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This episode is sponsored by Her Ultra.

A Conversation with Kristin Tegtmeier Higgins, Director of Her Ultra: Women, Adventure and the Power of the Trails

We sit down with film director Kristin Tegtmeier Higgins to talk about Her Ultra, the documentary following eight women taking on a 250km multi-stage race in Lapland — and why the stories of “ordinary” runners can be every bit as compelling as those of elite athletes.

Kristin takes us behind the scenes of making the film: following the women through months of training, capturing a multi-stage race in remote terrain, building trust, and filming vulnerable moments without turning someone’s pain into spectacle.

But this conversation goes far beyond filmmaking.

We talk about what these adventures can give women — time for themselves, identity, confidence, friendship and a sense of possibility. We also ask why midlife women remain so underrepresented by running brands when they have the time, enthusiasm and buying power to be such an important part of the sport.

Kristin also speaks movingly about her own relationship with running and how the trails helped her through the devastating loss of her sister and, later, the end of her marriage. Today, she describes running as a safe space — and simply “a really good friend.”

In this episode:

• How discovering a multi-stage race online eventually inspired Her Ultra
• How months of Zoom training built the story long before the women reached the start line
• What it takes to film a multi-stage ultramarathon across remote Lapland
• Why Kristin wanted to tell the stories of relatable runners rather than elite athletes
• What these races can give women: time, identity, confidence and friendship
• Why running brands should be paying more attention to midlife women
• The responsibility of filming people at their most vulnerable
• How trail running helped Kristin navigate grief and major life changes
• What running means to Kristin now: a safe space and a “really good friend”

WATCH HER ULTRA

We’d genuinely love you to watch Her Ultra.

You don’t have to be an ultrarunner — or even dream of running 250km — to get something from this film. It’s warm, funny and moving, and follows eight ordinary women taking on something pretty extraordinary.

At its heart, it’s about adventure, friendship and discovering what we might be capable of.

🎬 Watch Her Ultra on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/eNsporhLKgA

🎬 Watch Her Ultra on Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/video/detail/B0FH8P3GT8

🌐 Visit the official Her Ultra website:
https://www.herultra.com/

Get In Touch

Got a story about a trail friendship, or a question for us? We'd love to hear it — email us at stillrunningstrong@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram and Facebook.

Still Running Strong is for general interest and entertainment only. We share our own personal experiences, not professional medical, nutritional, or training advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making changes to your training, diet, or health.

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Three letters can undo months of training if we let them: DNF. We’ve both seen how “did not finish” gets translated into something far harsher, and today we slow it right down and tell the truth about what those letters can and cannot mean in ultra running and trail running.

We start with the real-world choices that sit behind a result, like Dawn dropping down to a shorter race distance to protect an ankle and keep her long-term running intact. Becky shares what it’s like to return to a structured training plan with more speed work, drills, and strength training focused on Achilles resilience, plus the recovery basics that actually move the needle: sleep, routine, and not trying to be a hero when you’re run down.

Then we get into the heart of the mindset work. A DNF doesn’t tell you whether you ran 10 miles or 90, whether you were injured, hypothermic, timed out, underfuelled, or simply having a terrible day. We talk about that moment when the thought “I could stop” appears, why safety and navigation change the stakes in long races, and how to use a physical reset and a mental reset before making a decision you might regret. You’ll also hear why we love the idea of getting curious rather than judgemental when you debrief a DNF, so you can learn and come back stronger.

If this resonates, subscribe, share the episode with a running friend, and leave us a review. What’s your DNF or DNS story, and what did it teach you?

Get In Touch

Got a story about a trail friendship, or a question for us? We'd love to hear it — email us at stillrunningstrong@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram and Facebook.

Still Running Strong is for general interest and entertainment only. We share our own personal experiences, not professional medical, nutritional, or training advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making changes to your training, diet, or health.

Email us

Most of us have enjoyed the elation of finishing a race and breaking across the finish line, and that euphoria can last minutes, hours, sometimes a couple of days. But sometimes we can unexpectedly feel low a few days later. We have both felt that post-race emotional drop, and we want to say it out loud: it is common, it is human, and it deserves as much attention as sore legs and tired feet.

We dig into what sits underneath “post-race blues” in trail running and ultra running. Yes, there can be a chemical comedown, but we think the bigger story is the full-body aftermath: disrupted sleep, lingering pain, dehydration, decision fatigue and the sudden disappearance of a goal that has organised your life for months. When training, kit planning, travel logistics and race-day focus vanish overnight, the mind can feel like it has lost its scaffolding. We talk about learning to sit with those feelings without turning them into a brutal performance review, and without chasing the next high just to stop the discomfort.

Then we get practical. We share simple emotional recovery planning that actually works, from setting up comforting food and a clean bed to protecting proper rest and connection in the days after a race. We also switch into detective mode on a wider issue: why ordinary midlife women are still so hard to spot in mainstream trail running advertising, and what that absence says about belonging and visibility in our sport.

If any of this rings true, hit play, then come back and tell us your post-race ritual. Subscribe, share with a running friend, and leave us a review so more mid-pack stories find their people.

Get In Touch

Got a story about a trail friendship, or a question for us? We'd love to hear it — email us at stillrunningstrong@gmail.com, or find us on Instagram and Facebook.

Still Running Strong is for general interest and entertainment only. We share our own personal experiences, not professional medical, nutritional, or training advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making changes to your training, diet, or health.