeah, different things. Sometimes I have to change it up. My mantra, though my go-to mantra that I really lean on when it's hard, is I get to do this. I fully embrace that when it's really tough, and I think about what a gift it is to be out here in this suffer fest. I'm so lucky and someday I won't be able to do that, but I'm doing it now.

Speaker 1: 29:47

I think for you right now, specifically with what you're fundraising for, that has so much more meaning because it is what we have found, that Maslow hierarchy of needs when your foundation is kind of literally swept from underneath your feet you may not have the luxury of running or training, or right then and becomes more about survival. So I love that this specific event is going to help really hone in that mantra of we get to do this. It's such a privilege. So again, if you have, if you're listening, and you can't financially give, we're going to ask everyone, like there's a task, please do share this fundraiser because somebody can give, and we absolutely do want to see this fundraiser hit their goal to really impact this community the best that they possibly can. And I'm saying all of this because it's very important.

Speaker 1: 30:34

I'm also going to give you time to consider this next question, because of all the questions I'm going to ask you today, susan, this one is what I personally think is the hardest. Are you ready? Yes, if someone made a movie about your running journey, who would you want to play? You as your doppelganger, maybe, and I'm curious if you'll be practical again and think it needs to be a runner, or, if you'll maybe like, lean towards a bit more Hollywood-ish on this one, I'm going to lean Hollywood and I'm going to go with Jodie Foster, my goodness, she's fantastic, she's feisty.

Speaker 2: 31:07

She's actually very fit. She's about my age, but she could be made to look younger as we progress through my life. She's got, she's pretty. She's just a total badass she is amazing.

Speaker 1: 31:21

She is she, and she knocked it out of the park with the recent Netflix movie. It was a Netflix movie, I'm pretty sure, right when she played Diana Nyad, the ultra swimmer, so she already knows about an ultra event. So perfect, absolutely yes. I feel like that one was actually maybe too easy for you. Now I feel like I need to bring in my A game for the next round. Okay, so with that, as we start to kind of wrap this up, I do want to bring the attention back more to the fundraiser again, because it's so important. So what do you hope that people take away from this event and these style of fundraisers beyond just running in terms of coming together and supporting those in need?

Speaker 2: 31:58

I think, just realizing that we in the running community, we have such a strong commitment to not only running but to, to those around us.

Speaker 1: 32:14

I think, yes, it is part of like, literally, it's a solitary sport that also expands our world, because we feel that connection.

Speaker 2: 32:23

I was thinking about that a lot that sometimes running, and certainly training for distance events can feel kind of selfish and you know you're gone for four or five hours at a time on the weekend and we're coming together to share what we love, but realize that there is so much more out there that we are here to lift up and support this community that's been devastated and that's who we are, as our own community of ultra runners, that we're here to support them.

Speaker 1: 32:55

That's powerful Because what it basically says is that, like journey of a thousand steps starts with one step. Well, it starts with one runner, one fundraiser, one contribution. So again, friends, I want to first and foremost thank you so much, susan, for your inspiration, for giving us and lending us so much wisdom about the ultra world that you have tackled and we're doing this fundraiser. I can't wait to see this journey and, of course, it's taking place in December, so we still have a little bit of time, friends, for you guys to make that impact by sharing this fundraiser and making your donations, if at all possible. I'm going to thank you so much for coming on and chatting with us here today.

Speaker 2: 33:34

Thank you so much for inviting me and I appreciate your support and anyone that can help by making a donation or sharing this information. I greatly appreciate.

Speaker 1: 33:45

Thank you, susan. Well, with that said, friends, I will say Susan is truly an incredible runner. She's also an incredible example of what we can all do if we come together to really move the needle in supporting our community and, of course, showing us what resiliency looks like. It looks pretty badass, I say so myself. So I know that you guys are as inspired as I am. I know that you're going to share this or you're going to make your own campaign donations here because it is such an incredible cause. But, with that said, I want to thank Susan, I want to thank you all for listening in and I'm going to ask you guys to keep striding toward the extraordinary. And all it takes is that little bit of extra, be it for a fundraiser or for our next run. So we'll see you next time on Extra.