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"I felt like what I was trying to prove to myself was exactly the
kind of message that Girls on the Run is trying to convey to its
girls – that it's important to take risks and try new things you
never thought you could do," she says.
Running aside, she spent 85 hours in flight or in airports,
using a cramped seat in coach as her hotel, and potato chips and
airplane food for pre-race carbo-loading. She traveled through
multiple time zones, slept as little as three hours at night, and
relied on adrenaline to keep the jet lag and sleep deprivation at bay.
Remarkably, her flight was only delayed twice, and she never got sick
or injured. The bonds she forged with other runners were uniquely
tight. "You just had these intense moments of being with people on
an emotional level you don't often experience elsewhere," she says.
But at times, she had to dig deep.
After a glorious first race in low-60s Melbourne weather, she
faced 96-degree temperatures and a scorching headwind in Abu
Dhabi. The picturesque lake-side half in the French countryside
was so perfect it even included chocolate and gourmet cheese
at the finish. But the next race, which started in Africa just 19
hours after the previous one started, was far from ideal. The hilly
course ran through the historic city of Carthage in Tunis at night.
BY THE NUMBERS
From top to bottom, Karen
Cortese runs her first Triple 7
race in Melbourne Australia,
and poses with some
unusual spectators at her
last race in Antarctica.
