Definitely Not Coach Bumbi Approved™
Less than 24 hours after completing her 50 miler, Rikke cheers for teammate Emily Gokita, competing in the 25k. Photo by Bridget Moore.
Seven Rose City athletes competed in the Mt. Hood Trail Races this Sunday. We’re sharing their stories. Today, Rikke Bitten Bonde shares how she got through a 50 miler that she didn’t entirely plan to run.
Running a 50 mile on track training alone? Not what Coach Bumbi advised.
Swapping for the 50k wasn’t an option so the plan was: run 28 miles out, turn around, call it a day.…
Except… Evan (my partner) wasn’t at the halfway aid station as our son had fallen asleep in the van. So I did what any logical person in trail shoes would do: kept running.
Ultra folks talk about “the pain cave”—not a wall you hit, but a place you enter and move through. When I thought I had entered this unknown place I told myself, “Get cozy; we live here now!”
After the race my mom asked: “What did you think about for 9 hours?”
Honestly? A blur of self-talk, trail vs. road debates, gel fatigue fear, and one ultra friend’s wise words: “Give yourself a chance to start again.”
So, what did I learn? Sometimes, you just have to bet on yourself. Stay curious. Try something that scares you a little. You might surprise yourself. You might even finish feeling fulfilled and happy. And you might just find another version of yourself out there.
🟣 Gels consumed: unknown (blessedly).
🔁 Song stuck in my head: The Muffin Man (send help)
Rikke was the fifth woman in the Mt. Hood 50 mi. She’s the first Rose City woman to complete the distance since Dani Reese in 2018.