Where It All Began 🌿
I’m Grandma Nuša 👵 and a mother to two grown daughters 💕. I spent my youth among the hills of Gorenjska 🏔️. I graduated from the Faculty of Sport 🎓, worked for several years as an animator at the Youth Climate Health Resort in Rakitna 🌲, and then set out on my own professional path as a Feldenkrais Method teacher 🧘♀️.
Apparently, I belong to the category of senior veterans 😄, but in trail races I’m still pretty fresh lettuce 🥬.
Four years ago, my younger daughter decided to run the 30-kilometer course at UTVV 🏃♀️. I offered to accompany her… sort of in the style of Mravlje’s former team, who “serviced” him during his ultramarathons 🎒. That day, in early May 🌸, we headed to Vipava. Wow 😍, what phenomenal atmosphere! With music from Gladiator 🎶 and the старт of hundreds of runners charging into the hills ⛰️ and onto a 30-kilometer trail that felt unimaginable to me. I met her at every aid station 🥤 and cried with her in happiness at the finish line 😭. Not because of the kilometers she had run, but because she had defied the orthopedist’s prediction that she would never again walk or run without pain ❤️.
While waiting for her, I had plenty of time to observe the colorful crowd of runners 👀. Everyone ran at their own pace; some walked most of the course. “Darn it,” I thought 🤔, “with a bit of training, I could probably do this too!” Ancient desires for extreme endurance challenges 🔥 awakened inside me. In my youth, I secretly wished to compete in the Triathlon of Steel 💪. I loved hiking and climbing 🧗♀️. And when I heard that day in Vipava about Anže Sobočan’s incredible achievement — running 170 km with more than 6,000 meters of elevation gain in 22 hours ⏱️ — I was shocked by the realization of the endurance potential hidden within the human body 🤯.
When the Body Says: Now We Go 🌲
Soon after, curiosity pulled me into running shoes 👟. That summer evening 🌅, I couldn’t run even 500 meters without stopping. Running on flat terrain had always been terribly boring to me 😅. So next time, I went to the hills ⛰️ instead. I’ve always loved grinding uphill and enjoying the descents into the valley 😍.
Because of long-term anemia and later an autoimmune disease, I had become slow and out of shape 😔. But with menopause, everything seemed to magically fall into place ✨.
During my first climbs, I felt that my blood finally carried enough oxygen 💨. Gradually, my dusty airways opened, my heart ❤️ was overjoyed to properly do its job, and my blood flowed more and more cheerfully through my veins all the way to the tiniest capillaries 🩸. Can you imagine what happens to a woman who has functioned at high speed for more than twenty years with an iron deficiency? 🤷♀️ I literally went TRAIL-crazy! 🤪
That very autumn 🍂, I signed up for my first race 🏁. My daughter had to run it instead of me — the day before, my knee started hurting unbearably 😣. Luckily, I have the knowledge to maintain good movement biomechanics and know how to get out of such trouble 🧠. I quickly resolved the pain, and exactly three years ago, we ran our first Knap Trail together 👭.
The desire for solitude, movement in nature 🍃, and curiosity about exploring the limits of my physical and mental endurance 🔍 drives me into the mountains, forests 🌳, plains, hills, and alpine pastures. I sign up for races to stay motivated for training 💥. When I train, I’m fully aware of everything I feel. I listen to my body’s needs 🙏 and immensely enjoy sensing my muscles, rhythmic breathing 😮💨, dynamic movement, and awareness of everything surrounding me 🌍. Where I go depends on the weather ☀️🌧️; how far I run depends on how I feel and how much time I have ⏳.
Wild, Grateful, and Free 🔥
At races, I’m always surprised by how strong I am 💪. I gain insight into previously hidden and unknown corners of my personality 🪞 — and I marvel at them 😮. Even before the старт, I fall into a kind of trance ✨ and unintentionally transform into something very wild and primal 🐺. During those hours, there is only full awareness of my body, a few meters of trail ahead of my feet 👣, and care for basic physiological needs. I love the feeling when my brain switches off 🧠❌ and when I surprise even myself with what I achieve 🌟.
Of course, I’m not a fast, elegant trail runner. A friend says I run like an old grandma 👵 (which, after all, I am), but then she adds: “Yet even after sixty kilometers, she’s still running!” 😄
My wish: to continue feeling as I do right now — youthful and vital 🌱.
My goal: Years ago, Stanka and Dejan, the initiators and organizers of the first ultra trail races in the Vipava Valley, gave me a huge red sports bag 🎒 with “Tor des Geants” written on it. The year before last, I discovered what that meant 🤍. Coincidence or a sign? ✨ We set our own limits. I will continue enjoying freedom 🕊️ and the company of all those who accompany and support me in this new chapter of my life 🙌 — for which I am immensely grateful 💖.
I’m also grateful to everyone working behind the scenes of this increasingly popular sport 👏: the organizers, volunteers, and sponsors of races in Slovenia and Croatia, which are exceptionally well organized. Each race is a beautiful experience ✨, where everything is taken care of perfectly. I enthusiastically discover new places and trails 🗺️ and happily return to them 😊.
My motto:
“If you don’t try, you don’t experience.” 🚀