A lot of people talk about the trail healing them, but I feel like, the first time, it humbled me, which I probably needed. It was a completely new way to experience the world and my body.

Food is like a torture device because hiking 47 miles a day is hard enough. And then you're trying to get down 6,000 calories a day. Every hour, I needed a snack, every few hours I had to take in a meal and it's just not food, it's fuel. You're not enjoying it - you're seriously shoving it in your mouth and following it with water, juice or Gatorade.

I know that I was hiking at a very young age because I remember being convinced that it was the trees that were talking.

Part of the reason I fell in love with the trail is because it was so extremely difficult, more difficult than the marathons and Ironmans I'd competed in. Not just physically but emotionally it was a new challenge, as well. It really helped me to learn and grow in so many ways.

Our bodies are made to move, and moving down the trail is one of the oldest, natural ways people have used their bodies.

I'd always had an interest of pushing my limits and was intrigued by endurance.

A lot of people talk about the trail healing them, but I feel like, the first time, it humbled me, which I probably needed. It was a completely new way to experience the world and my body.