About Me

Name

•Meredith
•Dolhare

Date of Birth

•September 20, 1973

Born/Raised

•Memphis, Tennessee

Resides

•Charlotte, North Carolina

Family

•Husband, Walter, and two children, Watson, 16, and Noah, 14

Clearly sick of this sob story, my husband said, “You know what? You just need to go ahead and set a goal—something to look forward to when you are better. Do a race or something when it is healed.”

This was three weeks post-op, I was still on crutches, and it really made me mad. When he met me, I was number one in Tennessee in tennis, number one in the nine Southern states, and 9th in the country. He was accustomed to that person, and had no tolerance for the “poor me” girl on the couch.

Dripping with sarcasm, I said, “Fine. YOU know what? I’m going to do an Ironman. It has been on the bucket list forever, and that would fall under the ‘goal’ category.”

There were a few minor problems with this scenario—one, that I did not own a bike; two, that I had not done a triathlon in thirteen years, and even then only two; and, the most obvious one being my current “disability”. Not to be deterred, I started going to the gym every day when the doctor placed me in a boot cast, and began attending spin classes (in the cast) as soon as he cleared me. That October, I bought my first road bike. In November, I made a road trip to Panama City Beach, Florida, with two good guy friends to register for Ironman Florida in person.

From that moment, life has been a whirlwind. Everything has changed for my family and me. I was floundering even prior to breaking my foot, and living a very unhealthy and unfocused life—something very out of character. Having played NCAA Division I tennis at both UCLA and Vanderbilt, I had always been hyper-driven and motivated, but lost my way (see Runner's World). Ultra-running and triathlon has given all of that back to me in spades. It is a way of life for our entire family with my two boys either in tow cheering or racing, and now pacing and crewing at many of the events. My son Watson crewed a 50-miler, the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon and the Furnace Creek 508 back-to-back-to-back last year, ensuring success every step of the way. Both of my children completed sub 1:45 half marathons before even turning 13-years-old, and have continued to drop those times to say the least! Now nearly 17 and 15, watching me train and compete so often has given them a motivation that I marvel at in kids nowadays. Watson is the only male three-sport varsity lettered athlete at his school (XC, swimming and track), and Noah holds the Freshman XC record at his powerhouse program with a low 16-minute 5k time. I enjoy my afternoons and weekends coaching varsity high school cross country for the 34 boys and girls on Watson's team, where I mentor and pace the top five boys every day. It is a dream job.

Since November of 2008, I have completed Ultraman UK (10k swim, 262-mile bike, 52.4-mile run), 11 full Ironman events, 12 70.3s, the Powerman World Championships in Zofingen, Switzerland (10k-150k-30k), seven 50-52.4-milers, one 100-mile run, the Brazil 135-mile Ultramarathon, Rouge-Orleans 126.2-mile Ultramarathon, 100ks, several 50ks, seven marathons, and numerous other races of all types and distances—plus qualified for and competed at the Ironman World Championships in Kona and the Badwater 135 Ultramarathon in Death Valley, which is notoriously known as one of the hardest races in the world. In 2012, I was named to the Timex Multisport Team, another goal set mid-season 2011, and I continue to race with this elite squad.

If you believe you can achieve something—whatever that something is—you can. My favorite quote is, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you are right.” My own children, the homeless people I serve, and the kids I coach get tired of me saying, "Can't is not in the vocabulary!" It was the cover of my Mother's Day card. Don't think I know anything about struggle? Read on.

Things have not come easy for me with triathlon and racing. For one thing, I used throw up A LOT at each race (see race reports) and had to take several months in season during races in 2011 to figure out why, and try new things. Thankfully, I found Bob Seebohar of Fuel4Mance who changed my diet and recommended Generation UCAN (www.generationucan.com) as my fuel source while racing. In a twist of luck, I felt great by the time I arrived at Ultraman UK in September just off of completing three full Ironman events in three consecutive weekends in three countries (France/Austria/Switzerland) using the product for the first time, and I have not had any issues ever since. Honestly, it is a miracle considering how sick I used to get, and I am very grateful for their amazing support. For a frame of reference, I vomited 60-plus times in my first 100-mile run, and would typically throw up an average of 7-8 times in an Ironman race. It was not enjoyable, and finishing some of the longer / harder races that were to come would have been difficult in that state.

In 2010, I was unable to race from January to May due to severe mercury poisoning (from ingesting contaminated fish/ tap water) which required months of I.V. chelation. Unfortunately, I had a reaction to the chelating agent after being on the I.V.s for nine hours a week, and my blood turned toxic. I’m not sure which was worse: the mercury poisoning or the poisoning due to chelation! However, being that sick only made me more determined to race a lot and well in 2010, and I managed to get myself back on the start line by May, and complete four full Ironman events.

Perhaps my biggest challenge came after a banner 2011 filled with five full Ironman events, a Kona qualification, second female at Ultraman UK, second female at my first 100-miler, three marathons including Boston, three 70.3s including 5th at USAT Age Group Nationals and berth at USAT Long Course Worlds, a 50-miler and spot on the coveted Timex Multisport Team, I found out I had ruptured two discs in my cervical spine and would be out for eight months due to spinal fusion and reconstruction. Now, in addition to the screw in my foot, I can boast a plate and six screws in my neck. Call me, Titanium Girl!

Again, not to be deterred, I made certain to choose a neurosurgeon who respects me as an athlete, and understands how important it is for me to do what I love. If Peyton Manning can have a similar surgery to mine and be put back out on the football field to get pummeled, I can swim, bike and run, run, run. Desire is a powerful motivator.

Many athletes have asked me how I did not go crazy during the seven month interim from late April to November that I could not only not compete, but not train at all—only walk post August. My answer is simple. It would have been really easy to sit at home and feel sorry for myself, and some might have given me license to do so; however, I decided to spend that time giving to others what was so freely given to me: running. I have some motivational skills, I'm in recovery from drugs and alcohol and have PTSD from teenage sexual trauma so I figured, “What the heck?” See News tab for Runner's World and Sports Illustrated articles)

I founded a non-profit called RunningWorks (www.RunningWorks.org), which encourages the homeless community to rediscover the power of teamwork, discipline, confidence and respect for each other—all things I have accrued through sport. It saved my life. Never underestimate that when you do a good deed for someone else, you are not benefitting ten times more.

Given my issues and passion for sport, it simply fit. In the past several years, I dedicated my racing to various charities, and raised tens of thousands of dollars for them with no questions asked. It was time to get my own hands dirty and do the hard work myself-with a population and issues near and dear to my own heart. What better time to start it than when I was laid off? Plus, RunningWorks got me out of bed in the morning even when I did not feel good, and kept me moving so that I never got too complacent. I owe my quick comeback to racing to the men and women in this program. Their expectant faces when I return after a brutally hard race makes it near impossible for me to quit when it gets hard. Poor me. What am I going to tell them if I do not finish? That their life is easier, and it was too hard?

I was cleared to begin running distance again in mid-November, 2012, and went back slowly for the first couple of weeks. Then, my training partner encouraged me to do one long weekend in the mountains running the first weekend of December, and it went really well. So, I bit the bullet and entered my first race post operative, the Bartram 100k on December 15, 2012—just under six months to the day to my spine surgery. Oddly enough, it went great. So, I upped the ante and went ahead with the Brazil 135 Ultramarathon (www.brazil135.com.br), which I applied for and was accepted to while in a neck brace post surgery hoping it would keep me hungry to race. Thankfully, my newly constructed spine was up to the challenge of 135-miles of running with 30,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, and I finished fifth in this qualifying race for my long term goal: Badwater (www.badwater.com). Not that I am saying it was a good idea or easy. It hurt. It was ugly. But I did not quit.

Two weeks after returning from Brazil, I had one of the most rewarding days running of my life. One of our RunningWorks neighbors, Matthew, completed a 50k side-by-side with me (see video on Welcome page) prior to ever undertaking even a half or full marathon. He is a warrior! Shortly afterwards, he began working almost 30 hours per week having gained strength and confidence in the doing. Running is, indeed, working-and we will continue blazing our trail to end homelessness one stride at a time, one neighbor at a time. Speaking of, Matthew had been on the street for SIX years until he ran the race that opened the doors to him re-investing in himself. A few months after securing his job, he found housing and where he still resides more than a year later. Currently, we are expanding to include affiliate RunningWorks programs where they are needed most in our community-with abused, abandoned, neglected and homeless children in DSS custody as well as late teens exiting foster care provided by the state. Our regular team members are getting jobs and housing at an incredible rate, and returning to mentor their still homeless peers. Several have run full or half marathons while living on the streets, and the total amount of weight loss and smoking cessation stories are empowering. Running works.

Last summer and fall were frenetic to say the least, and began with a new 81-mile team format race where all three teammates had to stay within 10 feet of each other. It is called Badwater: Salton Sea and stretches from below sea level at Salton Sea to an epic 13-mile climb up Palomar Mountain. Charlie Engle, Mosi Smith and I won our division and were fourth overall, which bolstered my confidence for the next several races leading up to my longtime goal: the Death Valley Cup--the Badwater 135-Mile Ultramarathon and Furnace Creek 508-Mile Bicycle Race (www.the508.com) within the same calendar year (July-October, three months). Prior to Badwater, I won both the Bethel Hill Moonlight Boogie 50-Miler and San Francisco Double Marathon in consecutive weekends, and was ready to take on Badwater basin and Mt. Whitney, where I placed third female and top 20 overall as a rookie. It was epic and ranks as one of my favorite athletic experiences alongside Ultraman.

By completing the Death Valley Cup, I became the sixth woman in history to do, and 23rd person. I had not even been on my bike in more than a year once I began training due to my spinal surgery, so I can assure you it was painful. Having done this now, I realize why so few have accomplished the task-spine surgery within 13-17 months or not. The window is so small to get ready on the bike, and Badwater is no joke as we climb from the lowest point in the United States to the highest in temperatures reaching 130 degrees on blacktop--especially if you show up to race and not just finish. Once at the 508, the wind can be an angel or a devil (we had a 55mph+ devil), temperatures fluctuate almost 60 degrees causing hypothermia and I have not even mentioned the endless climbing! Thank goodness my mind was more ready than it has ever been because pretty much everything imaginable went wrong before, during and after the 508, which caused me to take some time off to slow down following it. (N.B. Unfortunately, the government shutdown happened the week of the 508, so we were forced to shorten the race to 353-miles, a.k.a. The Trona 353).

In 2015, I am ramping up to even bigger things following what is now called the 2014 Silver State 508 (formerly Furnace Creek) as a two-person team with my training partner (getting a little smarter) and I take on the newly expanded Brazil 175 in January. Yes, 175-miles running on the very challenging terrain of the Caminho da Fe. I am so excited and have an incredible crew along for the ride, which will make 90% of the difference. (See 2015 calendar for rest of events.)

You never really know what you have until it is snatched away from you in an instant. I like to remember that no matter how much or how little I race—and no matter the result, I am lucky to be out there, I don’t “have” to be out there. I “get” to be, and for that I will be forever grateful. Plus, I will always, always try to finish what I start. My RunningWorks Family is watching expectantly and waiting for me to come home.

Contact Information

info@meredithdolhare.com