Sara at a half marathon in April.

For most of us, running the 26.2 miles of a marathon is an unthinkable achievement. But customer assistance specialist Sara Carter isn’t most of us: Last November, Sara was the first woman across the finish line at the 50-mile tBunk Endurance Challenge in Kettle Moraine State Forest.

Yep — 50 miles. And on May 12, she’s going to put on her racing shoes and do it again.

Sara started running in middle school on the track and cross-country teams, and began running races on her own in 2007. She just loves it, she says.

“When I started trail running, I really enjoyed being out in the woods, being able to connect to nature, and having the challenge of not only keeping my body active but also my mind — I enjoy running trails that are difficult to navigate, with rocks and tree roots,” Sara says. “I have run 20 marathons, and although I was exhausted afterwards, I had always wondered: Could I have run farther?”

The next step was to try running 50Ks — a little over 31 miles. She did three of those (the Ice Age Trail 50, near La Grange, in 2014 and 2017; and the 2015 Priest Lake 50K in Idaho), as well as the shorter-but-tough Ragnar Trail Northwoods race last summer, and, she says, “after I finished a couple of those, that crazy thought popped back into my head: Can I run farther?”

And that’s how she found herself at tBunk last autumn. She says it was “the perfect first 50-miler.”

“Before the race started, I felt that I had prepared really well,” Sara says. She had familiarized herself with the course and also gotten her nutrition on point. “I had set goals, as I usually do when I race, but the main goal was to finish before the cutoff — 13 hours.”

Sara at tBunk, receiving her 50-Miler award from the race director.

Cool weather and light rain on the day of the race didn’t deter her at all. “During the race, I was really just enjoying being out there and the feeling of peacefulness that running gives me. I didn’t feel the pressure of trying to get a specific time, as this was my first 50-miler. I was able to follow my nutritional plan pretty well, so I never ‘crashed’ like some runners do around the 30-mile mark.”

And then she finished — and learned she was the first woman across the finish line. “I had no clue!” Sara says. “I was extremely overwhelmed.”

Her time? Nine hours, 27 minutes, and 19 seconds.

Sara trains by running five days a week — on trails and roads, and on the treadmill — lifting weights, and teaching group fitness classes six days a week at the Wisconsin Athletic Club. And next week, she’ll set out to conquer the Ice Age Trail 50-miler.

“My recovery from tBunk went really well,” she says. “But this course is more difficult, and there will be a lot more competition.” Go, Sara!