Elinor Fish, editor of Trail Runner magazine, was the camp director, as well as an accomplished trail runner herself. In fact, she is running her first 100-miler in a few weeks at Leadville! Nothing like starting with one of the hardest 100s around (I would know a little about that). She had two additional people on staff: Tam, a personal trainer and Xterra champion; and Wendy, a yoga instructor and trail runner. Elinor and her “team” did a spectacular job of planning and executing the camp.

The women at the camp represented 7 states – Idaho, Colorado, California, Washington, Kansas, Nevada, Indiana – and all came with different backgrounds, experiences, and inspiring stories. Many of the women had never run at altitude like we encountered in the Rockies. Our first run was a little challenging, but by day 2, we had somewhat acclimated, and our run was much more comfortable (or at least manageable).

The scenery was breathtaking (and not just because of the altitude), and the comraderie was uplifting. We had healthy meals, yoga sessions, massages, and amazing trail runs – indeed, a magical weekend retreat.

As we all became friends, we already have plans to meet up at trail runs across the country and open invitations for places to stay as we travel to run.

Thanks to Elinor, her team, and to all the other campers for a great mountain trail experience.

On Saturday, our local running group – Boise RunWalk – met to begin the “winter session,” and I ran the first few miles with some folks from the group. After they turned around, I relaxed and ran the rest alone. I’m accustomed to solitary running and I enjoy it, so I had no trouble when I left the group. I felt pretty good when I finished – the greenbelt is pretty flat, so it was a typical 20-mile run.

Sunday was a little different story. My plan was to run up 5 miles, down 5 miles, up 5 miles, down 5 miles – all along the same dirt road. Loaded up with fuel belt, gels, and my ipod, I headed up the hill…for the first time. On the 5-mile climb up 1638 feet, I wish I could say I “ran” the whole way, but that just wouldn’t be true – not even with Tom Petty singing, “Climb That Hill.” As I climbed, the scenery got more breathtaking (maybe because I was having trouble breathing), and the signs of human life grew more sparse. I started pretty early on Sunday morning, and the temperature was around 28 which may have contributed to the lack of fellow runners out there on the road. I saw 4 runners total during my entire 20-mile run.

I ran up 5 miles, then back down, and I have to say that when I got back to my car at the bottom of the hill to trade out my water bottles for new, full ones, the thought of going back up that hill was a bit daunting. Nevertheless, I packed on the new bottles, ate some luna blocks, and headed out again.

I trudged up the hill again, and about halfway up, I heard Tom Petty for the second time…”I gotta get back up and climb that hill again…gotta make my way over that hill again.”

It took more effort and a longer period of time to cover those hilly 20 miles than it did to run my Eugene Marathon. And, during both Eugene and this run, I heard Tom Petty singing to me…”I gotta get back up and climb that hill again.”

As cliché as it may sound, we all have uphill climbs in the various areas of our lives. And, it’s been said over and over that running is a metaphor for life. But it’s true. Just like an actual hill that may take all our strength to climb up, as long as we keep our head up and keep putting one foot in front of the other, we’re going to make it. And, the success is worth every difficult step. Anything worth achieving rarely comes easily.

Frank A. Clark wrote: “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”

I used to run with a group, and when we would run up a little hill, we would say, “I love hills – hills are our friends.” And, I would tell them…”If you say it enough, you’ll believe it.”

I love running up hills, I love the exhilaration of reaching the top, and I love running down the hill. I’ve said it hundreds of times, and I now truly do love hills!

At 81 years old, Joy is going strong and training to run more marathons. If you or anyone you know has ever said, “I’m too old to run,” take a lesson from Joy. She is an inspiration to us all!

Congratulations, Joy!

Joy is running the New York City Marathon on Sunday – for her 21st consecutive year…and she’s going for the age-group win (80-90 age group). She has been putting in extra miles – 50-55 miles per week – and adding speed work to try to lower her time.

Joy is an inspiration to anyone who has ever had a dream…to anyone who ever doubted that they could accomplish a monumental task…to anyone who has ever worked hard to achieve anything.

I am so fortunate to know Joy, and she has certainly added much “joy” to my life. I’m rooting for her on Sunday. And, no matter what she runs, she will always be a winner to me.

She was recently interviewed for the Wall Street Journal – the article is in the paper today. Read the article in today’s Wall Street Journal.

An extraordinary group of women gathered last week for the inaugural Women on the Move Conference & Retreat. We held the retreat in conjunction with the premier all-women Leading Ladies’ Marathon in Spearfish, South Dakota.

And, when I say extraordinary, that is not a strong enough word to describe these women. I cannot give an exact number, but the combined number of marathons and ultramarathons of our group of 10 retreat athletes and 8 coaches is several hundred. And, the list of different marathons, ultras, and hikes reads like a catalog of extreme challenges: Comrades in South Africa, Kilimanjaro, Badwater, Tahoe Triple, various Ironman Triathlons, Pike’s Peak – to name only a handful.

These “super women” (some of whom are 50-staters) aged in range from 39 to 68 with only 6 women under 50 in the whole group of campers and coaches. Women on the Move campers: Bonnie, Isabelle, Diana, Katherine, Anita, Jane, Benita, Laurie, Jean, and Peggy; coaches Kathrine, Jan, Lori, Mary, Chris, Elaine, Rhonda, and me.

Kathrine Switzer, running pioneer who broke the gender barrier at the previously all-male Boston Marathon in 1967, was our featured speaker and guest coach. For 3 days, we had seminars, round table discussions, and training runs. The retreat culminated in the stellar Leading Ladies’ Marathon and Half Marathon with Elaine Doll-Dunn, one of the Women on the Move coaches, as race director. Coach Mary of our group won the Half Marathon in a time of 1:22 (that’s really fast).

I am so inspired by all these wonderful women on the move. They include wives, mothers, grandmothers…all setting examples of facing challenges with dedication, commitment, determination, and personal achievement. I am humbled, grateful, and honored to be a part of such an extraordinary group of Women on the Move.

There is a reason that people who exercise regularly stay at about the same weight all the time: that is, your body adapts to the level of exercise it is accustomed to, and you train your metabolism to work within that level. Not fair, you say. You’re exercising way more than the average person, and you’re still not losing weight.

There are several options that can help kickstart your metabolism and help you lose some weight:

• Kick up your training pace just a little bit by running faster one day a week. You can do this in intervals – you don’t have to run your entire workout faster.
• Add hills to your training if you don’t already have them in your schedule. The tougher workout will burn more calories. Even walking up some of the hills will burn more calories than running (or walking) on flat ground.
• Add a strength training day (or two) at a different time of the day than right after your run. This way you are getting in 2 workouts and your body is continuing to burn calories after you workout – twice in one day!

In the meantime, I’ll be on the hunt for a good guide to help the “already active” exerciser shed a few pounds to be leaner and faster. It will definitely help me, too!

And, if you would like to find out how you can spend 3 days with Kathrine at a Running and Walking Conference for Women, visit the Women on the Move website.

Kathrine has completed 35 marathons, her most famous being Boston in 1967 when she entered as KV Switzer and became the first woman wearing a number to run the traditionally all-male race. Irate race official Jock Semple tried to forcibly remove her from the race. Their encounter was captured in photos that appeared worldwide, and the incident became a watershed moment in the women’s running movement.

Here are a couple of the questions that were submitted for Kathrine to address:

1. I started power walking when I was 49 and this year have already completed 8-5k events since March 1. At this time marathons don’t interest me because of the extensive time necessary for training. Any recommendations for what I might strive for next or should I simply stick to the 5ks which I really enjoy? Is a 10k or 1/2 marathon realistic.
2. I am a running coach for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training. About 75% of the runners I coach are women, many of whom have never run more than a few miles at a time prior to joining our program to run a marathon or half-marathon as a fund-raising participant. Naturally, we are careful to build our athletes’ mileage gradually, encourage stretching and proper nutrition, etc. Is there any particular advice that you can offer to coaches on how to we can help our athletes to achieve their goal of completing their endurance event.

To hear Kathrine’s responses to these and many more questions, listen to the replay. And be sure to visit the Women on the Move website for more information on the Running and Walking Conference for women.

Our first call was so popular that some folks have asked us to do another one. Kathrine answered questions about her personal running career, both past and present, and also many issues that women runners face.

Don’t miss this opportunity to talk live with a running legend!

Kathrine shared with us her experiences last week at both the Boston Marathon and at the women’s Olympic marathon trials. And, she answered questions submitted from people all over the country.

Kathrine is the keynote speaker at the upcoming Women on the Move Conference & Retreat in Spearfish, South Dakota, on August 13-15, 2008. The Conference is in conjunction with the all-women’s Leading Ladies’ Marathon and Half-Marathon on August 17.

If you’d like to listen to the replay, it is available on our Event Replay page.

For more information on the Women on the Move Conference & Retreat, go to the Women on the Move website.

And, I’m very excited to invite you to join me for a LIVE Free Teleseminar with Kathrine on April 29, 2008. You can sign up for the teleseminar by visiting the Women On the Move website.

In 1967, Kathrine was the first woman to officially enter and run the Boston Marathon at time when this race was only open to male runners. Her entry caused such an uproar that a race official tried to physically pull her from the race course. Four decades later, Kathrine is still championing the cause of equal sports status for women.

I actually ran the inaugural Leading Ladies Marathon 3 years ago, and it is a beautiful mostly downhill course. You don’t have to run the race to attend the conference. Nor do you have to plan to attend the conference to be on the live teleseminar with Kathrine.

Be sure to check out the Women On the Move website and sign up for the free teleseminar.