Ultrarunner, Elaine Acosta, ran her first ultra in 2010 and to date has completed 16 100-mile events. A UTMB finisher, Elaine has run everything from Comrades (56 miles) to Western States (100 miles). A big part of the running community, she frequently crews and paces for other ultrarunners (including former blog guest, Pam Reed) during 24-hour and 48+-hour events, such as Big’s Backyard Ultra and Cocodona 250.

In 2019, Elaine’s husband, Tom, who shared her passion for running, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. He passed away in 2020. In this Q&A, Elaine chats about the love of running she shared with Tom, how running has been a constant throughout the grief, and how she enjoys giving back to the running community by crewing events.