On Friday, we profiled Nicole Studer, a Dallas ultramarathoner competing in the Leadville 100 in Colorado this weekend. Studer finished the 100 mile race almost exactly an entire day after she started – in 24 hours and 25 minutes. That placed her ninth among women. Ashley Arnold won the race in 20 hours, 25 minutes, and Ian Sharman was the overall winner in 16 hours, 30 minutes.
We caught up with Studer as she headed back to Boulder, Colo., before catching a flight back to Dallas on Monday.
How’d the race go?
I felt pretty good most of the race, but my hamstring started bothering me near the end. I had to walk it in the last 10 miles. The last 10 miles took about three hours to finish. But it was a beautiful race. A great race.
Was the altitude a factor?
I think it was definitely a factor – the mountain climbs were hard. It’s just hard to train for the mountains of Colorado when you’ve been running in Dallas, Texas.
What was running through your mind when you neared the finish line?
Well, I was getting close to the 25-hour mark, and if you get in under 25 hours, you get a belt buckle. So I wanted that. It was such a great feeling, because I’ve never been on my feet that long of a period of time. It felt like such an accomplishment, especially that last 10 miles when I couldn’t run. My husband, Eric, walked the last four miles with me. It was an incredible experience.
Think you’ll ever do it again?
Maybe. It was beautiful.
What time did you finally get to bed?
About 5:30 a.m. Everyone was pretty tired at that point.
