Latest news with #ultrarunner
Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Michigan ultra runner collapses and dies three hours into race
A Michigan ultrarunner collapsed and died on a high mountain trail just three hours into an 102.5-mile endurance race in the Colorado Mountains. Elaine Stypula, 60, passed away on Friday amid during the Hardrock 100, according to a San Juan County Sheriff's Office press release. The family law attorney passed out near Gold Lake on the Little Giant Trail at around 9am. The Hardrock 100 Safety Sweep Team members attempted CPR on the runner. Deputies, Silverton Medical Rescue and a Flight for Life helicopter team responded to the scene and took over resuscitation efforts. The medical rescue team hiked a 1/4 mile up a 'steep, rugged, remote trail' on the trail to reach the her. Stypula was pronounced dead at 10.27am, according to the release. Her cause of death remains unclear. Her daughter, Anna, wrote on Instagram: 'I struggle to post this as I am a wreck. My beautiful, vibrant mom unexpectedly passed away this morning. I am at a loss for words.' 'She was so happy to be racing with Jeremy and I here and honestly we don't know what happened,' she wrote alongside her mom's 'favorite photo.' Her daughter described her mom as 'her best friend.' Stypula was said to have been a 'highly experience ultra-runner' who had competed in more than 100 ultra-distance events, Gear Junkie reported. 'Silverton Medical Rescue is fortunate to have a team of skilled rescue professionals. We support the community, our visitors and each other even on the most difficult calls,' said Michael Burton, Incident Commander of the SAR call for Silverton Medical Rescue. The intense event kicked off at 6am on Friday, where competitors are given two days to complete the course through Lake City, Ouray, Telluride and Ophir before returning to Silverton. According to the Hardrock 100 website, the total elevation change sits at 66,394 feet. The highest point of the course being the Handies Peak summit at 14,048 feet. 'The Hardrock 100 Endurance Race has been exceptional in organization and safety throughout the years and an excellent partner to our community,' said Tyler George Director of the Silverton Medical Rescue. Event organizers wrote in a statement: 'We are deeply saddened to share that a beloved member of our Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run family has passed away during this year's event. 'Our hearts are with their family, friends, and fellow runners as we grieve this tremendous loss. 'We are committed to caring for runners, crews, volunteers, and all members of our community through the event's duration and beyond.' The Hardrock 100 organizers said more information would be available following the completion of the race on Sunday. 'I want to extend my condolences to the family, friends and community of Elaine Stypula,'said Keri Metzler of the San Juan County Coroner's Office in an updated release.
CBS News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Michigan ultrarunner collapses, dies during 100-mile Colorado footrace
An ultrarunner collapsed on a high mountain trail outside Silverton only three hours after the start of the Hardrock Hundred, a 102.5-mile endurance race in the southwest Colorado mountains. A photo taken at sunrise Friday along the Little Giant Trail near Silverton. An ultrarunner from Michigan collapsed near Gold Lake three hours into the Hardrock Hundred and passed away. Howie Stern/Silverton Medical Rescue/Facebook Authorities were alerted to a runner's collapse at 9:02 a.m. Friday, according to a press release from the San Juan County Sheriff's Office. Deputies, along with Silverton Medical Rescue personnel and a Flight For Life helicopter team responded to Gold Lake, a small body of water along the Little Giant Trail east of Silverton. Ground teams were able to drive within a quarter mile of the runner's location before hiking in. They replaced race safety personnel who initiated CPR and began their own resuscitation efforts, Silverton Medical Rescue stated on a social media post. An undated photo from Elaine Stypula's Instagram page Elaine Stypula/Instagram Sixty-year-old Michigan resident Elaine Stypula was pronounced deceased at 10:27 a.m. "I want to extend my condolences to the family, friends and community of Elaine Stypula," said Keri Metzler, a spokesperson for the San Juan County Colorado Coroner's Office. Stypula was a resident of Nomi, located in the Detroit metro area. Hardrock Hundred Competitors are given two days to complete the ultramarathon. The average finish time is 40 hours, race organizers described online. The race starts in Silverton and takes runners through Lake City, Ouray, Telluride, and Ophir before returning to Silverton. It also climbs thirteen major passes over 12,000 feet in elevation, with the highest point on the course being the 14,048 foot Handies Peak summit. "The Hardrock 100 Endurance Race has been exceptional in organization and safety throughout the years and an excellent partner to our community," said Tyler George Director of the Silverton Medical Rescue. Race organizers expressed their sadness Friday and promised to make grief counselors available "to any and all" in the community at the Silverton Gym.
Khaleej Times
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Khaleej Times
Look: Abu Dhabi-based runner who ran 250km in deserts 9 times, says it 'saved his life'
The first time Ammar Sabbah ran 250km across the Sahara desert, he didn't do it for the glory. He did it because it sounded like fun. 'I love the desert and I love camping,' says the Abu Dhabi-based ultra-runner. 'So, when I heard about the Marathon des Sables — 250km, self-supported, sleeping in tents, carrying everything on your back — I thought, why not?' That casual 'why not' has since turned into nine finishes of the world's toughest footrace, with a tenth on the horizon. Now 57, Sabbah speaks about running like others speak of meditation — or religion. In fact, running has brought him closer to both life and death than he ever imagined. 'It saved my life,' he says. 'Twice.' Running into the void — and finding clarity The Marathon des Sables isn't a regular race. Held in Morocco, it's a week-long ultra-marathon through sand dunes and scorching temperatures, with competitors carrying their own food and gear. 'You get water stations. That's it,' says Sabbah. 'Everything else — sleeping bag, food, safety equipment — you carry on your back. It's not just a physical challenge. It's mental. Emotional. Spiritual.' During the longer stages, he often slips into a trance. 'Your brain goes into places. I've had full conversations with people who aren't here anymore. My late mother, my uncle. Sometimes it feels like I'm dreaming with my eyes open.' It's also when he writes — not with a pen, but in his mind. 'I love writing. I get poetry ideas during runs. Business ideas too. The basics of a piece just start to flow. Some of them I remember. Some get lost in the sand.' Desert highs and near-death lows Sabbah isn't driven by competition. 'I never trained to win,' he says. 'My goal was just to break into the top 150 once. My best was 242 out of 1,200. And I was thrilled.' But even as he pushed through race after race — Oman, Jordan, Morocco — something started to feel off. 'In 2016 I wasn't improving anymore,' he says. 'I thought, okay, maybe it's age. Maybe it's the ACL tear I'd had. I just wasn't getting faster.' Then came Al Marmoom Ultra Marathon in Dubai — another 250km. Sabbah wasn't planning to enter, but the organiser reached out directly. 'He said, 'How can we not invite the guy with the most desert ultras in the UAE?' So, I agreed.' The entry required a cardiologist's clearance. Sabbah wasn't worried. 'I'd just done a 100km race in Jordan. I felt fine.' But during the test, the doctor paused. Something was wrong. 'He told me, 'I don't think I can let you run.' Later, we discovered I had over 90 per cent blockage in a major artery. I was one heartbeat away from collapse.' He underwent urgent surgery. 'I went from being 'fit' to nearly dying, just like that. And it was because I signed up for a race. That's how running saved me the first time.' Training in sandstorms and city limits For Sabbah, training has never been about long hours. 'Daily runs are short. Never over 10km. Weekends we go longer — 30km maybe. And before a big race, we'd do a five-day desert camp: Run in the morning, rest, run again at sunset.' When he moved to Dubai in 2014, he lived near Al Marmoom and trained between office meetings. 'I'd go out for 45 minutes in the sand, then go back to work.' Now based in Abu Dhabi, he drives out to Al Wathba's artificial mountain area to run. 'You can still find that nice heavy sand, or gravel, or uphill. You train your mind more than your legs.' Still, he admits he sometimes overdid it. 'There were years I'd do two or three of these races in one season. I remember running in Oman, then Morocco three weeks later. Not a smart idea.' The second scare — the valve that almost stopped everything Years after his first surgery, Sabbah began feeling the same decline. 'I wasn't getting faster. The fatigue was back. Something felt off.' A second opinion confirmed it: the previous stent was fine, but his aortic valve was calcifying. Eventually, it was opening just 20 to 25 per cent — far from what the heart needs. In September 2023, he underwent open-heart surgery to replace the valve. 'I told my doctor, let's just do it. I don't want to lose my performance slowly. Let's fix it properly.' A year later — almost to the day — he was back in Jordan, running a 250km trail race through Petra and Wadi Rum. 'It wasn't my best performance. I was still in rehab. But emotionally? It was everything. The nostalgia. The silence. The people asking, 'Where have you been for so long?' It was like coming home.' No carbs, no gels — just grit and fat-burning A clinical nutritionist by training, Sabbah has re-thought everything about endurance fuelling. 'For years, we all followed the high-carb diet. Energy gels, pasta loading — all of it. Now, I've switched to low carb. I run without sugar. Without gels. I go straight into fat-burning.' He's careful not to push extremes. 'I'm not fully keto. And I worry the new trend is the same mistake — just in the other direction. But for me, this works.' He adds: 'I have degrees in biochemistry, clinical nutrition, exercise physiology. And after all that, I still believe everybody is different. You've got to find what works for you.' Sabbah now owns Arena Fitness in Abu Dhabi, where he combines decades of ultra-running experience with professional expertise in clinical nutrition and exercise physiology. But he's careful not to glorify suffering. 'We've made overachievement look glamorous. But if you're running ultra-marathons just to prove something on LinkedIn — that's not it.' His advice? 'Only do this if you love it. If you don't have the passion, the pain won't be worth it. But if you do — it's the most beautiful experience you'll ever have.' And if he's not enjoying it? 'I don't run. I haven't run in six weeks,' he said, laughing. 'My mind's busy with business. I'll get back to it when I feel like it.' When asked what's next? Sabbah says he hasn't picked his next race yet, but Morocco is calling. 'I want my tenth Marathon des Sables; it would be the 40th anniversary; I'm not sure I'm ready… but I might just go anyway.'
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
She won a 100k ultramarathon through the mountains
When Stephanie Case entered a 100-kilometer (around 62 miles) ultrarunning race through the Welsh mountains, winning was far from her mind. Six months postpartum and still breastfeeding her infant daughter Pepper, Case's only real aim was to finish the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in North Wales' Eryri National Park and make sure her daughter was fed, having received special permission from race organizers to stop at an additional point to do so. In fact, it wasn't until the end of the grueling race that Case – whose three-year hiatus from running meant that she set off in the third wave, far behind the elite runners – was informed that her finish time made her the winner of the women's competition. This, in spite of the fact that she had stopped to feed Pepper three times during the run, which was included in her total race time. 'That was a huge shock. I wasn't expecting that. It wasn't even on my radar that that could have happened,' Case told CNN Sports. Pictures of her taking part in the race in May have since gone viral, and the response has been overwhelming, according to the ultra runner. 'It wasn't something I kind of strategized or planned ahead of time, but what it tells me is that we really aren't telling enough stories about new moms kind of doing all sorts of things, living full and complete, multi dimensional lives.' Case said she thinks the photos show that 'life doesn't stop when you become a mom, and it's just another layer to who you are as a person. 'We all have mom guilt, but it's important for new moms to know that it's okay to prioritize the things that make them full and complete human beings because that will make them better parents in the long run – because we are multi dimensional. She added to CNN: 'Becoming a mom, it's one of the most physical and emotional transformations you can go through in your entire life. And so if there are things that you can hold on to – for me, it's running – that kind of remind you that everything that has changed, there are some things that remain constant, there are some parts of your identity that you haven't lost.' Case, who turns 43 this month, started ultrarunning almost 18 years ago when, after finishing her first marathon, she was looking for another challenge. She got pretty good at it too, racing across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. But Case, an international human rights lawyer by day, took a three-year hiatus from the sport after suffering several miscarriages as she and her partner tried to have a child. 'I got some questions from people around whether it was the running that caused the miscarriage. And of course, there's no medical evidence, there's no science to back that up, but it did plant the seed of doubt in my head, and really changed my relationship with running,' she told CNN Sports. 'Running, instead of it being a source of stress relief and a source of joy for me, it turned into something quite different,' she explained. After Pepper's birth and getting the all clear from her doctor, Case started running again six weeks postpartum. 'It felt physically weird, strange. I thought my organs were going to fall out, but at the same time, I felt like a runner again. I felt like me again,' she explained. Starting so far back in the Ultra Trail Snowdonia, she said, was 'perhaps a blessing in disguise because it really took the pressure off. Starting the third wave kind of solidified to me that I couldn't have any performance goals because I was starting so far back.' Although the race already had stopping checkpoints at 20 km and 80 km, Case knew she would need to feed Pepper in between, so she requested and got permission to get assistance at the 50 km checkpoint. 'It meant that my partner, John, could only hand me Pepper. He couldn't help me with any of my bottles, with my pack, with anything else I needed to do with food for myself. 'I had to manage everything myself and also make sure that Pepper was taken care of. So it was a whole other layer of logistics that I had never experienced before. Pepper is used to kind of feeding mid-training runs, but we've never done it in a race situation,' she explained. While Case has received many positive responses to her win, she has also received numerous 'misogynistic, paternalistic' comments. '(They were) saying: 'Does she spend any time with her baby? She should be at home. Why didn't she wait?' Comments about my looks or my age, really just trying to criticize anything that they saw me doing,' Case said. Other messages, she explained, came from moms 'who were quite worried that this image and this story was contributing to this idea of setting this impossibly high standard that women can't reach.' 'Some moms are exhausted and they're just trying to get through the day,' Case said. 'And so the idea that they not only have to be mom, but they also have to have a career, and they have to regain their fitness and now running ultra marathons and breastfeed just made them feel really bad about themselves, and I think that that's part of the patriarchal society that we live in, that we're taught to compete with one another. 'Everything we do as new moms, it becomes scrutinized and judged, and we just need the space to be able to navigate that journey on our own, to figure out what motherhood looks like for each of us, individually,' she added. 'For me, it means running 100k and, you know, doing all the things that make me happy and for others, it could be running a 5k or, you know, joining a book club, or, you know, something totally different.' Next up for Case is the Hardrock 100, a 100-mile run with 33,197 feet of climb and 33,197 feet of descent in Colorado in July. 'It should be about choice. I mean, that's the whole point. Women can do all of this if they want, if they have the support, if XYZ, fall into place. If the stars align, if they choose to go after that, then they should be provided the support and the encouragement and the resources to be able to pursue all the things that they want – but they don't have to.'
CNN
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
She won a 100k ultramarathon through the mountains – while breastfeeding
When Stephanie Case entered a 100-kilometer (around 62 miles) ultrarunning race through the Welsh mountains, winning was far from her mind. Six months postpartum and still breastfeeding her infant daughter Pepper, Case's only real aim was to finish the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia in North Wales' Eryri National Park and make sure her daughter was fed, having received special permission from race organizers to stop at an additional point to do so. In fact, it wasn't until the end of the grueling race that Case – whose three-year hiatus from running meant that she set off in the third wave, far behind the elite runners – was informed that her finish time made her the winner of the women's competition. This, in spite of the fact that she had stopped to feed Pepper three times during the run, which was included in her total race time. 'That was a huge shock. I wasn't expecting that. It wasn't even on my radar that that could have happened,' Case told CNN Sports. Pictures of her taking part in the race in May have since gone viral, and the response has been overwhelming, according to the ultra runner. 'It wasn't something I kind of strategized or planned ahead of time, but what it tells me is that we really aren't telling enough stories about new moms kind of doing all sorts of things, living full and complete, multi dimensional lives.' Case said she thinks the photos show that 'life doesn't stop when you become a mom, and it's just another layer to who you are as a person. 'We all have mom guilt, but it's important for new moms to know that it's okay to prioritize the things that make them full and complete human beings because that will make them better parents in the long run – because we are multi dimensional. She added to CNN: 'Becoming a mom, it's one of the most physical and emotional transformations you can go through in your entire life. And so if there are things that you can hold on to – for me, it's running – that kind of remind you that everything that has changed, there are some things that remain constant, there are some parts of your identity that you haven't lost.' Case, who turns 43 this month, started ultrarunning almost 18 years ago when, after finishing her first marathon, she was looking for another challenge. She got pretty good at it too, racing across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. But Case, an international human rights lawyer by day, took a three-year hiatus from the sport after suffering several miscarriages as she and her partner tried to have a child. 'I got some questions from people around whether it was the running that caused the miscarriage. And of course, there's no medical evidence, there's no science to back that up, but it did plant the seed of doubt in my head, and really changed my relationship with running,' she told CNN Sports. 'Running, instead of it being a source of stress relief and a source of joy for me, it turned into something quite different,' she explained. After Pepper's birth and getting the all clear from her doctor, Case started running again six weeks postpartum. 'It felt physically weird, strange. I thought my organs were going to fall out, but at the same time, I felt like a runner again. I felt like me again,' she explained. Starting so far back in the Ultra Trail Snowdonia, she said, was 'perhaps a blessing in disguise because it really took the pressure off. Starting the third wave kind of solidified to me that I couldn't have any performance goals because I was starting so far back.' Although the race already had stopping checkpoints at 20 km and 80 km, Case knew she would need to feed Pepper in between, so she requested and got permission to get assistance at the 50 km checkpoint. 'It meant that my partner, John, could only hand me Pepper. He couldn't help me with any of my bottles, with my pack, with anything else I needed to do with food for myself. 'I had to manage everything myself and also make sure that Pepper was taken care of. So it was a whole other layer of logistics that I had never experienced before. Pepper is used to kind of feeding mid-training runs, but we've never done it in a race situation,' she explained. While Case has received many positive responses to her win, she has also received numerous 'misogynistic, paternalistic' comments. '(They were) saying: 'Does she spend any time with her baby? She should be at home. Why didn't she wait?' Comments about my looks or my age, really just trying to criticize anything that they saw me doing,' Case said. Other messages, she explained, came from moms 'who were quite worried that this image and this story was contributing to this idea of setting this impossibly high standard that women can't reach.' 'Some moms are exhausted and they're just trying to get through the day,' Case said. 'And so the idea that they not only have to be mom, but they also have to have a career, and they have to regain their fitness and now running ultra marathons and breastfeed just made them feel really bad about themselves, and I think that that's part of the patriarchal society that we live in, that we're taught to compete with one another. 'Everything we do as new moms, it becomes scrutinized and judged, and we just need the space to be able to navigate that journey on our own, to figure out what motherhood looks like for each of us, individually,' she added. 'For me, it means running 100k and, you know, doing all the things that make me happy and for others, it could be running a 5k or, you know, joining a book club, or, you know, something totally different.' Next up for Case is the Hardrock 100, a 100-mile run with 33,197 feet of climb and 33,197 feet of descent in Colorado in July. 'It should be about choice. I mean, that's the whole point. Women can do all of this if they want, if they have the support, if XYZ, fall into place. If the stars align, if they choose to go after that, then they should be provided the support and the encouragement and the resources to be able to pursue all the things that they want – but they don't have to.'
