I was nervous, not so much about the competition—which was out of my league, attracting the country’s top ultrarunners—but about how I’d do compared to my younger self.
I’m entering a new phase in my training: being coached. I hired Matt Hart three weeks ago to dictate how I run. We barely know each other, but, like Santa Claus (though not at all jolly or fat), he knows when I’ve been bad or good.