SHELBY — Tiffany Smedley had never finished a race in tears prior to the Burning River Endurance Run.
Smedley, a bus driver at Shelby City Schools, completed the 50-mile run July 27 while tolerating severe pain in her left foot — due to Morton’s neuroma, a nerve disorder which causes pain and numbness between toes, according to the Mayo Clinic.
She also experienced pain in her left ankle five miles into the run. Smedley originally thought it was shin splints, but a visit to her foot doctor revealed she ran 45 miles with a high ankle sprain.
Another motivating factor for Smedley to reach the finish line was finding out how her running mates, Chris Zuercher and Jordann Garrett, completed the race.
She was accompanied in Cuyahoga Falls by Zuercher and Garrett, who both coach cross country and track at Shelby.
“I was just hoping that they (Zuercher and Garrett) were doing well,” Smedley said.
“I gave up on caring about my time. After you get so far in a race like that, you just want to finish because you didn’t go (run) 20 miles to quit.”
Garrett places 3rd overall among female participants
The trio of Shelby runners began their 50-mile journey at 4 p.m. July 27 — departing from Silver Springs Park and finishing in Cuyahoga Falls.
Sixty-eight runners participated in the back-half 50-mile route at this year’s 18th annual Burning River Endurance Run & Relay.
Smedley said the group has been interested in running the race together for a while and this year’s date worked everyone.
“It’s been in the plans for only maybe a month and a half that we were actually going to do this one,” she said of this year’s Burning River Endurance Run.
However, a large amount of distance running experience is shared among the trio.
In June 2023, Smedley completed the Mohican Trail 100, a 100-mile run through the Ohio wilderness. The following weekend, Zuercher and Garrett ran a 50K — previously their longest run was roughly 31 miles.
“They did really well,” Smedley said of Zuercher and Garrett’s performance July 27.
“This was the perfect race for them because it (race course) wound up being about half trail and half road … they were able to do both sides of what they do (cross country and track).”
Garrett’s time — 12:21:23 — placed her as the third among female participants and 20th overall.
Zuercher finished with same time as Garrett, finishing 19th overall and second in the men’s 45-49 age group. Smedley’s time — 15:16:24 — placed her 44th overall and second in the women’s 45-49 age group.
‘Walk the walk’
Despite facing her longest run to date, Garrett entered the July 27 race with a certain peace of mind. Having familiar faces to tackle the challenge with was something she leaned on.
“Working with Z (Zuercher), I know how technical and prepared he is with everything, so he’s got a plan, a back up plan and then a back up plan on top of that,” she said.
“Tiffany (Smedley) did a great job of preparing us with what to expect. It was helpful to almost be coached through the last half of it by him (Zuercher).”
Following the cancelled 2020 season, Garrett’s track and cross country coaching career at Shelby began.
She said there’s certain aspects of her experience with the 50-mile race which can be applied to her athletes — including practical things like recovery and fueling.
However, her participation in the Burning River Endurance Run also displays a commitment to challenge herself as she would her runners.
“It lets them know ‘I’m not going to ask you to push your limits without being able to walk the walk too,'” Garret said.
Zuercher applies lessons through coaching
Zuercher helped pace Smedley during the final 46 miles of last year’s Mohican Trail 100, which led to her convincing him to participate on July 27.
“Tiffany (Smedley) thought this was a race I could do, so I did it,” he said. “Stan Roberts, a local runner who lives in Lexington, also ran so that was really nice.”
“It’s always nice to have friendly faces on the course. I was super nervous about finishing.”
However, Zuercher’s nerves wore off. After 30 miles, he said he felt like he belonged in the race as his confidence increased.
Although he’s only competed in trail races for about a year and a half, Zuercher is no stranger to distance running.
He’s coached cross country and track at Shelby since fall 2001, beginning as an assistant to his late father, legendary Shelby coach Terry Zuercher.
Lessons learned by the Shelby coach, during races such as Burning River, have been incorporated into Zuercher’s coaching.
On Thursday, he helped a group of middle school cross country athletes run for a minute, followed by a minute of walking — repeating the process for three miles.
“Everyone has their own goals that they have to achieve,” Zuercher said. “It’s just really in your mind and being able to conquer your goals.”
