November 03, 2021

Ep. 19: Returning from Injury with Hillary "Hillygoat" Allen

1 hour 2 minutes

The PodiumRunner Endurance Podcast is hosted by Ian Sharman, a professional ultra runner and coach with over 200 marathons or ultra finishes and more than 50 wins (www.sharmanultra.com, @sharmanian). We discuss training and racing topics with leading sports scientists and how to practically apply research findings for marathoners and ultra runners.

This episode we’re talking to Hillary Allen who is an endurance athlete and coach specializing in mountain ultra marathons where she’s earned the nickname, "Hillygoat." She started running in 2011 and comes from a background of high-level athletics, playing tennis in college. She’s podiumed at many races around the world and is probably best known for her serious injury from a near-fatal fall at a race in Norway in 2017 and the return to racing afterwards, documented in the book, ‘Out and Back: A Runner’s Story of Survival Against All Odds.’ She also has a Masters in Neuroscience and Physiology and Structural Biology and co-hosts the Trail Society podcast.

You can follow Hillary on Twitter (@hillygoatclimbs) and Instagram (@hillygoat_climbs).

This show we’re talking about returning from injury or a longer break from running. We discuss:

Hillary’s accident at the Tromsø Skyrace in 2017 and the resulting months.

How she focused on physical rehab, despite seemingly minimal gains much of the time.

Her mental approach to recovery, including returning to that same race to complete it two years later.

What she’s learned and useful takeaways for anyone who gets injured.

...more