Completing the full 26.2 miles of a marathon is a common bucket list item that often goes unchecked. While many see marathons as the ultimate test of mental and physical grit, others, such as Dr. Laura Raeder, see them as a warm-up for the pinnacle of all races: an ultramarathon.
100 miles and over 24 hours of gel packets, leg cramps and constant movement, all without a wink of sleep. Long before becoming the principal of LHS, Dr. Laura Raeder began her running journey and has since crossed the finish line of over 100 races, including marathons and ultramarathons, in the past 17 years.
“I ran my first marathon in the spring of 2009, the Fargo Marathon. That fall, I ran Chicago. While I was running Chicago, I was able to qualify for Boston. Then I ran Boston that spring of 2010,” said Dr. Raeder.
The Boston Marathon is notably known as the oldest marathon in the United States. The starting gun first fired in 1897, and since then, many outstanding runners have crossed the finish line: Olympians, elite runners and celebrities, including Will Ferrell, who finished with a striking 3:56:12 time.
Now Dr. Raeder has begun looking forward to her next endeavor: an ultramarathon near Custer, South Dakota, in the southern Black Hills. She will be braving 100 miles, 50 out and 50 back, all located on the Mickelson Trail. The trail is mostly gravel, incorporating the extra challenge of racing on an unstable surface. Luckily, for Dr. Raeder, she is not new to ultras, and even this race specifically.
“[An ultramarathon is] definitely much slower than a marathon is. I did the race about 12 years ago in just over 28 hours. Now my goal is to finish it in 24 hours or less,” said Dr. Raeder.
In order to achieve her goal, Dr. Raeder has been frequently training. Currently, her running load is relatively light and does not pick up until March. She also completes strength training for injury prevention and prepares her for holding onto extra weight during her race, such as food, water and clothing. Running ultramarathon-like distances while training is unrealistic, so Dr. Raeder must adapt.
“Right now, I’m just building the base. [I do] two long runs and then around half of the long run the day after. You still get a feel within 24 hours of putting the miles on your feet. Then the rest are just shake-out runs, [to] make sure everything’s moving. Sometimes you miss it when you don’t run, so you try to keep in the habit of running. It’s just mental. It’s putting your shoes on and getting out there,” said Dr. Raeder.
Undoubtedly, one of the hardest parts of her training is balancing it with everyday life. As principal of one of South Dakota’s largest high schools, Dr. Raeder’s plate is always full.
“Sometimes [I train] before school, and sometimes it’s later in the evenings after activities. I have to balance it. Last week I missed a run. I wasn’t able to get it in, and sometimes that’s gonna happen. If I don’t get it done, I just don’t get it done. I need to be able to forgive [myself] when that happens,” said Dr. Raeder.
While she has experience covering these distances, running is often a gamble, and a multitude of factors can go wrong. Dr. Raeder, along with all other ultramarathon runners, must balance their eating schedule along with fighting off sleep, as they are forced to go over 24 hours without any shut-eye.
“I don’t know how it’s going to go for me. You have got to eat, and you don’t sleep. I try not to get too much in my head about when I’m eating. I know enough because I’ve been running long enough. I know that when I’m not feeling good, I need to eat. And sometimes you just don’t feel good, and you’ve got to keep going, too,” said Dr. Raeder.
This exact mindset is what carries many runners to the finish line. While training and physical fitness can sustain these athletes to incredible lengths during a race, mental grit is what secures crossing the finish line. A common term known to hard-core runners is the ‘pain cave.’ Personal trainer and running instructor Meghan Takacs describes it as “the place you go to right when you hit ‘the wall’ when you’re running. Your body feels incapable, everything is cemented to the ground, and mentally, almost every inch of you wants to quit.”
“That’s a real thing that happens. I experienced a little bit of that the last time I did [an ultramarathon]. I was just completely exhausted. But you’ve got to keep pushing. That’s where you also have to rely on your training, too. When I felt this way before [while training], this is what I have done, with experience,” said Dr. Raeder.
Training is so much more than logging miles, increasing endurance and breaking in running shoes. It extends mental strength, builds confidence and most importantly, generates knowledge about what to do during rocky times. Dr. Raeder has learned from years of experience how to combat obstacles in her races.
“Maybe you eat something different, you’ve been eating a bunch of sugar, and now you switch to a bunch of salty foods. Hopefully, you’ve found someone to run with along the way, or maybe a pacer comes in to help you. Some people will brush their teeth, put on different clothes or shoes, just something to shift their mindset a little bit,” said Dr. Raeder.
Yet these extreme races are so much more than a workout. Running these distances has forced Dr. Raeder to develop a completely different view of life. Just like life, circumstances in racing can change by the minute.
“You might be feeling in the depths of despair, and 15 minutes later, you’re like, oh, this is fun. That’s how quickly things can change. And even the opposite. I might be feeling amazing, then all of a sudden you twist an ankle. In another 20 minutes, you’re like, ‘oh my gosh, I’m falling apart,’” said Dr. Raeder.
All of these challenges have built Dr. Raeder to be much more than a talented and resilient runner. Her perspective on life has been completely flipped due to the lessons that racing and other runners have taught her.
“There was a runner named Scott Jurrick, and he wrote some books. In one of his books, he talked about when everything is falling apart, you must think about what’s going well. It’s not raining, I’m not sliding around in the mud. What’s going well? My stomach feels pretty good right now. The sun is out. There’s always something going well when you’re in chaos. Eventually, your mindset shifts, and then things do go well. It falls over into everyday life, too. That is the perspective shift that I want to relay. That’s what ultra running is,” said Dr. Raeder.
