Pacev Ran Away From Her Country To Find Freedom, Then Turned To Running To Heal The Pain Of Losing A Child
Tania Pacev seemingly has two personalities. She is petite and animated, yet ferocious in her training and fierce in competition. She gets so excited to talk about running - her races, her injuries, and her goals. Yet when you ask if anyone can beat her, she lets you know that she's the best thing the 100K has going.

Tania has a reason to be excited and proud. She holds the American 40-44 age group record in the 100K and is planning to crush the 45-49 record as soon as she gets a chance. She places near the top of every race she runs. This firecracker of a woman has only been running ultra marathons for five years and only took up running as a hobby in the mid-90s.

I was running with Tania last June, just days after she underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus. Her injury was the only reason I could keep up with her, because she normally sets a relentless pace. The pace was still fairly relentless for a plodder like me and Tania was already planning a grueling training schedule to get herself back into shape. Of course, her doctor had told her to stay off her feet for awhile, but Tania isn't the kind of runner to listen to what a silly doctor says about rest. She needed to be back on the trails near her Littleton home and back doing what she loved. I got the feeling that Tania wouldn't let anything slow her down... not an injury and certainly not age.

The knee surgery took place in late May of last year. Pacev was back to racing form by December, placing an impressive second in the women's division of the Sunmart 50 Mile. But road ultras are her true love. "The difference between ultras on the trails and ultras on the roads is that it's easier to pace yourself on the roads. The race is more controlled. The trails are unknown."

Many runners like the unpredictability of trail running, but Tania is a fan of monotony. She favors race courses that travel short, repetitive loops. The road 100K is her favorite distance - it still requires speed (she runs the races at an 8- minute-per-mile pace) and she likes that the real race begins at 80K, much like many people say the marathon starts at 20 miles.

Although she competes in a variety of local road races, Tania says she has a passion for ultras because they are humbling. "Running is about racing against the clock. Other people can help push you, but in long distances, it's a mental challenge first and a physical challenge second."

Tania is no stranger to challenge. Born in Romania, she came to America in 1984 seeking the freedom that many of us take for granted. She became a U.S. citizen in 1990. By the late 1990s, she was dealt a terrible blow. Her daughter died and, like any parent, she had trouble dealing with the death. Eventually, she found running. "I reassessed my life. I needed a purpose, something to do, a goal."

She was at a stage in her life where she felt the need to push herself both physically and mentally. Running provided the focus she craved.

One of her proudest achievements is completing the Marathon Des Sables in 2001 and 2002, a 150-mile stage race in the Sahara Desert of Morocco where runners have to carry their gear with them. She placed third both years. She is also proud of the bronze medal she earned when the U.S. team placed third at the 2002 World 100K Championship in Belgium.

She says she trains like most marathoners, with hill repeats, track workouts, intervals and long runs. She runs 200, 400 and 800 repeats on the track to keep her leg speed. She says, "Track work brings discipline and pace." For hill repeats, she will run for three or four minutes uphill. She says that often people assume that you don't need speed to run ultras. While she believes that's true in 100 mile races, Tania says that 100K road runners hold a quick pace. Her long runs often consist of running local marathons and other races. "I like to know the distance and have the support of aid stations on my long runs, plus it's easier to hold a steady pace." She thinks it's too easy to slack off if she's running alone, so she typically runs with her partner, Eric Bindner. She races ultras two to four times a year but competes in countless local races as training runs. "I like to support the local events." She has yet to enter a 100 mile race but when asked, she smiles and says that she will in the future.

Her words of advice to new or would-be ultra runners? "I think the main challenge in longer distance races is knowing what you're capable of and then sticking to your plan. A big mistake for many new ultrarunners is that they don't hold a consistent pace."

When she's not running, Tania works as a real estate agent with Remax 100. She is sponsored by the Boulder Running Company and Bally's Total Fitness.