Ultrarunner Joella Nicole Sets Sights on the Javelina Jundred Finish Line
Two years ago, ultrarunner Joella Nicole was roaming the country as a full-time RV’er, working remotely and developing her passion for trail running. When winter beckoned, she sought the endless summer and rolled south: Nicole made her way to the Tampa, Florida area, where she had family, but did not yet have running friends or training partners.
That all changed after an online search where she discovered (OWS Leo). Nicole relished in the cross-training, the group-support mentality, and the connections she made through open water swim. That led to more outings, such as yoga on the beach, Beach Flow, and the Beach Flow Christmas Party, where Nicole and Matt Scarborough of Bicycle Accident Law first met.
Nicole and Scarborough exchanged a few DMs after the party and serendipitously, they both attended Open Water Swim on New Year’s Day.
As Nicole recalls, “ I got out of the water after swimming a mile and a half and I was disgusting, dripping, and looked like a drowned rat. And he came over to me and started talking about our DMs and then he just asked me directly, ‘I'd like to take you to dinner sometime.’ That was very refreshing, especially after using dating apps.”
Two years later, and now post-pandemic, Nicole and Scarborough have forged a relationship on a foundation of open communication, a passion for endurance sports, and a strong sense of adventure. Scarborough often joins Nicole in her training, biking alongside her on the trails, as she trods weekend runs of 30 miles or more. They share advice about muscle recovery, the importance of yoga, and getting in race shape.
At the end of October, Nicole will attempt her ultimate race, the Javelina Jundred—that’s a 100-mile, ultra-run in the Arizona desert—which she also attempted in 2022 and 2021.
“In my first attempt, I learned that mentally, and in a lot of ways— physically, energetically—I did not have enough in me. I had no crew, no support. I was very much solo.”
By 2022, Nicole found support in Scarborough and friends from Florida who attended Javelina to cheer her on—in full costume regalia.
“Last year, I had a crew and I was very physically fit, but there was a lot of other life stuff happening that emotionally made it very difficult to complete.” Nicole got within twenty miles of the finish line, more than 80% of a completed ultrarun before her body gave out. In fact, roughly six months later, after prolonged hip pain, Nicole received confirmation that she had fractured the top of her hip, the femoral neck—most likely in pursuit of Javelina’s finish line.
Once the fracture was discovered, Nicole was in a wheelchair for eight weeks with strict instructions that she was not to bear weight on her hip. Recovery after her time in the wheelchair was gradual, beginning with gentle bicycle rides with Scarborough.
By June, Nicole was finally able to start running again and she was focused on one thing: training for Javelina Hundred. Nicole wanted a rematch, even if she only had twenty-one weeks to prepare. With that time constraint, she’d need to be able to add five miles a week to her training to be in race shape—and be careful not to reinjure her hip.
“It’s been a tedious, laborious, process,” Nicole acknowledges. “This year, I haven't been able to do all the training that I wanted to do. But I've got a lot more of the mental side and the support, and I feel more prepared than previous years, which is great.”
The BicycleAccidentLaw.com team will be sponsoring Nicole’s Javelina Jundred race this year and sharing updates on social media. Follow along as Nicole sets her sights on the finish line of Javelina and on the prospects of becoming an Endurance Mindset Coach in 2024.
Where is Joella Nicole? Watch the live-stream video of Javalina Jundred 2023 and follow her course milestones
Track approximately where Joella in the Javalina Jundred course using this link.