Many races feature different terrain, and runners like Fairchild have to be willing to get dirty. Photo provided by Wendy Fairchild.

By Lilli Dwyer
InkFreeNews

Wendy Fairchild, 58, is no stranger to staying on the move.

“I went to 18 different schools from the time I started to when I graduated,” she recalled.

After her family settled in Kosciusko County, she graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 1984 and went to cosmetology school. Fairchild took up running around 1997 at the suggestion of a friend, Jenna Marcuccilli.

“She asked me if I wanted to do a 5K with her, and I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Even as kid, I was not athletic at all, I was never encouraged to be athletic. But I thought, ‘Yeah, that sounds like something I could challenge myself with,’” she recalled.

Fairchild and Marcuccilli trained together, ran the race, and have remained running partners over the years. While raising her daughter, Piper, and transitioning from working in a salon to starting her own at home, Fairchild continued to challenge herself with a variety of 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon races.

“And then throughout all that, the training and everything, we decided: we wanted to try an ultra,” she said.

Wendy Fairchild has stayed active, continuing to challenge herself by running races, including an ultramarathon. Photo provided by Wendy Fairchild.

An ultramarathon, or ultra for short, is any race longer than the marathon distance of 26.2 miles. Many ultramarathons feature different terrain and altitudes for runners to contend with.

Fairchild and Marcuccilli followed a rigorous year-long training program in preparation, building up to a distance of 30 miles per week. Sheer distance, however, wasn’t all they had to worry about.

“It’s not only physical, but mental and emotional. Your diet goes into it, as well. There’s a good bit of hiking, of actually walking, so it’s a good idea to learn how to pace yourself,” she explained.

During the 2021 ultramarathon in Bryce Canyon, Utah, Fairchild traversed sand, dirt roads, rocky mountain trails, inclines and hairpin turns.

“Lots of rocks, lots of roots. You can’t just shuffle along like you would in a marathon on a road,” she remarked.

Fairchild considers herself fairly competitive, but with herself rather than other people. Her personal goal was to finish the whole 40 miles in under 12 hours, which she achieved. After this accomplishment, however, she didn’t slow down. Since then, she has continued to run 5k and 10k races.

“I always like to have something on the calendar that I’m training for, because that keeps me out running,” she said. “I like the physical challenge, I like the bragging rights. … I feel really thrilled by the adventure. It seems as though whenever I go to a race, regardless of the length, it’s usually wrapped around something I haven’t seen before or something new I haven’t done.”

Fairchild also credits running with keeping her healthy, both physically and mentally. The camaraderie of the people she runs with is also important to her.

“I feel like some of the races I’ve done and some of the achievements I’ve had probably wouldn’t have happened without my friend, Jenna. I have had a lot of support from my family as well,” she said.

With Piper in college, Fairchild has moved her salon operation to Shear Delight in Warsaw. Outside of work and running, Fairchild enjoys camping and hiking. She also describes herself as an avid knitter and bookworm.