We are featuring our favorite athlete stories every Wednesday to share the joy of running. Nicole relocated from Kalamazoo to Colorado in 2014. She remains a competitive road and trail runner while working full time as an engineer.

Back in 2011 I completed my first two road marathons and I was hooked. I overheard a couple of guys talking about a trail 50k that they were going to do in Indiana in the middle of December. This was a couples months before the race. With it being their first 50k I thought it was a good idea to sign up. I had no idea what I was about to get myself into. None of us knew the area, being from MI and only knew the course was two loops. So we got a hotel room and woke up nice and early the next day. At the start of the race they mentioned that there might be some water on the course and it was spitting some snow so we didn’t think anything of it.

The race started with some great rolling single track with a few bridge and creek crossings and for the first several miles there was a good size group of front runners. Then at mile 10 it turned into a fend for yourself. Everything was flooded. We tried to make our way around the water but it was useless. In the freezing temperatures there was nothing to do but run through waste deep freezing cold water off and on for 5 miles. At the end of the first loop my handheld water bottle had frozen to my hand.

Noticing that all my friends kept going, I fought back the tears and decided to push through for the final lap. I was so cold it hurt. Getting through the last 5 miles was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I was starting to go hypothermic and no one was around. I somehow kept moving and fought to the finish. There was only one person at the finish taking the time as it was too cold for everyone else. It was ironic that I was able to pull out a win for the first race and the trophy was a huge tombstone like slab of granite that they ended up giving to the wrong person. It was a tough day but made for a good story!

If you have a story to share, please send it to lexi@lifelongendurance.com. Keep stories to three paragraphs and include a photo. Stories can be about a race, a lesson learned, or just a fun experience. Be creative!