Friday, March 29, 2024
37.0°F

She keeps going and going

by Eric Plummer
| September 17, 2010 9:00 PM

SANDPOINT - Imagine running from Sandpoint to Priest River, basically the length of a marathon.

Now imagine running double that distance, say to Coeur d'Alene, and how grueling a test of endurance that would present.

Now double that amount, from Sandpoint to Coeur d'Alene and then back again, and you get an idea of what Sandpoint ultra distance runner Jody Aslett put her body through at the recent Cascade Crest 100 Mile Endurance Race.

Aslett, 42, finished the race at Snoqualmie Pass in Washington in 23 hours and 16 minutes, good enough for 17th overall and third among women out of 123 racers. It marked her best time at the 100-mile distance, much of it along scenic mountain trails.

So just what is the allure of subjecting yourself to such rigors, finishing a race of a distance tough for most to fathom?

"I love the trails and the scenery; the places it takes me," Aslett said. "It's kind of like a self-guided tour. I've been to some unbelievable countryside as we race."

Aslett started running 50- and 100-mile races about six years ago, after marrying her training partner of seven years, Dennis Aslett, who still does ultra distance races as well.

Jody Aslett says her husband inspired her after she served as his pacer for a handful of ultra distance races.

"He kept saying 'you can do this, you can do this,'" she recalls, noting they never race together and often serve as each other's support crew.

Dennis Aslett recently finished the Plain 100 in Washington, clocking 33 hours in a race very few competitors finish. The race is made tougher with no crews allowed, no aid stations, just each runner on his own for nearly four marathons.

"I'm not into that," jokes Jody Aslett. "I want a pat on the butt every five miles."

Aslett typically runs about 35-40 miles per week, and in the past year alone has finished three 100-mile races and one 50-mile race. She jokes that 50 milers are more fun because you get to be done in one day.

She has notched numerous top finishes recently, including the top female runner in the Coeur d'Alene Marathon, the first female finisher at the Mount Si 50-mile race in Washington, and a sixth place overall finish among 43 starters at the Swan Crest 100 in Montana.

She says the most difficult aspect of the races is summoning the strength not to quit, when things inevitably began to get difficult both mentally and physically.

"You will be uncomfortable. You're not going to make 100 miles without suffering," she says with a laugh. "Distance races sort of mirror life itself - the tough things we come up against, the things we don't think we have the strength to go through. You gain strength and perseverance on life through endurance events."