![]() ![]() For those nine weeks, she hardly exercised at all. In fact, she would not ride a bike, lift a weight, or crest a hill. She would not pick them up for nine weeks. At the end of August, Bradley set down her trail shoes. And for what? A cancelled race, a smoke-filled trail, a broken shoe? The year of heartbreak had been chasing Bradley until, finally, it caught up. She had spent months chasing goals with headlamp miles, sore legs, and daily PT circuits. Suddenly, there was a new feeling in Bradley’s gut-a feeling she did not recognize. Bradley’s summer training plans burned along with them. But, that summer, wildfires blazed through Colorado trails. Her next opportunity would come in the fall of 2020. Instead, Bradley continued training-head down, shoes laced, and miles logged. She planned to try for the FKT again in April 2020, but COVID had other plans. With no tape in her possession, Bradley succumbed to cutting her FKT attempt short.īack in Colorado, she yielded willingly to the grind, waking to an early alarm and following the glow of her headlamp to squeeze in miles before the sun arose. Within miles, it was not a hole but the entirety of the shoe’s upper, torn apart so that her foot fell out, unsupported and landing on the rocky ground below. She had just reached the North Rim, already 21.5 miles into her run, when suddenly, she felt it-a hole in her shoe. On an October morning in 2019, Bradley sought out in pursuit of her goal. That fall, Taylor Nowlin beat Bradley’s Grand Canyon FKT and, immediately, she aimed to earn it back. ![]() To understand Bradley’s unprecedented past year, we must regress to 2018. Yet, the past year tested all that we once knew about this self-proclaimed yes-woman. Bradley’s history is one of spontaneous life-changes and constant perseverance. The results were an underdog win at the 2017 Western States 100-miler, a career change from kindergarten teaching to professional trail running, an FKT on the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, and various other accolades. ![]() When frustrated by her college track career at UC Santa Barbara, she said yes to the Appalachian Trail, taking a leave of absence to thru-hike its entirety. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!Ĭat Bradley is the queen of tenacity, of putting her head down and pushing towards a goal, whatever the odds might claim. ![]()
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