One runner’s journey back to the trails—and a 100-miler—after a traumatic brain injury
A 400-mile bike tour from Vienna to Venice was Kristin Gablehouse’s idea of a perfect vacation with her cyclist husband. The pair had been planning and saving for the two week trip for years, and the 37-year-old, experienced trail runner was in the best shape of her life when they left their Boulder, Colorado, home in August 2015.
The first few days of the trip went just as planned: they biked in a small group, mostly along country roads, heading south through Austria. Then on day six, nearly halfway to Venice, a dog darted out of a nearby driveway directly in the path of Gablehouse’s front tire.
“The crash happened so fast I didn’t even take my hands off the handlebars,” Gablehouse says. “It was full impact on my head. But I kept saying, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, we have to finish.’”
But, sitting on the side of the road, she couldn’t see. She couldn’t stand. She figured she was in shock, but her companions insisted she go the hospital.
Seeing no fractures, though, doctors told her she was free to go. Dirty, sweaty and tired, Kristin decided to shower before heading to bed, hoping she’d feel better in the morning. She stepped into the shower, tilted her head back under the water and passed out. She came to almost immediately, shaken.
Gablehouse finished the bike trip from Vienna to Venice, but, still feeling off back home, had a CT scan, which came back clear. A concussion maybe, her doctor said, but nothing to be too concerned about.
“It was terrifying, though, that feeling of knowing something was very wrong,” Gablehouse says. “I slept as much as possible, but I had migraines every day and was nauseous and confused.”
Bu hikaye Trail Runner dergisinin October 2017, #123 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Trail Runner dergisinin October 2017, #123 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
You Cannot Erase us
Over the years and through thousands of miles of running, I have thought about the words that marked the beginning of colonialism on the land and the end of Indigenous sovereignty.
Inside The Adaptable Mind
How Courtney Dauwalter uses adaptability to stay cool, calm and collected when the going gets tough.
Take it Easy
How to stay at aerobic pace when you live in the hills
Here Comes the Sun
Where pessimism meets its match
Connecting the Dots
How Laura Cortez uses her passion for trails to build community.
Carbohydrate Confusion
When it comes to food and nutrition, we tend to overcomplicate things. Eat this, not that. Run fasted, restrict sugar. Unfortunately, much of the controversy stems from observations and sensationalized media headlines vs. actual data, leaving the consumer more confused from their Google search than they were before.
This Wild Life
ONE MAN’S 92-MILE RUN OF GRIEF AND SELF-DISCOVERY.
Our Town
Trail running is all about the community it fosters and the beauty and diversity within the community. Here’s a look at seven places, and the faces that call them home.
Fueling for Females
Here’s how female runners can use recent research findings for performance breakthroughs
Lose Weight with a Shake
Being a health and nutrition correspondent means that companies frequently send me their products, and ask for my stamp of approval.
