Most days, Pitt Johnstown sophomore Kaylee Frederick’s routine looks like any other college student’s, managing school, a job, homework, health and a social life. But Frederick has one more thing to balance — when she’s not doing any of the aforementioned things, she’s running ultramarathons.
A marathon is 26.2 miles long, and an ultramarathon is any length that goes past that. “The races generally start at a 50k, which is about 31 miles, but I personally prefer to go for the longer distances, like 50 or 100 miles,” Frederick said.
In 2023, at 18 years old, Federick became the youngest person ever to finish the Badwater 135, a 135-mile race that takes place in California’s Death Valley. She completed the race in 40 hours, six minutes and 43 seconds, an absolute triumph of athleticism and determination.
Frederick never imagined she would be running those distances when she ran her first half-marathon at 13.
“I started running when I was seven just for fun. When I was 13, I ran a half marathon with one of my teachers. At first I told her she was crazy and only Olympic athletes could run that,” Frederick said. “It turned out to be so fun, and the next year I ran my first full marathon. From there it just kind of kept going. I wanted to keep finding what else I was capable of. If I could run a marathon, could I run 31 miles, 50 miles, 100 miles?”
Conditioning your body to take on such feats, especially as a full-time student, is no small task. Frederick is a double major in biology and secondary education with a minor in chemistry, and she also works a job outside of school and running.
“My life has always been crazy even before college, so I’m used to being busy and also having to find time to run,” Frederick said. “I almost always run at 5:30 in the morning before my classes to get it done, because I know after that I have to fit in everything else in my day. It’s really about being disciplined within yourself to get up early and get the workouts done.”
A new year brings with it a variety of races for Frederick to participate in.
“I have a couple of small races like half-marathons planned for January and February,” Frederick said. “In March, I have Badwater Cape Fear which is a 50-miler. In April, I have Badwater Salt & Sea, which is 81 miles. In June, I have Laurel Highland’s 70-miler, and in July, I have Badwater 135 lined up. Those are my big races so far, but I’m definitely gonna be adding some more things in.”
“In October of this year is the world championship for the 24-hour team. I qualified for it, but they don’t pick the final team until May. If I don’t make it, I definitely want to put in a hard effort myself, maybe a 100-miler on my own at the end of the year. But if I do make it, I’ll compete in the world championship to round out the year. I don’t wanna get my hopes up just yet, though,” Frederick said.
Running ultramarathons clearly comes with a major physical demand, but Frederick believes the mental aspect is the determining factor of each race.
“I think with ultra-running there’s obviously a physical part of it, but it’s so much more important to be mentally in it,” Frederick said. “You can mentally make or break your entire race or run if you’re not focused in on it. When you’re 60 miles in and it’s the middle of the night, it’s dark, it’s cold, it’s windy and you know you still have so much farther to go, you definitely have to stay in check with yourself.”
Frederick has a few different personal mantras in her head that help her continue to put one foot in front of the other.
“Some races are repeating ‘You just can’t stop’ over and over in my head. In others I remind myself I asked for this, this is what I wanted — ‘You asked for it, so now you have to enjoy this.’ Not everyone gets to feel like this, so even when it sucks, I know I should be glad that I’m here,” Frederick said.
Running is a fundamental, intrinsic part of Frederick’s life, and mantras for persistence and perseverance stick with her even after she crosses the finish line.
“I’ve been to such dark places in my running, whenever you’re out there all night, you can get to some tough places in your head, and I’ve had to deal with a lot of pain in my races,” Frederick said. “In life I know now that if I can handle that, I can deal with anything else. How much worse could anything really be?”
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