Nordell sets record in endurance race

Feats of endurance and fortitude are not unfamiliar to Ashley Nordell, a Sisters woman who competes in ultra-endurance trail running.

Nordell's most recent race, the Bighorn 100, tested her for over 21 hours, navigating rugged Wyoming trails. High altitude, a rough start, and tough course conditions did not stand in her way; Nordell won the race, and came away with a course record.

Nordell, a mother of two toddlers, finds herself training with the philosophy of quality mileage over volume. While her competition might train for 100-plus miles a week, Nordell trains 60-80 miles, focused on quality. She attributes the added benefit to her first season collaborating with a coach.

"A coach is a person you must be accountable to. In my case, my coach is also a family man and full-time teacher, he understands the added stress and responsibility. We work well together with this (understanding)," she told The Nugget.

The pre-school-aged kids and juggling schedules has led Nordell to battle sickness and fatigue more than her competition. Bugs come home with the kids, and although she is very healthy, the training load requires her immune system to ride a razor edge of fighting off sickness.

"It is essential to balance stress, work, and training," she said.

A 100-mile trail race is not a pleasant trail run. Nordell described these events as 80 percent mental. She described some tips and techniques she used which can be applied to almost any discipline.

Keeping her mind on the positive edge of reality is the consistent factor in her success.

"Dark thoughts creep into your mind during a race, and you struggle to overcome them, staying positive and thinking about all the work, all the people, and all the fellow competitors who are there with you is very motivating," she said.

Another approach is taking what the conditions, her body, and the competitors give. For instance, during the Bighorn her body wasn't feeling up to speed for the first third of the race. It wasn't until mile 37 that she found her groove.

"I just keep thinking about making it to the next checkpoint, to run within my body, adjusting to how I feel," she said.

She uses this tactic as a check-and-balance system. Surely, "pushing through" the first miles of this race would have left her in desperation toward the end.

The nature of trail running inevitably leads to some feeling of desperation. Runners get spread out, they're in very remote areas, and they are often required to self-navigate. Nordell is used to these conditions and the nervous trepidation subsides. Getting through this while also running at such a pace is an amazing feat of mental fortitude.

An aid to the fortitude is to off-load the reel of thoughts that roll through the mind on a solo endeavor through the wilderness. Nordell achieves this with music or finding a competitor to share the agony with. Competitors in these events support each other. It is more a battle of human vs. conditions than person vs. person.

The second half of Nordell's race proved much better than the first. She attributed this to the support of a fellow competitor.

Nordell completed the grueling challenge in 21:38:43.9. According to the Sheridan Press, the previous course record for women was 22 hours and 27 minutes.