Kat Yarger, 31
Stitcher

I've been running for...

25 years.

Running is an activity I truly enjoy. I began running ultras for a challenge, but I have developed many friendships through them. I always look forward to seeing my friends on the trails. 

I started running because...

I saw my dad come home from a race with a t-shirt. I was 6 years old and at that age it was the coolest thing, that you could get a t-shirt just for running a race. I kept running even as a kid because I enjoy the different perspective a person gets when traveling on foot.

I sometimes just feel fortunate that in 1972 women proved that we can run what men can. I sometimes feel like I'm just taking part of the benefits they ran for.

If I could no longer run I would...

bike or swim.

I like to run with...

I enjoy the social aspects of the ultras.  You can find out about fellow runners while on the course, or at the post-race feasting.  Sometimes there's almost a more primal tie to being human when you're out on the course and you realize people used to walk and migrate across the miles that we cover in the ultras.  There's also an intimate tie to understanding and listening to your body.

My favorite run is...

The Glacial 50 mile. The Northern Kettle Moraine trail is gorgeous during the fall. Most years the trees are at peak color on the weekend of that run.  It's also a last hurrah to all the "ultra friends" in Wisconsin for the year.  Tom Bunk and Robert Wehner have both done great jobs as race directors and deserve kudos for their hard work.

My favorite thing to do after a hard workout is...

To sit down, enjoy a meal and a beer with other runners and friends.

I am inspired by...

Friends and family that run. Everyone has different mental and physical hurdles whenever they step out for a workout.  I admire anyone who has cleared their mental hurdles and gets out there to just enjoy a good run.

When I'm not running I like to...

Sew, read, and find time to see my boyfriend.

An obstacle I’ve overcome with my running is...

Thinking of 50 miles as too far to run. I started running the 50K runs, and after running a couple of them I got comfortable at that distance.  I started to think that the 50 mile would be a couple aide stations more (and not nearly 19 miles more).  All I had to do to conquer the 50 miles would be to make it between those aide stations.

The local runner I most admire is...

My mom. She runs all year and really looks forward to and is energetic about many of the ultramarathons.  She sometimes cringes at her times, but I really admire her for staying out on the trails for 11 hours.  It's easy to finish a run when your in midpack.  I think there are more mental and physical challenges for runners at the back of the pack.  I always see my Mom enjoying herself out there regardless of where she is in the pack. 

To push myself on a run I...

Pick out a point in the distance and push the pace through it. Sometimes on a long hill, I'll try to run to a specific tree before I take a breather and on faster days I do it for my imaginary finish line on a fartlek/interval work.

My greatest running accomplishment is...

Running 100 miles in under 24 hours. There were parts of the course that were difficult, mainly the parts that are repeated, but once I was on the final out-and-back stretch I felt like a weight was lifted off my mind and legs. 

The Kettle Moraine 100 was my first attempt at 100 miles and I just wanted to finish.  The first part of the run had the 100K runners in the pack and at night people were talking headlights to me.  I had no idea where I was in the pack.  There was a masters woman ahead of me.  I was happy to be running with the 2 men I started with.  Paul, Dave and I had a 24 hour pact.  Paul finished about 10 minutes ahead of Dave and myself.  I loved their pats on my back after Tim gave me the open women's plaque.  I'll never forget it.

Distance is relative to each runner.  What is endurance to me is different to other runners.  100 miles for me could be a half-marathon to another person, and both are equal achievements. 

My next goal is...

To finish more than 100 miles in 24 hours on the track. The track is more difficult mentally.  I've completed 87 miles on the track at the F/X run in Milwaukee.  I had to sit out for a couple hours due to stomach problems.  It's harder to keep the mind busy, and easier to push harder than what you need to do. I think it takes more mental discipline than doing 100 miles on trails (although I do prefer the 100 miles on the trails).

I plan to run until I...

Can't because of physical ability or death.

My advice to other runners is...

To have fun. I see speed workouts as games or fun challenges that shake up my routine, and long runs as quiet therapy on trails.  I enjoy meeting other pedestrians. I don't always take races seriously.  Sometimes they're just fun, hard training runs. Not taking my running too seriously helps keep it fresh.