Hi Steemit! My name is Raelynn and I run 100 miles for fun!
“I don’t even like to drive that far” is one of the things ultrarunners hear the most when people find out we run distances like 100 miles. The other questions is usually “why?”.
Me, on a recent trip to Patagonia
I started running in 2010. It sucked. I couldn’t run down the block without feeling like I wanted to die. When I ran my first mile, I remember being frustrated that it took such a long time and that I only burned around 100 calories. Fast forward a year and many training runs later, I ran my first race: the Broad Street Run 10 miler. From there, I was hooked. While I was doing these races, little did I know, my mom was becoming sicker and sicker from Hepatitis C.
Visiting my mom in the hospital
She contracted the disease from a blood transfusion in Italy before I was born. She would eventually become so sick that she would need a liver transplant in order to survive. She would have to fight so hard. I felt hopeless. She needed a full transplant so the donor had to be from the deceased. I racked my brain and came up with a plan. I would run my first marathon to try and raise money to help with the transplant costs. If my mom could get through every day the way she was, I could get through 26.2 miles for her. And I did! November of 2014, I ran my first marathon and raised close to $7,000 for my mom. She had her transplant and is doing great! After the surgery, we learned that she only had two weeks to live.
My mom and I the night of her transplant
Enjoying the spoils of finishing my first marathon
So then what? I have always been fascinated by ultrarunning ever since I read an article about the Barkley Marathons in a magazine. Definitely check out the documentary about it on Netflix; it’s wild. I ran a marathon for my mom and wanted to do something for myself. I ran my first ultramarathon close to a year after that marathon - a 50k.
Crossing the finish line of my first ultra
One race I learned about even before running the marathon was this 120k (around 75 miles) in Cortina, Italy called Lavaredo Ultra Trail. It was brutal and gorgeous. Through country pastures, past lakes and up unrelenting mountains, this race was the one I was going to do. I needed it. And I would run 50k, 50 miles and eventually 100 miles in 2016 to prepare myself as much as possible to get there.
In June of 2017, I had my chance. We lined up in the streets of Cortina at 11 p.m. and the bells rung high in the town church’s bell tower. 1,600 runners, for reasons all our own, took off into the night and up into the mountains.
Minutes prior to Lavaredo Ultra Trail
On my page, I want to write about the incredible highs and absolutely devastating lows that surround the training for this ridiculous and amazing sport.
I hope you enjoy!
Welcome to Steemit community dear.
It's a wonderful place to be.
Hope you find this helpful 👇 👇
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@magdnrobinson/steemit-meet-up
https://steemit.com/steem/@magdnrobinson/my-early-steem-life-201815t18457351z
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely have to refer back to your link a few times until I get the hang of this!
Glad to help
Welcome! Welcome! Welcome! Looking forward to more of your running career... and allll the other shenanigans like trips and camping.
So excited! So much more to come!!
awesome dear @raelynnbianca do upvote and reply
Will do! Thanks!
Well done! Now that's dedication to your amazing mom, so glad things worked out. Oh, and welcome to Steemit. I'm sure you'll have the "run" of the place! :)
source
Ahhh I see what you did there! My mom is awesome and she gives me so much inspiration for the things I do! Thanks for commenting!
Hey @raelynnbianca,
So good to hear about your Mom and the Liver transplant. That is wonderful how you raised that much money from a Race. I have run a half marathon and many, many 10Ks. But nothing like 100 miles. That is truly amazing. Keep up the great job and welcome to Steemit. Wanna here more about your ultras so I'm Following you now :)
Follow me help me to grow
Welcome to Steemit Raelynn !
Thank you!!
I commend your determination and for raising the needed funds for your mom's surgery. Welcome to this platform too, you will definitely discover it's a great place to be. Wishing your mom quick recovery.
Thanks! She’s doing great and celebrated her transplantaversary in August!
Welcome to Steemit Raelynn. I really like the water bottle vest, its such a great idea!
Thanks!! There’s a small backpack on the back too! It’s a game changer!
Follow me help me to grow
Welcome in steemit @raelynnbianca
Thank you!
Welcome to steemit, lovely lady! This really is an amazing post. Great to know so much about what you're here to write about and who you are. Well done you! I'll be following you for more posts! Yasmine
Thanks for checking me out, Yasmine!
Good post, enjoy reading
Thanks you so much
Aww thanks!
100 miles is such a long run for me. You're awesome! Let me upvote you because you take care of your health with exercise :)
Here's my latest post @gvincentjosephm. Feel free to visit
https://steemit.com/poetry/@gvincentjosephm/when-the-closest-people-to-you-don-t-believe-in-you-life-becomes-a-lot-heavier-that-it-s-suppose-to-be
I Hope you like it too.
Thank you! Read your post and commented. Hang in there!
welcome to steemit , i hope you will enjoy be here
Thanks!
Keep it up girl! Stay healthy:)
Thanks Tiffany!
Mucha fortaleza, éxitos y bendiciones...
¡Gracias!
Hey welcome to Steemit! Its a great place hope you will enjoy here !! I am too newbie here !!
I have followed you on Steemit, please be kind enough to follow me as well.Enjoy Steemit !! Good luck!!Following your post!!
Great post @raelynnbianca! You sound like an amazing runner!
Looking forward to reading your future content :)
I try! Thanks for checking me out!
Welcome to steem. You seem like a really interesting person. I'm going to give you a follow. Keep the content coming.
Hope I don’t let you down!
Hy is she better now
Thanks; she’s doing much better!
Welcome to steemit - Running for a good cause, awesome!!! So inspiring what you are doing! Check out my profile, @theaustrianguy - I am hosting a contest (#fiftyrunstillmay), where you can win 100 SBD (500$ with the current price level for SBD) for running! Gonna post a update the next days, stay tuned!
Resteemed (=shared) you with this account I use mainly for sharing promising newcomers!
Greets!
Good work @welcoming hope you also like my work thanks
Thanks! Following!
Welcome to steemit , too emotional now ...i like ur spirit @raelynnbianca.how is ur mum now? Take good care of her , stay strong and know that someone out there is praying for you and ur mum...
You’re so sweet! She’s doing much better these days!
This is pure heart and strong determination by defying the obstacles! @raelynnbianca! Keep on 🏃 running!
You got it!
What a great intro!
Welcome to Steemit, Bianca! Have a wonderful time here with lots of fun and success! :)
Thanks!
Followed!
I am unfortunately far from being able to run such distances (my training methods and actual dedication are probably very much lacking), but ultra-marathon is something I have been fascinated about for a few years now. I am looking forward to learn more about how you trained and gradually built up your endurance to such a degree.
Look, I started by running down the block. It takes time and effort but everything/anything is possible. I never thought I’d be able to do stuff like this! Just gotta keep at it!! You’ll get there!
Awesome running story!
Welcome to the Steem World!
I have recently made an orientation video that will help you in your journey here - and will hopefully answer all the questions that took me months to figure out.
https://steemit.com/dtube/@maneki-neko/tuswb0ao
I wish you all the best here on Steem!
I will also use the tag : @originalworks for this post, this will summon a robot that, if you wrote this original article, will give you an additional upvote. :)
Thanks for the help!
The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post by @raelynnbianca to be original material and upvoted it!
To call @OriginalWorks, simply reply to any post with @originalworks or !originalworks in your message!
Welcome to Steemit.
It's a good thing you are used to running marathons, because while Steemit isn't quite the same thing, it does take dedication and perseverance to succeed. Good luck to you. Hope you manage to do well here.
Me too! Thanks so much!
Congratulations @raelynnbianca, this post is the seventh most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Newbie account holder (accounts that hold between 0.01 and 0.1 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by newbie account holders during this period was 3624 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $3190.33. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.
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Welcome and what an amazing journey so far! There are highs and lows in life. We hope your mother is going well. Keep on running for yourself, but also for her.
We like running too,we're not at your stage, but running 5-10K. It takes a lot off your mind and in the process keeps you fit too!
Thanks so much! She is! Gave you a follow!
That's great news to hear about her!
Thanks! Following you too!
Great story and really inspiring. I must say i am not a runner though i have done one marathon a long time ago when I was a soldier carrying a full pack and a rifle and in army boots.
I rather ride my bicycle - also more than I drive my car - 7 times across Australia so far.
Welcome to Steemit
Damn, that’s probably more impressive!! How heavy was your pack?
Wow, incredible intro. Hello from the United States, and welcome aboard.
Thank you!
Hi this is @sarahandrew, Welcome on steemit, if you need help you can check @steemguide. Wish you all the best for what you are expecting here
Thanks Sarah!
welcome to steemit dear ;) such an inspiring story.
Two things i've learnt from your story.
1.Your mom is very lucky since she had got a NEVER GIVE UP child(of course you are also lucky to have a mom like her ).
2 .The way you bounced back when you are in low situations and reached your career heights .
And finally we are luck to have you in our community ;)
Thanks so much for reading! Hope you keep following along for more!
Wow! Your story is so inspiring! Wish your mom quick recovery! And for you wish all the best on your runway and all the best here is Steemit community. Oh yes, I forgot, WELCOME TO STEEMIT! :)) Keep posted! :)
Thanks for the warm welcome! My mom’s doing so much better!
I loved your post! I have always felt the way you felt when you started to run around the block in 2010 but then decided that I should actually try to learn how to run. I haven't been going that often, but last summer I did a short run every week and could see myself improving. Running is actually such an incredible sport and mastering it when you always thought you couldn't is even greater! Can't wait to follow your posts on that topic :)
Yes! Get out there and keep at it! Sometimes it really sucks but you’ll never regret going out and trying!!!
Welcome to Steemit! You look very vivacious we love your energy & spark! We are newbies too just getting the hang of this Steem thing ;-)
Welcome to you as well!!
Follow me help me to grow...
Welcome to steemit @raelynnbianca! Really enjoyed reading your post.
Thanks so much! Hope you keep following for more!
Upvoted! great to see this post doing so well, great story! thanks for sharing
Awesome; thanks so much!
Welcome! congratuliation 100 miles is huge distance!
Thanks!
You made a great choice joining this awesome community that will make you forget all other social media
WelcomeToSteemit
💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥
Thanks!
Hi and welcome to Steemit!
Nice Post 👍
Hi! Thanks you!
That's incredible. Congrats
Thanks so much!
What you did for your mom is great! Wish I would be able to finish a marathon myself. I am a competitive swimmer and I just love the idea of joining a marathon soon. I'm even planning on being a triathlete. Hope to see you here soon. I will follow you for tips on fitness and how it is to be a runner. Best of luck
Aww thanks! There is no reason at all that you can’t run a marathon! It takes a lot of work but if you’re willing to put in the effort, you will get there! Thanks for following!
welcome to #steemit community @raelynnbianca
Looking forward for more posts about your interest.
Bless you!
Thanks @dante01!
You ultra marathoner's amaze me.
Have you ever met Dr. Bill Andrews?
I hear he is into that and he is also into curing aging.
peace. :)
hey! No but I’m going to google him now!
Hello! I am Kevin. I'm an online fitness coach :)
Follow me for a follow back and upvote.
Check out my posts and if you need a meal or workout plan, let me know :D
Will do; thanks Kevin!
Welcome to steemit hope you're doing great and good luck to your future race. =)
Thank you so much!
Welcome on board @raelynnbianca looking forward towards working with you in future on this network..am felixdrex and follow me ...@felixdrex
Lets build a great relationship around steemit
Thanks!
Welcome to the steemit community :)
Thanks!
Congrats to you dear.... Hope your mom is doing better now? More heights to you
She is! She celebtrated her 3rd transplant Anniversary in August!
Thank you Bianca for sharing this inspiring story. I fell like those are the things that need to be shared to help other in similar situations to get started. I wish you to always reach your goals and never to lose faith in what you're doing! Cheers..
Thanks so much @komo! I hope that sharing does help people feel that they can achieve any goal!
Warm welcome @raelynnbianca. After 3 days I finally found a fellow runner. I've been out of the running scene lately because of work but this year will be different. I want to get back on track and add miles. Your running photos inspire me so keep on posting. Good Speed!
I’ll be searching for more runners too!! Seems tough so far! Hope you get back into the game soon!
The last time a run a marathon was 4 years ago. Got a vehicular accident and my knee hurts when I run for more than 30 minutes. Now though I'm feeling confident again. I'm running now at least 2-3 times a week, its literally a run walk jog combination but I'm progressing each week. Gonna run a 21K this coming as part of a triathlon relay team. Before my PR was 1:25, not sure if I can do or beat that record. Hopefully everything will go well this year.
Are you incorporating strength training? I have patellofemoral syndrome and standing or sitting too long kills my knees. I’d get really bad IT band pain when I’d run. I started focusing on my hamstring and hip strength and it’s made such a difference in any pain I feel. Give it a shot it you haven’t been doing it already. You’ll beat that PR!
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes, I'm gonna try strength training. I'm gonna enroll in a gym. Next week I'll start. I'm gonna get a coach for a proper strength training plan. Before what I do is just research on the net then start adding miles. Didn't really care about strenght training and stuff. I think I overwork my knees/body.
I enjoyed hearing about your journey into long-distance running and how you were able to utilize it to aid your mother!! The beginning of your journey resonates with me because I had similar experiences when I began running again in 2015 after smoking for seven years. I'm currently training for my fifth marathon with intentions to move into the ultrarunning scene later this year! I've also considered doing a fundraiser for my father this year, as he has a myriad of health issues and no way to finance his surgeries on top of the medical debt that he already has. Are you currently training for any race in particular?
That’s so great @farmhands! Once you do your first ultra, you’ll be hooked. 5 more miles! And you’ve already done five so you totally got this. I have some training races coming up but the ultimate goal will be going back to Lavaredo this June. More on that to come so make sure to follow along!
Hi @raelynnbianca. You have a beautiful smile. :-) 100 miles for fun - great!
Thank you!!
Great to have more fit minded people :) welcome to Steemit!
Thank you @hangryginger! Love that name!
Congratulations @raelynnbianca, you have decided to take the next big step with your first post! The Steem Network Team wishes you a great time among this awesome community.
The proven road to boost your personal success in this amazing Steem Network
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In the New Steemians project, we help new members of steem by education and resteeeming their articles. Get your articles resteemed too for maximum exposure. You can learn more about it here: https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@gaman/new-steemians-project-launch
I love it. Great story to read.
Thank you @jkenny!
Welcome :)
May the force be with you <3
"Live Long and Prosper"- Captain Spock
Thanks!
Hard Story to read,
Hi raelynn, You are the real champ because struggled for the most beautiful relation of the world, thumbs up to you.
Welcome to the Steemit.
Aww thank you! That’s so sweet of you to say!
hello @raelynnbianca and welcome to steemit!
this is a great place with a great community .. glad to have you.
@ricmark
Thanks!
Welcome in steemit
Thanks!
Wow!!! I am really happy to meet you here in steemit!
First of all, this is the type of post @runningproject is looking for.
Good quality, nice pics and story.
Even more, you are an experienced Ultra-trail Runner already so you have a lot of things to explain her!!!
You are more than ''qualified'' to be an ''Approved'' Runner in the @runningproject curation list.
So, please, transfer either 1 STEEM or 1 SBD as ''enrollment fee'' to @runningproject and start getting upvotes from the pool (right know growing) everytime you post interesting running stuff using #running as one of the post tags.
As soon as I figure out how to transfer steem, I’ll do that! Thanks for having me!
What you are doing is very inspiring, welcome to steemit!
Thank you!
Welcome! Loved reading your intro--fascinating story. Following!
Thanks @scotters!
hello hello friend is a pleasure to welcome you to the steemti community, it is never too late to start new financial alternatives. I wish you the best
Finally my good friend I invite you to read my post I know you like it, also share with friends and family. Please give me up vote and comment. Remember together we can help each other
regards
I have much respect for ultra runners. Training isn't just a thing, it becomes a lifestyle.
Thanks; it really does! I’ve had so many weekends planned completely around running!
Hi! I’m super happy you joined Steemit! I’m brand new to Steemit and it’s wonderful to see other Steemian’s join the community. Keep posting. I’d love to see more ☺
Catchy title by the way!
Be sure to follow my account @zoewilliamson
Best of luck to you!
Thanks!
What an inspiring introduction! I can't imagine the focus and determination needed to run a hundred miles in a hundred days, let alone all at once. Best wishes to your Mom. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.
Thanks @brigun! Hope you continue reading and enjoy the stories!
Welcome to Steemit :)
Thanks @vaansteam!
Welcome to steemit!
Welcome to the COMMUNITY STEEMIT you won my vote good post follow me!
very very cool @raelynnbianca - Welcome! looking forward to following your adventures - the 'born to run' book really made me realize there is a huge community around this stuff. Will check out the Netflix docu - you go :)
Thanks @Travelmarcus ! Let me know what you think after you watch it!
@raelynnbianca - haha what a cool dude who invented Barkley. It looks stupidly hard, can't believe there were three who crossed the finish line in that last round, hey! Good tip thank you! Have you read Born To Run?
@travelmarcus I have; it's great. I actually met the guy that wrote it too! Yeah, Lazurus Lake is insane! One of my friends is running the Barkley Fall Classic which is the baby version of Barkley.
Really cool! Well - i'll be rooting for you here on Steemit - looking forward to your posts :)
he follow and upvote I follow and upvote back
Hi Raelynn, welcome to steemit. I've new signed up like you. I hope you will give me your support :) @raelynnbianca
Hello and welcome to Steemit! I used to run a decent amount, but it was only because I had to do it in the military. Are you crazy? haha I bet you get that question a lot. A former commander of mine ran 75 mile races. She was hardcore like you. I'm mostly walking these days. How is your mom doing?
Webpages
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https://steemd.com/ (This site is used to keep track of your voting power and other stats. You do not want to run out of voting power, and you only get so much per day. I keep my voting power around 80% for example.)
https://steem.makerwannabe.com/ (This site will tell you who follows you, who unfollows you, and who mutes you. It is great for meeting new people too. I regularly check it to see who has followed me to see if I should follow them back.)
https://steemit.chat/ (This site is the official chat webpage for Steemit. There are Discord channels too, but I usually stick to the official site. Come in to network and meet new friends. You can directly message people there too, so it makes it easier to communicate with your closest friends.)
http://steemtools.com/ (This site is a comprehensive list of valuable tools.)
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Here's a link to a Google Document I made to help with the coding:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NlAoGnP8q7ZAxGsEnvza-qotUGkoaae4SwXdubAhi2g/edit?usp=sharing
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Again, welcome! If you have any questions about getting started, look me up on the chat site or reply to this post.
Wow!!! Amazing, just makes me want to run more now. Thanks for the inspiration