Sarah Fabien – Track 25 Hour

An impromptu change of terrain from the trails to the track, Ultra athlete Sarah Fabian took a swift change of course when she came across a new challenge while scrolling on Facebook the night before a 50k. Doing all she could to prepare herself for 403 laps of a track (with a 25-hour cut off) for the #HardStuffChallenge, Sarah filled a create with kit and food before heading to the start line. Sarah told Ultrarunner Magazine that she took enough food to feed a family of four teenage boys. The problem was that she forgot to eat any of it!

Sarah tells her story and how she coped as her body began to cannibalize itself…

Relationship with running…

“Running, I love it! Mostly, I love the nonsense of it all! An activity that means so much to me yet so little to anyone else. It is not a productive activity, not really, but that is precisely what I love about it! Running is time. Long moments that I get to spend on myself (for the first time in my life) mindlessly wandering the randomness of it all!.

“Running, for me, is a zero-pressure freedom, a mindful adventure through mucky trails, taking in what is in front of you (and underneath you) as it is, in each moment, checking in with yourself every so often, noting the thoughts that meander through the mind”.

I don’t apply pressure to myself when I run (or race) for then this activity would cease to be what it is for me, my attention must not shift from liberation to performance, or the weight of that burden would ruin the adventure! My focus is not on time, not even on the action when I am out there taking part in a race. I concentrate all my energy on experiencing the journey … and it must be like that for me or else it’s game over!.