Local Agassiz woman Marina Striker pushed her physical boundaries this month at Manning Park when she participated in the 50-kilometre Frosty Mountain Ultra of the Trailwhisperer trail running series. As the first female finisher out of 40 runners, Striker says the nature runs push her out of her comfort zone and help her deal with some of the tough things in life.
“I just really enjoy trail running [and] being out there in nature…There’s so much B.C. has to offer, especially locally.”
Striker says trail running has also helped her deal with her mother’s illness with cancer.
“It’s allowed me to process the whole thing, thats shes suffering from terminal cancer,” she says. “It’s a huge outlet for me.”
Careful nutrition and training is necessary for the tough outfoor sport, says Striker, and the reason she was able to tackle 2300 metres of elevation gain in six hours and 56 minutes during the Ultra run Sept.15.
Having completed over 2500 kilometres of trails and 147, 000 metres of total elevation gain between March 1 and now, Striker shows no signs of stopping and says she’ll move on to snow shoeing when the weather gets cold.