Lila Gaudrault, 21, a senior at the University of New England, has quickly established herself in the New England ultra scene, winning a race (or more) each month. Lila shared her journey into ultrarunning and what she loves so much about the sport.
How did you get into running and make the jump to ultrarunning?
I joined cross country in sixth grade. At the end of the season, the top seven runners got to run the varsity race. I was really mad that I didn’t make it, and that lit a competitive spark. I came back in seventh grade and really started training, made the team and just kept improving. I ran cross country throughout high school, and it had been my goal to run Division I in college. When COVID hit my junior year, I had extra time to think and train a lot. I realized [ultras were] really what I was in love with, and I didn’t really want to compete in college. I quit cross country and signed up for my first 50k, which I ran my senior year of high school, and never looked back.
You’ve fully committed yourself to the sport, already winning over 20 races. What’s your secret to success?
I thrive off of frequent racing. If I go a few weeks without doing a race, I feel like I’m rusty. Where I live, we’ve got a bunch of great trails and races, and it’s been fun to make a splash in the New England community.
How do you structure your training?
I don’t have a coach. Half of the fun for me is planning my own training and adjusting things on the fly. If I’m feeling really good one day, I might go twice as long as I planned, so I prefer to do it on my own.
You built up to the Vermont 100 this summer, finishing in a tie for second. How was that experience?
The 100-mile distance was so new to me. It was quite a bit longer than I’d ever done, and it was really hard, but I loved the course. I went out with the lead pack—I didn’t feel like we were going very fast, so I eventually got in the front. At mile 53, the woman who eventually ended up winning overall passed me, and I started really struggling. The second woman passed me around mile 70, so I was in third for a while, and I was having a low point. Then, around mile 80, I started feeling better again and had a really strong last 20 miles. Right at the finish line, I saw the second woman and her pacer, and I sprinted, and we crossed the finish line at the same time. They called it an official tie, so it was very cool to have that as the finish for my first 100.
You did Vermont solo. Do you run with support at other races? Does anyone else in your family run?
Nobody in my family really runs. They kind of think I’m crazy, so they don’t really have any interest in crewing for me. They’re like, “Why do you run that far?” I’ve done FKTs where I’ve been crewed, which is super helpful. I don’t like feeling like a burden, so I usually like to do races solo.
Switching gears to college, what do you study and why?
I went into college as a sustainable agriculture major. During the pandemic, I developed an interest in farming, and I did an internship the summer before my freshman year on a farm in the White Mountains. I loved that, but I was burnt out at the end of the season and felt like I didn’t really want to do it as a career. I also got my EMT certification in high school, and I fell in love with learning about health care, so I ended up switching to nursing.
Is running a big part of your college social life?
I don’t usually run with people from school. I’ve mentioned my running to some of my friends— they all kind of think I’m crazy. Everyone’s very supportive, they just find it a little bit odd.
How is it being a young athlete so active in the sport?
It’s been pretty much all positive. Since a lot of the races I do are pretty small, I’m sometimes the youngest runner by 10-15 years. In my first few ultras, when I was naive about a lot of things, people checked in on me, making sure I had enough water and fuel. In the future, I’d love to work with other younger athletes to get them into trail and ultrarunning, because I feel like a lot of the time the best high school athletes in cross country and track are funneled into the NCAA.
A couple rapid-fire questions to close it out.
Favorite race? Vermont 100
Favorite pre-race meal? Peanut butter toast with banana and honey
Favorite in-race fuel? UnTapped maple waffle
Favorite thing to listen to when you’re running? I don’t usually listen to anything. If I’m on the treadmill, I’ll listen to a podcast, most often either Freetrail or Singletrack.
Favorite weather to run in? Fall weather, like 50s and crisp and sunny