#MOTRstrong Stories: Karla Mannhardt

In light of all the recent events surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, we at Moms on the Run want to share uplifting stories about what our members are doing to stay active, to continue to crush goals, and to remain in community as a team. If you or your team are doing something fun or unique or cool, please email us here. We'd love to share it with our members.

Eau Claire Moms on the Run member Karla Mannhardt and her daughter ran 19 trail miles last weekend, dubbing it CoRUNA-19, for our "Your Place, Your Pace" Virtual Run. A sweet friend even made them homemade medals. Read more of Karla's story and what makes her — and her daughter — #MOTRstrong. 

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Q: How long have you been a part of Moms on the Run? 
​A: I joined Eau Claire MOTR back in the spring of 2013. Prior to that, I wasn't a runner. Running has given me so much more than fitness. I have made friends for life and have set a great example for my kids.

Q: How did your daughter get interested in running?
A: After watching me learn to run (I started running 2 years prior to my daughter), my daughter decided to try cross country in middle school to see if she would like it. She found she liked the team setting and has stuck with it ever since.
  
Q: 19 miles! Whoo hoo! Is this a normal mileage for you or did you have a goal to train for something else? What day did you run and where?
A: 19 miles is NOT normal for me. I have done plenty of half marathons, but usually put more training into those. My normal distance right now is between 4-6 miles. I did it because it was something to challenge me and in reference to Covid-19. I was pretty happy it wasn't Covid-20 during my last few miles. :-) I wanted the MOTR run to stand out and be more than a 'regular' 5k or 10k. I wanted it to be memorable, so I thought, what the heck? We have the time and if we pace ourselves it's totally possible. This was my daughter's longest run. I did a low-key 50k trail run in the fall, but with breaks and walks. I consider this my longest run. We ran on Sunday 4/26 on the trails at the Wells in Eau Claire; we ran the 19 miles in 4 hours and 19 minutes.

Q: So, how was it?
A: I had a couple of MOTR ladies with us (spaced out of course) to complete a 19k so the first 12 miles went fairly well. The last 7 were harder on our bodies, but having my daughter with made the time and distance go by so much faster and better. I couldn't have done it without her and I'm so proud of us.   

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