An Interview with Lauren Jones - In Pursuit of the Fastest Known Time on the Pinhoti Trail
“I went further than I ever thought possible, I felt better than I ever thought possible, and I completely surprised myself. I had had the experience of a lifetime.”
In 2019, Lauren Jones had the chance of a lifetime. She was in her dream race, the Leadville 100. But her dream race turned into one she couldn't finish. In her words, she was broken and mentally crushed.
That vow would begin in 2020 - that would be her redemption year.
Unfortunately, it would also be the year of COVID. All those redemption races she'd signed up for were suddenly cancelled. Lauren needed to find a pursuit to ease the sting - something to focus her training - an outlet for her pent up redemption energy.
She didn't go small, that's for sure. Around a campfire her and some friends decided that outlet would be chasing the fastest known time on the 350 mile Pinhoti trail - which was about 5 1/2 days...
In this interview Lauren tells us about the beauty she found in the chase.
She told me the most beautiful part of the experience was the people.
This a beautiful story about human strength. It's the story of what happens when one discovers doing something isn't as scary as it sounded.
Read Lauren's Pinhoti Trail Recap Here: Race Report - Pinhoti In Review