Member Spotlight: Emma McCullagh
Emma came to Trail Roots in 2019, six months after moving to Austin. She was looking for friends, a community, and a reason to get out her front door and run up the hills. She has been a consistent member since. Between working as a researcher in biotech, being a wife, and raising a 3 year old boy, she gets up early to run with the 5:30 am group and enjoys long trail runs on Saturdays with friends. Emma has lived abroad and is a world traveler, she even speaks two languages fluently. She’s always up for volunteering and is a big part of the Trail Roots community. She just ran her first marathon at Salmagundi and was the third female to finish! We wanted to ask her a few questions about her journey with running.
What inspired you to start running?
I joined my high school cross country team because I was looking for something active to do after quitting competitive Irish dancing. I was terrible at team sports, and running and dancing aren’t all that dissimilar. There is a lot of body awareness and breath control involved in both. I find it very meditative to be out on the trail, focused on my breath. Running along Lake Michigan in all sorts of crazy weather from the heat of the summer to the windy, snowy, icy winters is also its own kind of adrenaline rush.
Why did you join Trail Roots?
I’ve been a casual, solo runner for many years, but I stopped running when I moved to Austin because I couldn’t motivate myself to get out and run in my very hilly neighborhood. In an effort to meet people and get running again, I went to a Trail Roots-sponsored 5 km fun run, but what actually got me to join the group was my first Saturday trail run. I think everyone remembers their first Saturday trail run with Trail Roots. I was lucky enough that mine was at beautiful Steiner Ranch and I ran with an amazing group of ladies. I was hooked!
Has your training changed since joining a group?
In almost every way possible. I never had a plan before besides putting one foot in front of the other. The speed and hill work has helped my running tremendously and I don’t totally hate it. But the biggest difference is my consistency. Having others around to hold you accountable and notice if you don’t show up is hugely motivating. Nothing like the threat of a good, friendly “what happened this morning?” to get you out of bed ridiculously early.
What do you love about running?
The truth? That I can eat whatever I want and the endorphins.
What is your favorite trail to run with Trail Roots?
Steiner Ranch, although I really enjoyed Onion Creek when we ran there recently.
How do you find time to train with so many responsibilities?
Everyone is busy and people have different hurdles to get over to get out and train. I am usually very self-motivated and am a morning person so I can make it to the 5:30 am workouts without too much trouble. But I have struggled with consistency over the last year or two since having a baby and dealing with an injury. I just couldn’t get into a good training rhythm and was annoyed with myself about it. One of the great things about being part of a group is being inspired by those around you. It has been amazing to see people putting in the work and achieving their crazy, lofty goals. In order to improve my consistency and commitment, I decided to set a stretch goal of running the marathon distance at Salmagundi. I had never run anything longer than a half marathon and I am not much of a racer but I needed to switch things up and try something new.
One of the great things about being part of a group is being inspired by those around you. It has been amazing to see people putting in the work and achieving their crazy, lofty goals.
— Emma
You just ran your first marathon, what was the experience like?
Running a trail marathon is something I have wanted to do since joining Trail Roots. However,I don’t like saying I’ll do something if I don’t know that I can do it, so I hemmed and hawed for a while. Finally, my husband had had enough and told me to stop talking about it and do it already. Having a big race looming in front of me made me double down on training and I ended up really enjoying the preparation. Actually running the race was much more of a mental game than I expected! I knew I had put in the training and was feeling strong but even so, the last 10 miles were tough. Seeing all the Trail Roots people at the aid stations and on the course kept me going! I usually daydream to pass the time on the trail but I really had to focus on Erik’s race day message about concentrating on the moment and not thinking about all the stuff I could do afterwards like sitting down and not moving my legs.
How do you think your training helped you get to the finish line? Did you have a coach?
I feel like I had many coaches! There is such a wealth of knowledge and experience in Trail Roots and I got invaluable advice, encouragement and support from Erik and fellow group members. I was able to build off of Erik’s weekly training plan and focus on the Tuesday/Thursday workouts and the Saturday trail run. A huge shout out to Marla for the extra push and for the company on many early morning runs.
Did you catch the bug? Do you have any other races you're aiming for next year?
Hmmm, maybe give me a month or so to forget about the pain and mental anguish before answering that! I secretly want to be an American Ninja Warrior so I plan to do another Tough Mudder race next year. As for other races, I am sure I will put something on the calendar…eventually!
What advice would you give people who are new to running and want to join a group? Commit to a month and see how you feel at the end of that month. Has your running improved? Do you feel a sense of community? If not, find a different group!