Karen Reed

17MAR2019 – Tobacco Road Marathon (Cary, NC)

As per usual, I waited until the very last minute to make my weekend running plans. George told me to sign up as a pacer for the Tobacco Road Marathon, but I hesitated because I thought that by this weekend I was going to be in taper mode. Ann scheduled 25 miles on my training …

09MAR2019 – URE Marathon (Mt. Gilead, NC)

George taunted me to sign up for Conquer the Wall 35 or 47-hour challenge. I told him I wasn’t ready for that, plus the race was too far in West Virginia which means I would have to request a special pass from work. I saw on Ultrasignup that my coach Ann was going to be …

09FEB2019 – Run the Rock Endurance Challenge (Lillington, NC)

Since running with George at NC Fatass 50k, throughout the week, he would inform me of upcoming races. This was helpful because I had been on Facebook fast since early January. I couldn’t decide between doing The Idiot Run at Morrow Mountain State Park, Uwharrie, or Run the Rock Challenge. RR was in its first …

2018 – My First Year of Ultramarathons – From 50k to 50 Miles

Summer of 2017, I was diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa, an autoimmune condition of the skin, which prompted me to make some lifestyle changes. For six months, I followed the Auto-immune Protocol (AIP) diet, quit drinking, and dropped 23 lbs. With newfound clean energy, I suddenly had these urges to run! Before that, I HATED running! …