But it was later, after catching the 100-mile race bug, that her whole world changed. Her first 26.2 feat was the Los Angeles Marathon, with a time of more than four hours and bloody feet and blisters. “The goals changed for myself, and as the years went on, I would run as a way to explore and a way to see a place,” recalls McRae. As the middle child of five, she grew up with a disapproving father and lost her mother to cancer when she was just 17. Source: Sally McRaeīut the self-admitted dreamer who hailed from humble beginnings had other things in store for her future. Now considered one of the top ultradistance runners in the world, the Nike Trail athlete and three-time Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run competitor, initially wanted to become a professional soccer player while attending Biola University in Southern California. One look at 38-year-old McRae, and you’d find it hard to see her making any excuses in life, ever. I’ve never regretted getting up to train, but I’ve always regretted the excuses I’ve made.” “I can think about my excuses as to why I shouldn’t be training later, and the funny thing is, as soon as I start thinking of those I’m already sweating. “So tell your brain to ‘shut up ’ and without a further thought, just go,” said McRae. “As soon as you start listing off excuses, you’re doomed,” says the California–based mother of two who lays out her workout clothes nightly beneath a sign that says, “No Excuses.” Ultrarunner Sally McRae sets her alarm clock for 4 a.m.

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