Mighty things come in little packages: the story of a true Beast-ess!

Sue Luck.  I have dropped her name before and I don’t mean to be redundant or continually recognize the same competitors but she amazes me time after time.  Vermont was no different and this girl re-defined what it means to persevere, to not quit, to be strong, to be fearless, to be brave, and to inspire.  She is a Beast-ess!

While we had originally signed up to do the Beast as a team we ended up running as individuals and I am thankful I got to share the first half of the course with her.  She is one of the smaller racers – probably 5 feet tall and on a good day 100 lbs but she is one of the fiercest.  She can usually be recognized by her infectious smile and her bright knee high socks and matching tops. 

This weekend she did what no other woman including myself could do, she ran the Vermont Beast 3 times!  Twice on Saturday to be one of only 19 ladies to finish the UltraBeast, and once on Sunday – moving herself into complete badass status!  I may or may not have convinced her to do it Sunday, I had wanted to run it myself on Sunday and we started together… she completed what I couldn’t and didn’t, she is my idol. 

 

This is a little bit about Sue's Ultrabeast and beast experience in her own words!  I can't even imagine how she did what she did and knew she could explain it best.  Myself and all our friends knew Sue would finish strong, had no doubts in our mind, and were so excited when she did!  If your looking for some inspiration/motivation/determination....look at SUE!

1. Was there any time that you wanted to quit/thought you couldn't make it?/ what made the course os hard? 
 The toughest part for me was when it started to get dark ascending up the hug mountain ( Bears Ass ) trying to rely on people helping me see in the pitch darkness because my headlamp was so dim. Then rain started pouring down so hard I could hardly see. I made out of the mountain but now I had to descend down the mountain. At this point I was shivering, using my hands and feeting trying to feel my way down the course. I thought how I'm I going to finish. I sure did not want to be stuck in darkness of the mountain and it could be hours before anyone got rescued. My survival mode kicked in and I knew I had to fight my way finish no matter what!

2. What was the worst/best part?
 The best part was being excepted into the Ultra Beast and being one of the people that finished such an epic race. It was the most emotional race I have ever done. Once I crossed the finish line I broke down with so much emotion. I couldn't believe I did! The worst part was actually the terrain and weather. The obstacles and burpees I can overcome but when you mix cold weather, water, mountains and deep incline and decent in pitch darkness it a whole other ball game! You can sense the urgency and hear the panic in peoples voices wondering if they can make it to the finish. I was one of them!


3. Was there anything that helped push you on? A mantra? a thought? a person?
Since my dads passing in February the week of the Arizona Super! I always think about him and how he is looking down on me to keep pushing! Everytime I thought about quiting on the second lap of the Ultra Beast I kept saying, "dad give me strength, help me push through this! Help me dad help me!" I also kept repeating over and over," you can do this!" And my rock who pushes me to never give up...Shawn! I thought about him through the whole race thinking he had to be worried sick about me. Waiting for hours after he had already finished wondering if I was ok up in the dark, cold, muddy mountain! I can't thank him enough for being the strongest and most encouraging man I know and being an inspiration to so many people.

4.  How about Sunday!?  You did what I wish I would have done/not quit on!
The second day running the Sunday Beast was just last minute. Finishing so late in the Ultra Beast, tired, hungry and beat up I did not want to run the next day. We got up that morning Shawn was in pain from the huge cut on his leg and hobbling around. He says, "I'm running!" I knew at that point if he was in so much pain and was still running it. I had no excuse not to! We get to the starting line and the rest is history! I never once thought about quiting but to dig deep and putting one foot in front of the other and finishing!

Sue continues to inspire me and impress me.  She is a great competitor and friend.  Look forward to seeing her in SC and Texas beast!

Corinne