Interview: Delilah Carden - "Me and the Mountain"
Ketchum, Idaho
Kicking of the Runners of Run Club series, we’re featuring Delilah Carden of Ketchum, Idaho. Along with having a true love for running, she also has true range, from the road marathon up to trail 100 milers. She’s a finisher of the CCC 100k at the UTMB Finals in Chamonix, France, and a multiple-time top-5 finisher at races across the West, including a second place at The Bear 100 miler in 2022.
Most impressive of all is the way she leads by example – harnessing her wide-ranging life experience, including time as a Marine, to develop her passions, show resilience in adversity, and share how fulfilling it can be to put energy into those things we love to do.
We met to talk at the Starbucks in Ketchum, Idaho on an unexpectedly quiet evening during the summer high season.
—Hank Dart
What’s one of your first running memories?
It’s funny, because I don’t have very many memories from when I was young, but when I was in middle school, I wanted to start running. I lived in Baytown, Texas, which is a suburb of Houston. So, there’s nothing. No parks or national forests or anything like that. So, I would just go one block from where I lived to this elementary school, and I used to run laps around it. I was, I think, in middle school. It’s not a great memory, but it’s my first one of running.
Do you know why you did that?
Yeah. From a very young age, I knew I always wanted to be in good shape for my entire life. I don’t know why I was, like: “running must be the way to do it.” Maybe it was from seeing a lot of people out of shape, living in southern Texas. So that just was planted in my mind.
When did your love for trail running take off?
So, my first trail run was actually a hike with friends, when I lived just outside the East Gate of Yellowstone in Cody, Wyoming. This was after I got out of the military. We were hiking to this waterfall that was, maybe, four miles away or something. And it was taking forever - and I was just so impatient. So, I was like: “Ugh, guys, I’m going to run.” And there was one other person that said: ”I’ll run with you.” And I’m in my hiking clothes, hiking shoes, and we just both start running.
But it really grew when I met Jakub [her now husband]. I moved to Jackson Hole, and our first date was actually a trail run. We ran to Bear Lake. After that, I was hooked. That was over 10 years ago. We were babies.
If you don’t mind my asking, what branch of the military were you?
I was in the Marine Corps. You know, I did run, obviously. I was forced to run. Half the time, we’re in full military outfit, and in our boots, running, which was not fun. But right before I got out of the Marine Corps, I did run my first marathon. Just for fun. And so that was cool. I lived in California at the time [in 29 Palms]. And so, we’re running, and huge dust storms would come through; sand is just slapping me in the face. You can hardly see in front of you because all the sand is just whipping around. One of my friends in the Marine Corps, she convinced me to do it, and I was like, “Yeah.” I think she got first place, and I got second place.
You started the Facebook group, Wood River Trail Runners, which Hailey Run Club came out of. Do you want to say a little bit about that?
We moved here from Bozeman in 2020, and we had a really awesome running community there. I mean, I’m still friends with all of those runners. We’d meet up at trails and go running. And I was thinking: “I want that again, here.” But we didn’t know anyone in Ketchum when we moved here. And we spoke to Gus Gibbs, and he’d mentioned that there used to be a run club. So, I was, like: “Well, I’m just going start one, and that’s how I’m going to make friends.” Because I obviously want to make running friends. I didn’t know anything about the trails. I just knew that there were tons of them. The issue was that everyone that joined Wood River Trail Runners lived in Haley, and I lived in Ketchum. So that’s what always made it so hard. I wanted to include the greater Wood River Valley. I wanted to include everyone. So, I try to make it to Hailey Run Club when I can.
You grew up in Baytown, Texas. How do you think that shaped who you are today?
Yeah. I saw everything that I didn’t want to do with my life. And decided I was going to do the opposite of what I see. So, the minute I turned 16 is when I was, like: “Mom and Dad, I need you to sign these papers so I can join the military when I turn 18.” That was devastating to them, but I already knew I can’t live here. Joining the military is not easy, but it was the quickest way out. Everyone in my hometown stayed; they stayed put. And I never wanted to do that. I did four years active, four years in active reserve. So, a total eight years was my contract.
Do you have a favorite distance or type of race?
I used to love between 50 and 100 miles, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get back up to 100 miles, which is a bummer. But to be honest, when I was thinking about my favorite races: It’s between 50K and 100K. Those have been my favorite races, but that also could be where they were.
What comes to mind when you say that?
The Matterhorn Ultra 50K. It changed my brain chemistry being out there. The vibe, the setting. I mean, those mountains completely blew my mind. Getting to run in those Swiss Alps - I had never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life. And I’m running this race with all these people who don’t speak English, and everyone’s looking at me, like: “What is this short little Hispanic girl doing out here in Switzerland?” And they have charcuterie out at the aid station, because it’s Switzerland, so it’s, like, cheese and meat, right? And the cows. There are cows everywhere with their little bells ringing. I mean, that and CCC [the UTMB Finals 100k in Courmayeur/Chamonix] are the two most beautiful races I’ve ever run.
Do you have any favorite equipment – something you love having with you out on the trail or when you’re racing?
[Holds up small case]. My headphones. That’s what I Iove. Obsessed - because I listen to house music when I run. It keeps me going. It helps me turn my brain off and not focus on how hard the run is, because it’s like a party in my ears. Yeah. I have to have them when I run. My playlist is probably 27-hours long.
What’s a favorite house track?
Break It by HILLS X JUNTARO.
Do you have a visceral memory or a special moment from running that you come back to again and again?
It’s not from a race, but it’s a run that Jakub and I did in Switzerland. We started from one town and ended in Brienz. It’s a huge ridge run, and there’s a giant lake on one side that’s glacial, crystal blue. And that was the most special run, I think I’ve ever done. It was just us two. I will watch my GoPro videos of us running that over and over and over again. I think it’s also because I was in my peak fitness that year. That was the year that I got second place at The Bear 100. It was an epic year. My goal is to go back and run that trail again. You know? I’ve already done it, but I want to do it again, especially after my injury.
Do you want to talk a little bit about your injury? We don’t have to.
Sure. Sure. I tore my ACL at mile four of the Chiang Mai 100K [in Thailand, fall of 2024]. I didn’t know I’d torn it. Because it didn’t hurt. I knew there was a popping sound, and I fell into some bushes as I was running down this steep hill, and that’s when it happened. But it didn’t hurt, so I kept running. And then I got to a few aid stations, and I tried to tell them: “There’s something wrong.” They understood something was wrong, but no one spoke English because we were in the middle of the jungle. They would wrap my leg and spray it with some Icy Hot-type stuff and then tell me I had to keep going. I didn’t have an option to get out until mile 27. By then, it was so bad. I not only had shredded my ACL, I shredded my meniscus.
So, it’s been a long road back after you had surgery, right?
I had major surgery, yeah. And it’s been a long time. And two months after the surgery, it got infected, and he had to go back in. So, that was horrible. Yeah.
You’re doing better?
I can run, and my surgeon said eventually it will stop hurting. First, he said “a year”, and then he said “eventually.”
Your first race back was a road marathon in May, and you got third. How did that make you feel?
I mean, it was great. I trained a lot for it. I didn’t think I was running that fast. I definitely trained slower than I ran the race. So, like they always say: you train slow, you run fast at the race. It felt amazing. I didn’t know I’d placed when I left. It was in Boise, so there were thousands of people there. It was a 5K, 10K, half marathon, and marathon, and we all finished around the same time. My friend messaged me in all caps: “DELILAH, YOU GOT THIRD PLACE.” And he sent me a screenshot of the results. I was getting a smoothie with Jakub, and I started to immediately tear up – because I just couldn’t believe it – after everything. I’m tearing up now. It was a lot of hard work. Especially after every milestone, I’d be like: “Oh, it’s been a year since I could start walking again.” Because I couldn’t walk without crutches for three months. No weight bearing. Yeah. It was so hard.
It’s clear how much running means to you. So, it’s been great to see you come back to it.
It’s so crazy how much I love to run. It’s so crazy. It doesn’t make sense, but it is my favorite thing in the world.
Anything else to add? Anything sparked by this discussion?
I’m just really grateful we live here [in the Wood River Valley]. We lived in Jackson Hole. We ran every trail there before we left. We lived in Bozeman. The trails in Bozeman were amazing. But it was a lot of driving to try to get to the mountains, because they aren’t as accessible as here. I mean, I can run to Baldy [Sun Valley Resort’s main mountain]. It’s so nice.
The run up and down Baldy is a touchstone for you, right? I forget how you’ve described it – something like, “your trail?”
My mountain.
That’s right. When did Baldy became so embedded for you?
That started after I did the Everest challenge, as part of Rebecca Rusch’s Giddy Up Challenge during COVID. I ran up and down the mountain nine and a half times in 22 hours [over 29,000 feet of vert]. It was really hard. It was really hard. I had two different people run one lap with me, but for the rest of it, it was just me. Just me, running up and down. It was me; me and the mountain. Yeah. So that’s when.
I think that perfectly describes it, and that’s a great place to end. Thank you.