Hillary Allen: How American skyrunner returned to the race that almost killed her

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By Ben Collins
BBC Sport
Tromso Skyrace is simply extreme. When describing the course at 2014, race director Kilian Jornet confessed:You might die.
It had been no exaggeration.
At the halfway point of the course that is 57km comes the part: a steep, narrow shape.
Throughout the 2017 race, American skyrunner Hillary Allen dropped from this ridge. She was in freefall for 50ft. Then she tumbled another 100ft down the rockjust as a rag doll before going into a halt.
This is the story of a 31-year-old lady from Colorado returned to conduct the race that killed her.
It was 5 August 2017. Allen was anticipating afun workout with no stress. She remembers smiling, saying hello to new faces along the program and friends. One of these was a fellow rival named Manu Par.
Allen became a expert skyrunner in 2015 and spent every summer racing in Europe. From 2017 she chose to make Tromso her final race before going home, where she is also a science teacher and had been one of the top athletes on the Migu Run Skyrunner World Series.
Located in Norways far north, in which mountains rise sharply from the shore, the Tromso race has a place in skyrunning. This sports type moves from sea to summit.
Its course takes runners across paths, through woods, across snow and snow boulder fields, and up to the areas most iconic summits – Tromsdalstinden (1,238m) along with also Hamperokken (1,404m) – for a total elevation gain of 4,800m.
Allen handed Manu Par at the beginning of both Hamperokkens 3.5kilometers seam. She was picking on the line round the rugged terrain, making continuous progress. Then disaster struck.
Par has been behind when Allen dropped 10 metres. It was a sheer vertical drop and he saw her bounce farther down the mountain. It seemed to last as long as 10 seconds.
The worst thing was that the sound, says Par, 31. A human body bouncing against the stone. It was just dreadful.
Instinct took over. By scrambling down the rock to attain Allen par put his safety. What he found was a pile. Her body was twisted, so her arms were like bags of bones, so there was a gash in her thigh so big that Par might have placed his hands in.
I was sure she was dead, he says. I did not even think to check her vitals.
However, after a few seconds he realised that her belly moved. She was breathing. Adrenaline kicked in. Par swiftly called and is educated as a mountain guide.
Allen was in danger of falling further so he had to move , but since it was apparent she had a spinal injury. She recovered consciousness and Par told her not to move, urging her to stay alert.
You can see she was struggling to remain alive, to do what I advised her, he says. It was unbelievable. Just imagine being in this situation – most ordinary people will have given up.
Some race photographers also witnessed the collapse and called for help. A rescue helicopter came after around 25 minutes. Allens precarious place supposed it required 2 weeks to hoist her from the mountain.
Unexpectedly, Allen survived. Shed 12 broken bones, including two in her spine and arms, and needed countless stitches. On the subsequent two weeks she had five surgeries and has been told she would likely never operate again.
But in a year she was back in skyrunning. Shortly after she decided that she would go back to Norway. She needed closure.
Allen can not recall precisely what happened – whether she slipped, tripped, or a stone broke off from underfoot. But she does remember falling.
Time slowed down, she states. I recall the effect of hitting the ground but I do not recall the pain of this. I recall my bones breaking , the noise of its sensation.
I had been thinking:This is it, youre going to die. I remember relaxing, though it had been a terrifying second, and thinking:Do your very best to stop yourself, but only embrace it
I handed out and when I came to I watched Manu along with another folks rescuing me. As soon as I saw their faces I believed I was going to die. Id never seen that look of terror before. Then the pain hit. It came in waves.
It had been so intense it caused her to shout, until the pain relief occurred effect, and then she was airlifted to hospital. The Following Day, par and Allen seen.
There were numerous tubes and she was completely groggy from the anaesthetics, he says. I still thought she was about to expire until two weeks after.
It was only when Allen awakened that day which the severity of her injuries appears on her too.
I couldnt go, there were wires coming out of me, stitches and cuts everywhere, she states. I thoughtoh my God, can I even function again? Never mind
She had broken ribs and bones inside her feet as well as breaking 2 vertebrae along with both arms. She suffered a lisfranc fracture in her right foot, and it was what jeopardised her ability. It took screws which were eliminated, although the plates inside her arms stay.
The first time Allen posted after the injury on social media was – an Instagram movie out of her hospital bed in while list her injuries which, still in the pain relief, then she slurs her voice.
Back in Colorado a week after, she posted another video in which she becomes tearful while describing the surgeries shes about to own.
I did not look pretty, she cries now. When I see them I grimace. But I dont care because thats where I was.
That has been a pact I made early in my healing. I have mixed emotions about media. I feel as a lot of the time its this big lie. You never find the raw emotions, the struggle.
I wished to be honest about what happened. Originally it was all about showing relatives and friends I was OK, but from there on I received amazing support through media.
I chose to publish the good and bad moments, to document just how extremely difficult the retrieval procedure was and continued to be.
Allen returned home with just one limb thatkind of labored. Every tiny thing became a task – . She could not shower or visit the toilet.
Some times I didnt have the capability to get out of bed. Early on I wished the accident killed me because it might have been easier.
She found ways to cope. She moans about the number of people and even made a contraption to consume with.
She could not use crutches so a scooter on which she could bear weight throughout her wrists was provided by one of her patrons. Obviously, she broke goingoff street in parks and along trails and needed to get it repaired at a bicycle shop.
Within three months she could walk within six she could run, then after 10 she entered her skyrace because the accident – on 17 . The week after that shed the Cortina Course race that is 48km in the Dolomites – and won it.
The concept of returning to Norway had been at the back of her thoughts. By ancient 2019 she had been planning to race that 13, in Tromso.
During a routine training run in February, the ankle broke. However she recovered to acquire the Cortina Path in June. Tromso was back on.
As I crossed the line at the Cortina Path I was like:OK, I have to go back. It scares me, and its hard, but I need to return, states Allen. I felt ready to handle the fear.
Par and she agreed to race. They had kept in contact however it was the very first time since she left Tromso theyd seen each other, if Allen returned to Norway. Where Allen virtually died three days prior to the race, they moved up to the ridge and the spot.
It was kind of bizarre, says Par. We had a really close relationship through what occurred but did not really know each other. This was the very first time we talked properly.
Allen wanted to learn everything aboutthat day. How she was discovered by Par and what he watched. They hadnt ever discussed the accident in detail before – and they havent since.
Par says:It was just like a run also treatment, it was just something we had to perform.
Allen adds:I knew the injury was bad but hearing it from Manus view was pretty intense. For the remaining part of the day I just didnt need to be about anyone. I was actually considering whether to remain for the race since I did not need to go back there. It made me realise how blessed Im living. This was cathartic.
Allen hadthe fun since she and Par completed the race with each other, laughing and talking, even about the ridge.
There wasnt any doubt in my mind I was going to complete, she states. This was a weight that I had on me personally for a couple of years. Now I feel free, free. I really dont hold a grudge from the mountain. I spent being afraid of the place but I see it to its pure beauty
A self-confessed science nerd, Allen was studying for a Masters degree in neuroscience and playing competitive tennis but sought asimpler release. She attempted trail running in 2013 andthings just clicked. She believed it was exactly what she was meant to do. She did not know if she would regain to be an elite athlete . But who was ?
During her recovery she talked to some sports psychologist, who helped her develop a feeling of self love that didnt depend on competitors. She now feels the ordeal gave her the opportunity to reevaluate she loves running and has made her a better athlete – as well as a man.
Shes found a new game (gravel riding), is trying several kinds of running and training farther than shes run before. In August she arrived the Traces des Ducs de Savoie, races.
It has shown me exactly what I am capable of with this fresh standpoint ofI dont care if I win, she says.
Its given me more perspective, more depth. I have got more freedom to discover what works for me personally, just how far I can push myselfto learn about myself and I wouldnt trade that for anything.
People call me brave. I do not necessarily think that. Yeah, I am stubborn. I enjoy doing things that are difficult, facing my fears and finding a way through, discovering solutions in situations that seem impossible.
Hopefully that is what I am currently characterized by – my personality and ethics. Life is hard and if I could help others face the challenges they face then surpasses anything that I achieve in running.

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