This winter she stepped away as one of the most decorated female cross-country skiers ever. This weekend she showed up in a new sport. Now as a beginner and without pressure.

Jessie Diggins made a surprising start in the trail race Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland: 31km, 2200 meters of climbing up and 1100 meters back down in the Valais Alps.

On Instagram, the American cross-country skiing star describes feeling nervous about the unknown. The goal was not time or placement, but to challenge both body and mind in a completely new way.

And Diggins praises both the trail running community and the people she met. Just like in winter, she showed up with glitter on her face. With only four months of training, the ski star admits the learning curve has been steep.

Even though Sierre-Zinal is a tough race, it is just a warm-up for Jessie Diggins’ next big goal. She aims to complete Superior 100 in Minnesota in September. That means a race of 100 miles, or about 161 kilometers.

Still, she will not agree that this is a career shift from skiing to running. Rather, it seems she finally has the freedom to explore what she wants to do, without having to optimize everything toward an Olympic goal.

“Survived Sierre-Zinal…what a cool experience!!” Diggins begins her post from the race.

“To be honest, I was really nervous when jumping into some big trail races that people would think, ‘what is she even doing here?’ But I wanted to challenge my brain and body in a totally new way, without the pressure of time or results from a known career, just racing for the joy of pushing my limits and being gritty and glittery all at once.”

“The other really fun part of jumping into a different sport is that the learning curve is so steep! I’ve had 4 months to try and learn how to run fast on trails, to move my legs and not fall on my face…and literally every day I get to learn something new! That’s a really humbling and amazing feeling, to know that you’re a beginner and you get to see a sport through fresh eyes.”

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Read More – Diggins: The machine that keeps going when the tank is empty

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