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“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
The words of Chinese philosopher Confucius became my motto throughout the uncertain journey toward the 2022 Laurel Highlands Ultra, held on June 11, in southwestern Pennsylvania.
More on the importance of these words in a minute.
First, let me tell you about the race...
The Laurel Highlands Ultra is a point-to-point race beginning at mile marker zero (the southern terminus) in Ohiopyle, Pa., running north along the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT), a forested single-track with rocks, roots, mud and big climbs.
The 50k ends at Jones Mills while the 70.5 mile ends in Seward, the northern terminus.
The entire trail, part of Laurel Ridge State Park, is clearly marked with yellow blazes, well-maintained and remains on one linear path the entire time with one exception:
The steepest sections of trail are at the beginning, in the southern half, meaning 50k racers experience the toughest stuff.
The last 20 of the 70.5-miles are the easiest.
The LHHT is classic Pennsylvania (or Rocksylvania as it’s known in trail talk) single track:
More:
As a resident of Ohiopyle, Pa., which is the southern terminus/ start line of the race, the LHHT is my go-to for trail running.
Oct. 2020 to current: My oldest son, now age eight, has run/ backpacked up to mile marker 33 in sections, with the goal of one day getting to mile marker 70.
March 2021 to April 2022: Over the course of a year, my husband and I have run and fastpacked all 70 miles of the trail together in sections.
June 13, 2021: First overall female in 6:12:50. Recap: Laurel Highlands Ultra: You Won’t Believe How This One Ends
Sept. 27, 2020: First overall female, second overall runner, in 6:02:00, a personal best.
May 2, 2020: I completed a solo, unsupported effort (meaning no one ran with me or provided aid at any point) in 6:35:00, on the 50k course, because the COVID-19 pandemic took the typical June date off the books, and no postponement date had yet been established.
June 8, 2019: Fourth female, in 6:49:43.
Nov. 2018 to Jan. 2019: I ran all 70 miles of the trail in seven sections over the course of two months.
Remember the theme of the story?
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
Keep it in mind as you read what happened…
Dec. 9, 2021: I woke up with a sharp, stabbing pain in my right rib cage.
Dec. 11: Red bumps appeared on the front of my right ribs and wrapped around to the spine. I thought it was poison ivy. For the next three days, I had mild chills and fatigue but chalked it up to winter approaching. I kept running and mountain biking as usual.
Dec. 15: I registered for the 2022 LH Ultra 50k. The red bumps, pain and fatigue worsened.
Dec. 16: When I went out for an easy six-mile run on the LHHT, a fire erupted at the site of the red bumps, traveling down the femoral nerve line (front of the hip) to the side of the foot and big toe, as well as down the sciatic nerve chain from back of the hip to the heel, locking my knee in the process. Running became painfully impossible. I limped back to the vehicle as the pain ignited like an electric shock.
Dec. 17: Diagnosis: shingles.
Dec. 22: To alleviate the shingles symptoms of migraine and light sensitivity, and to take my mind off the pain enveloping my entire right side, I went out to get some fresh air by hiking slowly on a nearby riverside trail.
About a mile in, I fell to the ground, screaming in shock, fear and pain as a branch crashed out of a tree above and landed on my head.
I managed to call a friend, tried to hurry out of the woods, but slunk against a tree when I began stumbling, getting dizzy and seeing stars.
Several friends came to the rescue, carrying me out on a backboard, and my husband took me to the hospital.
Diagnosis: concussion.
Dec. 25: Lethargy, exhaustion, a swollen, dry throat, coughing and an exponential increase in concussion pain led me to take two rapid tests.
Diagnosis: COVID-19.
Shingles + concussion + COVID-19 = a total nightmare, the first time in my life I had ever become bedridden.
One thought kept sneaking its way into my weary mind: when will I run again?
Slowly, things began to look up.
On Feb. 22, I completed a two-mile run/hike.
Carefully, I built up to running 20 miles per week.
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart” became more important now than ever.
It was time to make a decision. To run the 50k for which I had registered, or not?
A weekend of back-to-back trail runs of 12 and 15 miles went well.
Running the first 19 miles of the LHHT felt great..
An attempted 21-mile run cut short and then a completed 21-mile run one week later aggravated and increased symptoms of:
Continuing to train for the 50k felt like a risky, daunting deadline, one approaching too quickly…
So, I took two steps back in order to keep going.
Transferring to the 50k relay, along with my husband, Eric Harder, and friend, Lauren Worrell, was an easy decision, even a relief.
With that choice, I took with me Confucius’ words:
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
But this time, I changed it up a bit:
“Whatever distance you run, run with all your heart.”
To run so fast that I would:
Then the motto became:
“Whatever distance you race, race with all your heart.”
The gun fired, and I took off as leg one of our relay at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 11, a drizzly, foggy, 50-degree day, unusually cool for the LH Ultra.
Race start
Ohiopyle Falls
Relay transition
Cunningham, leg one, hands off the slap bracelet to leg two, her husband, Eric Harder, at Jersey Hollow, aid station one. (Photo/ Lauren Worrell)
Finish
Lauren Worrell, anchor runner for relay team Trail Run Tribe #3 + Eric, finishes fast and strong to give the team a big lead and win. (Photo/ Eric Harder)
Running in the relay was quite different from the 50k solo experience.
Yet, it was equally as rewarding. Why? Because the motto stuck with me…
“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”
“Whatever distance you run, run with all your heart.”
“Whatever distance you race, race with all your heart.”
With all your heart…
With all your heart…
With all your heart…
The words were a resounding source of strength that mean this: no matter what I was doing, whether solo, with a relay, short or long, I would do it:
Because, after the winter’s illnesses and ailments, how could I be anything but exuberantly grateful and happy to be right where I was, healthy enough to run, no longer bedridden?
At no time from the moment I transferred from the 50k to the relay did I have regrets and sadness. Even on race day, I did not long to be doing what I was used to doing, racing 31 miles by myself.
Besides, when it comes down to it, I love:
That’s what it’s all about, right? Good times with good people!
To top it off, we met every goal I had in mind for our team.
Leg one:
Leg two:
Leg three:
Overall time: 4:55:26
Place: First Place Mixed Relay Team
In addition to our relay, we had four other relay teams consisting of two teams for the Trail Run Tribe, my all-female trail-running group based out of Ohiopyle, Pa., and two teams for WeeViews.
The melding of the two groups made for a fun-filled weekend of trail running, cheering, friendly, inner-group competition, laughing, eating and even some pre-race white water boating.
Waterfall
Rafting 1
Rafting 2
Kayaking
Gear worn on race day
Fuel
Music
Swag
Thank you to the race directors, volunteers and everyone who makes this event possible, and congratulations to all runners. I think I speak for not only myself but also the Trail Run Tribe and WeeViews when I say:
And remember: Wherever you go, go with all your heart.
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