Running and directing the Cruel Jewel
Swimming was Sarah’s sport when she was in school.
She didn’t get into running until her late 20s.
Her husband was deployed and she found herself with time on her hands so she hired a personal trainer to teach her how to run.
She ran shorter races and worked her way up to a half-marathon.
She made a friend who was an experience runner. And this friend introduced her to the local running community.
They encouraged her to skip the marathon distance and run a 50K.
The running group then got her to sign up for a 50 mile race.
The race was the Cruel Jewel, one of the toughest 50 mile races in the country.
She was ready to quit only 8 miles from the finish, but her now ex-husband was in the military and told her she had to finish.
She ended up running Cruel Jewel several more times and got acquainted with the Race Directors.
She and her boyfriend, Sean, live close to them and they all became friends.
In 2017 they asked Sarah and Sean to help with the Race Director job.
They were co-Race Directors for several years until this year their friends turned over three races to them and they are now the sole team directing races.
Race Directing has its challenges and surprises, just like ultramarathon running.
They have to change the route of the course on the Cruel Jewel this year because of changes in the fee structure for using the Georgia State Parks.
She made connections with Jessica Vandenbush of https://www.eatcleanrundirty.com/
That led her to be part of their documentary film, The Twenty Percent Project.
This documentary looks at the disparity between the number of men and women in ultramarathon races.
At present, an average of only 20% of ultramarathon participants are women.
Bridge questions:
Must-have aid station food: Tomato soup and watermellon.
Strangest thing seen on the trail: A hiker on the Appalachian Trail who brought a goat along with him.
Word or phrase: Let’s fucking go!
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