Colorado resident Annie Hughes is an expert ultrarunner — with a selected distance of 200 miles — who additionally works as a run coach and part-time in a bakery. She informed iRunFar, jovially, “For my crew at races, I make a giant batch of those muffins. They’re referred to as superhero muffins.”
That’s an appropriately named trademark snack for the youngest girl to win the Leadville 100 Mile and the Moab 240 Mile, who excels within the hardest of races and doesn’t but have a DNF (didn’t end) to her title. We caught up along with her to listen to about her path into the game, her final 12 months of working by a serious damage, and to achieve perception into the powerful mindset that will get her to the end line.
Annie Hughes sharing some residence baking. Photograph courtesy of Annie Hughes.
Annie Hughes grew up in Wisconsin. At college, it took some time for her to search out her sporting area of interest, and she or he mentioned: “I used to be fairly horrible at any sport that concerned a ball. And so, I used to be all the time the final one picked in gymnasium class.”
Now identified for racing 200-mile ultramarathons, Hughes’s journey with operating began with a single mile. She shared, “In fifth grade, we needed to run the mile health check, and I discovered myself up on the entrance with probably the most athletic boys within the class, and I had this bizarre feeling inside the place I felt like I might run quicker, however then I assumed I in all probability shouldn’t, as a result of I shouldn’t even be up with these guys.” She went on, “So I ended up within the final stretch passing them as a result of I used to be like, I suppose I’ll go for it. And that stunned everybody.”
The next 12 months, when she was in sixth grade, Hughes’s dad inspired her to strive observe and cross nation — one thing she ended up doing till sophomore 12 months of school when she heeded the decision of the mountains.
This was when she began to experiment with path operating and ultrarunning, however her fast focus was on climbing all 58 fourteeners in Colorado — the state’s peaks over 14,000 ft. She mentioned, “I turned fairly obsessive about that objective for some time, stop the [track] staff, completed all of the 14ers, and dabbled in some ultramarathons.”
After faculty, Hughes moved to Leadville, Colorado, and had secured a spot within the 2020 Leadville 100 Mile, which sadly didn’t materialize because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Hughes made the perfect of issues whereas racing was halted, and mentioned: “I ended up simply doing my very own ultras that 12 months. I did an FKT [fastest known time] that was 160 miles across the Collegiate Loop in Colorado. And that was sort of my first multi-day expertise.” She added, lightheartedly, “It’s since been damaged by Courtney Dauwalter by a day.”
The FKT gave Hughes the arrogance to shoot for larger distances. She mentioned, “I used to be like, if I could be on my ft for 61 hours, I can in all probability do a 200 miler.” When racing resumed in 2021, she was able to take the ultrarunning world by storm. She lastly had the chance to run the Leadville 100 Mile and gained, and likewise took on the Moab 240 Mile, profitable that too, and securing a sponsorship deal alongside the way in which.
Leadville’s Annie Hughes celebrates on the end after profitable her hometown race, the 2021 Leadville Path 100 Mile. Photograph: Leadville Race Collection
In regards to the Moab 240 Mile, Hughes shared, “I ended up profitable it, however I didn’t tempo myself tremendous nicely. I feel I might need gone out just a little arduous after which that first evening was actually tough for me … On the midway mark, the subsequent feminine behind me was solely two miles away, which isn’t a lot in a 240-mile race, particularly with 120 miles left to go. Lots can occur.”
Nevertheless, when the race went into its second evening, Hughes had a surge of vitality. She defined: “I simply began feeling actually good that evening. I didn’t sleep in any respect and was capable of run a extremely good chunk the place I put fairly a little bit of time on [the second female.] And so, by the subsequent morning, I feel I had virtually 20 miles on her, which was loopy.”
Regardless of some ups and downs in the course of the race, Hughes’s robust end proved that her strengths lay in extra-long distances, and the next 12 months she signed as much as race the 2022 Cocodona 250 Mile.
She approached the race with helpful expertise, and mentioned: “With a extremely dialed plan and crew I used to be capable of run extra to my full potential than on the Moab 240 Mile.” She secured one other win, however added, “I don’t assume I’ll ever run a 200-mile race completely. There are all the time issues that come up, and that trying again on I might change. However I feel that’s a part of the enjoyable of it — not understanding precisely the way it’s going to go, and never with the ability to plan for all the things that’s going to come back up.”
Annie Hughes, crossing the road as 2022 Cocodona 250 Mile champion. Photograph: Alex Potter
Hughes secured the win on the Cocodona 250 Mile, and likewise gained the Coldwater Rumble 100 Mile, the Run Rabbit Run 100 Mile, and the Excessive Lonesome 100 Mile in 2022 alone, and was little question making a reputation for herself in ultrarunning.
To this point, she has an enviable observe document in that she has completed each race she began, however recalled the closest she has come to a DNF (didn’t end), which was on the 2023 Canyons 100 Mile. Having come out the opposite aspect, it’s a narrative that Hughes now laughs about.
The race happened throughout a warmth wave in California, and after a scorching day throughout which she struggled to remain forward of salt consumption, when temperatures dropped just a little at evening, Hughes determined to press on to attempt to catch the runners in entrance of her. This plan backfired, as she defined, “It was an ideal storm of pushing too arduous and being behind on salt. I used to be operating down the path 70 miles in, and I simply felt this actually intense tingling in my palms, virtually to the purpose the place I couldn’t actually bend my fingers.”
Easing off the tempo didn’t assist, and Hughes continued to deteriorate. Her respiratory turned labored and she or he began to really feel dizzy, and mentioned, “I drank some electrolyte drink, after which as quickly as I drank that, I might barely see the path and I bought tremendous nauseous. So, I sat down, after which as quickly as I sat down, I threw up. After which proper after I threw up, my palms and my forearms seized and so I couldn’t transfer my palms or do something with them.”
With all of the signs of hyponatremia — which happens when the focus of salt within the blood turns into abnormally low — Hughes was successfully frozen in place till another runners got here alongside and will supply assist. As Hughes was nonetheless unable to make use of her palms, the subsequent passers-by eliminated her telephone from her backpack for her, and held it to her face to unlock it with Face ID, so as to contact her crew. Laughing she recollects: “Face ID wouldn’t even acknowledge me. And inside I used to be like, I should be actually tousled if the Face ID wouldn’t even acknowledge me!”
After her crew had been contacted and the choice made to drop from the race, nonetheless unable to make use of her palms, Hughes was fed a salt pill by one of many runners who had come to her help, and as shortly as her signs had arrived, they disappeared. She mentioned: “I used to be like, My gosh, that labored. Instantly Hughes determined to contact her crew to name off the DNF, and she or he informed her fellow runner who had given her the salt pill that she was staying within the race. She recollects: “Then I circled and began operating. And he was like, ‘Wait. I assumed you have been dying!’” Extremely, she completed the race in third place.
Later in 2023, Hughes had secured a spot within the Hardrock 100, which additionally happened amidst unusually heat circumstances. With warmth being her Achilles heel, she once more struggled significantly, however managed to persevere and take third place. She recalled: “It was simply actually scorching, I feel hotter than the Western States 100 that 12 months, which is loopy. And I simply don’t do nicely within the warmth, so I simply sort of fell off from the very starting.”
She went on, “I used to be quarter-hour behind my scheduled time to come back into the primary help station … and I used to be going all out making an attempt to make it on the time. So, I used to be like, Man, one thing’s simply sort of off. I used to be in fourth place at that time, after which I handed Claire [Bannwarth] on the subsequent climb, after which simply type of held third place after that.
Hughes doggedly held place, however the race didn’t get any simpler going into the evening. She remembers: “My abdomen was actually tousled. I used to be puking the entire means out of Ouray,” across the midway level of the large mountain race. Regardless of struggling proper to the top, Hughes held on for a podium in some of the prestigious 100 milers on the earth.
Claire Bannwarth (left) and Annie Hughes (proper) within the early miles of the 2023 Hardrock 100. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
After two extremely powerful 100 milers, Hughes subsequent took a step again into her consolation zone — distance-wise not less than — with the 360-kilometer Swiss Peaks Path in Switzerland, in September 2023, the place she took fourth. She mentioned, “That went rather well. It was cool to do a race that was only a completely new expertise. I’ve by no means completed something with that a lot climbing. Even in comparison with the Hardrock 100 it was a lot steeper, with 40,000 ft of elevation acquire per 100-mile part [which is 10,000 feet more than the Hardrock 100 course.]”
After a powerful 2023 racing season, Hughes was busy mapping out her 2024 season, with plans to do the triple crown of 200 milers — the Tahoe 200 Mile in June, Bigfoot 200 Mile in August, and Moab 240 Mile in early October in addition to heading to Hong Kong for the 300k Hong Kong 4 Trails Extremely Problem. However damage referred to as halt to her plans.
Annie Hughes in the course of the 2023 Swiss Peaks Path. Photograph courtesy of Annie Hughes.
She mentioned, “Each winter the aspect of my foot sort of flares up just a little bit, however it’s nothing I can’t run by, and I’ve completed all these loopy races on it the final two years. So, I simply didn’t actually assume a lot of it … however I went to a bodily therapist, and he did an ultrasound on it and located a tear in one in every of my peroneal tendons … This was the week earlier than I used to be supposed to depart for Hong Kong.”
Now taking the damage critically, Hughes cancelled her plans for Hong Kong and shortly sought an MRI — a extra detailed scan than an ultrasound — which confirmed that she wanted surgical procedure for her ankle. She mentioned, “It was a extremely lengthy restoration course of, as a result of tendons take so lengthy to heal. They cleared out quite a lot of scar tissue, and I had torn ligaments, so that they needed to tighten the ligaments. I had no concept how tousled my ankle was.”
Hughes underwent surgical procedure in February 2024 and spent quite a lot of the 12 months specializing in rehabbing the damage. Her endurance paid off, and now virtually a 12 months on, she mentioned: “I lastly have been capable of put in a extremely strong coaching block the place I really feel able to race.”
Subsequent up, she will likely be racing the 2024 Black Canyon 100k — a Golden Ticket race for the 2025 Western States 100, though she modestly claims to not see herself as a contender for a ticket. She hopes a latest transfer from Leadville to Buena Vista, Colorado — which tends to have hotter climate — together with some new heat-training practices she has tailored — will assist her from falling sufferer to the infamous warmth at Black Canyon.
Afterward within the 12 months, she hopes to return to race the Canyons 100 Mile, and has additionally signed up for the Tahoe 200 Mile. Little question she is going to meet no matter challenges these races throw at her head on, and embrace them as all a part of the journey.
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Annie Hughes recovering from surgical procedure at residence in Colorado. Photograph courtesy of Annie Hughes.