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PHOTOS: (From left)
On a trail in Orange
City, Florida; on the
Paul Bunyan State
Trail in Minnesota;
view from Ream
Wilson Clearwater
Trail in Florida.
As a medical
student, Britte
Lowther starting
inline skating on
trails as a way to
stay healthy during
chemotheraphy
treatments.
“I WAS GETTING
TREATMENT FOR
LEUKEMIA AT THE
TIME, GETTING
LOTS OF CHEMO. I
THOUGHT WALKING
WAS BORING,
AND SKATING
DIDN’T REQUIRE
AS MUCH ENERGY
AS RUNNING; IT
WAS THE PERFECT
AMOUNT OF
CARDIOVASCULAR
ACTIVITY.”
Technicolor sunsets, wave-
drenched beaches and moss-
draped trees; these images
were how we first came to know
Florida native Britte Lowther.
The medical student—turned
physician this summer!—en-
joys inline skating and posting
photos of her trail adventures on
. Occasional self-
ies make an appearance, and
it’s clear that the 31-year-old’s
bright smile goes bone deep.
Although her love of skating
was born from a somber place—
as a way to stay healthy during
chemotherapy treatments—it
has become a lasting passion,
with Lowther now having skated
on dozens of trails since her first
serious trail outing in 2014.
“I was getting treatment for
leukemia at the time, getting lots
of chemo,” says Lowther, who
was blindsided with a cancer
diagnosis during her third year
of medical school. “It lowered
my hemoglobin, so I couldn’t
jog more than 50 yards without
falling into a pile on the ground.
I thought walking was boring, and
skating didn’t require as much energy
as running; it was the perfect amount
of cardiovascular activity.”
Recalling one of her first rail-trail
experiences, which took place in
Gainesville, Florida, she says, “I was
going to [UF Health] Shands Hospital,
and they’re by the Gainesville-Haw-
thorne [State] Trail. I started taking pic
after pic [of the trail]. It was Novem-
ber, and the leaves were changing. I
was in awe of how beautiful it was. It
was the most pivotal moment. I was
looking for trails after that.”
After spending two and a half
years in and out of hospitals, today
Lowther feels “over the big hump.”
The leukemia has not relapsed,
though she can’t officially be de-
clared cured until she has remained
cancer-free for five years.
When asked which is her favorite
trail, she hesitates. “I appreciate them
all for different things. For some it’s
memories, for others fun or sight-
seeing, and some have really good
pavement for skating.”
As a last hurrah before graduat-
ing, moving into a new apartment
and settling into her medical career,
Lowther decided to take a solo
road trip this past May, hitting trails
in 16 states from Florida, through
the South and Midwest, and on to
northern Minnesota. One of her hap-
piest memories from the journey was
a spin down the Paul Bunyan State
Trail, where she met up with a skating
friend from North Dakota.
“It was drop-dead gorgeous,” she
gushes about the nearly 120-mile trail
winding through the lush forests of
the North Star State. “And it was fun
doing a trail with somebody else; it
was a social experience. We skated
for eight hours and got pizza coming
back. It was so sad to say goodbye. It
was one of the best days of my life.”
For those wanting to give inline
skating a try, Lowther recommends
practice and patience, as there is
a learning curve to it, especially in
figuring out how to stop appropri-
ately (she chuckles at the memory
of diving into the grass after a
steep downhill and hoping for the
best). But the effort is worth it. “I did
exercise before, but it was never fun.
Have fun with it!”•
Health Battle Turns to Life Passion on America’s Trails
BY LAURA STARK
FROM LEFT: BRITTE LOWTHER; TAVIS TROSEN; BRITTE LOWTHER. OPPOSITE PAGE: MAP ILLUSTRATION BY DANIELLE MARKS
28 RAILS TO TRAILS FALL 2016
T R A I L TA L E S