Ida's thoughts on: Ultra running, motivation and challenging yourself!

March came and went very quickly and turned into a month full of travel for me. I ran Transgrancanaria 84K at the end of February and was only home for a few days before I was off here and there for the rest of the month.

I got to go back and experience a bit of my younger years—and the everyday life of many people—waking up early in the morning to get my run done before 7 AM. Very early morning sessions are not something I miss, and I’m very happy that I now usually have the time to start training later in the day. It was fine for a week, but I truly admire those of you who do it day in and day out, year after year!

My big goal for this year is Western States 100 miles for the third year in a row. I improved by 45 minutes last year from 2023, so if I can do that again, things are looking good!

Of course, it gets harder and harder to improve as I get older. I turned 44 in February, and naturally, my fastest years are behind me. The positive thing about competing in ultrarunning is that there are so many different aspects that contribute to whether a race goes well or not. The foundation is still having the motivation and drive to train a lot. I feel that it requires more and more from me to keep up, and I need to develop the skills and try to make them even better. For example, I will never be as fast as I was when I was younger. My basic flat speed is gradually declining. To compensate for that, I have instead continued to develop my endurance, and I can still—or maybe even better now than before—maintain a fairly high pace/effort/heart rate for a long time. That is very useful in an ultra!

Another thing I can improve on is energy and electrolytes during races. Last year, I had some bad experiences from not taking care of myself properly, and I need to be more meticulous in this area.

If I were to give some advice on how to keep competing as an older athlete, it would be to:

• Keep the passion alive.
• Maintain the drive to improve.
• Continue setting goals that inspire you.
• Find a training routine that you enjoy.
• Surround yourself with people who inspire you and make you better.

I wish you all a wonderful and beautiful spring and hope you have some exciting races, adventures, or plans ahead!

/Ida