304 Miles Through the Desert. First Place Female I Selene Mallone

In episode 75 of Embers Rising, Selene Mallone ran 304 miles through the Sonoran Desert and crossed the finish line first place female at the Arizona Monster 300 — course record, fourth overall, ahead of more than fifty men. What makes that number extraordinary isn't the finish. It's where she started.In 2016, Selene crushed her fifth metatarsal on a powerlifting stage in Ottawa lifting 350 pounds. Alone, broadcasted across Canada, doctors told her to say goodbye to everything she loved. She went home, fell into a depression, and stopped moving entirely — until her mom put a pair of dumbbells beside her on the couch and said do something. That moment led her to firefighting, to her first marathon exactly one year after the injury, and eventually to one of the most brutal endurance races on the planet.In this conversation Selene opens up about what really happens inside 99 hours on foot through the desert — the sleep deprivation, the darkest moment on the trail, and the second she realized she was winning. Her message for anyone who has ever been told their story was already written for them: don't limit yourself. Just because it doesn't go right the first time doesn't mean it never will. Follow Selene at small.one on Instagram and YouTube.Follow SeleneInstagram @small.oneeYouTube https://tr.ee/DLHAoO7hkh