When Cynthia Lauren Arnold, 26, of Glenwood Springs, CO, takes her position at the starting line of a race, her biggest challenge is meeting the goal she has set for herself—a goal that isn’t necessarily to win. Arnold runs hard because she loves the challenge of finding her limits and exceeding them. And the pain and suffering caused by such drive? She’s a master at putting it all in perspective.
Lauren Arnold winning the 2010 Flying Pig Marathon
“The pain isn’t permanent, it’s just part of what I’m doing at the moment,” says Arnold. “When the hard run is over, the pain passes.”
Arnold seeks out the hardest races, reviews finish times, and then runs to beat those times, but she isn’t trying to compete with others. She uses the times as a guide in her journey to see just how hard and far she can push herself, although, for the foreseeable future, she’s capping her distances at 40 miles.
“I’ve never looked at a race time and said, ‘I can’t do that pace,’” says Arnold. “Instead I think, ‘if I want to do that pace, I’m going to have to get in good shape.’”
Arnold accomplishes that by not training, or not officially, anyway. She gets up in the morning and runs until she’s finished—long, short, fast, less fast, hills—it just depends on the day. She refuses to track miles or keep a training log. She takes rest days when she needs them—at least one every two weeks. But, when we spoke for this article, Arnold hadn’t run for three days due to a sore foot. She injured her foot running (and winning) the 25-mile Desert R.A.T.S. race in Fruita, CO, in April. After a cortisone shot, she followed her Fruita performance with a road race, winning the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati, OH, in May.
Cortisone shot excluded, Arnold knows when her body needs rest and when she can keep pushing. She crosstrains in the winter with snowshoeing and skiing, and enjoys cycling in the summer months. Arnold adds speed work to her runs in the weeks preceding a race, and ponders adding some core strengthening to the mix.
“I’ve been saying that for the past four years. Who knows, maybe today is the day for core work,” Arnold says with a smile.
Yes, with a smile. Fellow racers take Arnolds’ end-of-race scowl of concentration as a sign of rudeness. In reality, Lauren prefers to avoid congratulatory celebrations and accolades. After leaving everything out on the course, she replays the run in her head—determining where she could cut seconds and even minutes the next time she runs the same course.
“Arnold has an extremely focused mentality when it comes to racing,” says Lisa Owens, cross country coach at Centre College, Arnold’s alma mater, in Danville, KY. “She’s a driven and determined runner who thrives on tough and challenging courses.”
Arnold earned her 2009 USATF National Trail Marathon Champion status with a surprise win at the Lithia Loop Trial Marathon in Ashland, OR, last November. She crossed the line in 3:08:42, even after taking a wrong turn and having to redo a section of the course. She was seven minutes ahead of second-place finisher Becca Ward (WA), and beat out top contenders Devon Crosby-Helms (CA) and Krissy Moehl (OR). While Arnold’s win didn’t surprise her—she led for the entire race—it was a revelation for others at the course.
“I had to win or get a second job,” says Arnold, who works as a nanny. “The prize money paid for my travel expenses and race entry.”
Despite her strong sense of motivation and earning her first national title, Arnold has yet to realize her full potential. “Arnold is an all out, give every ounce of yourself ‘til you die racer,” says three-time U.S. women’s mountain running champion (2002, ’03, ‘04) Anita Ortiz. “I believe that lots of people have the ability to race well, but not everyone is willing to do the work—Arnold is. She’s also so mellow and unassuming that, despite being a fierce competitor, I don’t think she has yet realized her full ability as a runner.”
Arnold will continue to heal and train over the summer. She plans to run the Pikes Peak Marathon—yes, the double—in August.
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