Six Months to the Summit

Six months of preparation. Hundreds of hours of training. Early mornings that often began at 3:00 a.m. And three days of running, hiking, and pushing through the mountains of Park City, Utah.

For Jaime Lane, Director of BLU Operations, the 29029 TRAIL event was about much more than crossing a finish line. It was an opportunity to commit to something difficult, prepare with intention and discover what she was capable of when the challenge became both physical and mental.

Jaime completed the 29029 TRAIL in Park City September 17 through 19. The event was originally designed around a marathon distance each day with approximately 5,000 feet of elevation gain. Severe weather changed the plan on Day 2, when lightning, rain, and hail delayed the start twice and ultimately shortened the course to approximately 14.5 miles.

But adapting to the unexpected became part of the experience.

Six Months of Preparation

Jaime began training in April after two friends, Joe and Angie, introduced her to the 29029 community. She was immediately drawn to the challenge: something outside her normal routine that would require months of preparation and give her the opportunity to share an experience with close friends.

Training for a mountain endurance event while living in Fort Lauderdale presented its own challenges. Six and eight hour hikes and significant elevation were difficult to replicate in South Florida.

That is where BLU Fitness Manager Ben Bisesi became an important part of Jaime’s preparation.

Together, they translated the event's demands into training she could realistically complete locally. That included long sessions on the StairMaster and incline treadmill, extended periods on her feet, and repeated training at Vista View to build whatever elevation was available.

Ben also trained alongside her, coached her through the process, and helped her understand what her body needed as the training load increased.

Jaime incorporated BLU’s recovery and performance tools into her routine as well, including cold plunge, sauna, and hyperbaric oxygen. BrainTap also became part of her preparation, particularly as the mental demands of the event became more apparent.

“I knew this wasn’t going to be purely physical,” Jaime said. “I needed to be able to stay calm, manage the mental chatter, work through discomfort and continue moving when my body was tired.”

Consistency became one of her greatest sources of pride. She does not remember skipping a training day during the six months leading up to TRAIL.

That commitment required sacrifice, but Jaime was intentional about protecting the other priorities in her life. Rather than stepping away from her family or work, she adjusted her schedule, often waking around 3:00 or 3:30 a.m. to complete her training before the rest of the household was awake.

For Jaime, that became a lesson in itself.

Sometimes pursuing something meaningful requires sacrifice. But with intentionality, she found a way to make room for the challenge while continuing to show up for her family, her work and the people around her.

Three Days, Three Different Lessons

Each day in Park City brought something different.

Day 1 was about gratitude.

Jaime started conservatively, but around mile 12, she found herself feeling remarkably strong. Surrounded by the mountains and aware of everything it had taken to get there, she experienced a powerful sense of gratitude for her body and the months of preparation behind her.

She finished first among women and seventh overall.

But the placement was not what stayed with her most.

It was the feeling of being exactly where she was supposed to be.

Day 2 was about adapting.

Severe weather forced multiple delays and ultimately shortened the course. Jaime also dealt with stomach discomfort throughout the run.

Instead of allowing the unexpected circumstances to derail her, she focused on what she could control: her pace, her mindset and continuing forward.

She again finished as the first female, placing fourth overall.

The experience reinforced something she had already learned through training: preparation matters, but preparation cannot control everything. Sometimes the ability to adapt is just as important as the plan itself.

Day 3 was about trusting the plan.

The final day brought its greatest physical challenge. Jaime experienced knee pain during the final 16 miles, but she returned to a strategy she and Ben had established before the event: fast hike the climbs, jog the flats and slowly jog the descents.

Rather than continually deciding whether she felt like running, she simply followed the plan.

Every time the trail flattened, she jogged.

She finished fourth among the women. Even after three days of racing, her Day 3 finishing time was only about 10 minutes slower than her first day.

To Jaime, that was evidence of what six months of consistent preparation had built.

Fueling the Body and Recovering for the Next Day

Jaime also approached nutrition with the same philosophy she brought to training: don’t introduce unnecessary variables.

She prepared foods she knew her body handled well, including overnight oats, homemade rice balls, almond butter sandwiches and dried mango.

Recovery began as soon as each day ended.

The 29029 event provided physical therapists, massage therapists, and recovery support. Jaime also incorporated cold plunges and Hyperice compression into her routine.

The process became simple: finish the miles, refuel, recover, and prepare to do it again.

Looking back, Jaime says she would have incorporated more strength training into her preparation. Her experience with knee pain reinforced the importance of strength, mobility and recovery alongside endurance work.

The Finish Line Wasn’t the Emotional Part

Interestingly, Jaime says she was not particularly emotional when she crossed the final finish line.

She felt relieved. And proud.

The emotions came later, while driving away from Park City.

Looking back at the mountains, she realized she had just spent three days running through them after six months of early mornings, training sessions and preparation. She was also leaving behind Joe and Angie, with whom she had shared the experience.

That was when everything caught up with her.

The event was over, but the experience had changed something.

What Comes Next?

Jaime came away from TRAIL with a stronger understanding of herself.

She discovered that she enjoys adventure, challenge and the discipline of working toward something that initially feels intimidating. She learned that independence can be strengthened by putting yourself in unfamiliar situations. And she was reminded that the greatest competition is often with yourself.

Perhaps most importantly, she realized she wants to create more room in her life for those experiences.

For someone who spends a tremendous amount of energy on her work and family, TRAIL reminded her of the importance of friendship, nature, adventure and doing things that challenge a different part of who she is.

And finishing TRAIL did not make Jaime want to check the experience off a list.

It made her ask a different question: What’s next?

A 29029 Everesting event is already on her mind. So is a 50K trail race.

For now, she is keeping her eyes open for the next adventure.

Because six months before Park City, Jaime was not standing at a finish line.

She was simply getting up and doing one workout.

Then the next.

And the next.

That is where the finish really began.

About 29029 TRAIL

29029 TRAIL is a three-day endurance event in Park City, Utah, featuring three mountain marathons and roughly 79 miles of challenging terrain.