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

One thing I think I've always felt about being in nature is that it's a very natural taste.

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.

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

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.

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