Miriam in her own words:   “I am also an ordinary ultra runner. I have finished eight 50 mile ultras, three 100 mile ultras, six 24-hour, 1 48-hour ultra, and one 60 hour ultra. I also ran several virtual ultras and marathons during the Covid-19 pandemic.   I began running ultras after watching Leslie Stahl interview elite world-class ulta runners Dean Karnazes and Pam Reed on 60 Minutes in 2004.    I have been running ultras since 2005. Prior to running ultras, I completed nine marathons, eight half-marathons, one 10 miler, and five 5Ks. I have been running competitively since 1989.   I am a published author, freelance writer, interviewer, and book reviewer. You can read my publications in the Writing Life tab. In my blog you'll find interviews with ultrarunners, such as Jacob Moss, Kevin Hoegler, Dean Karnazes, Camille Herron, Bart Yasso, Charlie Engle, Pamela Chapman Markle, Catra Corbett, Gene Dykes, and Peter Morgan.I  write book reviews, and articles about gardening, the national parks, spirituality, cancer caregiving, and more.    I am a cancer caregiver. I have been running virtual ultra running events during the Covid-19 pandemic to raise money for a GoFundMe campaign I established - Ultra Care for Cancer Caregivers."    New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast go live every Tuesday and Thursday at 7am UK time - Hit the subscribe button so you don’t miss out.    The Tough Girl Podcast is being sponsored throughout March by @inov_8   Use TOUGHGIRL20 to get your 20% discount on all trainers and running gear. www.inov-8.com      Show notes Who is Miriam Born and raised in Connecticut  Starting to get into running after a break-up 2005 - running her first 50 mile Ultra Marathon Getting hooked on ultra running Why she loves running Plotting her next ultra Turning 63 years young Being a writer and a blogger in 2017 Writing for the Huffington Post and working on her memoir  Being her husbands cancer care giver  Learning more about her childhood and early years Not being athletic as a child  Being the tallest girl in the class Using running to reduce stress Running 9 marathons but finding that there were too many people Placing 3rd in her first 24hr race Running a 3 mile loop around a lake in Massachusetts Dealing with some health challenges Having a hysterectomy Dealing with complications post surgery Allowing her body time to heal Going back to her first ultra Running an ultra of gratitude Mental resilience while running Using running to heal her body Feeling blessed to be running Why she knows she is never running alone Feeling god’s presence  Running with purpose  Coming in dead last in her 2nd ultra and why it was joyful  Focusing on track ultras Making running work for her and John Celebrating her 60th birthday by running 60 miles on a 1 mile loop Dedicating a run to John and his surgeons  Running for others and wanting to raise funds for Cancer Care Givers Ultra Care for Cancer Care Givers  Training for her 30th ultra track race 99 laps to go! Pacing while running on a track  Running speed to reach 100 miles  How her running speed has changed over the years Starting off fast on track races What can happened during track ultra races Dealing with variables that you can’t control Not wanting to risk any injury Fuelling and nutrition while running ultra races Having a vanilla milkshake at 50 miles  The power of ginger and how it helps with feelings of nausea  Dealing with sleep deprivation at mile 60/70 Starting to do strength training and going indoor climbing Not doing anything differently for rest and recovery Sleep is overrated!!!! Waking up automatically at 7am  Going to bed at 1am/2am  Her love of reading and writing book reviews for her website blog Having over 1,300 books in her home  How you can connect with Miriam How she got the name UltraMiriam Final words of advice to get you into ultra running Why you should work your way up and build up endurance Why you shouldn’t compare yourself to other runners   Social M