(Photos courtesy Maureen Gillis)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

You’re a beginning runner — say, you’ve been jogging a few miles a few days a week for the past couple of months — and someone asks if you’d like to run a 27-mile marathon through Peruvian peaks to Machu Picchu (map) on one of the most challenging race trails in the world. Would you do it?

If you’re 26-year-old Maureen “Mo” Gillis, the answer is, absolutely!

Mo is a two-year resident of West Seattle who works at Curves’ West Seattle and White Center locations. She insists that right out of college she was out of shape, and that her interest in physical activity started after working out while on the job. Her interest in marathon running was piqued when helping at the finish line of a marathon her mother — West Seattle High School graduate Cheri Pompeo — ran last year. While at the finish line, watching the runners finish, Mo noticed “Each person was smiling, not just the person in first place. They all said the route was beautiful and well-marked and they were so happy and grateful. I wanted to be a part of that group.”

The next day, she went for a jog.

For support, she e-mailed the winner of that marathon, who encouraged her efforts. She started running, and also started writing about it at talesofabeginner.blogspot.com. Through the website, she got emotional support as well as donations of running gear. “I fell in love with the people and knew I had to do the sport.”

She ran her first half-marathon, the Seattle Marathon in September of 2008. While she was still focusing on shorter marathons, Mo’s mother Cheri learned about the Peru Marathon (which took place last month) and asked Mo, “Want to go to Peru?” At that time, Mo was running strongly and agreed to go.

However, shortly before the event, Mo suffered a common runner’s injury and wasn’t able to train or do the marathons she had entered as part of her preparation for Peru. Did that keep her from going? Not at all. “I went with the full intention to live through it and enjoy it.”

The marathon was preceded by a few days of hiking tours, including one run past salt mines, “the only way to tour something that dull…” and whitewater rafting.

The morning of the marathon, Mo woke up at 3 am for the one-mile hike to the starting point. If she had any lingering doubts as to whether she’d made the right decision to participate in the grueling event ahead of her, they were erased when “I saw a shooting star just before the race.”

Though the first 3 miles of the trail were supposed to be the “most runnable,” the runners encountered sharp, jagged rocks sticking up out of the earth and steep gains in elevation. Not only was the terrain treacherous — it was crowded. “We were passing people with donkeys going to work!” Other animals were in the area too:

Some of the steepest elevations along the trail found the runners coming “face-to-face” with clouds or looking down at lower mountain peaks shrouded in cloud cover. Their route presented challenges such as 1 foot-high stone steps, or cave-like rock outcroppings they dropped into during descents. Not to mention the part of the trail that ran along the train tracks: when a train came by, they simply pressed themselves against the cliff beside them.

The high elevations—their summit was 13,800 feet—meant the oxygen was so thin Mo’s muscles were trembling uncontrollably while she navigated the winding, precarious trail. At these points, she would have to pause to regain control.

They encountered many “false summits”—peaks they thought were the highest point on the route, only to look ahead and see the trail climbing to an even higher peak. At Mile 17, Mo rolled her ankle and had to take a break. There was no stopping or going back however—there wasn’t anywhere TO go but forward. At one point, the group Mo had been running with realized they could no longer see a trail. The trails were supposed to be obvious, supposedly, they’d always know they were on it—but there wasn’t anything obvious. They decided to keep going. Suddenly, they came to a stone ladder with 1 foot-high steps leading straight up a wall. At the top of the wall, they went through stone “doorways” and when they emerged they saw, 1-1/2 miles ahead and 1,000 feet below — Machu Picchu: the finish line.

The descent was so steep, that Mo, exhausted and having turned her ankle a second time, scooted down the stairs at the end of the trail on her rear end. This part of the trail, being so close to Machu Picchu, hosted a number of tourists — many of whom were surprised to see Mo bumping down the hill in such a manner. She didn’t care, “We lived through it!”

Not only did Mo live through the experience, she met her goal of finishing the marathon in ten hours; though she does admit with a smile: “My mother beat me.”

Mo’s Peruvian adventure took place nearly a month ago — but she says now, “Everything still hurts!”

After conquering the marathon that many accomplished runners say is among the most difficult in the world, what’s next? Mo is signed up to run in marathons for the next four months. “I’ve gotten to the point where I’m just in love with running.”

Her favorite routes in West Seattle include Lincoln Park and Beach Drive. She encourages anyone who wants to try running to get started and to contact other runners: “There are a lot of people out there who want to support anyone getting into it.” She adds that even for a seasoned runner, “The first two miles are always the hardest!”