Loretta Tobolske-Horn Story

Just Another Runner’s Story                                                                                                   February 2025                                                                                                                            Written by Gale Fischer

Raise Your Ceiling

“The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless.”

—Dean Karnazes

We are all capable of so much more than we realize. In the physical realm, the human body's abilities can be stretched beyond perceived limits. Many examples of this involve what one can accomplish physically but often it really comes down to the brain and mental fortitude. There are plenty of cases of stretching the body's physical boundaries in the world of running and endurance athletes. This month’s featured runner, Loretta Tobolske-Horn, is one such illustration of how high an individual’s endurance ceiling can be raised.

Loretta’s running journey began as a child. “My first experience as an athlete came when I ran track as a student at Quincy Middle School,” Loretta explains. “I continued with track in high school and started running cross country when my school added a girl’s team my sophomore year. I played volleyball briefly in high school but injured my knee. After this experience, I decided to focus on running.” 

Loretta’s track coaches, Coach Parzych and Coach Chard were influential in her success as a high school athlete. She reflects on her experience as a varsity runner. “When our school added a girl’s cross-country team, Coach Parzych became the coach. He recruited me to come out and run cross-country. I made a huge jump in my race times going into my senior year. During the winter of my junior year, Coach Parzych would run with me. Coach Parzych’s commitment to running with Loretta helped to keep her in training mode during the off-season, while also providing opportunities for mentorship and guidance on how to improve as a runner. “I qualified and ran in the state cross-country meet my senior year. I was seeded high going into this race but slipped on a patch of mud on the course and didn’t do so well. My high school PR for the three-mile run is twenty-one minutes. In 1989, my senior year, I qualified for the state track meet in the two-mile. I finished in the top ten at the state meet.” Loretta was recruited to continue running after high school at Hillsdale College but decided that it was time for a break from her sport.

After graduating from Quincy High School in 1989, Loretta enrolled at Western Michigan University (WMU) to pursue a teaching degree in special education. She finished up at WMU in the spring of 1995 and started teaching the next school year. Coach Parzych’s wife, Ann, worked for Hillsdale County Intermediate School District and helped Loretta get her first teaching job with Hillsdale County Intermediate School District, teaching at Greenfield School in a self-contained special education preschool room. She moved to Branch Area Career Center two years later to teach special needs preschool children in an inclusionary setting. 

During her time in college, and through her early years as a teacher Loretta would continue running some on her own. She and her husband Derek were married while Loretta was still attending WMU in 1991. Derek and Loretta’s firstborn, Riley was born in 1996 with Maddelynn’s birth three years later in 1999. Running was not as big of a part of her life as it had been in high school and like it is now but this would change. Her children would help to bring running to the forefront and working as a public school teacher and administrator would provide opportunities for Loretta to mentor young runners.

Loretta reflects on how running became an integral part of her life again. “When my son, Riley, was in fifth grade, I started running more. He loved running longer distances.” Riley’s interest in running helped Loretta to realize that she missed a consistent, structured running routine. “We would run local 5K races and kid-friendly fun runs. Maddelynn would tag along as well. When Riley was in sixth grade I started a running club for friends of Riley and friends of Maddelynn. We called it 2FastU. The club started small but it grew.”

Organizing and implementing 2Fast4U was the start of something different for Loretta as a runner, with the opportunity it gave her to mentor young runners. Coaching would also enhance her own running. “Riley started running cross-country in sixth grade. At this time I became certified in CrossFit, CrossFit Kids, and CrossFit Endurance and we added strength training which we named Q-Town Boot Camp. A community member let us use his barn for CrossFit workouts. I worked with a variety of high school athletes, not just runners, as a trainer from 2007 when Riley was in seventh grade until 2017 when Maddelynn graduated from high school.” Being a CrossFit instructor helped Loretta to become stronger and more fit which contributed to the success that she would begin to experience as an endurance athlete. It would also help her develop a passion for coaching and in giving her time to the running community.

Loretta loved sharing her passion for running with her children. She talks about how this went beyond just running with them. “I started coaching as a volunteer for Riley’s Middle School track team in 2008, Riley’s seventh-grade year working with the distance runners. The next year I began coaching his cross-country team. I coached for three years until Riley and Maddelynn were in high school. It was just too much coaching for the Middle School and also trying to watch Riley and Maddelynn run for their High School teams.” During the off-season, Loretta coached both children to run for the National Junior Olympics. 

As a running coach and a CrossFit instructor, Loretta was also working out with her athletes. She was becoming stronger, raising her fitness level, and building her endurance. She was feeling great as a runner. Her stamina and speed were improving, so she decided to try a marathon. “I signed up for the Wild-Life Marathon on the Falling Waters Bike trail in the Concord, Michigan Area. I decided six weeks out that I was going to run the marathon. I was not prepared. I had managed a twenty-mile training run. I didn’t know much about fueling or hydration.” Despite her lack of preparation, Loretta had a great experience for her first marathon. Her strength and conditioning seemed to balance out her lack of experience at the marathon distance. “I managed to finish in three hours and twenty-six minutes, good enough for a first-place finish among females forty years and older. The last five miles were a struggle. After finishing, something inside of me changed. I was grateful to complete a marathon but a part of me wanted to know how much further I could run.”

Loretta was about to embark on a journey to test her endurance limits. Her intrigue in longing to see how far and for how long she could run after crossing the finish line for her first marathon planted a seed, but other circumstances also fed into this. “Riley enrolled at the University of Michigan (U of M) in 2014 and joined the running club there. It created friendships and turned him into a long-time runner. Maddelynn was nearing the end of her high school years and would follow Riley to U of M a few years later in 2017. Like Riley, she also joined the running club which fueled her desire to make running an important part of her life.” The passion that Riley and Maddelynn seemed to be developing for running helped to feed into the interest that Loretta was developing for her sport. Empty nest syndrome was nearing and setting new goals as a runner became a way for Loretta to adjust to this transition.

There were other factors that turned the tide for Loretta from marathon runner to ultra-marathon maniac. “I had read the book Ultra Marathon Man by Dean Karnazes, which piqued my interest. Not long after reading Dean’s book In 2016, my friend Teddy Foote was turning forty. He decided he wanted to run forty miles on his birthday so I decided to run it with him. It went really well for me. During our training for the forty miler, Teddy and I met Charles Steele, an ultra runner from Hillsdale, Michigan. We were at the clubhouse at Hillsdale College getting ready to run and we saw Charles as he was finishing his run. We talked to him.”  Although Loretta had just met Charles and their conversation was brief it seemed that they made a connection. They exchanged phone numbers and remained in contact. Charles would become an invaluable mentor for Loretta as an ultra runner. 

Loretta had invested a great deal of time coaching and mentoring other runners. She would continue to do this but with Charles, the tables had turned somewhat and now she was the mentee.  He convinced her to sign up for your first official ultra event. “Charles kept talking to me about competing in the Bad Apple Ultra in Greenville, Michigan. It consisted of a four-mile loop. The goal was to see how many miles you could run in twelve hours. I finally signed up and participated in this event in 2017.”

Loretta was confident in herself going into the Bad Apple Ultra but also a bit nervous. She sought guidance from Charles. “Charles’s advice was to hit fifty miles feeling fresh. The course record for females was sixty-four miles. I wanted to break this record. Charles’ advice became my strategy. I planned to stop every four miles for a break but it was cold and I eventually decided to not take extended breaks, in an attempt to stay warm.” The cold weather wasn’t the only thing that put a crimp into Loretta’s race plan. “I developed a blister on one of my toes early on. I didn’t know how to fuel and hydrate properly but my friend Bruce Brown was there to advise me on what to do about this. I finished as the first among females with sixty-eight miles and setting the female course record. I felt awesome, and better than expected. My next goal became to run one hundred miles.”

Loretta’s success at the Bad Apple Ultra and the confidence she gained set into motion her running chapter as a competitive ultra runner. Triple digits became her next goal. “The following year in 2018, I ran the Hennepin One-Hundred Miler. I did some more research about how to train properly and how to use nutrition and hydration. Riley, Teddy, and another friend, Jenny, came to pace me. I saw Ann Trayson, a well-known ultra runner who was the guest speaker the day before, at mile twenty. Being able to exchange words with her gave me a mental boost. I wanted to feel fresh at fifty. Things were going well until mile seventy.” As is common for many who take on an ultra marathon, Loretta hit a rough patch but rebounded. “I noticed a pain in my knee and tried pushing through it. My knee was really hurting. I had stopped at mile eighty for a bathroom break and my urine was dark. I thought that I would just walk in the last twenty miles. I was in first place and the second female passed me while I was in the bathroom.” Loretta was content to just coast in but her support system wouldn’t let that happen. “Teddy and my husband talked me into keep running to try and catch the first female. I caught her at mile ninety-seven. We competed the last three miles. I ended up finishing second in nineteen hours and thirty-four minutes.” Loretta was a bit beat up but felt good about her first one-hundred-mile finish. After the race, she was diagnosed with a torn sartorius muscle, which was the culprit of her knee pain. It healed after three or four weeks of rest. She attempted another race six weeks later, the Tunnel Hill Hundred Miler but had to stop thirty miles in. 

In the last eight years, Loretta has completed six, one-hundred-mile races as well as six, twenty-four-hour challenges. She has proven her level of endurance with four first-place finishes. She recently completed a multi-day event, something she had first thought about a few years ago. Loretta talks about her most recent adventure. “During COVID I started thinking about running across Michigan using the Great Lake-to-Lake Trail, a route that consists primarily of trails, with some sections traversing roads. I had a big map printed out so that I could begin my research.” Knocking this off her bucket list would require a great deal of planning, focus, and motivation. It seemed that other events that she wanted to participate in would come up, pushing to the side the run across Michigan. Loretta reflects on the various circumstances that came together to eventually make this a reality. “I finally decided to tackle this goal in 2024. Riley was getting ready to run the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. I planned a trip out west, making a stop in Boulder for a few days to run the Bolder Boulder 10K with Maddelynn. I then went on to San Diego to run the Marathon with Riley. These two experiences running with both of my children are something that I will always cherish. It brought a different kind of fun to my running, making it seem like now was the time to get ready for the run across Michigan.”

Loretta and her crew were able to accomplish her trek across Michigan earlier this fall. She reflects on this experience. “For the run across the state, I wanted to eclipse the Fastest Known Time (FKT) for crossing the Great Lake-to-Lake Trail on foot which starts on the west side of the state in South Haven and ends in St. Clair Shores on the east side. The FKT before Loretta’s journey was five days and seven hours for men and the women’s time was six days and seven hours for women.” Loretta began her cross-state run on November eighth, finishing on November eleventh, with a total time of three days, and fifteen hours, and a total distance of two-hundred and nineteen miles. Her total time consisted of running through most of each day with a three-hour nap each night in a camper van. She crushed the FKT for both men and women but admits she couldn’t have done it without some help. “My husband supported me the entire way, my friend, Kim helped crew and transport my pacers and at least fifteen individuals ran segments with me. I ran only five hours of it solo. The experience was incredible”.

It seemed that Loretta’s coaching days were behind her but as she became more involved in the ultra marathon community she was given another opportunity to coach. “In 2020 I met Michelle Hartwig, the owner of Ornery Mule Racing,” Loretta explains. “She asked me to join her team as a coach. I was still working full time so I started doing this on the side. I was certified to coach through the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA) and United Endurance Sports Coaching Academy (UESCA).” Coaching others who are as crazy as she seems to suit Loretta. “I have developed a passion for coaching. I decided to retire from education in 2021, partly because of running and coaching.  I wanted to coach more and focus on my running. Currently, I have thirty athletes. I coach about ten to fifteen hours a week. I have also started a monthly book club with Ornery Mule Racing and host a coaching podcast.”

Like many who enter the running community, coaching and mentoring become a way to give back while also providing internal rewards to enhance their personal running stories. Loretta reflects on why she coaches. “I love helping people. Because of this coaching is quite rewarding to me. I enjoy working with the challenges of helping individuals who are at different chapters of their running journeys with different goals. I am available to my athletes 24/7.” 

As is a common theme in the running community for so many, running has been a positive presence for Loretta. She talks about how it has transformed her. “As a runner, I like to inspire others. Running has changed my life. I have met so many people locally and across the country through running. Running gives me time to decompress and run alone but also gives me time to hang out with others who are like-minded.” Running and coaching other runners has taught Loretta many lessons about how to live her life. “I would encourage others to do their best every day whatever that would be. Dream big. If there is something that you want to do, don’t let fear get in the way. Stay in the mile you're in.”

It seemed that Loretta was destined to just run limited miles as an adult after success as a high school runner. Both her children found a passion for running which would catapult Loretta into a journey as an endurance athlete. Other circumstances would fuel this passion. Her story shows us that we are capable physically of much more than we realize. Fear is a natural human feeling but can sometimes stand in the way of one pushing their limits. Ultimately what endurance athletes can accomplish, comes down to the mind and confidence. If there is a balance between fear and confidence then the possibilities are endless. If you are a non-active person wanting to run a 5K race, don’t let fear of failure keep you on the couch. If you are a casual runner wanting to try a marathon go for it. If you want to up the ante and run an ultra, know that you can do it. With a good plan in place, hard work, and sometimes a willingness to push through pain and discomfort so much is possible. Don’t limit yourself. Raise your ceiling.

Everyone has a story.  Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.