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Thursday, April 25, 2024 81° Today's Paper


Sports

Everyday athlete

Cindy Luis

Name: Lee Saltonstall
Age: 63
Residence: Kailua
Sport: Trail running/road running
Workout: "Run six days a week — two trail runs and four road runs. I try to do stand-up paddleboarding three times a week, and some swimming. I also try to keep up with weight training and get to the gym three times a week."

A trend in Bend may have been started by Lee Saltonstall of Kailua. "I’d absolutely want to go back and do it again," Saltonstall said after winning her age group at the XTERRA Trail Run National Championship in Bend, Ore., on Sept. 18. "Next to Hawaii, Bend has the friendliest people you could ever meet. It is a wondrous adventure land — an ideal setting for athletes of every caliber."

The XTERRA Nationals drew more than 400 elite runners from around the world, and the 63-year-old Saltonstall can now be called the top trail runner in the country for her age group. She is the first Hawaii runner to win an age-group title in the four-year history of the trail run national championship.

Saltonstall completed the 22.5-kilometer course in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 53 seconds, to capture first place in the women’s 60-64 division. She did it despite suffering from cramps in her toes throughout the race.

"I have an issue called Morton’s neuroma that causes my toe to cramp up on me," she said. "Unfortunately, it cramped up on me at mile 7 and mile 12. I literally had to stop in my tracks, take off my shoe and massage my toe."

Making her weekend more impressive, Saltonstall entered a 10-kilometer road race in Bend less than 24 hours after winning her national title. She placed second in her age group behind a Bend woman who did not enter the XTERRA race the day before.

 

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