DISCOVER OUR IMPACT: LARA HAMILTON, BROKEN ARROW ‘26
How did you get into running, and what does it mean to you?
I began running for training as a Nordic skier at a young age. It wasn't something I trained exclusively for. We would run around Perisher ski resort in Australia with the local Nordic team, and around trails near home - it was all about fun and adventure. One particular season, when I was in 12th grade, the snow wasn't particularly good, and we came back from our trip early. On the way home (a 6hr drive back to Sydney from Perisher) we saw an event being set up, 'The Sydney Harbour 5km & 10km'. My family suggested I Google the event and enter if I wanted. The next morning, I lined up for my first-ever major running event and ended up breaking the tape in the 5k. That was it - I never really looked back. I got a coach, tried a variety of distances, and ended up receiving a scholarship to run NCAA D1 at Boise State Track and XC.
What challenges have made it hard to pursue trail running?
I began specifically trail running right around my Ankylosing Spondylitis diagnosis. AS is a rheumatological inflammatory autoimmune condition where the spine and, quite often, the sacroiliac joints degrade over time. The irony is that trail running has been both the right sport for my body and a genuinely hard one to sustain. Softer surfaces, varied terrain, more natural movement patterns - these things have been a relief. My tendons and joints tolerate trail running better than road or track, which means I can build higher training loads and stay competitive even when my biomechanics aren't perfect. Trail gave me a way back in when other disciplines were closing doors.
The other side is real, though. AS doesn't respond well to high-impact loading. Hard descents, technical terrain, the cumulative pounding of long racing days, these are the things that light it up. I've had to learn to manage load carefully, read my body honestly, and accept that some of my hardest training decisions aren't about fitness, but more about inflammation.
The unpredictability is the hardest part. I can have three good weeks and then one morning where everything shifts.
What did the STRIDE grant allow you to do that you otherwise couldn’t?
The STRIDE grant allowed me to attend arguably the most prestigious line-up in a sub-ultra women's field trail race this year: Broken Arrow Skyrace Ascent & 23k. Without this grant, it simply wouldn't have been possible. This race is unlike any other in the festivity, competitiveness of runners, and how well-organized and respected the event is as a whole. It's a shame to miss out, and a must on the calendar of any serious sub-ultra trail runner. Unfortunately for me, I became very ill due to my AS after The Ascent, and was unable to line up for the 23k. Such is the nature of this condition, but it keeps me hungry to come back.
What would have happened without it?
Without this grant, I wouldn't have been able to be in the mix for this race at all, and therefore improve my ability to perform under pressure, in highly competitive international fields.
Broken Arrow isn't a race you can get to on a shoestring - the travel, accommodation, and entry costs put it out of reach without support. The grant made it possible to stand on that start line at The Ascent, to race that field, to be part of that event. That experience is mine now, even with everything that followed.
Tell us about the race or experience STRIDE supported—what stood out most?
The Ascent is a super unique race - 5.9 kilometres, 850 metres of climbing, no major descents, and the terrain just keeps shifting under you. Beginning straight up a ski slope, almost in a frenzy (a mass start, like traditional XC races), onto gravel road, to a more technical trail, to sand, to scrambling. You finish on top of Washeshu Peak. The altitude is another beast, beginning around 1800m and finishing at roughly 2700m. You need to be adapted to the environment, that's for sure! There's no rhythm you can lock into and hold; you have to stay present and keep moving. That kind of racing suits me - you can't quit at any moment, the race is too short - it's gas pedal down from start to finish. I loved every metre of it. The field and the atmosphere are something else entirely. Broken Arrow does something most races don't: it makes you feel like the event itself matters, not just the result. The organisation, the competitiveness, the community around it. I left wanting more.
What changed for you after this experience (confidence, goals, opportunities)?
Getting sick and missing the 23k was hard. Not starting is a different kind of hard from not finishing; there's no closure, no effort to point to. Sitting with that is hard.
What it gave me, unexpectedly, was clarity. I'm more motivated now than I was before I flew to the US because it reminded me why no race opportunity can even be taken for granted. There's no guarantee on health - ever. I want to find every way I can to keep this disease managed, to keep training, to get the most out of my body before AS progresses further. The adversity of not starting didn't deflate me. It sharpened something. I know what I want, and I know why I want it.
What’s next for you in running?
A big European block! A lot of World Cup stages to go. This includes the WMRA Grossglockner Mountain Run in Austria on July 5th, then WMRA Briançon Vertical and Classic in France on July 18th and 19th, then Sierre-Zinal. These are serious mountain running races at the highest level, and this stretch of the calendar is where I intend to show what I can do when my body is with me.
Finish this: “Running has given me…”
....more empowerment than I can easily put into words. It's a clear marker. It's something I can look back at honestly and see how far I've come. Every race, every training block, every time I've shown up when my body was fighting me is evidence of something. Commitment, resilience, and the refusal to stop. Running gave me that record of myself, and I carry it into everything else I do.
STRIDE was proud to support Lara at the 2026 Broken Arrow Skyrace.
Photograph by @kevinlaraphoto.