The Colorado 100-mile race that kicked off a fall filled with interviews and attention overlapped with her emergency medicine training, Dr. Flower said. The same mental focus needed for a successful shift in the emergency department is like the mindset required to excel at a long-distance run.

“It’s the mentality of just being okay with things not being perfect,” she said. “During a 100-miler, you are constantly encountering problems, you are problem solving, but you’re taking it as it goes. I think that’s exactly what you need to be able to be an ER doctor and be able to run 100 miles.”

Dr. Flower set a new speed record when she finished the Leadville Trail 100 Run in less than 18 hours last summer. (Click to enlarge.)

Just as in the emergency department, she focuses on what she can control.

“Me being upset or scared by it is not going to make it better,” she said.

Instead, she zeroes in on what she calls the essentials: assessing the situation and moving forward. What Dr. Flower did not expect was the volume of attention her Colorado performance received, especially from colleagues. She’s also proud to have inspired others around her to start training, or at the very least, start running. Since the 100-mile race that turned Dr. Flower into a local celebrity, several friends and coworkers have told her they’re planning to start training for a half marathon or a 10K. Some have just said they plan to start running.

“It has really become a vehicle for connection,” she said.

Despite her accomplishment, Dr. Flower is not someone who walks around broadcasting her athletic feats. “I try not to,” she laughed, adding that her non-running family trained her early to avoid becoming the person who monologues about their mileage. “People are not that interested to hear about what you did with your running life that day unless it’s a funny story or something cool.”

Dr. Flower, interviewed after the 100-mile run in Colorado and before the Tunnel Hill race, was asked what’s next for her.

“I’m actually running a 50-mile race called Tunnel Hill,” she said.

There, she set a new world record.