Colorado sky runner survived a stunning 150-foot fall, uses her comeback to inspire others
Colorado native Hillary Allen is a record-breaking ultra-runner and sky runner who survived a stunning 150-foot fall during a competition in Norway. Her story of perseverance is incredible.
"The reason I love running is because it's the ultimate expression of freedom," said Allen. "All I need is just my body, a pair of shoes and I can just go."
Hillary Allen
Allen has chased that freedom all over the world, from France to Switzerland, Italy and beyond.
"I think I've always been drawn to things that are difficult my whole life. It basically boasts the steepest type of terrain imaginable. In a 31-mile race, you climb 14,000 feet. So that's the equivalent of starting at sea level and going to the top of a 14er, and you have to turn around and run that back down. So, that's what I got into," said Allen.
If there's one thing to know about Allen, it's that she doesn't just try something; she excels.
"In 2017, I was actually ranked number one in the world," she said.
The last race of the season was in Tromso, Norway. It was a rugged, technical race, but all she had to do was finish it to secure her title as World No. 1. She was at the height of her career when things took a near-deadly turn.
Hillary Allen
"It was literally one minute I was running, the next I was just in the air. And I remember time slowing down, and I remember my own voice inside my head just telling me to stay calm, that this was it, that I was dying," she recalled.
Allen slipped and fell 150 feet off the mountain, suffering 14 broken bones and severe lacerations. She was lucky to be alive and was told she'd never run again.
"I remember after hearing that, I didn't speak the rest of the day," said Allen. "After the initial depression, I was surprised how quickly I had the surgery, how quickly I started dreaming of like, well, this is my choice. She doesn't get to tell me what I can do or what I can't do."
While she was still confined to a bed, Allen began believing her best athletic days were in front of her. Although it was a daily mental and physical battle, she defied the odds, not only walking again, but running, and not only running, but winning.
Hillary Allen
"I'm absolutely in love with that process of just trying to be your best. Since my accident, I've done several 100-mile races, some of the hardest in the world. And you know, set course records or won those. I think that this accident changed my life for the better, because it allowed me to question what was important to me and where I saw my life going," she explained.
Allen has become a more well-rounded athlete, speaker and author, and decided to leave her pursuit of becoming a PHD scientist behind. Now, she's going back to school for sports psychology.
"Coming back from this accident, I've had to do a lot of mental work, and I've become very interested in the psychology of just existence, but in particular, sport," she shared. "My hope is that I can help performers, hopefully girls, because I'm really interested in inspiring the next generation of female sport as female athletes."
Allen's story is one of triumph, of never giving up, and believing your best days are always ahead of you.
"It's hard to quantify how hard I worked in order to not only return to sport, but to be where I am today," Allen said. "I can package it into a nice storyline, but it really boils down to this devotion to trying to be the best version of yourself each day."
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