When and why did you start running?
I started running when a forend challenged me to do a Tough Mudder. I did a couch to 5k plan and met some fellow runners and quickly got the bug and signed up for my first half marathon, which lead to my first marathon and then my first 50K. It all progressed rather quickly.

What keeps you motivated to train?
Like most athletes I have times when I am highly motivated and other times when I struggle to find the drive to meet the grind. Races are a key to keeping me motivated. They are the carrot I dangle in front of myself to keep going. Having friends to share runs with helps immensely. I have a great running group I belong to. One season I was peaking before a race, my first attempt at 100M. I had a 30 mile run to do. I plotted out a double out and back and different friends signed up to run different parts with me. I had company the whole time and that helps so much when the miles are high and you are on the edge of burnout.

What are your hobbies outside of running?
Is there anything outside of running? JK. I like anything outdoors. Snowshoeing in the winter. Hiking. I also have a crafty part that likes to paint or decorate.

What is your favorite race?
DeadHorse 50K is the race that holds the most meaning for me. I started running in 2013 and in 2016 was diagnosed with Lupus. I had to quit running and didn’t know if I would ever run again. Through medication I was able to return to running, slower and with more rest, but running none the less. DeadHorse 50K was my first ultra post Lupus diagnosis.

What is your bucket list event?
Moab 240 is my bucket list event. I am fascinated by how far we can push the body. I know I have the potential and capacity to do it if I can master the mind.

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race?
In the middle of the night at Javelina Jundred I had hallucinations and was seeing underwater sea fans in the middle of the desert. Beautiful purple and pink sea fans, flowing back in forth in the current.

What is your proudest race moment?
I’d say I have 2. Finishing DeadHorse 50K post Lupus diagnosis is the first. I had a lot of fear as to how I would tolerate it, what would happen to my body after, and wondering if I could even do it with my “new normal.” The second was finishing Grand Master Ultra 100M. Not only did I finish but met my “A” goal for the race. I had never pushed my body so hard.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
The value of a good sport bra. When I first started I knew nothing about quality sport bras and would actually wear two of them together to get the right support. Now I know, and there are a lot more available, about quality sport bras for women with some size.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
It’s ok to walk. Trust the process of training and slowly building and the fitness and speed will come. The body adapts to new stresses and compensates. That is how we stronger, faster, and able to go farther. Those little micro stresses add up over a training cycle and the magic will happen. You just have to trust the process.

When and why did you start running?
I started running right after college after a bad breakup. My brother and his wife signed up for a couch to 5k program and asked me to join. As it usually goes, everything snowballed from there.

What keeps you motivated to train?
Running has become a form of therapy to me. It has gotten me through some of my darkest hours. I lost my mom suddenly at the age of 26 and running was there for me in a way no one else could be. I am also a competitive person by nature and being able to push my own body and limits is something that motivates me.

What are your hobbies outside of running?
Dogs lol. I also love reading and cooking.  On my off days, going on a long walk with a great podcast in my ears is one of my favorite activites.  Interior design is also a personal passion of mine.

What is your favorite race?
Avalon 50/50 on Catalina island! But mostly because I got engaged at the end of that race

What is your bucket list event?
For now, finishing a 100k is my bucket list. The goal is this October.

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race?
Hmmm, not sure!

What is your proudest race moment?
Finishing my first 50 mile was a very proud moment for me.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
How important strength training truly is to longevity in the sport.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
To have fun and don’t compare yourself to others. Also, slow down on your easy days. This is something I am still learning to harness myself but it really does make a world of a difference!

When and why did you start running? I ran track in middle school and I loved hurdles. I did not keep it up in high school. Before I had my daughter, I would try to run but had a hard time getting past 5 miles. Eventually I got to run a half marathon when she was around 2. She is my motivation to keep pushing. I have run on and off since middle school, but got more consistent around 6 years ago.

What keeps you motivated to train? my daughter and my desire to see what I am capable of.

What are your hobbies outside of running? I like to read, embroider, and be outside. I like to snowshoe and hike. We live at the base of the mountains.

What is your favorite race? not sure I have one. I have run our local Bighorn Mountain Trail run once and I loved it. I also loved the Wolf Creek Wrangle and it was really pretty.

What is your bucket list event? Don’t have one!

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race? My friend and I ran the Wolf Creek Wrangle 10k. She isn’t from the West, or from a rural area. We came around a bend and were getting closer to the end (it is on a dude ranch) and several horses were on the trail. I have been around horses all my life but I am not always very comfortable around them without someone else around. well we slowed down but kept going, thinking they would move off the trail but instead they ran with us for awhile. we were both thrilled and a little freaked out to be running amongst several horses.

What is your proudest race moment? my mom and daughter were with me at the end of the half marathon. I had leg cramps and basically crawled to the end but she was with me. my mom handed my daughter over the fence so I got my medal holding her.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running? how a mile run is not to be avoided and how cross country probably would have been more fun for me than track.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners? slow is fine, its still the same distance

When and why did you start running?
I started running in the woods with my father when I was 10 years old and basically haven’t stopped. I’ve always loved running, but wasn’t into competing. There were a few races I did every year, but mostly it was just for fun and good health. I was surpised that I could run farther and feel better in my mid 40s than I did when I was younger and decided to start training for longer distances to challenge myself.

What keeps you motivated to train?
I love the adventure of exploring new and familiar trails and distances. I’ve become a fan of the sport of trail and ultrarunning and enjoy continuing to learn and work toward a goal. Running is a gift, and I feel grateful to be able to do it

What are your hobbies outside of running?
Reading, photography, walking, spending time with my family and going to Orange Theory.

What is your favorite race?
Hard to choose. Probably the Bimbler’s Bash 10k trail race and the New Haven Road Race 20k held every Labor Day.

What is your bucket list event?
I’d love to run a trail race in Moab or Rim to Rim to Rim.

What is your proudest race moment?
Finishing my first 50K.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
I wish I knew how fun it is to train for a specific distance or event.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
The best thing I’ve learned is knowing the purpose for each run ,which includes not always running at the same pace.

When and why did you start running?
I ran cross country in high school, and during, and for decades after, had a love hate relationship with running, due to a constant cycle of progress, followed by overtraining and injury. For years, running remained my primary form of meditation, and I had a Siberian/Malamute mix who forced me to keep training, even during the winter. In 2004 though, I tore my Achilles, and had difficulty walking, let alone running. In 2012, I read “Born to run” at the urging of a co-worker, and slowly started running again with a forefoot strike, and progressed to doing a few miles a couple times a week. In 2019, I got a Garmin, and entered into a boom and bust cycle of training again – following various training plans based on an algorithm that didn’t factor in my exuberance to pretend I was 30 years younger and 50 pounds lighter. I started working with Coach Chandra in 2021, and have refocused on just being able to enjoy running for running’s sake, rather than chasing some impossible dream.

What keeps you motivated to train?
I love being out in the woods. And with a busy family and busy work and busy busy busy in general, it’s my me time.

What are your hobbies outside of running?
I garden, hike, backpack and volunteer with the Sierra Club..

What is your favorite race?
For nostalgia’s sake, Steamboat Classic 15k in Peoria Illinois. But I plan to do Bear Brook half-marathon, and maybe the marathon, every year after completing the half this recent September.

What is your bucket list event?
My bucket list event is to be able to hike Mount Washington with my grandchildren. But I do want to get out and do Steamboat at least one more time.

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race?
When I ran the Philadelphia marathon in 2001, my running partner and I were doing Galloway’s run/walk method, and some true macho patriot, brandishing a U.S. flag during the race, kept yelling at us to keep running. I know he meant to be encouraging, but it was just so over the top.

What is your proudest race moment?
Probably talking my legs out of cramping during the Bear Brook Half in September 2023 when I hit mile 13.1 with no finish line in sight (part of their giddyup is that the distance is never exactly what it’s billed – the race shirt says “What does your GPS say?”).

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
Heel strikes are just terrible, at least for my running body.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
Don’t worry about your performance. Focus on the journey, and let that determine where you end up going.

When and why did you start running? I started running in the summer of 2021 after losing weight. I missed being active and feeling strong.

What keeps you motivated to train? I am motivated by specific measurable progress and a good challenge.

What are your hobbies outside of running? Mostly reading and spending time with family and my “kids.”

What is your favorite race? Not sure I have one, but I’m fascinated by Leadville.

What is your bucket list event? I’m not sure I have one?

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race? Not necessarily funny, but the dumbest thing I’ve done was go into a half-marathon untrained. I couldn’t walk normally for a week!

What is your proudest race moment? Finishing my first marathon

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running? That I could physically do it, and it gets easier.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners? It gets easier!

When and why did you start running?
I’m currently 51, I initially started running in my 30’s and then my mid 40’s for fitness.

What keeps you motivated to train?
Hmm good question, mostly I’m scared of coach Faith kidding I try and stay focused on my short/ long term goals.

What are your hobbies outside of running?
Outside of running? I enjoy travel and pickleball, however my girlfriend does let me talk her into runcations depending on location. 

What is your favorite race?
Army 10 miler is definitely up there it is a great race, other favorites are Psycho Wyco 50K in Kansas City KS, it was my first Ultra.

What is your bucket list event?
I would love to run Marathon Des Sables or Iditarod Trail Invitational 350  

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race?
My first 100 miler I let one of my crew tie my shoes she was like I’m a mom and can do it. She tied it so tight that my instep ended getting bruised by the end. 

What is your proudest race moment?
The firsts, they are the most memorable.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
To enjoy the race, kick back and have fun let yourself enjoy the event. For most of us we aren’t being paid so lets just enjoy.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
Bandaids on the nips, anti chafing cream

When and why did you start running?
I started running when I was in the Army Reserves in the 80’s and hated it, really hated it. Fast forward to 2012 and I saw my husband running around a limestone track around the apartment we lived in at the time. He started running 5ks and I noticed how much fun the people were having. So, I thought why not. I found out quickly, i knew nothing about running and kept getting injured. He actually signed me up for a women’s only intro to running group at our local running store and that started January 2023. Well, the rest is history.

What keeps you motivated to train?
That’s a good question. I think seeing my friends running and being able to meet up with them to run some of the same races. I have met so many people through my local and out of state running groups. Plus, I’m motivated to try to do my best during my races and training.

What are your hobbies outside of running?
Listening to hard rock/heavy metal and going to concerts. I really need to get back into reading.

What is your favorite race?
Marine Corps Historic Half. This is the only race I have run multiple
times. What I love about this race is the people I have met over the years and now we pretty much party and have fun the entire time. And, yeah there may be a little fireball involved

What is your bucket list event?
oh gosh, I don’t know. i have been dealing with a knee injury bucket list has kept me humble. I still hope to complete a 100 miler. I have so many races on my ‘to-do’ list but technical races are out of the question at this point.

What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race?
How can I narrow this down?? I have so many funniest things. I think i’ll go with running the Marine Corps Historic Half in ’22. It’s a race that’s always hot and humid but this particular one it was absolutely horrible and starting temps in the high 70’s. The race started an hour early which was helpful. My girlfriends and i decided we are just going to enjoy ourselves. We stopped to pet dogs, danced with a Disco Ball Roving DJ, played sheet bingo, we made a game of taking photos with any Marine(s) that cheered us on and got some great photos. We even picked up a father and son team and the son was mortified that the dad was having fun with us. We even found people handing out popsicles which really saved the day. We laughed so much and decided being the ‘party on the pavement’ worked out much better for us instead of being miserable for a hot, hot race. The entire 13.1 was fun!!! Running with friends is the absolute best.

What is your proudest race moment?
Completed my first 50 mile race basically a fat ass. Which means it was self supported. I was training for the Umstead 100 but I signed up for the 50miler distance. Well, this was March of 2020 and we all know what happened then – Covid – and it was canceled the week before race day. I was determined not to let my training go to the crapper. My husband was my crew chief and I had several friends rally behind me and ran. I got my 50miles and the time is still my PR. Plus, my husband and best friend made the best medal EVER for me.

What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
That it’s ok to walk during your training and races. I learned how to use run/walk intervals when i started running and still do. I think it has kept me enjoying running.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
Don’t get the shoes that are the cutest. Get the running shoes that are best for your feet. Your shoes are the best investment you can have when you start running. Your body will thank you.

RLRS: When and why did you start running?
EW: I ran track and cross country in high school. Then 3.5 years ago, after the end of a bad relationship, a dear friend took me on a run and I have been hooked since!

RLRS: What keeps you motivated to train?
EW: My own personal goals, my children, and my sobriety.

RLRS: What are your hobbies outside of running?
EW: I enjoy cooking, reading, baking, and shooting.

RLRS: What is your favorite race?
EW: That is a tie. Burning River Relay last year because it made me an ultrarunner. And it was absolutely beautiful. And Forget the PR 50k April 6th. It was the best race I had ever had. Perfect weather, I felt absolutely amazing and finished feeling like I could have kept running!

RLRS: What is your bucket list event?
EW: Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe a hundo some day? Or maybe Barkley Marathons? To be honest, I just want to run far in beautiful places because I have a strong body that will allow it.

RLRS: What is the funniest thing to happen to you during a race?
EW: Nothing yet.  Stay tuned!

RLRS: What is your proudest race moment?
EW: I have 2. One, finishing my first 10k (3 years ago). I was solo, alone, and still standing when it was over. It was a distance PR as of then. Two, finishing FTPR with a HUGE smile, feeling amazing, 90 minutes faster than my goal time.

RLRS: What is the one thing you wish you knew when you first started running?
EW: That you don’t have to be so damn serious all the time. It’s not all about “getting faster” or a competition. Running because you love it is so much more enjoyable.

RLRS: What is your best piece of advice for new runners?
EW: See my above answer!!  Also, have fun. And try a trail run or two!