Hillary Allen on the Road to Recovery

Hillary Allen is a successful mountain runner and Swiftwick athlete. Since she started competing in International Skyrunning Federation series races in 2014, she has quickly risen to prominence. It is an extremely demanding sport that requires singular dedication and sacrifice to succeed.

Hillary's 'Accident'

Last fall we shared an update about Hillary Allen in our Swiftwick News. During a race in Tromsø, Norway, Hillary took a misstep along a precipitous section of ridge line trail.  That ill fated footfall lead to a life-changing event. She stumbled and fell one hundred fifty feet down the rugged mountainside seriously injuring herself and changing the trajectory of her running career.

Hillary Allen on her Recovery Process

Hillary is now on the road to recovery, but as you might expect, it has not been an easy one. As she writes in her own blog, the time off from running as her body attempts to heal has given her plenty of time to reconsider her life and the meaning of the things that she has grown to value.

In it she writes, “So I ask the question: who am I without running? Beyond my job, my hobbies, my relationships, what lays in wait there? I’ve struggled immensely since my injury and it’s forced me to take a deeper look and connect with who I am at my core – without the preconception of a job, activity or physical attribute interfering...

“The biggest impact of this rebuilding process has been that I no longer look at myself through the lens of singularity. I can see a more complete and complex person beneath the brightly colored running shorts and shoes. One that enjoys being outside, with eyes glued to the ground in search of bugs, or frogs, simply because it makes me giggle and brings me joy. I want more of that complexity and diversity in my life. This injury and break from running has been immensely difficult but the blessing has been the lessons it has taught me about myself.”

To learn more about Hillary Allen’s road to recovery, we invite you to visit her blog. Read More.