The Space We Leave Behind
For Carmen, and the girl gang who moved through life beside her.
“Some of the most lasting legacies aren’t left at the finish line, they’re found in the moments we walk beside one another.”
To Carmen - ‘One of the Best’
Some weeks hold more weight than others.
They stir things in you: memory, meaning, the quiet truths you often outrun.
Lately, I’ve been navigating a few quiet storms, the kind that catch you off guard, emotionally and otherwise.
And when everything feels like it’s spinning, it’s easy to lose sight of something simple, but essential:
Life is a gift.
Even in the mess.
Especially in the mess.
In 2020, I started Her Trails with Bec Wilcock, first as a stand-alone trail running program. But the women who joined weren’t just looking to run.
They were searching for a place to land, a way to move through uncertainty, to rediscover strength, and to do it alongside others who understood that growth isn’t linear.
It’s wild, messy, quiet: and always more powerful when shared.
That’s what Her Trails became, not because we designed it that way, but because of the women who showed up and made it their own.
Carmen Hyra was one of them.
She joined Her Trails in August 2022 through our Half Marathon Trail program, training for the Sunshine Coast Trail Run.
She stepped into the community alongside Zoe, Sarah & Sunny, four close friends from the Sunshine Coast who carried a deep bond and a readiness to keep growing.
I remember being on a family holiday in Noosa when I saw Zoe and Sunny on a trail run.
They were lit from within, laughing, grounded, and moving with ease.
Zoe was also wearing a Her Trails running top, the first time I’d seen one in the wild, outside of Victoria. It caught me by surprise, and that moment has stayed with me.
Something we created had reached them, and they were carrying it forward in their own way.
They weren’t just participating in Her Trails, they were evolving it.
I would learn later just how much Carmen had been carrying.
She had been quietly navigating a long battle with cancer.
Carmen joined Her Trails programs when her body allowed, training on and off, always with quiet strength and deep presence.
This video was taken after Carmen’s first surgery. Zoe thought they were just going for a walk, but Carmen had other ideas.
Last year, she signed up for our Surf Coast 50km training block, but had to step away toward the end as her health declined.
When we spoke about it, she shared:
“Right now I just need to focus on what is going on and minimise all the extra things.
I definitely plan on beating this and getting another event in my sights.
Thanks again for all the Her Trails team does to encourage and support the love of trail running and building a positive community.”
Even in the face of so much uncertainty, Carmen had this grounded optimism.
She didn’t sugarcoat things, but she believed in beauty, in community, in giving her best when she could.
The women around her felt it, and mirrored it.
This Wednesday I received an email from Zoe.
Shared with permission.
Zoe’s words held the weight of a decade-long friendship, one shaped by movement, memory, and presence.
Reading her message stirred something in me.
It brought me back to what I’d been circling for weeks: the importance of valuing your life.
Not by chasing more, but by noticing what’s already here.
By showing up with intention.
By letting others in.
That’s how we return to ourselves, through the quiet courage of sharing what’s real.
Carmen lived that way.
She valued life, not because it was perfect, but because it was hers to move through.
Even in its unpredictability. Even in its limits.
She showed up when she could, and with what she had: kindness, humour, and heart.
And I have no doubt she would have embraced so much more of it, if only her body had let her.
Just before I sat down to write this, Zoe sent another message as the girls were reflecting on their friendship:
“Back-of-a-napkin maths tells us we’ve run to Perth and back together.”
It’s never really about how many races you finish, or how far you go.
It’s about who you go with.
How you show up.
Carmen did that.
In the training blocks.
In the messages.
In the sunrise runs that stitched their friendship together.
She showed up in the ways that matter most.
And that’s what stays.
The Crossover
This space was created to honour the in-between, the thresholds we cross, and the people who shape us along the way.
Endurance isn’t just about pushing through.
It’s about staying close to what matters.
Especially when things fall apart.
Carmen had dreams of doing a big race one day.
Now, her girls are keeping that spirit alive.
This year, they have their sights set on Ultra-Trail Kosciuszko, taking Carmen with them, all the way to the highest peak.
The entire Her Trails community sends our love and deepest thoughts to her husband, three children, and her girl gang.
May you feel her presence in every sunrise, and in every step still to come.
With love,
Sam x