EDITOR’S NOTE
P EOP L E
A Little Help from Our Friends
Trail running is as much a team sport as any > BY YITKA WINN
W
here ya from?” a voice asked. My mind, foggy and tired, hardly registered it, but I poked my head out from the blanket in which I’d swathed myself an hour earlier.
“Colorado,” I mumbled. I struggled to focus on the person— another runner’s pacer—who had initiated conversation across the campfire. I was 85 miles into the Bear 100, soaked, chilled and covered in mud. In a stubborn attempt to complete a 100-miler sans pacer, I’d been running on my own for 26 hours, many of those pounded by torrential rains. Now cocooned at an aid station replete with pancakes and hot chocolate, I was ready to call it quits. The pacer and his runner stood up and motioned to me. “Come on, Colorado,” they said. “Let’s go. You’re coming with us.” I may have been miserable, but I was also impressionable—and so, with that simple prod, I unwrapped myself and followed them back into the rain, onward to the finish line I’d spent hours doubting I’d ever reach. Even when we try to be fiercely independent, our sport is as much a group effort as any. In this issue, you’ll find stories galore that speak to the camaraderie that sustains us trail runners. In “No Room for Shame” (page 36), Ashley Arnold writes candidly about her feelings of loneliness amidst struggling with eating disorders. But, as she interviews others bravely willing to shed light on their inner demons, too, she gains the strength that emerges from refusing to let our struggles thrive in isolation. In Making Tracks, new trail-running superstars Megan (née Deakins) and David Roche describe the motivation they derive from one another, while, in “Trail Huntin’” (page 28), seven runners embark on an epic road trip together through Baja Sur in search of singletrack. In Trail Tips, a mother finds unexpected joy in sacrificing her treasured “me time” to share a run with her young daughter. As we celebrate our 100th issue, we appreciate that we could not have made it this far without you, our readers. We thank you for being enthusiastic supporters of Trail Runner—of good stories about people finding both solitude and community in the great outdoors. We hope you enjoy this special issue!
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| DECEMBER 2014
T R A ILRUNNER M AG.COM |
PEOPLE