Montana People - Nikki Kimball

My favorite run in Montana is...The Bridger Ridge Run.

The most difficult mile in a 100 miler is...the one in which I most want to quit.

No one knows that I...listen to Car Talk and This American Life on my Ipod while running.

My favorite meal the night before a race is...anything dead, preferably very rare red meat.

When I dream...I’m told I don’t stop running while asleep, but I prefer to think I mix it up a bit with skiing, hunting, dirt bike riding and other sports I didn’t fit into my waking hours.

My running shoes are...an essential part of my wardrobe.

Sometimes I just love to...read bad fiction.

My best medical advice for runners...establish a relationship with a doctor, physical therapist, or other healthcare provider who loves and understands running before you feel your first twinge of injury.

When I am running “in the zone” I...lose track of time and miles.

My idea of relaxing...is hanging on the couch with a couple dogs or cats after a long day of working or working out.

In the winter I train...on skis, mostly.

The best-ever “pigout food”...is carrot cake, if it has cream cheese frosting.

The one thing I just never get right is...anything to do with cleaning or organization.

If I wasn’t a runner I would probably...be a danger to myself and society.

The one thing that really “ticks me off,” is...
seeing children who don’t get the opportunity and
encouragement to play athletically each day.

My worst run ever...makes all my other runs that much better.

My last gift to a friend...was a 1⁄2 gallon of Vermont maple syrup (they live in Canada and think theirs is better).

Over the next year I hope to...complete my speed record attempt of The Long Trail in Vermont, along with a movie of it, and use the project as a springboard to raise money and awareness for getting more people interested in running, hiking, and choosing healthy lifestyles.

For inspiration...I think of those people who make much of their lives without having the boundless opportunities I have enjoyed, growing up with a great family in a country of such beauty and wealth.

I’ll stop running when...I just cannot do it anymore.

Thanks, Nikki!   ~ DM Magazine

Nikki Kimball runs for her life. An orthopedic physical therapist living in Bozeman, Nikki finds time to train and compete in races all over the world.  And these are not just your boilerplate 10k’s.  Nikki runs 50- and 100-mile ultramarathons and has regularly won or placed in dozens of running events, from Bozeman’s  Bridger Ridge Run to Mount Blanc in France and the jungles of Brazil. Winter means snowshoe competition, cross-country ski races, and biathlons.  Nikki was USATF Ultrarunner of North America three times, and is co-founder of the Running Clinic and a frequent contributor to Runners’ World magazine.