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Since then and with guidance, I found the answers to those questions. I have been fortunate to compete healthfully for the last 10 years in distances ranging from 50k to 100 miles. Most of those races were run on some of the most beautiful trails around the world. I have enjoyed the highs and lows that come through these intense experiences and seem to find balance with it as the years go by.

Each race offers its own experience, story, and lasting life change, so it is difficult to pick my best race experience. If forced, two come to mind. The first is my 2007 win and course record at the Hardrock 100. That year, Scott Jurek, the mentor who got me into the sport and who has become like a big brother since, won the men’s division. Standing on the Hardrock with Scott in Silverton, the race’s finish line, was an incredibly meaningful and exhilarating moment after challenging myself through Colorado’s San Juan Mountains.

In 2009 I returned to the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. Returned? I was fortunate to spend a couple of weeks in France in 2003 and run the first edition of UTMB. That year the weather was horrendous, and those who finished the full tour around the Mont Blanc massif were few. It was my longest race to that point, 155 kilometers (93 miles), and with the weather and a strained IT band reducing me to a walk for the last 30 miles, it remains my most challenging run—one where I learned about perseverance paying off as I won the race.

To return in 2009 was an absolute treat! I stood on the starting line with 2,500 runners; it was the largest ultra field I have ever competed with, and definitely the most incredible group of spectators. The crowds were impressive into the night, with bands playing and the streets lined with people sharing high-fives and cheering us on. Traversing the ridges in the wee hours of the morning and listening to the cowbells in the distance provided the opportunity to gather inspiration from within, to dig deep, to push through the sleepiness that ensues with darkness, and to find motivation in the simple process of putting one foot in front of the other.

My opportunity to really see what I was capable of came at the 110k mark, where I moved into first position for women. With 55k to go, I challenged myself to run those final miles harder than any 50k race I had run before. This was no small feat considering the three major climbs ahead. Cresting the final climb, giving everything to the final descent into Chamonix, and ignoring the pain in my patella tendons literally brought tears of joy. The feeling of flying (at least it felt like it to me) in to the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc finish line, where the streets were lined with people cheering, and crossing under that finish line into the arms and support of the people who were with me throughout the event was not only extraordinary, but life changing. It was an incredible crowning moment that summarized a year of personal preparation, a night and day of running to the best of my ability, and, most important, community.

I like to say that if you hang around me long enough, I’ll get you to run an ultra. This energy actually applies to most ultra-runners. Once you have tried the challenge of running on the trails and fallen in love with the feeling of the trees whipping by, the incredible views you are able to gain in a morning run, and the laughs you’ve shared in the middle of nowhere with fellow ultrarunners, there really is no going back; you are personally inspired. As you talk about experiences you find that your speech quickens and your eyes sparkle. That energy transfers to those around you, and soon more ultrarunners are born.

Krissy Moehl (visor) savoring having won the 2009 Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc. (Photo by Sho Fujimaki)

Krissy Moehl is a race director, coach, and one of ultrarunning’s finest ambassadors. She’s twice won the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (’03 and ’09) as well as the Hardrock 100 (’07), Wasatch 100 (’04), and many other ultramarathons.

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