OMAHA, Neb. — Kaci Lickteig, in her creative efforts to mimic various mountain ranges that are not native to Nebraska, does some of her most important training here on a nondescript stretch of road that she calls Pacific Hill.
The incline, gentle at first, starts where Pacific Street intersects with 153rd Street and then climbs more sharply for seven-tenths of a mile until it reaches a green electrical box opposite Millard North High School, just short of Dunkin’ Donuts and Rusty Nail Pub. This is the spot where Lickteig, a familiar presence to motorists, stops so she can run back down the hill so she can run back up the hill.