Ellie Lacey: Survivor Warrior Trail Runner
As we already discussed, a bit of craziness is necessary for trail running but you need much more if you are going to suffer through running mile after mile of mountain trails with brutal elevation, all while competing against other world-class athletes. You also need to be very physically fit and have some serious courage or “guts” to sign up for such an event as the adidas INFINITE TRAILS World Championships.
There are two types of people with courage: The folks born with it and folks who are determined enough to force it onto themselves. The latter is the more common and is also the more impressive of the two since it requires more courage to force courage.
Physical fitness on the other hand is something that is always earned. Except in rare cases, these runners exercise on a daily basis and spend a large portion of their lives preparing themselves to compete and treat their bodies like a wonderful machine that needs to be well-oiled. Being or becoming fit is one of the most common reasons that people run and every now and then we hear a story of just how important it is to be in good physical shape.
Ellie Lacey is our story of the day and is a perfect example of someone who has some serious courage, must be a little crazy and most importantly, she can talk for days about the importance of being in good physical condition.
Ellie, who just recently signed up for the adidas INFINITE TRAILS World Championships, is a transplant survivor and was on death’s doorstep less than two years ago. While organizing a trail run in Uganda, she suffered acute liver failure and was told that she had a mere 48 hours to live unless she were to receive an organ donation.
During this time she had many intense feelings that only someone who has experienced a life-and-death scenario could understand.
“There were moments when fear consumed me and my instinct to live was frantic and desperate. There were also moments of total peace knowing I’d been lucky enough to travel, to really live, and to run all over the world,” said the veteran runner.
Thankfully, a liver was found in time and though she survived, she knows that it was an incredible gift that she received at the cost of another person’s life. It’s a thought that pushes her to constantly promote organ donation and it helped fuel her to running her first race just six short months after her surgery.
Her doctors informed her afterwards, just how important her fitness was: “I was told in no uncertain terms that running and fitness had been a factor in my survival, buying me time, and I ached to have it back in my body, making me strong again.”
She is now back to organizing races in Uganda and will be at the helm for the third annual “Running the Rift” in November. Ellie still runs daily and is excited to take part in the adidas INFINITE TRAILS World Championships as a part of the British based outfitting company, Blacks. You can follow her story and discover more about the inspiring Ellie Lacey (and shop for some adidas gear) on their website. https://www.blacks.co.uk/ellie-lacey-vs-the-mountain-adidas-infinite-trails
So, if you’ve been having a hard time getting the courage (the “guts”) to sign up for this inaugural event, follow Ellie’s lead and head to the Gastein Valley in SalzburgerLand for what should be an unequalled experience. (Register HERE before all the spots are filled)
Ellie lives every day to its fullest possibilities and should be an example to us all of perseverance, the importance of a healthy lifestyle and just sheer guts.
“Nothing else could make me feel more alive than challenging myself in the mountains, and this is going to be one unbelievable challenge in one magnificent mountain range!”
Ellie Lacey is in.
Are you?