The Tenacity to Succeed

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” – T.S. Eliot

 It’s well past midnight. It’s cold. It’s dark. We are in the woods in Spartanburg, South Carolina and she has already run almost 70 miles. I hear it again. It’s a groan of someone who is in obvious pain. I’ve ignored it several times so that I don’t feed it and help it start to wear on her, but I finally ask. “Is it the nausea again?” “Yeah. The running is jostling me around and it doesn’t help.” “Well, power hike then.” “Ok.” “Keep moving.” “Ok.” “We have plenty of time, just breathe and move.” “Ok.” She keeps replying in a low and steady voice. She’s in pain. She’s tired, but she isn’t stopping.

I met Arabelle (Ara) through my blog in June of 2017. She was already an accomplished ultra-runner, but she had just gone through some extremely trying personal times and had gotten to the point where she had a great fear of toeing the line. Her training was going well, but as races approached, she would somehow find an excuse to bail out. Due to everything that she had been through, she said that she felt like a failure and that she didn’t want to fail at running too.

As we worked together to try and understand where this was coming from, we were able to get to a point where she realized that her fears were irrational. Her family would continue to love her whether she finished a race or not. Attempting to run 50 miles or 100 miles is a success in its own right, and finishing is the icing on the cake. The things that happened to her were not things that she could control, and she is a strong and valued woman. Ara was getting her mind right, and she successfully finished some 50k and 50 mile races. What she really coveted though was a 100-mile belt buckle. This would be the defining moment for her, when the demons would be put to bed.

Her first attempt was in July 2017 and she put up a tremendous fight. Ara battled knee pain and nausea that prevented her from keeping the calories down. At mile 70, despite the fact that she wanted to drop, she rallied and made it another 12.5 miles! But ultimately stopped at 82.5 miles. “I can honestly say that I left everything I have on that course, I gave it my all and I’m proud that I didn’t give up before I was truly done.”

Her second attempt was in October 2017. This attempt did not go well at all. After about 40 miles, her stomach went south and her crew was at a loss on what to do. Ara quickly realized that it was better to pull the plug and live to fight another day. But the doubts started to creep in. I received a text from her “I can’t help but think maybe I’m meant to stick to 50k and 50 mile distances.” My advice to her was to simply process what happened, take a break, and enjoy the holidays. Within days she asked if I would pace and crew for her next attempt at the Blind Pig 100 Miler in Spartanburg, South Carolina. So much for my advice! And of course, I was all in.

There it is again, I can hear it. Another groan of pain. “Hey Ara.” “Yeah.” “Why do cows wear bells?” “What?” “Why do cows wear bells?” “I don’t know. Why?” “Cause their horns don’t work.” I hear a snort. “That’s not very funny.” “Nope. And the bill I’m sending you for these Dad jokes won’t be funny either.” I’m trying to distract her and keep her moving. Maybe my jokes will hurt so much she’ll forget the pain and nausea. We’ve got about three more miles to go and then I’ll hand her off to the next pacer, a guy named Byron Backer. He is a bad ass in his own right, who has run at the Barkley’s Marathons several times. Byron will then hand Ara off to Rich Higgins, who has completed several 100 milers himself. So, if I can just get her through these next three miles, she will be in great hands.

“Hey Ara, why are you doing this?” “Well, I just want to know what I am capable of.” It is such a simple answer, but as I think about what she said, I realize that it can mean so much more than that. When you achieve something of this magnitude, you have this new reference of what difficult really is. This doesn’t apply to the course alone, it applies to life. If you can work through the pain, cold, exhaustion, and whatever the hell else comes your way out there, then you can handle anything life throws at you and keep going. It’s a great answer.

We reach camp and I’m done. I hand her off to the next pacer and start to nibble on some food after my 27 miles are in the bag. She gets tended to, hits the restroom, and gives me and Rich a hug as she heads back out in to the woods. It’s 3:30am, and as I watch her head back out there, I feel a calm come over me. She has a great pacer with her, in a few hours the sun will be up, and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Deep down, I know that she’s got this. At 11:10 am on Sunday March 4^th, 2018, Arabelle crosses the finish line, receives a belt buckle, a coffee mug, and redemption.

You have to watch Ara’s story here: Hope on the Run Ara used running to help deal with the loss from multiple miscarriages and is planning a transcontinental run to raise awareness and funds for women who have suffered pregnancy loss as well.

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