03/04/2022
Posted • 💥Feeture Friday: Michael Heitholt 💥
What is an impactful NSD story you'd like to share?
For a long time I let fear stunt the ability to find the confidence in myself to go beyond what I thought I was capable of. The NSD community has a way instilling confidence because by the end of 2020 I had finally allowed myself to acknowledge the deep seeded desire to test myself beyond anything I’ve done before.
In March 2021, with a crew of fellow NSD runners, I finished my first 50K trail race. To be honest, it was a disaster in many ways. I lost a shoe to the mud, had no clue what I was doing at each aid stop, and suffered intense cramps that would’ve made me quit if it weren’t for NSD. Despite all the challenges, in a weird way I was having a blast because I was sharing miles with friends in the woods.
The particularly memorable moment of this race was when I got to an aid station and was deep in the hurt locker. In my head, I was hearing the voice tempting me to quit. The cramps in my hamstrings were intense with each step and it was becoming harder to ignore. At the time, I was with and . Despite being capable of going faster and achieving a better time, they had been sticking with me through my inaugural ultra.
At this tent, they asked me what I needed. In my head I replied, “To quit this race!” But what I actually did was urge them to go on ahead and run their race, no need to wait for me. They clearly could see that I was accepting defeat and instead of letting me give into that voice, they stayed with me. They got me going again and ultimately through that race and to the finish. But in that moment, they embodied exactly what NSD truly is.
NSD is a community that harvests a culture of putting others above yourself, permeating relentless encouragement to face your fears and challenge yourself to go beyond what you thought possible.
Read more about on the NSD website.