"The trail was as colorful as the culture that surrounds these beautiful mountains" by Genevieve Harrison female winner of Wixárika 100M

The trail was as colorful as the culture that surrounds these beautiful mountains. Wixárika (meaning deep hearted person) was named appropriately … deep hearted people are made for the challenges brought about by the jungles, mountains, and ocean.

There was a moment before the second night began, before the headlamps were clicked back on, when the birds from the canopy started to sing so loundly it was truly hard to think of anything else. The air cooled and the jungle night took us further. I found a bit of peace in that moment.

I ran almost 100 of the 111 miles with a small group of people. That has never happened during a race for me; it was unique and special to share a chunk of the experience.

I am beyond happy the course is over and I feel I left it all out there. I also can’t wait to feel what it’s like to toe the line in Chamonix at UTMB Mont Blanc next August; I’m so pleased to have earned a spot.

So grateful for everybody that believed in me and cheered for me during these journeys. And very thankful for On Running, especially David Kilgore who shuttled me to the start line and was a wonderful stand-in uncle for Ocean and Coco over the weekend!

So excited to soak in the Mexican sun and the magic of Día de los Muertos for a few more days before we head back to Colorado to dust off the snow shovels!

Genevieve's final thoughts:

• Very grateful for the volunteers who were preparing beans and tortillas for us at all hours of the day and night!🤤
• Very grateful for Dave Stevens for jogging in front of everyone and eating probably ~1,000 calories worth of cobwebs and spiders!🕸
• Very grateful it didn’t rain! ☔️
• Can’t believe even your blisters can get blisters!
• Can’t believe how hard the course was and how hard it was for many of us to follow— Strava revealed that I wound up with 116 miles!🗺
• Can’t believe how many people grinded it out across all the distances!
• Is día de los muertos/marigold orange my favorite color? 🤔
• Is fifteen ticks or some strange buried in my legs too many or about right?
• Can I have more tacos? ¿Porfa? 🌮
• Can I come back, Mexico?!🇲🇽

While I was out on the course I kept thinking about the words of wisdom my neighbors spray painted on a piece of plywood in their driveway a few weeks back after a drunk-driver leveled their garage: “When life gives you lemons, paint that sh*t gold!”🍋🥇

By Genevieve Harrison