“Who goes on Aspire trips?”
It’s a question we hear often. The truth is, the runners who show up for our trips come from diverse backgrounds and bring a wide range of running and mountain experience with them to the trails.
We all relate to mountain spaces in unique and personal ways. We are excited to add some depth to our response to the “Who?” question with a series of Aspire trail runner profiles. We enjoyed hitting the dirt and building friendships with these runners on our trips, and we think you’ll enjoy hearing their stories!
Name: Gerald O’Keeffe Age: 53 Hometown: Arlington Heights, Illinois
Which Aspire Trip(s) have you participated in?
Wonderland Trail 2020, North Cascades Traverse ’22
Describe your experience, background, and enthusiasm for running and/or wilderness and backcountry experiences?
After running a number road marathons, I started getting more into back-country experiences like backpacking and wilderness camping. I did a trail run and immediately realized that trail running combined my love of running and my desire to spend more time in wild and natural places. I was hooked.
What questions, concerns, or unknowns did you have going into your trip? How were they resolved?
Mainly, I was concerned about the vertical gain. I live in Illinois and it is quite challenging if not impossible to run in nearby areas and get significant vertical gain. Every week, I traveled to Wisconsin to run in the hilly terrain of the Kettle Moraine State Forest and also supplemented with incline runs on the treadmill but the treadmill runs ended once the pandemic hit and I couldn’t go to my health club. Fortunately, I did do a lot of training in the heat and humidity that is typical for the Chicago area in summer. Then, my partner Christine and I did a 55 mile backpacking trip on the Northern Loop in MRNP the week prior to the run. This was extremely helpful in terms of familiarizing me with the terrain and getting my legs ready.
How did you prepare for your trip? Given your experience would you prepare differently, if so how?
I used a six month 100k training program from Training Peaks and also ran a 54 mile ultra in the Colorado mountains three week prior to the WT run. The ultra was at average elevation of 10,500 feet and had about 8,500 feet of vertical gain, so once I finished that, I was more confident that I was in good enough condition for the 93 mile Wonderland Trail. If I were to do this again, I would find a way to spend more time running in the mountains, maybe do a few 50k races in the months leading up to the Aspire stage run. I would also be more disciplined about doing core and strength work as part of my weekly running program. I did some core work but could have done more. Last, I would do more back to back long runs. I typically did my long run on Saturday and would then do a 5-10 mile recovery run on Sunday. I never managed to do something like a 25 mile run on Saturday followed by a 20 mile run on Sunday. Given this, I did wonder whether I would be able to handle multiple days of ultra distances on the Wonderland Trail.
What story or description would you give to represent the group dynamic on your trip?
The six of us were all pretty evenly matched in terms of our running ability. We didn’t all run together but we weren’t hours and hours apart, either. This was nice because it was possible to visit with different people at various points throughout the day of running.
What was the most difficult moment and/or a surprising episode from your trip?
On day 2 we ran from Mowich Lake to White River via the Spray Park route. It started raining a few hours into the day and even though I was wearing a long-sleeve Smartwool shirt, I was worried about getting a chill. I put on my windbreaker so I had another layer but everything was soaked with the rain. Fortunately, my legs were feeling surprisingly strong and I was able to keep cranking at a good pace and this helped me stay warm. Getting to the heated Aspire tent at White River was quite wonderful!
What advice or thoughts would you offer to someone considering signing up for an Aspire trip?
Spend time talking with your fellow runners and Aspire guides and getting acquainted with them. They are interesting people! Go with the flow, stop and at any waterfall or glacial stream you find interesting and take in the moment by splashing your face or soaking and resting your feet. Water is a very prominent and awesome part of the Wonderland Trail. Most important, enjoy the journey.
Facebook: Gerald O’keefe
Instagram: okeeffegerald