My very good friend, Monica, has been running long distances for years. The entire time I’ve known her she has been running. She and I ran our very first marathon together in 2014. That marathon turned Monica into a marathon machine, she’s run 12 more marathon races since then. She has qualified for the Boston Marathon three times. She ran it in person in 2018 and ran the virtual one in 2020 with me along on my bicycle.

Last summer, she decided to give ultramarathoning a try. An ultramarathon is anything longer than the 42.2km (26.1 mile) marathon distance. Monica is not someone who needs fanfare or medals or acknowledgement of any kind to motivate her for running. She is a unicorn in that respect. She runs because she loves running and likes to challenge herself. So last October, she and I set off on a local bike trail for her first ultramarathon. Just the two of us. She ran 60km and I did my longest bike ride of 60km along side her. It took us about 6.5 hours. I could not believe how at ease she seemed with that distance. My butt hurt more from sitting on my bike seat than hers did from running all that distance! When we finished, I said, well since you’ve done 60, you might as well do 100. And the seed was planted. 😉

This winter, she texted me to tell me she was brainstorming the idea of actually running 100km. She wanted to know what I thought. Well, I know Monica and I know what she is capable of, so I said GO FOR IT! And that I would join her. The seed was planted in my mind to bike a century, as well. She started following a 16 week running plan this winter with the goal of us doing it together in May. I got a new bicycle to be ready. You can read about my first try at winter cycling here. Her training was intense. She even had weekend runs of 50km one day and 25km the next. She would run between 70km to 135km a week. Monica, being Monica, told barely anyone about the incredible goal she had set for herself.

I joined her as often as I could. But when Frank and I have our kids, we make sure to stay home and spend as much time with them as possible. Therefore, the majority of Monica’s training, she did alone. The longest I did this winter was 21km on my bike. I would join her to run the last 6km of her runs once or twice a week.

She texted me saying that she was thinking of cutting back her 16 week plan. That she felt ready and didn’t want to keep up the crazy training for another month and a half. I told her if she thought she was ready then do it. I knew I wasn’t ready yet though. So I said I would do half of it with her. I didn’t think it was a smart idea from me to add an extra 80km to my bike ride with no training.

So two days later, she set out early morning to run her first 50 km alone. She did a flatish loop that lead back to her house. I joined her at 1:30pm after she got home, ate lunch and changed her clothes and shoes. We headed off together for the second half. It was a gorgeous sunny and warm day, especially for March in Canada.

The loop Monica chose was insanely hilly. The first 20km was almost all uphill so our pace was not that fast. We took our time and kept on. I carried my hiking pack with a sandwich, water and even my first aid kit because I like to be prepared. I thought I would carry something for Monica but other than water and a peanut butter sandwich, she didn’t need anything. We saw deer and wild turkeys on our route. We had loose dogs run out onto the road to follow us and bark. Just before dark, we heard a pack of coyotes start to howl. Our pace picked up after that!

We spent all the rest of the daylight hours finishing our 50km together. We laughed and joked and teased each other the whole way. I was going to leave her to the coyotes but she said she’d steal my bike. I said, after 90+ kilometers, I could tap her with my finger and she’d just fall over.

We looped back to her house in the dark (I had my headlamp). She crossed the 100km threshold on her running watch and her husband came out to greet her.

100km, 11.5 hours and 1112 meters of elevation gain.

No crowds, no cheering, no medal. Just a goal and a woman who did not stop until she reached it.

The will power and physical fortitude that she has continues to astound me. The fact that she is always able to push through when her body and mind are saying quit is something that the vast majority of people do not have. She is so modest and unassuming, she wasn’t even going to tell people about her phenomenal accomplishment. She told me that she thought about what I had written last week about how we often don’t take the time to celebrate our own achievements and it spurred her on to share her own. That just made my day. My whole reason for writing, accomplished!

I am incredibly proud of Monica. She had her doubts while pushing through this amazing challenge but I never did. I knew she could do it and would do it. And I am honored that I got to share in her journey and be there when she crossed the finish line of her ultimate goal.

Congratulations, Monica!!

What goal has someone close to you accomplished lately? Celebrate them in the comments below.

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